WO2020040276A1

WO2020040276A1 - Display device

Info

Publication number: WO2020040276A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/032968
Authority: WO
Inventors: 成美的場; 匠佐藤
Original assignee: 日本精機株式会社
Priority date: 2018-08-23
Filing date: 2019-08-23
Publication date: 2020-02-27
Also published as: JPWO2020040276A1

Abstract

Provided is a display device capable of displaying both an AR image and a non-AR image in an easily distinguishable manner when displaying the both images in the same period. The display device displays a superimposed image that is recognized visually by a viewer as a virtual image V that overlaps with a scene in front of a vehicle. The display device is capable of displaying a first image C1 as an AR image that is visually recognized so as to match a road surface in front of the vehicle in a display area of the virtual image V, and a second image C2 as a non-AR image that is visually recognized so as to stand out toward the viewer from the first image C1. When displaying the first image C1 and the second image C2 in the same period, the display device displays the first image C1 in a first area A, displays the second image C2 in a second area B adjacent to the first area A, displays a boundary G between the first area A and the second area B in gradation, and displays a linear image E that is visually recognized linearly along the boundary G.

Description

Display device

<< The present invention relates to a display device.

As a conventional display device, Patent Literature 1 discloses an image display device that displays an image visually recognized by a viewer (mainly, a driver of the vehicle) as a virtual image overlapping a scene in front of the vehicle.

JP-A-2015-64472

In the display device as described above, as a virtual image, for example, an image (hereinafter, referred to as an AR (Augmented Reality) image) in a mode visually recognized along the road in front of the vehicle, or stands up to the viewer side than the AR image. It is possible to display an image (hereinafter, referred to as a non-AR image) in an aspect that is visually recognized by the user (for example, an aspect that is directly viewed by a viewer). However, in the case where the AR image and the non-AR image are displayed in the same display area in the same period, simply displaying both of them may cause trouble for the viewer due to the mixture of information.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a display device that can display both an AR image and a non-AR image in an easily viewable manner when they are displayed in the same period.

In order to achieve the above object, a display device according to the present invention includes:
A display device that displays a superimposed image visually recognized by a viewer as a virtual image overlapping a scene in front of the vehicle,
A display control of the superimposed image is performed, and a first image that is visually recognized along a road surface ahead of the vehicle in a display area of the superimposed image, and a second image that is more standing up to the viewer side than the first image and visually recognized. Display control means capable of displaying an image and
When the first image and the second image are displayed in the same period, the display control unit displays the first image in a first area in the display area and a second image adjacent to the first area. Displaying the second image in two regions,
Displaying a boundary between the first region and the second region in a gradation form;
A linear image visually recognized linearly along the boundary is displayed.

According to the present invention, when an AR image and a non-AR image are displayed in the same period, both can be displayed in an easily viewable manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure for demonstrating the mounting aspect to the vehicle of the head-up display (HUD) apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a display system for vehicles. (A)-(c) is a figure for demonstrating the example of a structure of the virtual image in a simultaneous display mode. It is a figure of a table showing an example of a linear image pattern. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the example of a virtual image display corresponding to a linear image pattern. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the example of a virtual image display corresponding to a linear image pattern. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the example of a virtual image display corresponding to a linear image pattern. (A) And (b) is a figure for demonstrating a shadow image. (A) And (b) is a figure for demonstrating the example of a structure of the virtual image concerning a modification.

A display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The display device according to the present embodiment is the HUD (Head-Up Display) device 10 included in the vehicle display system 100 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the HUD device 10 is provided inside the dashboard 2 of the vehicle 1 and integrates not only information on the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, referred to as vehicle information) but also information other than the vehicle information. Notify the driver 5. The vehicle information includes not only information on the vehicle 1 itself but also information on the outside of the vehicle 1 related to the operation of the vehicle 1.

The vehicle display system 100 is a system configured in the vehicle 1, and includes a HUD device 10, a peripheral information acquisition unit 40, a forward information acquisition unit 50, a car navigation (car navigation) device 60, and an ECU (Electronic Control). Unit) 70 and an operation unit 80.

The HUD device 10 emits the display light L toward the combiner-treated windshield 3 as shown in FIG. The display light L reflected by the windshield 3 travels to the driver 5 side. The driver 5 can visually recognize an image represented by the display light L as a virtual image V in front of the windshield 3 by placing the viewpoint in the eye box 4. That is, the HUD device 10 displays the virtual image V at a position in front of the windshield 3. Thereby, the driver 5 can observe the virtual image V in a manner superimposed on the front scenery.

