WO2016157892A1

WO2016157892A1 - Information presentation apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2016157892A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/001816
Authority: WO
Inventors: 友紀藤澤; 裕章田中; 下ノ本　詞之; 光雄玉垣; 卓也森; 神谷　玲朗; 川島　毅; 哲洋林; 拓弥久米
Original assignee: 株式会社デンソー
Priority date: 2015-04-03
Filing date: 2016-03-29
Publication date: 2016-10-06

Abstract

Provided is an information presentation apparatus. A light-emission device (40) and an HCU (100) are mounted to a vehicle (A), as information presentation apparatuses. The light-emission device (40) is arranged in an instrument panel (19) and displays at least one light-emission spot (51) in a linear light-emission area (52) prescribed so as to extend along the width direction (WD) of the vehicle. The HCU obtains monitoring information including at least position information for risk targets detected by a peripheral monitoring ECU (91) and, on the basis of the monitoring information, calculates individual risk levels for the risk targets detected from the progress direction of the vehicle. If a plurality of risk targets are detected, the HCU selects a highest-risk target having the highest risk level and displays, in the linear light-emission area, a light-emission spot indicating the direction of the highest-risk target.

Description

Information presentation device

Cross-reference of related applications

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-77088 filed on April 3, 2015 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-48661 filed on March 11, 2016, and their disclosure Is hereby incorporated by reference.

The present disclosure relates to an information presentation device that presents vehicle information to a driver.

Conventionally, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle display device including an instrument display disposed on an instrument panel of a vehicle. The instrument display can display a plurality of images taken around the vehicle and a marker that moves along the width direction of the vehicle. The vehicle display device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 guides the driver's line of sight to the gaze image by selecting a gaze image to be watched by the driver and moving the marker toward the gaze image.

JP2012-113672A

Now, in the vehicle display device of Patent Document 1, no process for calculating individual risk levels is performed for the risk target that the driver should be aware of. Therefore, for example, in a scene in which a plurality of risk objects are detected, such as an oncoming vehicle on an oncoming lane and a crossing person on a pedestrian crossing, the vehicle display device of Patent Document 1 moves toward a gaze image that shows an oncoming vehicle. A marker and an arrow for alerting a crossing person are displayed together. Thus, regardless of the level of the risk level, when a plurality of risk targets are alerted in parallel, it may be difficult to direct the driver's attention to the important risk targets.

In view of such a point, one of the objects of the present disclosure is to provide an information presentation device capable of accurately directing the driver's attention to an important risk target even in a scene where a plurality of risk targets are detected. Is to provide.

An information presentation device according to an example of the present disclosure is an information presentation device that is mounted on a vehicle together with a periphery monitoring device that detects a risk target to be noticed by a driver and presents vehicle information to the driver. A light emitting display section that displays at least one light emitting spot in a light emitting area that is arranged on the instrument panel and is defined to extend along the width direction of the vehicle, and controls the light emitting mode of the light emitting spot in the light emitting area. Based on the light emission control unit, the information acquisition unit that acquires the monitoring information including at least the position information of the risk target detected by the periphery monitoring device, and the monitoring information acquired by the information acquisition unit, it is detected from the region in the traveling direction of the vehicle. A risk calculation unit that calculates individual risk levels for each risk target, and the light emission control unit detects a plurality of risk targets by the peripheral monitoring device. In this case, the maximum risk target having the maximum risk level calculated by the risk calculation unit is selected from among the plurality of risk targets, and the light emission spot indicating the direction of the maximum risk target as viewed from the driver is selected as the light emission region. To display.

In this information presentation device, when a plurality of risk targets to be noted by the driver are detected by the periphery monitoring device, the light emission control unit selects the maximum risk target indicating the maximum risk level from among the plurality of risk targets. . And the light emission spot which shows the direction where the largest risk object exists seeing from a driver | operator is displayed in the light emission display area of a light emission display part.

According to the above, while it is difficult to alert a risk object having a relatively low risk level among a plurality of risk objects, a risk object having a high risk level is preferentially alerted by a light emission spot. Therefore, even in a scene where a plurality of risk targets are detected, the information presenting apparatus can accurately direct the driver's attention to an important risk target.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings,
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a layout around a driver's seat in the host vehicle. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the in-vehicle network. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks constructed in the control circuit of the vehicle control ECU. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the light emitting device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing functional blocks constructed in the control circuit of the HCU. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the transition of the change in brightness repeated at the light emission spot. FIG. 7 is a state transition diagram showing details of the transition of the light emission control mode of the light emitting device. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display of light emission spots during manual operation. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the display of the light emission spots during the LKA operation. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a light emission spot whose display width is enlarged as the risk level increases. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the reference position of the light emission spot has been moved in order to indicate the planned travel locus of the host vehicle during manual operation. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the reference position of the light emission spot is moved in order to indicate the planned traveling locus of the host vehicle during LKA operation. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining that the movement amount of the reference position does not change during the LKA operation or during the manual operation. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a series of displays for guiding the driver's line of sight to the right during LKA operation. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a series of displays for guiding the driver's line of sight to the left during manual driving. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a series of displays that guide the driver's line of sight in a rightward looking direction to the front during manual driving. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a series of displays that guide the driver's line of sight in a leftward looking state to the front during LKA operation. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the reference position setting process. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the light emission mode setting process. FIG. 20 is a diagram for sequentially explaining the operation of the instrument panel light emission line in the risk target warning mode. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a light emission mode in a scene where a risk target exists inside the front pillar. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a light emission mode in a scene in which a risk target exists outside the front pillar. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a light emission mode in a scene where a plurality of risk objects are densely present. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a light emission mode in a scene where a plurality of risk objects exist apart from each other. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a light emission mode in a scene in which a plurality of risk objects having different distances from the host vehicle exist in a specific direction. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which a plurality of risk targets are detected with a time difference. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the transition of the risk level of each risk target in the scene shown in FIG. 26, the transition of the display position of the light emission spot, and the transition of the driver's line of sight in time series. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a traveling direction viewed from the driver and display of an instrument panel light emission line in the scene shown in FIG. FIG. 29 shows the transition of the risk level, the transition of the display position of the light emission spot, and the transition of the driver's line of sight in time series in the scene shown in FIG. FIG. FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating another example of a scene in which a plurality of risk targets are detected with a time difference. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a traveling direction seen from the driver and display of the instrument panel light emission line in the scene shown in FIG. FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing a warning target selection process in the first embodiment. FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting the length of the light emission spot. FIG. 34 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting the length of the light emission spot. FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a warning target selection process in the second embodiment. FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a first modification of FIG.

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the overlapping description may be abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol to the corresponding component in each embodiment. When only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the configuration of the other embodiment described above can be applied to the other part of the configuration. Moreover, not only the combination of the configurations explicitly described in the description of each embodiment, but also the configuration of a plurality of embodiments can be partially combined even if they are not explicitly described, as long as there is no problem in the combination. And the combination where the structure described in several embodiment and the modification is not specified shall also be disclosed by the following description.

(First embodiment)
An HCU (HMI (Human Machine Interface) Control Unit) 100 according to the first embodiment is an electronic device mounted on the host vehicle A as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The HCU 100 is one of a plurality of nodes provided in the in-vehicle network 1. The in-vehicle network 1 includes an external recognition system 90, a locator 95, a V2X communication device 96, a vehicle control system 60, a wearable communication device 97, an HMI system 10, and a communication bus 99 to which these are connected.

The external environment recognition system 90 includes external sensors such as the front camera unit 92 and the

radar units

93 and 94, and a surrounding monitoring ECU 91, and detects a risk object that the driver should be aware of. Specifically, the external environment recognition system 90 includes pedestrians, non-human animals, bicycles, motorcycles, and other moving objects such as motorcycles, as well as falling objects on the road, traffic signals, guardrails, curbs, road signs, road markings. Detect stationary objects such as lane markings and trees. The external recognition system 90 can include external sensors such as lidar and sonar in addition to the units 92 to 94.

The front camera unit 92 is, for example, a monocular or compound eye camera installed near the rearview mirror of the host vehicle A. The front camera unit 92 is directed in the traveling direction of the host vehicle A, and can photograph a range of about 80 meters from the host vehicle A with a horizontal viewing angle of about 45 degrees, for example. The front camera unit 92 sequentially outputs captured image data showing a moving object and a stationary object to the periphery monitoring ECU 91.

The radar unit 93 is installed, for example, at the front part of the host vehicle A. The radar unit 93 emits 77 GHz millimeter waves from the transmission antenna toward the traveling direction of the host vehicle A. The radar unit 93 receives millimeter waves reflected by a moving object and a stationary object in the traveling direction by a receiving antenna. The radar unit 93 can scan a range of about 60 meters from the host vehicle A at a horizontal scanning angle of about 55 degrees, for example. The radar unit 93 sequentially outputs the scanning result based on the received signal to the periphery monitoring ECU 91.

The radar units 94 are installed on the left and right of the rear part of the host vehicle A, for example. The radar unit 94 emits a quasi-millimeter wave in the 24 GHz band from the transmitting antenna toward the rear side of the host vehicle A. The radar unit 94 receives a quasi-millimeter wave reflected by a moving object and a stationary object on the rear side by a receiving antenna. The radar unit 94 can scan a range of about 30 meters from the host vehicle A at a horizontal scanning angle of about 120 degrees, for example. The radar unit 94 sequentially outputs the scanning result based on the received signal to the periphery monitoring ECU 91.

The periphery monitoring ECU 91 is mainly configured by a microcomputer having a processor and a memory. The periphery monitoring ECU 91 is communicably connected to the front camera unit 92, the

radar units

93 and 94, and the communication bus 99. The surrounding monitoring ECU 91 detects the relative position and the like of a moving object and a stationary object (hereinafter “detected object”) in the traveling direction by integrating information acquired from the

units

92 and 93. In addition, the periphery monitoring ECU 91 detects the relative position and the like of the detected object on the rear side based on the information acquired from the radar unit 94. The surrounding monitoring ECU 91 is configured to detect the relative position information of the preceding and parallel vehicles traveling around the host vehicle A, the relative position information of pedestrians and the like existing around the host vehicle A, and the vehicle A. Information on the shape of the lane marking in the traveling direction is output to the communication bus 99 as monitoring information.

The locator 95 includes a GNSS receiver 95a, a map database 95b, an inertial sensor, and the like. A GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 95a receives positioning signals transmitted from a plurality of artificial satellites. The locator 95 measures the position of the host vehicle A by combining the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver 95a and the measurement result of the inertial sensor. The map database 95b has a storage medium that stores a large number of map information. The locator 95 provides the vehicle control system 60 and the HMI system 10 through the communication bus 99 with the position information of the host vehicle A and the map information of the surroundings and the traveling direction of the host vehicle A.

The V2X communication device 96 exchanges information by wireless communication between an on-vehicle communication device mounted on another vehicle and a roadside device installed on the side of the road. The V2X communication device 96 includes at least position information of risk objects such as other vehicles and pedestrians that are difficult to see directly from the driver by, for example, road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside device provided at an intersection or the like. Get monitoring information. The V2X communication device 96 sequentially outputs the acquired information to the communication bus 99.

The vehicle control system 60 includes detection sensors that detect driving operations such as an accelerator position sensor 61, a brake pedal force sensor 62, and a steering torque sensor 63. In addition, the vehicle control system 60 includes a travel control device such as an electronic control throttle 66, a brake actuator 67, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor 68, and a vehicle control ECU 70. The vehicle control system 60 controls the traveling of the host vehicle A based on the driving operation by the driver, the monitoring information by the external environment recognition system 90, and the like.

The accelerator position sensor 61 detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver and outputs it to the vehicle control ECU 70. The brake pedaling force sensor 62 detects the pedaling force of the brake pedal by the driver and outputs it to the vehicle control ECU 70. The steering torque sensor 63 detects the steering torque of the steering wheel (hereinafter referred to as steering) 16 by the driver and outputs it to the vehicle control ECU 70.

The electronic control throttle 66 controls the opening of the throttle based on a control signal output from the vehicle control ECU 70. The brake actuator 67 controls the braking force generated on each wheel by generating a brake pressure based on a control signal output from the vehicle control ECU 70. The EPS motor 68 controls the steering force and the steering force applied to the steering mechanism based on a control signal output from the vehicle control ECU 70.

The vehicle control ECU 70 is one or a plurality of types including at least an integrated control ECU among a power unit control ECU, a brake control ECU, an integrated control ECU, and the like. The control circuit 70a of the vehicle control ECU 70 includes a processor 71, a rewritable nonvolatile memory 73, an input / output interface 74 for inputting / outputting information, and a bus for connecting them. The vehicle control ECU 70 is connected to the sensors 61 to 63 and the travel control devices. The vehicle control ECU 70 acquires detection signals output from the sensors 61 to 63 and outputs control signals to the travel control devices. In addition, the vehicle control ECU 70 is connected to the communication bus 99 and can communicate with the HCU 100 and the periphery monitoring ECU 91.

The vehicle control ECU 70 is provided with a plurality of driving support functions for supporting or acting on behalf of the driver by controlling the driving force, braking force, steering force, and the like of the host vehicle A. The vehicle control ECU 70 executes a vehicle control program stored in the memory 73 by the processor 71, thereby constructing a plurality of functional blocks (81 to 84) that realize the driving support function as shown in FIG. The vehicle control ECU 70 can output operation information of each driving support function by each functional block to the communication bus 99.

The ACC function unit 81 adjusts the driving force and the braking force based on the monitoring information of the preceding vehicle acquired from the surrounding monitoring ECU 91, thereby controlling the traveling speed of the host vehicle A (see FIG. 1). Control) function. The ACC supports or substitutes acceleration / deceleration operations among a plurality of driving operations by the driver. The ACC function unit 81 cruises the host vehicle A at the target speed set by the driver when the preceding vehicle is not detected. On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle is detected, the ACC function unit 81 causes the host vehicle A to follow the preceding vehicle while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle.

The LKA function unit 82 realizes the function of LKA (Lane Keeping Assist) for controlling the steering angle of the steered wheels of the host vehicle A (see FIG. 1) by adjusting the steering force. The LKA assists or substitutes for steering among a plurality of driving operations by the driver. The LKA function part 82 maintains the host vehicle A in the traveling lane by generating a steering force in a direction that prevents the approach to the lane marking, and causes the host vehicle A to travel along the lane.

The LCA (Lane Change Assist) function unit 83 realizes an automatic lane change function for moving the host vehicle A (see FIG. 1) from the currently running lane to the adjacent lane. The automatic lane change can be executed when the LKA is in operation, and assists or substitutes for the steering by the driver in the same manner as the LKA. When the lane change is possible, the LCA function unit 83 moves the host vehicle A to the adjacent lane by generating a steering force in the direction toward the adjacent lane.

The traveling locus setting unit 84 calculates the planned traveling locus of the host vehicle A in association with the shape information of the lane markings in the traveling direction acquired from the surrounding monitoring ECU 91. The travel locus setting unit 84 calculates a target steering direction and a target steering amount for realizing traveling of the host vehicle along the planned travel locus. Based on the target steering direction and target steering amount calculated by the travel locus setting unit 84, the LKA function unit 82 and the LCA function unit 83 execute steering control. The travel locus setting unit 84 can output the target steering direction and the target steering amount to the communication bus 99 as steering information. The travel locus setting unit 84 can calculate the steering information and output it to the communication bus 99 even when both the LKA function unit 82 and the LCA function unit 83 are not operating.

The wearable communication device 97 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is mounted on the host vehicle A and is communicably connected to the communication bus 99. Wearable communication device 97 is provided with an antenna for wireless communication. The wearable communication device 97 can perform wireless communication with the wearable device 110 existing in the passenger compartment of the host vehicle A using a wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like.

Wearable device 110 is worn by a driver, and is attached to the driver's head, ear, wrist, fingertip, neck, and the like, for example. The wearable device 110 can acquire the driver's biological information, for example, the pulse rate, heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and the like, and output the acquired information to the in-vehicle network 1. In addition, the wearable device 110 can detect the face direction or line-of-sight direction of the driver. The wearable device 110 transmits information indicating the driver's face direction or information indicating the line-of-sight direction to the wearable communication device 97 as line-of-sight information. The line-of-sight information is provided to the HCU 100 and the like through the wearable communication device 97.

The HMI system 10 includes an operation device such as a winker lever 15 and a DSM (Driver Status Monitor) 11 together with the HCU 100 described above. In addition, the HMI system 10 is provided with a plurality of display devices such as a HUD (Head-Up Display) device 14, a combination meter 12a, a CID (Center Information Display) 12b, and a light emitting device 40. The HMI system 10 provides information to the passengers of the host vehicle A including the driver seated in the driver's seat 17d.

The winker lever 15 is provided in a column portion that supports the steering 16. An operation for operating the winker is input to the winker lever 15 by the driver. The blinker lever 15 outputs an operation signal based on the driver's input to the HCU 100.

The DSM 11 includes a near-infrared light source and a near-infrared camera, and a control unit that controls them. The DSM 11 is disposed on the upper surface of the instrument panel 19 in a posture in which the near-infrared camera faces the driver's seat 17d. The DSM 11 photographs a driver's face irradiated with near infrared light from a near infrared light source with a near infrared camera. The image captured by the near-infrared camera is analyzed by the control unit. The control unit extracts, for example, the driver's face direction, the driver's line-of-sight direction, the driver's eye opening degree, and the like from the captured image.

The DSM 11 outputs line-of-sight information indicating the driver's face direction or line-of-sight direction to the HCU 100 based on the analysis by the control unit. In addition, when the DSM 11 determines that the driver is looking aside without facing the front, the DSM 11 outputs to the HCU 100 as the driver's looking-aside information. Further, when the DSM 11 determines the dozing state in which the driver's eyes are closed, the DSM 11 can output the dozing information of the driver to the HCU 100.

The HCU 100 is connected to each operation device, the DSM 11, and each display device. The HCU 100 acquires an operation signal output from the operation device and information output from the DSM 11. The HCU 100 controls the display by these display devices by outputting a control signal to each display device. The control circuit 20a of the HCU 100 includes a main processor 21, a drawing processor 22, a rewritable nonvolatile memory 23, an input / output interface 24 for inputting / outputting information, and a bus for connecting them.

The HUD device 14 projects the light of the image based on the data acquired from the HCU 100 onto the projection area 14 a defined by the windshield 18. The light of the image reflected on the vehicle interior side by the windshield 18 is perceived by the driver sitting in the driver's seat 17d. The driver can visually recognize the virtual image of the image projected by the HUD device 14 on the outside scene in front of the host vehicle A.

The combination meter 12a is arranged in front of the driver's seat 17d in the passenger compartment of the host vehicle A. The combination meter 12a has a liquid crystal display that can be visually recognized by the driver sitting on the driver's seat 17d. The combination meter 12a displays an image of a speedometer or the like on the liquid crystal display based on the data acquired from the HCU 100.

The CID 12b is disposed in the center of the instrument panel 19 in the cabin of the host vehicle A. The CID 12b has a liquid crystal display that can be viewed by a passenger sitting on the passenger seat 17p in addition to the driver. The CID 12b displays a navigation guidance screen, an air conditioner operation screen, an audio device operation screen, and the like on a liquid crystal display based on data acquired from the HCU 100.

The light emitting device 40 includes an instrument panel light emitting line 41, a steer light emitting ring 42, a power interface 43, a communication interface 44, a driver circuit 45, and a control circuit 46, as shown in FIGS. The light emitting device 40 presents the information of the host vehicle A to the driver by the

light emitting spots

51 and 56 displayed on the instrument panel light emitting line 41 and the steer light emitting ring 42, respectively.

The instrument panel light emission line 41 is disposed on the instrument panel 19 of the host vehicle A. The instrument panel light emitting line 41 has a linear light emitting region 52. The linear light emitting region 52 is defined to extend linearly along the width direction WD of the host vehicle A. The linear light emitting region 52 is located above the CID 12b. In the linear light emitting region 52, the

end portions

53a and 53b in the width direction WD are extended to the bases of the pillars located on both sides of the windshield 18. The linear light emitting region 52 is out of the central view range CVA of the driver seated on the driver's seat 17d. On the other hand, almost the entire linear light emitting region 52 is within the range PVA for peripheral vision of the driver seated on the driver's seat 17d. In the linear light emitting region 52, a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged along the width direction WD. The instrument panel light emitting line 41 displays at least one light emitting spot 51 in the linear light emitting region 52 by causing at least a part of the light emitting elements to emit light. The instrument panel emission line 41 can move the emission spot 51 in the width direction WD within the linear emission region 52. In addition, the instrument panel emission line 41 can change the emission color and emission size of the emission spot 51.

The steering light emitting ring 42 is disposed on the steering 16 of the host vehicle A. The steer light emitting ring 42 has an annular light emitting region 57. The annular light emitting region 57 is defined to extend in an annular shape along the edge of the setter pad portion 16 a of the steering 16. The annular light emitting region 57 is located below the combination meter 12a. The top of the annular light emitting region 57 is within the range PVA for peripheral vision of the driver seated on the driver's seat 17d. A plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in the annular light emitting region 57 along the circumferential direction of the steering 16. The steer light emitting ring 42 displays at least one light emitting spot 56 in the annular light emitting region 57 by causing at least some of the light emitting elements to emit light. The steer light emitting ring 42 can move the light emitting spot 56 in the circumferential direction within the annular light emitting region 57. In addition, the steer light emitting ring 42 can change the light emission color and light emission size of the light emission spot 56.