The HUD device 10 includes the display unit 20 and the control device 30 illustrated in FIG. 2, and a reflection unit (not illustrated).

The display unit 20 displays a superimposed image visually recognized by the driver 5 as the virtual image V under the control of the control device 30. The display unit 20 has, for example, a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) type LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a backlight that illuminates the LCD from behind. The backlight is composed of, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The display unit 20 generates the display light L by the LCD illuminated by the backlight displaying an image under the control of the control device 30. The generated display light L is emitted toward the windshield 3 after being reflected by the reflector. The reflector is composed of, for example, two mirrors, a folding mirror and a concave mirror. The turning mirror turns the display light L emitted from the display unit 20 back to the concave mirror. The concave mirror reflects the display light L from the folding mirror toward the windshield 3 while expanding the display light L. Thereby, the virtual image V visually recognized by the driver 5 is an enlarged image of the image displayed on the display unit 20. Note that the number of mirrors constituting the reflecting section can be arbitrarily changed according to the design.

Hereinafter, displaying the image visually recognized by the driver 5 as the virtual image V on the display unit 20 is also referred to as “displaying a superimposed image”. Controlling the display of the display unit 20 by the control device 30 is also referred to as “performing display control of a superimposed image”. The display unit 20 is not limited to one using an LCD as long as it can display a superimposed image, and may be an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), a DMD (Digital Micro Mirror Device), an LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon), or the like. A display device may be used.

The control device 30 includes a microcomputer that controls the entire operation of the HUD device 10, and includes a control unit 31, a read only memory (ROM) 32, and a random access memory (RAM) 33. The control device 30 includes a drive circuit and an input / output circuit for communicating with various systems in the vehicle 1 as a configuration (not shown).

The ROM 32 stores an operation program and various image data in advance. The RAM 33 temporarily stores various calculation results and the like. The control unit 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31a that executes an operation program stored in a ROM 32, and a GDC (Graphics Display Controller) 31b that executes image processing in cooperation with the CPU. The GDC 31b includes, for example, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). In particular, the ROM 32 stores an operation program for performing display control described later. The configurations of the control device 30 and the control unit 31 are arbitrary as long as the functions described below are satisfied.

The control unit 31 controls the driving of the display unit 20. For example, the control unit 31 drives and controls the backlight of the display unit 20 with the CPU 31a, and drives and controls the LCD of the display unit 20 with the GDC 31b that operates in cooperation with the CPU 31a.

The CPU 31a of the control unit 31 controls the superimposed image based on various image data stored in the ROM 32 in cooperation with the GDC 31b. The GDC 31b determines the control content of the display operation of the display unit 20 based on the display control command from the CPU 31a. The GDC 31b reads, from the ROM 32, image part data necessary to compose one screen to be displayed on the display unit 20, and transfers the image part data to the RAM 33. The GDC 31b uses the RAM 33 to create picture data for one screen based on image part data and various image data received from the outside of the HUD device 10 by communication. When the GDC 31b completes the picture data for one screen in the RAM 33, the GDC 31b transfers the picture data to the display unit 20 in synchronization with the image update timing. Thereby, the superimposed image visually recognized by the driver 5 as the virtual image V is displayed on the display unit 20. In addition, a layer is assigned in advance to each image constituting the image visually recognized as the virtual image V, and the control unit 31 can perform individual display control of each image.

In addition, the control unit 31 displays a display position of a content image (such as a first image C1 or a second image C2 described below shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B) in a display area of the virtual image V, and displays the content image. Control the distance and. Note that the solid-line frame indicated by the virtual image V in FIGS. 3A to 3C and the like indicates the display area of the virtual image V, and the content image is an image visually recognized as a virtual image in the display area. This is equivalent to displaying the content image in the display area of the superimposed image on the display unit 20 that displays the superimposed image visually recognized by the driver 5 as the virtual image V.