The power interface 43 is supplied with power from a battery or the like mounted on the vehicle through a power circuit 49. The power interface 43 supplies power to each component of the light emitting device 40. The instrument panel light emission line 41 and the steer light emission ring 42 emit and display the light emission spots 51 and 56 by the power supplied through the power interface 43.

The communication interface 44 is connected to the HCU 100. Command signals for instructing light emission modes of the instrument panel light emission line 41 and the steer light emission ring 42 are input from the HCU 100 to the communication interface 44.

The driver circuit 45 controls the current flowing through each light emitting element provided in the instrument panel light emitting line 41 and the steer light emitting ring 42. The driver circuit 45 converts the power supplied from the power interface 43 and applies a current to the light emitting element specified by the control signal acquired from the control circuit 46.

The control circuit 46 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having a processor and a memory. The control circuit 46 acquires a command signal from the HCU 100 through the communication interface 44. The control circuit 46 generates a control signal to be output to the driver circuit 45 in order to cause each light emitting element to emit light with the light emission pattern corresponding to the acquired command signal.

In order to control the light emission of the light emitting device 40 described above, the control circuit 20a of the HCU 100 shown in FIG. 5 executes the light emission control program stored in the memory 23 by each of the

processors

21 and 22, thereby allowing a plurality of functional blocks (31 To 35). Hereinafter, details of functional blocks related to information presentation using the instrument panel light emission line 41 and the steer light emission ring 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4 based on FIG. 5.

The information acquisition unit 31 acquires various information related to the host vehicle A. The information acquisition unit 31 outputs the acquired information to the risk determination unit 32, the blinking cycle setting unit 33, and the light emission control unit 34. Specifically, the information acquisition unit 31 acquires line-of-sight information and armpit information by the DSM 11, monitoring information by the surrounding monitoring ECU 91 and the V2X communication device 96, line-of-sight information and biological information by the wearable device 110, and the like. In addition, the information acquisition unit 31 acquires operation information and steering information of the driving support function in the vehicle control ECU 70 and map information in the traveling direction provided from the locator 95. Furthermore, the information acquisition part 31 acquires the occurrence information of the said event at the time of the generation | occurrence | production of the event which a driver should pay attention to the right and left of the own vehicle A. Specifically, in order to change the lane, information indicating that the operation of the winker is started by the driver or the vehicle control ECU 70 is acquired by the information acquisition unit 31 as occurrence information.

The risk determination unit 32 determines a plurality of types of risk levels related to the host vehicle A based on the information acquired from the information acquisition unit 31. For example, the risk determination unit 32 can calculate an internal risk level caused by the driver and an external risk level caused by other vehicles, pedestrians, traffic environments, and the like. The risk determination unit 32 provides the determination result and calculation result of each risk level to the light emission control unit 34.

The risk determination unit 32 determines the internal risk level caused by the driver, for example, in five stages. The risk determination unit 32 determines that the state with the lowest risk level is “normal” and determines the state with the highest risk level as “risk level 4”. The risk determination unit 32 determines that the risk level is high when the level of the driver's random state increases. The risk determination unit 32 outputs the risk level determination result to the information acquisition unit 31.

The risk determination unit 32 calculates individual risk levels for dynamic risk targets such as moving objects and traffic lights based on the monitoring information provided from the external environment recognition system 90 and the V2X communication device 96. The risk determination unit 32 can sequentially calculate the risk level for at least the risk target detected from the area in the traveling direction of the host vehicle A.

In addition, based on the map information provided from the locator 95, the risk determination unit 32 extracts a static risk target caused by a road structure such as an intersection with a poor view and a sharp curve. The risk determination unit 32 can calculate a risk level for a static risk target as well as a dynamic risk target.

Furthermore, when a plurality of risk targets are detected by the external recognition system 90 or the like, the risk determination unit 32 can individually calculate the risk level of each risk target. The risk level calculated by the risk determination unit 32 becomes higher as the risk object is more important to the driver.

The blinking cycle setting unit 33 sets a blinking cycle for blinking each of the

light emitting spots

51 and 56 in a state notification mode to be described later. The blinking cycle of each light emitting

spot

51, 56 is set to a cycle corresponding to the normal heart rate or pulse rate of the driver. For the heart rate and the pulse rate, biological information acquired by the wearable device 110 may be used, or a preset general value (for example, 60 times per minute) may be used. For example, when the heart rate is 60 times per minute, the blinking cycle setting unit 33 sets the blinking cycle so that a bright state and a dark state are repeated every second as shown in FIG. The brightness in the dark state is, for example, about one third of the brightness in the bright state.

5 generates a command signal to be output to the light-emitting device 40 based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31. The light emission control unit 34 controls the light emission modes of the light emission spots 51 and 56 in the instrument light emission line 41 and the steer light emission ring 42. The light emission control unit 34 can switch the light emission control mode of the light emitting device 40 among a plurality using at least a part of the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31.

As shown in FIG. 7, the plurality of light emission control modes include a state notification mode, a lane change notification mode, an approaching vehicle notification mode, an aside look attention mode, and a risk target warning mode. Among these plural light emission control modes, priority is set for the lane change notification mode for notifying the occurrence of an event, the approaching vehicle notification mode, the side-attention warning mode, and the risk target warning mode. The priorities in the first embodiment are, in order from the highest, the risk target warning mode, the side watch attention mode, the approaching vehicle notification mode, and the lane change notification mode.

The state notification mode is a light emission control mode for notifying the driver of the current internal risk level of the vehicle A. In the state notification mode, the light emission mode of each of the light emission spots 51 and 56 is changed based on the determination result of the risk level based on the driver by the risk determination unit 32 (see FIG. 5).

In the lane change notification mode and approaching vehicle notification mode, the driver's line of sight is directed toward the left or right direction in which the event is occurring when an event that the driver should be aware of occurs on either side of the vehicle A This is the light emission control mode. The light emission control unit 34 (see FIG. 5) switches the light emission control mode from the state notification mode to the lane change notification mode based on the operation of the blinker accompanying the lane change. By the light emitting display in the lane change notification mode, the driver's line of sight is guided toward the destination lane as the attention direction.

On the other hand, the light emission control unit 34 (see FIG. 5) switches from the state notification mode to the approaching vehicle notification mode when a parallel running vehicle is detected in the destination lane in addition to the operation of the blinker accompanying the lane change. And switch the light emission control mode. The driver's line of sight is guided toward the parallel running vehicle as the attention direction by the light emitting display in the approaching vehicle notification mode.

The light emission control unit 34 (see FIG. 5) determines whether or not the driver's face is directed at a predetermined angle (for example, 45 degrees) or more in the left or right attention direction based on the line-of-sight information. As a result, when it is determined that the driver's face is directed in the attention direction, the light emission control mode is returned from the lane change notification mode or the approaching vehicle notification mode to the state notification mode.

脇 Aside look attention mode is a light emission control mode that guides the driver's line of sight to the front. The light emission control unit 34 (see FIG. 5) switches from the state notification mode to the side look attention mode based on the driver's side look information. The driver's line of sight is guided to the front by the light-emitting display in the side-attention mode. And the light emission control part 34 determines whether a driver | operator's face direction was improved based on eyes | visual_axis information. If it is determined that the driver's face orientation has been improved, the light emission control mode is returned from the aside look attention mode to the state notification mode.

The risk target warning mode is a light emission control mode that guides the driver's line of sight toward the risk target when there is a risk target that the driver should be aware of around the host vehicle A or in the traveling direction. The light emission control unit 34 acquires the relative position information of the risk target from the information acquisition unit 31 and acquires the risk level calculated for the risk target from the risk determination unit 32. In the light emission control unit 34, a threshold th _L for determining whether or not the risk target is a warning target for the driver is set in advance. The light emission control unit 34 switches the light emission control mode from the state notification mode to the risk target warning when at least one risk target whose risk level exceeds the threshold th _L occurs. When there is no risk target whose risk level exceeds the threshold th _L , the light emission control unit 34 returns the light emission control mode from the risk target warning mode to the state notification mode. The threshold th _L used for the trigger for switching from the state notification mode to the risk target warning mode may be substantially the same as th _L used for the trigger for switching from the risk target warning mode to the state notification mode, Alternatively, it may be set to a high value.

In the risk target warning mode, the light emission control unit 34 displays the light emission spot 51 in the range of the linear light emitting region 52 in the direction where the risk target exists as viewed from the driver. The light emission control unit 34 determines the position of the light emission spot 51 in the linear light emission region 52 based on the position information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31 so as to follow the relative position change of the risk target with respect to the host vehicle A. Move. In addition, the light emission control part 34 can change aspects, such as the light emission color of the light emission spot 51, and light emission size, according to the risk level of a risk object.

Furthermore, when a plurality of risk targets are detected by the external recognition system 90 or the like, the light emission control unit 34 selects the maximum risk target having the maximum risk level among the plurality of risk targets. The light emission control unit 34 displays a light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the selected maximum risk object among the plurality of risk objects in the linear light emission region 52. The light emission control unit 34 can switch the display position of the light emission spot 51 in accordance with the change of the maximum risk target when the risk target having the maximum risk level transitions. In addition, when there are two or more maximum risk targets indicating the maximum risk level among the plurality of risk targets, the light emission control unit 34 linearly displays the plurality of light emission spots 51 each indicating the direction of each maximum risk target. It can be displayed in the light emitting area 52.

The voice control unit 35 controls the voice reproduction device 140 to notify the driver through hearing. The sound reproduction device 140 includes a speaker and the like, and can reproduce a notification sound and a sound message that can be heard by all passengers of the host vehicle A in the vehicle interior. The voice control unit 35 cooperates with the light emission control unit 34 to combine the light emission spot 51 and the voice message to reliably warn the driver of the existence of the risk target.

Next, the details of the light emission mode of the instrument panel light emission line 41 in the state notification mode, the lane change notification mode, the approaching vehicle notification mode, and the look-at-attention mode are shown in FIGS. Based on FIG. 2, it demonstrates. Incidentally, in the linear light emitting area 52 and the annular light emitting area 57 in FIGS. 8 to 17, a range in which dots are written indicates a light-off state, and a white area indicates a lighted state.

In the state notification mode, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the reference positions RPa and RPm for displaying the light emitting spot 51 are displayed when the driving support function is activated and when the driving assistance function is not activated. Be changed. Each reference position RPa, RPm defines the center position of the light emission spot 51. In the first embodiment, the reference positions RPa and RPm of the light emission spot 51 are switched based on whether or not the LKA is operating among a plurality of driving support functions. The reference position RPa when the LKA is operating is defined closer to the center in the width direction WD of the host vehicle A than the reference position RPm when the LKA is not operating. As a result, the reference position RPm when the LKA is not operating is located above the center of the combination meter 12a arranged in front of the driver's seat 17d (see FIG. 8). That is, the reference position RPm is set in front of the driver. On the other hand, the reference position RPa when the LKA is operating is located above the center 52c of the linear light emitting region 52 in the width direction WD, that is, above the center of the CID 12b (see FIG. 9).