The control of the display position means that the control unit 31 controls the display unit 20 so that an image is displayed at an arbitrary position in the display area of the virtual image V when viewed from the driver 5. The control of the display distance is control of how far ahead the vehicle 1 the content image is displayed from the driver 5. That is, the control of the display distance means that the control unit 31 controls the display unit 20 so that the content image is visually recognized at a position in front of the vehicle 1 by a predetermined distance. The control of the display distance is realized by the control unit 31 being able to control the display of the content image in the display area of the virtual image V in a manner having depth. For example, in order to display a content image in a mode having the depth, the 3D image data is stored in the ROM 32 in advance, and the position and the position of the object to be superimposed on the image, which can be calculated from the object information and the like to be described later. Based on the distance from the vehicle 1 to the object, drawing control of the content image is performed using a perspective method (for example, a single point perspective method). Also, by arranging the display surface of the display unit 20 (the display surface of the LCD, or the screen when DMD or LCOS is used) at an angle, a virtual surface (the display surface of the display unit 20) on which the virtual image V is displayed is displayed. The content image may have depth by setting the corresponding surface (front surface) to be inclined forward with respect to the vertical direction of the vehicle 1. In this case, in consideration of the projection of the image desired to be visually recognized from the viewpoint of the driver 5 onto the virtual surface, the control unit 31 may perform the drawing control in a mode in which the content image has a depth. As the viewpoint position of the driver 5, the control unit 31 may use an assumed viewpoint position stored in advance in the ROM 32, or may use a viewpoint detection unit (not shown) that detects the viewpoint position of the driver 5. Gaze information may be used.

In this embodiment, since the display position and the display distance of the content image can be controlled as described above, the control unit 31 allows the first image C1 and the second image C2 can be displayed. For example, as the display mode of the virtual image V, a “single display mode” in which one of the first image C1 and the second image C2 is displayed in the display area of the virtual image V but the other is not displayed, and the display mode of the virtual image V is A “simultaneous display mode” for displaying both the first image C1 and the second image C2 simultaneously (in the same period) is provided. Then, the control unit 31 switches from the current display mode to another display mode in response to the operation unit 80 receiving the display mode switching operation by the driver 5. First, the first image C1 and the second image C2 will be described.

The first image C1 is an AR (Augmented Reality) image visually recognized along the road surface ahead of the vehicle 1 in the display area of the virtual image V.
The first image C1 is an image displayed at a position corresponding to a forward object described later, and is an image for notifying the presence of the forward object. The forward object is, for example, a preceding vehicle of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, also referred to as the own vehicle 1). In FIGS. 3A and 3B, the first image C1 corresponds to the preceding vehicle (not shown). The example displayed on the position is shown. In the examples of FIGS. 3A and 3B, the first image C1 is configured by displaying an exclamation mark in a substantially triangular frame. The first image C1 may have any mode as long as it can alert the presence of the corresponding front object, and may be, for example, a character, a symbol, a graphic, an icon, or a combination thereof. Further, the “position corresponding to the front object” as the display position of the first image C1 is not limited to the position superimposed on the front object and visually recognized, and may be a position near the front object.

The second image C2 is a non-AR image in a mode in which the second image C2 stands up to the viewer side relative to the first image C1 in the display area of the virtual image V and is viewed (for example, a mode in which the virtual image V is viewed directly in front of the viewer).
As shown in FIG. 3A, the second image C2 shows a guide route set by the user and map information near the current location of the vehicle 1 (the map information is not shown). The second image C2 is configured to include, for example, a map information image represented in a bird's-eye view mode, and a guide route image (for example, an image showing an arrow) superimposed on the image. The control unit 31 controls display of the second image C2 based on route guidance information from the car navigation device 60 described later.

The first image C <b> 1 as the AR image is visually recognized by the driver 5 along the front road surface as a real scene. The first image C1 is drawn by the control unit 31 using a perspective method (for example, a one-point perspective drawing method) so as to be along a front road surface specified based on traffic information and forward image data described below. Here, an image drawn using the perspective method and visually recognized along the front road surface is defined as a perspective degree “100%”. On the other hand, an image which rises toward the driver 5 side from the front road surface and is visually recognized, and is visually recognized facing the driver 5 is defined as a perspective degree “0%”. The degree between the perspective degree of 100% and 0% corresponds to the degree of rising from the road surface in front of the visually recognized image toward the driver 5. In such a case, for example, the first image C1 as an AR image is displayed at a perspective degree of 100%, and the second image C2 as a non-AR image is displayed at a perspective degree of 0%. Note that the first image C1 may be displayed at a perspective degree smaller than 100% as long as the driver 5 can recognize that the driver 5 is displayed along the front road surface. Further, the second image C2 may be displayed at a perspective degree higher than 0% as long as the second image C2 stands up to the driver 5 side more than the first image C1 and is visually recognized.

Subsequently, the configuration of the “simultaneous display mode” in which both the first image C1 and the second image C2 are displayed in the display area of the virtual image V in the same period will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c). .