Each

light emission spot

51, 56 in the state notification mode can present the current risk level of the host vehicle A to the driver by a change in the light emission color. At the normal time when the risk level is the lowest, each of the light emission spots 51 and 56 emits green light. On the other hand, in the state of the risk level “4” having the highest risk level, each of the light emission spots 51 and 56 emits yellow light. The light emission colors of the light emission spots 51 and 56 are changed stepwise from green to yellow as the risk level increases. In addition, the display width of the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD increases or decreases according to the risk level. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the light emission spot 51 is increased along the width direction WD as the risk level is increased, and is decreased along the width direction WD as the risk level is decreased. Further, each of the

light emitting spots

51 and 56 repeats a change in brightness at a cycle set by the blinking cycle setting unit 33 (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the

light emitting spots

51 and 56 are moved along the width direction WD in accordance with the planned traveling locus after a few seconds set by the traveling locus setting unit 84 (see FIG. 3). The Based on the steering information, the light emission spot 51 of the linear light emitting area 52 is moved in the linear light emitting area 52 by a movement amount corresponding to the target steering amount in either the left or right direction corresponding to the target steering direction after a few seconds. Each reference position RPa, RPm is moved. The amount of movement of each reference position RPa, RPm is set to match the amount of movement in the width direction WD of the outer edge of the steering wheel 16 when the target steering amount is realized, for example, as schematically shown in FIG. . In addition, the movement amount of the reference position RPa when the LKA is operating and the movement amount of the reference position RPm when the LKA is not operating are substantially the same. Furthermore, the light emitting spot 56 of the annular light emitting region 57 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 also moves along the circumferential direction by an angle corresponding to the target steering amount in either the left or right direction corresponding to the target steering direction after a few seconds. Is done.

Next, the light emission display of the instrument panel light emission line 41 in the lane change notification mode and the approaching vehicle notification mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 14 shows the display of the lane change notification mode that attracts the driver to the right direction as the destination when the own vehicle A is moved to the adjacent lane on the right side by the automatic lane change. When the approaching vehicle approaching the host vehicle A is not in the destination lane, the light emission control mode is switched from the state notification mode to the lane change notification mode. With the switching to the lane change notification mode, the light emitting spot 51 is temporarily turned off from the linear light emitting region 52 (FIG. 14A). Thereafter, the light emission spot 51 is displayed again at the reference position RPa in the light emission color corresponding to the risk level, as in the state notification mode (FIG. 14B). The re-displayed light emission spot 51 starts moving in the right direction, which is the planned movement direction of the host vehicle A, in a shape with a tail trailing backward. And the light emission spot 51 reaches | attains the edge part 52a of the right direction of the linear light emission area | region 52 (FIG. 14C).

The light emission spot 51 that has reached the end 52a is divided into a plurality of divided light emission spots 51s. Each divided light emission spot 51s repeats the movement in the right direction while maintaining the interval between them (FIG. 14D). Thereafter, each of the divided light emission spots 51s is stacked toward the inner side in the width direction WD at the end portion 52a. Then, an integrated light emission spot 51 is formed again at the end 52a (FIG. 14C).

FIG. 15 shows a display of a lane change notification mode that attracts the driver in the left direction as the destination when the host vehicle A is moved to the left adjacent lane by the driver's driving operation. Along with switching to the lane change notification mode, the light emission spot 51 once turned off is displayed again at the reference position RPm in the light emission color corresponding to the risk level (FIG. 15A). The re-displayed light emission spot 51 moves to the end position EP in the left direction, which is the planned movement direction of the host vehicle A (FIG. 15B). The end point position EP is located between the end 52b in the left direction and the center 52c extending toward the passenger seat 17p (see FIG. 1) in the linear light emitting region 52. The end point position EP is located inside the peripheral vision range PVA (see FIG. 1). Further, the moving speed of the light emitting spot 51 is substantially constant regardless of whether the LKA is operating. In addition, the moving speed of the light emitting spot 51 is substantially the same whether the light emitting spot 51 moves to the left or the light emitting spot 51 moves to the right.

When the light emission spot 51 reaches the end point EP, a plurality of divided light emission spots 51s are displayed on the left end 52b. Each divided light-emitting spot 51s repeats a leftward movement while maintaining a mutual interval (FIG. 15C). Thereafter, each of the divided light emission spots 51s is stacked toward the inner side in the width direction WD at the end portion 52b. Then, the integral light emission spot 51 is displayed on the end portion 52b (FIG. 15D).

On the other hand, when an approaching vehicle approaching the own vehicle A exists in the lane of the movement destination, the light emission control mode is switched from the state notification mode to the approaching vehicle notification mode. In this case, the light emission spots 51 (FIGS. 14B and 15A) redisplayed at the respective reference positions RPa and RPm have a specific light emission color regardless of the current risk level. Specifically, in the approaching vehicle notification mode, the light emission color of the light emission spot 51 flowing through the linear light emission region 52 is set to “amber (orange)” having a stronger warning image than the risk level “4”. In addition, the display width of the re-displayed light emission spot 51 is a predetermined display width corresponding to the risk level “4”, for example, regardless of the current risk level.

Next, the light emission display of the instrument panel light emission line 41 in the side look attention mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 16 shows a display for improving the driver's right-handed look in the state where the LKA is not operating. If the state notification mode is switched to the side look attention mode based on the right look side information by the DSM 11, the light emission spot 51 displayed at the reference position RPm is temporarily turned off from the linear light emission region 52 (FIG. 16A). , FIG. 16B).

Thereafter, based on the line-of-sight information of the DSM 11, the light-emitting spot 51 is displayed in a portion of the linear light-emitting region 52 extending in the width direction WD that the driver's line of sight is facing (for example, the right end 52 a). (FIG. 16C). The light emitting spot 51 is redisplayed with a specific color such as amber as in the approaching vehicle warning mode. The re-displayed light emission spot 51 is moved to the reference position RPm at the center of the combination meter 12a, that is, to the front of the driver.

FIG. 17 shows a display for improving the driver's left look in the left direction while the LKA is operating. When switching from the state notification mode to the side look attention mode based on the left side look information by the DSM 11, the light emission spot 51 (FIG. 17A) displayed at the reference position RPa is temporarily turned off. Thereafter, based on the line-of-sight information of the DSM 11, a light emission spot 51 that emits light to the amber is displayed in the direction in which the driver's line of sight is facing (FIG. 17B). The redisplayed light emission spot 51 starts moving in the right direction (FIG. 17C). Even during LKA operation, the light emission spot 51 moves to the center of the combination meter 12a located in front of the driver (FIG. 17D). As described above, in the aside attention mode, the end position of the light emission spot 51 is set to the reference position RPm regardless of whether the LKA is operating.

Details of each process performed by the control circuit 20a in order to realize the display of the light emitting spot 51 in the state notification mode, the lane change notification mode, the approaching vehicle notification mode, and the side-viewing attention mode described so far are shown in FIG. Based on FIG. 19, it demonstrates, referring FIG. First, a reference position setting process for setting the respective reference positions RPa and RPm (see FIGS. 8 and 9) of the light emission spot 51 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. The process shown in FIG. 18 is repeatedly started by the light emission control unit 34 of the control circuit 20a based on the fact that the vehicle is ready to travel.

In S101, operation information related to activation and termination of LKA is acquired from the vehicle control ECU 70 (see FIG. 3), and the process proceeds to S102. In S102, it is determined based on the operation information acquired in S101 whether the LKA is operating. When it is determined that the LKA is operating, the process proceeds to S103. In S103, the reference position RPa is set at the center 52c of the linear light emitting region 52 (see FIG. 9), and the process proceeds to S105. On the other hand, if it is determined in S102 that the LKA is not operating, the process proceeds to S104. In S104, the reference position RPm is set in front of the driver (see FIG. 8), and the process proceeds to S105.

In S105, steering information based on the planned travel locus after several (t) seconds is acquired from the vehicle control ECU 70 (see FIG. 3), and the process proceeds to S106.

In S106, it is determined whether or not the target steering amount included in the steering information acquired in S105 is equal to or greater than a lower limit threshold value. The lower limit threshold is defined as a value such that the movement of the light emitting spot 51 is performed only when the curve and the lane change. In other words, the lower limit threshold value is set as a value that excludes the steering amount that is necessary when maintaining traveling in a lane that can be regarded as a straight line. If it is determined in S106 that the target steering amount is less than the lower limit threshold, the series of processes is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in S106 that the target steering amount is equal to or greater than the lower limit threshold value, the process proceeds to S107. In S107, based on the steering information acquired in S105, the reference positions RPa and RPm set in S103 or S104 are moved to the left and right along the width direction WD (see FIGS. 11 and 12), and a series of processing is performed. finish. The value of t is a value for ensuring a time that can be overridden after the driver recognizes the movement of the reference positions RPa and RPm and determines whether or not the traveling direction is right, and is set to 3 seconds, for example. Yes.

Next, details of processing for setting the light emission mode of the light emission spot 51 in the state notification mode will be described. The process shown in FIG. 19 is also started by the light emission control unit 34 (see FIG. 5) when the vehicle is ready to travel.

In S121, the blinking cycle set by the blinking cycle setting unit 33 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S122. In S122, the latest reference position set by the reference position setting process is acquired, and the process proceeds to S123. In S123, the latest risk level determination result determined by the risk determination unit 32 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S124. In S124, the light emission color, display width, and display position of the light emission spot 51 are set or updated based on the information acquired in S121 to S123, and the process returns to S122. A value set by repeating the processing of S122 to S124 is output as a command signal to the light emitting device 40 of FIG.

Next, details of the light emission mode of the instrument panel light emission line 41 in the risk target warning mode will be described based on FIGS. 20 to 25 and with reference to FIGS.

The scene shown in FIG. 20 is a scene in which the own vehicle A in which the driving support function is not operating reaches an intersection with poor visibility by the driving operation of the driver. When the host vehicle A is traveling by the driving operation of the driver, the light emitting spot 51 is lit and displayed with the front of the driver as the reference position RPm in the linear light emitting region 52. (See FIG. 20A).

When the own vehicle A approaches an intersection with poor visibility, the light emission control mode is switched from the state notification mode to the risk target warning mode as the static risk level increases based on the map information. Thus, when approaching a blind intersection where there is an obstacle that blocks the driver's field of vision on the left and right of the planned stop position of the host vehicle A, both the left and right risk levels increase. As a result, the light emission spots 51 are displayed at both

end portions

52a and 52b of the linear light emission region 52 so as to warn of poor left and right visibility (see FIG. 20B). Switching from the state notification mode to the risk target warning mode is performed, for example, several seconds (about 3 to 5 seconds) before the host vehicle A reaches the planned stop position. Each light emitting spot 51 is displayed in a light emitting color such as green so as to indicate a moderate risk level to the driver.

When the position information of the other vehicle A1 entering the intersection is acquired based on the information output from the outside world recognition system 90 or the V2X communication device 96 (see FIG. 2), the other vehicle A1 is The risk target includes the risk and the dynamic risk of approaching the host vehicle A. Thus, the risk level of the other vehicle A1 having a complex risk is calculated to be higher than the risk level of the blind intersection. As a result, the left and right light emitting spots 51 that alert the blind intersection are turned off, and the light emitting spots 51 that warn other vehicles A1 are turned on (see FIG. 20C). The light emitting spot 51 that warns the other vehicle A1 is displayed in a light emitting color such as red so that the height of the risk level can be clearly shown to the driver.

The light emitting spot 51 that warns the other vehicle A1 can move in the linear light emitting region 52 following the movement of the other vehicle A1. Specifically, when the other vehicle A1 travels from the right side to the left side of the front of the host vehicle A, the light emission spot 51 is directed from the vicinity of the front pillar located on the right side of the driver toward the left side of the driver. (See FIG. 20C).

When the other vehicle A1 passes in front of the host vehicle A, the other vehicle A1 is no longer subject to risk. Therefore, the light emitting spot 51 that warns the other vehicle A1 is turned off. Then, the pair of light emitting spots 51 that alert the blind intersection is again displayed on both

ends

52a and 52b of the linear light emitting region 52 (see FIG. 20D).

In the above scene, the combined spot of another vehicle A1 is warned by the light emitting spot 51. For example, in the notification of only static risk, the light emission spot is always lit by approaching an intersection or the like. Therefore, it causes the driver to get used to, and induces mistrust such as "I'm shining this time, but the car won't come." On the other hand, driver's overconfidence may be caused by dynamic risk-only notification. Specifically, when the risk target is not detected, the driver may make a false determination that “the car will not come because it is not shining”. In order to avoid the occurrence of such suspiciousness and overconfidence, it is desirable to implement warnings that combine two types of risks: static risks and dynamic risks.

21 and 22, the warning mode in the risk warning mode is changed depending on the relative position of the risk target with respect to the host vehicle A. In the scene shown in FIG. 21, on the foreground visually recognized by the driver, the pedestrian P1 who is the maximum risk target is above the linear light emitting region 52 extending in the width direction WD and between the pair of front pillars. Visible. The instrument panel light emission line 41 causes the light emission spot 51 to emit light and display in a range located below the pedestrian P1 on the appearance of the driver in the linear light emission region 52. As a result, the light emission spot 51 becomes a display indicating the direction in which the risk target exists as viewed from the driver.

Note that the risk level of the pedestrian P1 increases as the pedestrian P1 and the host vehicle A approach each other. Therefore, the light emission color of the light emission spot 51 changes in order of yellow, amber, and red with the approach of the pedestrian P1. In addition, when the pedestrian P1 is visible through the windshield 18, the sound reproducing device 140 such as a speaker is not used for the risk target warning.

In the scene shown in FIG. 22, the pedestrian P1 is visually recognized at a position outside the linear light emitting region 52 on the foreground visually recognized by the driver. Thus, when the pedestrian P1 is visually recognized outside the pair of front pillars, the driver is less likely to notice the pedestrian P1. Therefore, the instrument panel light emission line 41 displays an animation that slides in the light emission spot 51 from the end of one linear light emission region 52 close to the pedestrian P1 toward the center of the linear light emission region 52. The light emission spot 51 may be in a display mode in which the light emission spot 51 is slid in while blinking in the linear light emission region 52. Since the linear light emitting region 52 is located within the peripheral vision range PVA (see FIG. 1), the driver can notice the displayed animation. Therefore, the instrument panel light emission line 41 can guide the driver's line of sight outside the front pillar by the movement of the light emission spot 51.

In addition, when the direction of the maximum risk object seen from the driver is out of the extending range of the linear light emitting region 52, such as when the pedestrian P1 is visually recognized outside the front pillar, A warning sound and a warning message reproduced by a speaker or the like are used. For example, based on the control of the voice control unit 35, a voice message that warns the driver of the existence of the maximum risk target is played by the voice playback device 140. As described above, according to the risk target warning using both the visual stimulus and the auditory stimulus, the instrument panel light emission line 41 can reliably attract the driver to the outside of the front pillar.

23 and 24, there are two or more maximum risk targets indicating the maximum risk level. In the scene shown in FIG. 23, a plurality of pedestrians Pa to Pc that are subject to maximum risk are close to each other and exist within a predetermined range. Therefore, substantially the same risk level is calculated by the risk determination unit 32 for each pedestrian Pa to Pc. The light emission spot 51 is enlarged along the width direction WD so as to include a plurality of pedestrians Pa to Pc that are close to each other, and is displayed in a light emission color corresponding to the risk level of each pedestrian Pa to Pc.

Specifically, the driver's eyepoint IP is defined in advance in the cabin of the host vehicle A. The eye point IP is a specific coordinate on the space where it is assumed that the eyes of the driver seated on the driver's seat 17d (see FIG. 1) are located. In addition, the relative coordinates of the pedestrians Pa to Pc with respect to the host vehicle A are acquired based on the position information by the external environment recognition system 90 and the like. The light emission control unit 34 sets the size of the light emission spot 51 using the coordinates of the eye point IP, the coordinates of the pedestrians Pa to Pc, and the coordinates indicating the installation range of the linear light emission region 52.

First, a virtual line connecting the eye point IP and each pedestrian Pa-Pc is defined. Each virtual line is defined substantially parallel to the road surface on which the host vehicle A travels. Among these imaginary lines, the angle between two imaginary lines adjacent to each other is the difference between the two maximum risk target directions θab and θbc viewed from the eye point IP. When the direction differences θab and θbc are smaller than a preset threshold angle θ, it is assumed that the maximum risk objects are integrally merged and exist within a predetermined range. Be warned.

In a plan view of each virtual line and eye point IP as viewed from above, both ends of the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD straddle two outermost virtual lines and extend to the outside of these two virtual lines. I'm out. Further, when the coordinates of the center of gravity of each pedestrian Pa to Pc are defined, the virtual line from the eye point IP to the coordinates of the center of gravity intersects the center point of the light emission spot 51 in a pseudo manner. According to the expansion of the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD, a single light emission spot 51 can alert a plurality of pedestrians Pa to Pc together on the foreground visually recognized by the driver.

In the scene shown in FIG. 24, two pedestrians Pd and Pe that are subject to maximum risk exist at positions separated from each other when viewed from the driver. When the distances from the own vehicle A to the pedestrians Pd and Pe are substantially equal, the substantially same risk level is calculated for the pedestrians Pd and Pe. When the direction difference θde between two virtual lines connecting the eye point IP and each pedestrian Pd, Pe is larger than the threshold angle θth, a plurality of light emission spots 51 respectively indicating the directions of the pedestrians Pd, Pe are linearly emitted. It is displayed in area 52. The display position of each light-emitting spot 51 is set with reference to a pseudo intersection where the linear light-emitting region 52 pseudo-crosses each virtual line in a plan view of each virtual line and eye point IP viewed from above.

FIG. 25 shows a scene where two pedestrians Pf and Pg having different distances from the own vehicle A exist as risk targets. In this scene, the risk level of one pedestrian Pg that is close to the host vehicle A is higher than the risk level of the other pedestrian Pf. Therefore, one light emission spot 51 that warns one pedestrian Pg as the maximum risk target is displayed in the linear light emission region 52.

However, in a scene where the direction difference θfg between the two virtual lines connecting the eye point IP and each pedestrian Pf, Pg is smaller than the threshold angle θth, the light emitting spot 51 alerts the two pedestrians Pf, Pg together. It becomes possible. As described above, the light emitting spot 51 that warns of the maximum risk target may exhibit a function of secondary warning of other risk targets. In this case, the emission color of the instrument panel emission line 41 is set based on the risk level calculated for the pedestrian Pg.

Next, the transition of the display mode of the instrument panel light emission line 41 when a plurality of risk objects are detected at different timings and the risk object warned by the light emission spot 51 is changed will be described with reference to FIGS. Will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the light emission spot 51 that is initially displayed and indicates the direction of the maximum risk target is referred to as “first light emission spot 51a”, and the light emission spot displayed at a position different from the first light emission spot 51a. 51 is referred to as a “second light emission spot 51b”. The second light emission spot 51b indicates the direction of the quasi-maximum risk target indicating the maximum risk level among the other risk targets excluding the maximum risk target.

In the scenes shown in FIGS. 26 to 28, the host vehicle A approaches the intersection where the traffic light Sg is installed while passing by the side of the pedestrian P1. The traffic light Sg is switched from blue to yellow through red at the timing when the host vehicle A passes by the side of the pedestrian P1. For example, when the own vehicle A (t ₀ ) traveling at about 40 km / h approaches the pedestrian P1, the risk level Rp calculated for the pedestrian P1 exceeds the threshold th _L (t ₁ ). Based on the risk level Rp of the pedestrian P1 exceeding the threshold th _L , the first light emission spot 51a is displayed in a range indicating the direction of the pedestrian P1 in the linear light emission region 52.

The driver's line of sight is directed to the pedestrian P1 by being guided by the first light emission spot 51a. Based on the line-of-sight information, the light emission control unit 34 drives when the driver's line of sight is continuously directed to the maximum risk target (pedestrian P1) for a predetermined time (for example, about 1.0 to 1.5 seconds). It is determined that the person has watched the pedestrian P1.

On the other hand, the traffic light Sg switches from blue to yellow after the risk level Rp of the pedestrian P1 exceeds the threshold th _L (t ₂ ). As a result, the traffic light Sg is detected as a risk target, and the risk level Rs of the traffic light Sg is calculated. According to the approach of the own vehicle A to the intersection, the risk level Rs of the traffic light Sg exceeds the threshold th _L (t ₃ ). Thereby, the traffic light Sg is selected as a quasi-maximum risk target. When it is determined that the driver has watched the pedestrian P1, the risk target that is warned by the light emission spot 51 is switched from the pedestrian P1 that is the maximum risk target to the traffic light Sg that is the quasi-maximum risk target.

Thus, the display of the first light emission spot 51a that has warned the pedestrian P1 is stopped. Then, after the first light emission spot 51a is turned off, the light emission spot 51 moves from the display position of the first light emission spot 51a toward the display position of the second light emission spot 51b indicating the direction of the traffic light Sg. Due to the transition of the light emission spot 51, the driver's line of sight is guided to the traffic light Sg. The moving speed of the light emitting spot 51 is set to a speed that the driver can perceive in the peripheral visual field. In addition, a time lag t _lag (for example, about 0.1 to 0.3 seconds) is intentionally provided between the turn-off of the first light emission spot 51a and the start of the transition.

The driver's line of sight is guided to the traffic light Sg by the second light emitting spot 51b. The driver's reaction delay t _d (for example, about 0.3 to 1.0 second) inevitably occurs from when the second light emitting spot 51b is turned on until the driver's line of sight is directed toward the traffic light Sg. Based on the line-of-sight information, the light emission control unit 34 determines that the driver has watched the traffic light Sg when the driver's line of sight is continuously directed to the quasi-maximum risk target (the traffic light Sg). After this, when the risk level of other risk objects except for the pedestrian P1 and the traffic light Sg exceeds the threshold th _L , the light emission spot 51 (third light emission) that warns the new risk object instead of the second light emission spot 51b. Spot) is displayed in the linear light emitting region 52.

Due to the approach of the own vehicle A to the intersection, the risk level Rs of the traffic light Sg becomes higher than the risk level Rp of the pedestrian P1 (t ₄ ). And if the own vehicle A passes the side of the pedestrian P1 (t ₅ ), the risk level Rp of the pedestrian P1 becomes substantially zero. Thereafter, when the driver stops the host vehicle A by a brake operation, the risk level Rp of the traffic light Sg is also substantially zero. As a result, the second light emission spot 51b is turned off. In this manner, when a new risk target whose risk level exceeds the threshold th _L is not detected, the display of the second light emission spot 51b is continued until the near maximum risk target disappears.

The driver in the scene described above was attracted to the first light emission spot 51a and watched the pedestrian P1. However, if it is determined that the driver's line of sight is directed to the traffic light Sg instead of the pedestrian P1 based on the line-of-sight information, the light emission control unit 34 displays the first light emission spot 51a indicating the direction of the pedestrian P1. Can be continued.

In addition, the driver may turn his gaze in a direction away from the pedestrian P1 without being attracted to the first light emission spot 51a. In this case, the light emission control unit 34 can perform a transition in which the light emission spot 51 is displayed in a range in which the driver's line of sight faces in the linear light emission region 52 and moved in the direction of the pedestrian P1.

Next, in the scene shown in FIG. 26, the transition of the display mode of the instrument panel light emission line 41 when the risk level Rp of the pedestrian P1 rapidly increases due to the pedestrian P1 protruding to the roadway side, etc. 29 will be described with reference to FIG.

The driver's line of sight is guided to the second light emission spot 51b and directed toward the traffic light Sg, whereby the pedestrian P1 is out of the driver's gaze target (t ₃₁ ). Thereafter, it is assumed that the risk level Rp of the pedestrian P1 has rapidly increased (t ₃₂ ). When increased risk level from line-of-sight direction when changing risk level Rp1 becomes more threshold .DELTA.th _L of a preset amount of change (Rp2, t _33), the pedestrian P1 is the risk subject is alerted by a light emitting spots 51 Will be selected again.

Thus, the display of the second light emission spot 51b is stopped. Then, after the second light emitting spot 51b is turned off, the light emitting spot 51 moves from the display position of the second light emitting spot 51b toward the display position of the first light emitting spot 51a indicating the latest direction of the pedestrian P1. Thus, the driver's line of sight is again guided to the pedestrian P1.

And if the own vehicle A passes the side of the pedestrian P1 (t ₅ ), the risk level Rp of the pedestrian P1 becomes substantially zero. At this time, if the risk level Rs of the traffic light Sg exceeds the threshold th _L , the second light emission spot indicating the direction of the traffic light Sg in order to continue the alerting to the traffic light Sg as the first light emission spot 51a is turned off. 51b is displayed again. In this case, the transition of the light emission spot 51 is omitted.

Further, in another scene shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, there is a crossing pedestrian P2 crossing the pedestrian crossing in the traveling direction of the own vehicle A about to turn right. In addition, a straight oncoming vehicle A2 is approaching from the front of the host vehicle A. Risk level Rp calculated to cross the pedestrian P2, for example greater than the threshold value th _L in cross start timing crosswalk (see FIG. 27 _{t 1).} As a result, the first light emission spot 51a is displayed in a range indicating the direction of the crossing pedestrian P2 in the linear light emission region 52.

The driver's line of sight is directed to the crossing pedestrian P2 by being guided by the first light emission spot 51a. The light emission control unit 34 performs gaze determination of the crossing pedestrian P2 when the driver's line of sight is continuously directed to the crossing pedestrian P2 for a predetermined time based on the line-of-sight information. On the other hand, the risk level Ra of straight oncoming vehicle A2, depending access to an intersection, exceeds the threshold value th _L (see FIG. 27 _{t 3).} Thereby, the straight oncoming vehicle A2 is selected as a quasi-maximum risk target. When it is determined that the driver has watched the crossing pedestrian P2, the risk target to be warned by the light emission spot 51 is from the crossing pedestrian P2 that is the maximum risk target to the straight oncoming vehicle A2 that is the quasi-maximum risk target. Can be switched.

Thus, the display of the first light emitting spot 51a that has warned the crossing pedestrian P2 is stopped. Then, after the first light emission spot 51a is turned off, the light emission spot 51 moves from the display position of the first light emission spot 51a toward the display position of the second light emission spot 51b indicating the direction of the straight oncoming vehicle A2. Due to the transition of the light emission spot 51, the driver's line of sight is guided to the straight oncoming vehicle A2. The light emission control unit 34 performs gaze determination of the straight oncoming vehicle A2 based on the line-of-sight information.

The entry into the intersection of the straight oncoming vehicle A2, risk level Ra of straight oncoming vehicle A2 is higher than the risk level Rp cross pedestrian P2 (see FIG. 27 _{t 4).} When finished cross the crosswalk (see FIG. 27 t _5), the risk level Rp cross pedestrian P2 becomes substantially zero. Thereafter, when the straight oncoming vehicle A2 passes the intersection, the risk level Rp of the straight oncoming vehicle A2 also becomes substantially zero. Thus, the second light emission spot 51b is turned off.

The details of the warning target selection process executed by the control circuit 20a (see FIG. 2) in order to realize the display of the instrument panel light emission line 41 described so far will be described based on FIG. 32 and with reference to FIGS. explain. The warning target selection process shown in FIG. 32 is repeatedly performed by the control circuit 20a based on the fact that the light emission control mode is switched to the risk target warning mode. The warning target selection process is continued until the risk target warning mode is terminated.

In S141, it is determined whether or not a risk target is detected based on the monitoring information or the like. If it is determined in S141 that a risk target has been detected, the process proceeds to S142. On the other hand, when the risk target is not detected, the determination of S141 is repeatedly performed.

In S142, the risk level of the risk target detected in S141 is calculated, and the process proceeds to S143. When a plurality of risk targets are detected, a risk level is calculated for each of the plurality of risk targets.

In S143, it determines whether or not at risk risk level is the threshold value th _L or more calculated in S142. If it is determined in S143 that there is no risk target indicating a risk level equal to or higher than the threshold th _L , the process returns to S141. On the other hand, if it is determined in S143 that there is a risk target indicating a risk level equal to or higher than the threshold th _L , the process proceeds to S144.

In S144, it is determined whether or not there are a plurality of risk targets indicating a risk level equal to or higher than the threshold th _L. If it is determined in S144 that the risk level of a plurality of risk targets exceeds the threshold th _L , the process proceeds to S146. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is one risk target indicating a risk level equal to or higher than the threshold th _L , the process proceeds to S145.

In S145, one risk object showing a risk level equal to or higher than the threshold th _L is selected as a warning object, and the process returns to S142. Thus, the light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the risk target selected in S145 is displayed in the linear light emission region 52.

In S146, it is determined whether or not there is a risk target that is currently warned by the light emitting spot 51. If it is determined in S146 that there is a risk target being warned by the light emission spot 51, the process proceeds to S148. On the other hand, when it determines with it being before the start of the warning of the risk target by the light emission spot 51, it progresses to S147.

In S147, the maximum risk object indicating the maximum risk level is selected from the plurality of risk objects, and the process returns to S142. When there are a plurality of risk targets indicating the maximum risk level, a plurality of maximum risk targets are selected. As described above, one or more light emission spots 51 (first light emission spots 51a) indicating the direction of the maximum risk object selected in S147 are displayed in the linear light emission region 52.

In S <b> 148, it is determined whether or not there is a risk target whose risk level increase is equal to or greater than the change amount threshold value Δth _L among the plurality of risk targets. If it is determined in S148 that there is no risk target for which the increase in risk level is equal to or greater than the threshold value Δth _L , the process proceeds to S150. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a risk target for which the increase in the risk level is equal to or greater than the threshold value Δth _L , the process proceeds to S149.

In S149, the risk target showing an increase in the risk level equal to or greater than the threshold Δth _L is selected, and the process returns to S142. According to the above, the light emission spot 51 that has been displayed so far is turned off, and the light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the risk target selected in S149 is newly displayed.

In S150, it is determined whether or not the selected risk target is watched. If it is determined in S150 that the gaze determination for the risk target is not established, the process proceeds to S151. In S151, the selection of the same risk target as the present is continued, and the process returns to S142. As described above, the lighting spot 51 is continuously turned on until the driver's line of sight is directed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S150 that there is a gaze on the selected risk target, the process proceeds to S152. In S152, a quasi-maximum risk target indicating the maximum risk level is selected other than the risk target (maximum risk target) that is a warning target, and the process returns to S142. According to the above, the display of the light emission spot 51 (first light emission spot 51a) is terminated, and the second light emission spot 51b indicating the direction of the quasi-maximum risk target is displayed.

Next, details of the adjustment for changing the length of the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD described so far in accordance with the relative position of the risk target will be described with reference to FIG.

The length of the light emission spot 51 is adjusted by the light emission control unit 34 (see FIG. 5) according to the direction of the risk target with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle A and the distance from the host vehicle A to the risk target. Specifically, even when the driver's eyepoint IP is moved forward and backward of the host vehicle A by the sliding of the driver's seat 17d, the light emission spot 51 viewed from the driver indicates the direction of the pedestrian P1 that is the maximum risk target. As described above, the size of the light emission spot 51 is defined. That is, even when the position of the driver's seat 17d (see FIG. 1) is changed in the front-rear direction of the host vehicle A, the light emission spot 51 is lit below the risk target on the foreground visually recognized by the driver. Not only the position of the light emission spot 51 but also the length of the light emission spot 51 is changed.

More specifically, the eye point IP is an eye point IPc that is assumed to have the driver's eyes in a state where the driver's seat 17d (see FIG. 1) is positioned at the center of the slide range, for example. In addition to the eye point IPc, an eye point IPf assumed in a state where the driver's seat 17d is positioned at the foremost position of the slide range, and an eye assumed in a state where the driver's seat 17d is positioned at the rearmost position of the slide range. The point IPb can be defined in advance.

A virtual line substantially parallel to the road surface on which the vehicle A travels can be defined between the eye points IPf and IPb at the foremost position and the last position and the pedestrian P1 as the risk target. The direction difference θfb generated between the two imaginary lines with the pedestrian P1 as the center is the difference in viewing direction that occurs with the difference between the eye points IPf and IPb.

On the other hand, virtual lines substantially parallel to the road surface on which the vehicle A travels can also be defined between both ends of the light emitting spot 51 and the pedestrian P1. When the angle generated between the two virtual lines with the pedestrian P1 as the center is the lighting angle θlgt of the light-emitting spot 51, the lighting angle θlgt is set to a value larger than the direction difference θfb. According to the setting in which the driver's eye point IP is positioned within the range of the lighting angle θlgt, the light emission spot 51 is visually recognized below the pedestrian P1 on the driver's foreground. Note that the center of the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD is defined as a position where the linear light emission region 52 artificially intersects with a virtual line from the eye point IPc toward the pedestrian P1.

By using the setting method described above, the light emission control unit 34 increases the calculated direction difference θfb and consequently the lighting angle θlgt as the risk target approaches the host vehicle A, and the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD. Enlarge. According to the adjustment of the length of the light emission spot 51, the light emission spot 51 is turned on below the risk target, and the direction of the risk target can be indicated to the driver.

Next, a method of changing the length of the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD according to the display position of the light emission spot 51 will be described with reference to FIG.

The length of the light emission spot 51 is expanded in the width direction WD as the display position of the light emission spot 51 is moved away from the driver. That is, when the size of the risk target and the relative position with respect to the host vehicle A are substantially the same, the risk target is narrowest at the front of the driver, and gradually increases as the distance from the front along the linear light emitting region 52 increases. Specifically, in the light emitting spots 51 displayed at each location of the linear light emitting region 52, the angle (hereinafter referred to as “viewing angle”) θvis between virtual lines connecting the both ends and the eye point IP is substantially equal. To be constant. The viewing angle θvis is set to about 10 °, for example.

By using the above setting method, the light emission control unit 34 enlarges the light emission spot 51 in the width direction WD by increasing the number of light emitting elements to be lit as the display position of the light emission spot 51 deviates from the front of the driver. According to the adjustment of the length of the light emitting spot 51, the driver can be surely noticed even if the light emitting spot 51 is light-emitting and displayed on the passenger seat side that is far from the driver.

In the first embodiment described so far, when a plurality of risk objects to be noted by the driver are detected by the external recognition system 90, the HCU 100 displays the maximum risk object indicating the maximum risk level among the plurality of risk objects. Select. A light emission spot 51 indicating the direction in which the maximum risk target exists as viewed from the driver is displayed in the linear light emission region 52.

According to the above, while it is difficult to alert a risk target having a relatively low risk level among a plurality of risk targets, a risk target having a high risk level is preferentially alerted by the light emission spot 51. Therefore, even in a scene where a plurality of risk targets are detected, the light emitting device 40 can accurately direct the driver's attention to the important risk targets.

In addition, in the first embodiment, when the driver's line of sight is directed in the direction in which the maximum risk target exists, the second light emission spot 51b is a linear light emission region as the light emission spot 51 indicating the direction in which the sub maximum risk target exists. 52 is displayed. According to the above, the light emitting device 40 can sequentially select the driver's line of sight by selecting in order from the risk object having the highest risk level among the plurality of risk objects.

In the first embodiment, the first light emission spot 51a that warns the maximum risk target is turned off when the second light emission spot 51b is displayed. According to the above, since the second light emitting spot 51b can be made conspicuous, the driver's line of sight can be reliably guided from the already recognized maximum risk object to the quasi-maximum risk object.

Further, in the first embodiment, even if the target is the maximum risk, the light emission spot that warns the target of the maximum risk when there is a rapid increase in the risk level after the driver's line of sight is lost. 51 is displayed again. According to the above control, the HCU 100 can guide the driver's line of sight more accurately in accordance with the change in the situation of the risk target.

In addition, in the first embodiment, when a new risk target showing a risk level exceeding the threshold thL is not detected, even if the driver focuses on the light spot 51 that warns the risk target until the risk target disappears. Will continue to be displayed. According to the above, although the risk object still exists, the driver does not cause a misunderstanding as if the risk object has disappeared due to the light emission spot 51 being extinguished.

Further, according to the first embodiment, when the risk target to be warned is changed, the instrument panel light emission line 41 changes the display position of the light emission spot 51 by causing a transition. According to such display of the light emission spot 51, the instrument panel light emission line 41 can smoothly guide the driver's line of sight to a new risk target.

Further, according to the first embodiment, after the first light emission spot 51a is displayed, when the driver's line of sight is directed not in the maximum risk target but in the direction in which the quasi-maximum risk target exists, the first light emission spot 51a Display continues. According to the above, the light emitting device 40 does not attract the driver in a direction different from the maximum risk target without the driver viewing the important maximum risk target.

In addition, the light emitting device 40 according to the first embodiment can perform a display in which the light emitting spot 51 is moved from the direction in which the driver's line of sight is directed toward the direction in which the maximum risk target exists. According to the above, even in a scene where a plurality of risk targets are detected, the HCU 100 can surely direct the driver's attention toward an important risk target.

In the first embodiment, when there are two or more maximum risk targets, the light emitting device 40 can indicate the direction of each maximum risk target by displaying a plurality of light emission spots 51. Such a display makes it more difficult for the driver to overlook important risk targets.

Further, in the first embodiment, when a plurality of maximum risk objects indicating the maximum risk level are close to each other, the light emitting device 40 displays the direction in which the maximum risk objects are present together by displaying the light emission spot 51 enlarged. Show. According to the above, the light emitting device 40 can warn the driver of a risk object with a high risk level in a simple manner by displaying it in a simple manner.

In the first embodiment, the HCU 100 and the light emitting device 40 correspond to an “information presentation device”, and the risk determination unit 32 corresponds to a “risk calculation unit”. In addition, the instrument panel light emission line 41 corresponds to a “light emission display unit”, the linear light emission region 52 corresponds to a “light emission region”, and the outside recognition system 90 corresponds to a “periphery monitoring device”.

(Second embodiment)
The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In the risk target warning mode of the second embodiment, display control of the instrument panel light emission line 41 is performed without using the driver's line-of-sight information. Therefore, the DSM 11, the wearable device 110, and the wearable communication device 97 shown in FIG. 2 are not necessary.

In the above configuration, in a scene in which a plurality of risk subject is detected at the maximum risk target is changed timing (see FIG. 27 t _4), the light emission control unit 34 (see FIG. 5) is newly selected A light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the maximum risk target is displayed in the linear light emission region 52. In addition, when the light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the newly selected maximum risk target is displayed, the display of the light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the risk target whose risk level is no longer maximum is terminated. Details of the warning target selection process according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 based on FIG.

S241 to S244 are substantially the same as S141 to S144 of the first embodiment. If it is determined in S244 that there is only one risk target indicating a risk level equal to or higher than the threshold th _L , the process proceeds to S245. In S245, one risk target showing a risk level equal to or higher than the threshold th _L is selected as a warning target, and the process returns to S242. As described above, the light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the risk target selected in S245 is displayed in the linear light emission region 52.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S244 that the risk level of the plurality of risk objects exceeds the threshold th _L , the process proceeds to S246. In S246, the maximum risk target indicating the maximum risk level is selected from the plurality of risk targets, and the process returns to S242. Thus, one or more light emission spots 51 indicating the direction of the maximum risk target selected in S246 are displayed in the linear light emission region 52.

Even in the second embodiment described so far, the same effect as in the first embodiment is achieved, and a risk target with a high risk level is preferentially alerted by the light emission spot 51, so that the driver can be an important risk target. Attention is accurately directed.

In addition, in the second embodiment, when the maximum risk target is changed, the light emission spot 51 is displayed in the linear light emission region 52 so as to indicate the direction of the new maximum risk target. According to the above display control, even if the driver's line-of-sight direction is not detected, the light emission spot 51 can accurately attract the driver to a risk object with a high risk level.

In the second embodiment, the display of the light emission spot 51 indicating the direction of the risk target whose risk level is no longer maximum is terminated. Therefore, the number of light emitting spots 51 displayed in the linear light emitting region 52 can be minimized. According to the above, the display by the instrument panel light emission line 41 becomes a display that is easy to understand by the driver and is difficult to feel bothersome.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although several embodiment was illustrated, embodiment is not limited to the said embodiment. The technical idea of the present disclosure can be applied to various embodiments and combinations.

In the first modification of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 36, the process of preferentially reporting the risk target whose risk level has risen preferentially (see S148 and S149 in FIG. 32) is omitted. S341 to S347 of the warning target selection process in Modification 1 have substantially the same contents as S141 to S147 (see FIG. 32) of the first embodiment. Further, S348 to S350 have substantially the same contents as S150 to S152 (see FIG. 32) of the first embodiment. Even in the first modification described above, the effect of accurately directing the driver's attention to an important risk target is exhibited as in the first embodiment.

In the above embodiment, when the maximum risk object is changed, or when the semi-maximum risk object is selected after gaze determination, when the risk object to be warned by the light emission spot 51 is changed, it is displayed until then. The light emitting spot that had been turned off was turned off. However, even after a new light emitting spot is displayed, the light emitting spot that has been displayed so far may be continuously lit.

The second light emission spot of the first embodiment is continuously displayed until the disappearance of the quasi-risk target when no other risk target is detected. However, the display of the second light emission spot may be terminated based on the driver's gaze determination of the quasi-maximum risk target.

In the risk target warning mode of the above embodiment, when the risk target to be warned is changed, the driver is attracted by the transition of the light emission spot. However, these transitions may be omitted.

In the first embodiment, when it is determined that the driver's line of sight is out of the maximum risk target, the light emission spot displayed in the driver's line of sight is moved in the direction of the maximum risk target. However, such an invitation to the maximum risk target may be omitted.

In the above embodiment, when there are a plurality of maximum risk targets, a plurality of light emission spots can be displayed. However, the number of risk targets to be warned by the light emission spot may be limited to one by adding the rule for selecting the maximum risk target. Moreover, even if it is a case where it alerts collectively about the several maximum risk object which is crowded, a light emission spot does not need to be expanded.

In the above embodiment, the monitoring information for the risk target is output to the HCU not only by the external recognition system but also by the V2X communication device. However, the monitoring information may be detected only by the external environment recognition system. Further, if the V2X communication device can function as the “periphery monitoring device”, the risk target warning may be performed based only on the monitoring information acquired through road-to-vehicle communication. Furthermore, various stationary objects and moving objects such as parked vehicles, lane-regulated sections, and construction vehicles that are performing road construction can be subject to risk.

In the above embodiment, when the state notification mode is changed to another light emission control mode, the light emission spot is once turned off before the movement starts. However, the instrument panel light emission line according to the modified example 2 can display a sub light emission spot having a light emission color different from that of the main light emission spot on the main light emission spot while displaying the main light emission spot for notifying the state at the reference position. it can. The instrument panel light emission line can guide the driver's line of sight by moving the sub light emission spot to either the left or right. In addition, the type of light emission control mode set in the light emitting device can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the priority of each light emission control mode may be changed as appropriate.

Each reference position RPa, RPm in the above embodiment defines the center position of the light emission spot 51 when the host vehicle A is in a straight traveling state in the state notification mode. However, the reference position may be set at any position in the light emission spot as long as the position of the light emission spot can be defined. For example, the reference position can be set at the right end or the left end. Each reference position may be manually adjustable by the driver.

The light emission spot 51 of the above embodiment can change both the light emission color and the display width according to the risk level. Thus, the emission color associated with the risk level is not limited to the color range from green to red as in the above embodiment. Further, the light emission spot may change only one of the emission color and the display width according to the risk level. Furthermore, during manual operation when the LKA is not operating, it is difficult to greatly enlarge the light emission spot to the right. Therefore, the light-emitting spot can be enlarged in a left-right asymmetric manner and have a shape that extends more to the left of the reference position than to the right of the reference position.

In the above embodiment, the light emission spot 51 of the linear light emission region 52 and the light emission spot 56 of the annular light emission region 57 are matched to each other. However, each light emission spot can emit light with different emission colors. In addition, the change in brightness of each light emitting spot can be synchronized with each other. On the other hand, each light emitting spot may repeat a change in brightness at a different period. Further, in the above embodiment, the information presentation in which the instrument panel light emission line 41 and the steer light emission ring 42 are synchronized is realized. However, by omitting the steer light emission ring 42, the operation of the driving support device is performed by the instrument panel light emission line 41 alone. Information can be presented to the occupant.

In the above embodiment, when the driver's attraction is performed by the light emission spot 51 of the linear light emission region 52, the light emission spot 56 of the annular light emission region 57 is turned off so as not to prevent the driver's attraction. . However, even in the light emission control mode for attracting the driver, the light emission spot of the steering can be turned on.

In the above embodiment, the instrument panel light emission line 41 has a linear light emitting region 52 extending in the horizontal direction above the combination meter 12a and the CID 12b. The shape and arrangement of such a “light emitting region” can be changed as appropriate. For example, as long as the linear light-emitting region extends so as to straddle each center of the combination meter and the CID, the end may not reach the root of each pillar. In addition, the linear light emitting region can be disposed, for example, below the combination meter and the CID. Furthermore, the instrument panel light emission line is a “light emission display part” that allows the driver to visually recognize the light emission spot formed as a virtual image by reflecting the emitted light projected on the lower edge part of the windshield at the lower edge part. May be. With such a configuration, the “light emitting area” is defined at the lower edge of the windshield. Further, the instrument panel light emission line can be formed with a plurality of linear light emission regions on the instrument panel.

Furthermore, the number and arrangement of a large number of light emitting elements constituting the instrument panel light emitting line 41 can be changed as appropriate. Further, an instrument panel light emission line for displaying a movable light emission spot may be realized by using a self-luminous panel such as an organic EL formed in a band shape instead of the configuration of the light emitting diode.

In the above embodiment, the reference position is switched based on whether or not the LKA is operating. However, the driving support function used as a trigger for switching the reference position is not limited to LKA. The switching of the reference position may be performed based on the operation and stop of various functions that can be exhibited by the “driving support device”.

For example, the reference position may be switched when an automatic lane change, an automatic overtaking, or the like further operates under the LKA operating state. In addition, the reference position may be switched based on the operation of the ACC. Alternatively, the reference position may be switched when a fully automatic operation in which all control is always performed by an on-board automatic operation system is activated.

In the above embodiment, the moving speeds of the light emitting spots to the left and right are aligned with each other. However, the moving speed of the light emitting spot can be changed as appropriate. When the moving speed of the light emission spot is too fast, the light emission spot is visually recognized as a linear light emission in the driver's peripheral vision, and the movement cannot be perceived. Therefore, in order to realize the attraction, it is desirable that the moving speed of the light emitting spot is set to the fastest speed within a speed range that can be recognized as movement by the driver.

Further, in each light emission control mode for notifying an event, the movement speed of the light emission spot in the right direction and the movement speed in the left direction may be different from each other. In addition, the moving speed of the light emitting spot may be different between when the driving support function is activated and when it is not activated. Further, the light emission spot that flows leftward from the reference position RPm during manual operation may continue to move until reaching the end 52b without ending the movement at the end point position EP.

In the state notification mode, the light emitting spot in the above embodiment periodically blinks to change the brightness. In such blinking operation, for example, in the darkest state, the light emitting spot may be turned off. Furthermore, the brightness change of the light emission spot may be realized by changing the hue (lightness) of the emission color in addition to or in place of the brightness change. Alternatively, the light emission spot may be a display that periodically expands and contracts in the width direction WD.

The light emitting spot in the above embodiment presents information such as the operating state and risk level of the driving support function to the driver. However, the information presented by the light emitting spot is not limited to such information. For example, when an abnormality occurs in the own vehicle A, the instrument panel light emission line can light a light emission spot for eye catching. In this case, an indicator is displayed on the combination meter, the HUD device and the like together with the eye catch by the light emission spot. The light emission color of the light emission spot is matched with the display color of the indicator, and is a color that is easily noticed by the driver, such as blue and red.

The above embodiment includes a light emitting device mounted on a right-hand drive vehicle. However, a mode provided with a light-emitting device mounted on a left-hand drive vehicle can naturally be an embodiment.

In the armpit notice mode of the above embodiment, the driver's line of sight is guided to the front by the light emitting spot that moves to the center of the combination meter regardless of whether the driving support function (device) is operating. However, when the driving support device is in operation, the driver's line of sight can be guided to the reference position RPa in the center of the CID. As described above, the end point position of the invitation that corrects the side look can be changed according to the operation of the driving support function, similarly to the reference position. In addition, the end point position can be set to substantially the same position as the reference position. Furthermore, the end point position in the look-ahead notification mode may be set in a direction in which the driver's line of sight is desired.

In the risk target warning mode of the above embodiment, the length of the light emission spot is changed by a plurality of adjustment methods. However, these adjustment methods may be omitted as appropriate. Further, the tracking of the light emission spot to the risk target may not be performed in a scene where a plurality of maximum risk targets are detected, for example.

In the above embodiment, the driver's vagueness is used to determine the internal risk level. However, the internal risk level determination method can be changed as appropriate. For example, the risk determination unit may determine the risk level of the driver based on the degree of sleepiness of the driver, the fluctuation of the behavior of the own vehicle A, information on other vehicles traveling around the own vehicle A, and the like. it can.

In the above embodiment, the functions provided by the

processors

21 and 22 of the control circuit 20a can be provided by hardware and software different from those described above, or a combination thereof. For example, in the in-vehicle network in which the HCU 100 is omitted, part or all of the reference position setting process, the light emission mode setting process, the warning target selection process, and the like are performed by the control circuit of the light emitting device or the control circuit of the vehicle control ECU. It is feasible.

Claims

An information presentation device that is mounted on a vehicle (A) together with a peripheral monitoring device (90) that detects a risk object to be noticed by the driver, and that presents the vehicle information to the driver,
A light-emitting display unit (51) that displays at least one light-emitting spot (51) in a light-emitting region (52) that is arranged on the instrument panel (19) of the vehicle and defined to extend along the width direction of the vehicle. 41),
A light emission control unit (34) for controlling a light emission mode of the light emission spot in the light emission region;
An information acquisition unit (31) for acquiring monitoring information including at least the position information of the risk target detected by the periphery monitoring device;
A risk calculation unit (32) that calculates individual risk levels for the risk targets detected from the area in the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the monitoring information acquired by the information acquisition unit;
The light emission control unit is a maximum risk target whose risk level calculated by the risk calculation unit is the maximum among the plurality of risk targets when the plurality of risk targets are detected by the periphery monitoring device. And presenting the light-emitting spot indicating the direction of the maximum risk target as viewed from the driver in the light-emitting area.
The information presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition unit further acquires gaze information obtained by detecting the gaze direction of the driver.
The light emission control unit displays the first light emission spot (51a) as the light emission spot indicating the direction of the maximum risk target in the light emission area, and then the driver's line of sight is based on the line of sight information. When it is determined that the target is directed to a target, a sub-maximum risk target having a risk level next to the maximum risk target is selected from the plurality of risk targets, and the sub-maximum risk target exists from the viewpoint of the driver. The information presentation device according to claim 2, wherein a second light emitting spot (51b) indicating a direction is displayed in the light emitting region.
The information presentation device according to claim 3, wherein the light emission control unit terminates the display of the first light emission spot in accordance with the display of the second light emission spot.
The light emission control unit determines that the driver's line of sight is directed in the direction in which the quasi-maximum risk target exists, and then increases the maximum risk target when the risk level of the maximum risk target increases by a predetermined threshold or more. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first light emission spot indicating the direction in which the risk target exists is displayed again.
The light emission control unit, after determining that the driver's line of sight is directed in the direction of the quasi-maximum risk object, when the risk object other than the maximum risk object and the quasi-maximum risk object is not detected, The information presentation device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the display of the second light-emitting spot is continued until the quasi-maximum risk target disappears.
The light emitting display unit moves the light emitting spot from the display position of the first light emitting spot toward the display position of the second light emitting spot when displaying the second light emitting spot in the light emitting region. The information presentation device according to any one of 3 to 6.
When the light emission control unit determines that the driver's line of sight is directed toward the quasi-maximum risk target based on the line-of-sight information, the first light emission spot indicating the direction of the maximum risk target The information presentation device according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the display is continued.
When the light emission control unit determines that the driver's line of sight is out of the maximum risk target based on the line-of-sight information, the light emission control unit is displayed in a range in which the driver's line of sight faces in the light emission region. The information presentation device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the light emission spot is moved in a direction of the maximum risk target.
The light emission control unit, when the maximum risk target indicating the maximum risk level among the plurality of risk targets is changed, the light emission spot indicating the direction of the maximum risk target newly selected, The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information presentation apparatus is displayed in a light emitting area.
The light emission control unit terminates the display of the light emission spot indicating the direction of the risk target whose risk level is no longer maximum when the light emission spot indicating the direction of the maximum risk target newly selected is displayed. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 10.
When there are two or more maximum risk targets indicating the maximum risk level among the plurality of risk targets, the light emission control unit, the plurality of light emission spots respectively indicating the direction of each maximum risk target, The information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which is displayed in a light emitting area.
The light emission control unit displays a plurality of the plurality of the maximum risk objects in the light emission region by displaying the light emission spots enlarged along the width direction of the vehicle when the maximum risk objects exist within a predetermined range. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a direction in which a maximum risk target exists together is indicated to the driver.
The information according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the light emission control unit moves the position of the light emission spot in the light emission region so as to follow a relative position change of the maximum risk target with respect to the vehicle. Presentation device.
Voice that warns the driver of the existence of the maximum risk object by the sound of the sound reproduction device (140) when the direction of the maximum risk object viewed from the driver is out of the extending range of the light emitting area. The information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising a control unit (35).
The information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the light emission control unit enlarges the light emission spot as the display position of the light emission spot is moved away from the driver.
Even when the driver's eye point (IP) is moved forward and backward of the vehicle by sliding the driver's seat (17d), the light emission control unit is configured such that the light emission spot viewed from the driver is the direction of the maximum risk target. The information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein a size of the light emission spot is defined so as to indicate