The display area of the virtual image V in the simultaneous display mode has a first area A and a second area B. The first region A and the second region B are adjacent to each other with a boundary line D indicated by a dotted line in FIGS. 3B and 3C interposed therebetween. In addition, the boundary line D shown by the dotted line in the figure is only for explaining the shapes of the first region A and the second region B, and does not need to be visually recognized. As shown in FIG. 3B, the first area A is located above the second area B when viewed from the driver 5. The first image C1 is displayed in the first area A, and the second image C2 is displayed in the second area B.

{Circle around (3)} In the virtual image V in the simultaneous display mode, a boundary portion G (a portion indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3C) including the boundary line D is displayed in a gradation. Specifically, the color of the background image of the portion of the first area A except for the boundary G is set to “first color”, and the color of the background image of the portion of the second area B other than the boundary G is set to “first color”. Assuming that the "second color", a gradation process that continuously changes from one of the first color and the second color to the other is performed at the boundary G. Note that the first color and the second color are arbitrary as long as they are different colors.

{Circle around (3)} In the virtual image V in the simultaneous display mode, a linear image E (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) that is viewed linearly along the boundary G is displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the linear image E has a shape excluding the side corresponding to the lower base among the four sides constituting the isosceles trapezoid, and the legs have a rectangular display of the virtual image V. The shape is toward the corner (lower corner) of the region. Accordingly, the linear image E extends from the center of the virtual image V toward the end, and the end is located below the center when viewed from the driver 5. In addition, the linear image E in the center portion extends in the left-right direction when viewed from the driver 5.

Note that, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, an example is shown in which the linear image E is displayed in the first area A, and the linear image E does not match the boundary line D. Alternatively, the linear image E may be matched with the boundary line D, and the linear image E may function as a dividing line between the first area A and the second area B. In this embodiment, as the form of the linear image E, linear image patterns P1 to P9 having different forms from each other are prepared as shown in FIG. These patterns will be described later.

Returning to FIG. 2, the CPU 31a of the control unit 31 communicates with each of the peripheral information acquisition unit 40, the forward information acquisition unit 50, the car navigation device 60, the ECU 70, and the operation unit 80. As the communication, for example, communication systems such as CAN (Controller Area Network), Ethernet, MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport), and LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) can be applied.

The peripheral information acquisition unit 40 acquires information on the periphery (external) of the vehicle 1 and performs communication between the vehicle 1 and a wireless network (V2N: Vehicle To Cellular Network) and communication between the vehicle 1 and another vehicle (V2V). : Vehicle To Vehicle), communication between the vehicle 1 and a pedestrian (V2P: Vehicle To Pedestrian), and communication between the vehicle 1 and a roadside infrastructure (V2I: Vehicle To roadside Infrastructure). That is, the peripheral information acquisition unit 40 enables communication by V2X (Vehicle @ To \ Everything) between the vehicle 1 and the outside of the vehicle 1.

For example, (i) the peripheral information acquisition unit 40 includes a communication module that can directly access a WAN (Wide Area Network), an external device (such as a mobile router) that can access the WAN, and an access point of a public wireless LAN (Local Area Network). It has a communication module for communication and performs Internet communication. The peripheral information acquisition unit 40 includes a GPS controller that calculates the position of the vehicle 1 based on a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal received from an artificial satellite or the like. With these configurations, communication by V2N is enabled. (Ii) The peripheral information acquisition unit 40 includes a wireless communication module that conforms to a predetermined wireless communication standard, and performs communication using V2V or V2P. (Iii) The peripheral information acquisition unit 40 has a communication device that wirelessly communicates with the roadside infrastructure, and is installed as an infrastructure from a base station of a driving safety support system (DSSS: Driving Safety Support Systems), for example. Object information and traffic information are acquired via the roadside apparatus. Thereby, communication by V2I becomes possible.

In this embodiment, the peripheral information acquisition unit 40 acquires object information indicating the position, size, attributes, and the like of various objects such as vehicles, traffic lights, and pedestrians existing outside the own vehicle 1 by V2I, and controls the control unit. 31. Note that the object information is not limited to V2I, and may be obtained by any communication among V2X. Further, the peripheral information acquisition unit 40 acquires traffic information including the position and shape of the peripheral road of the vehicle 1 by V2I, and supplies the traffic information to the control unit 31. Further, the control unit 31 calculates the position of the own vehicle 1 based on information from the GPS controller of the peripheral information acquisition unit 40.

The forward information acquisition unit 50 includes, for example, a stereo camera that captures an image of a scene in front of the vehicle 1, and a LIDAR (Laser Imaging Detection And Ranging) that measures the distance from the vehicle 1 to an object located in front of the vehicle 1. It includes a distance measuring sensor, a sonar for detecting an object located in front of the vehicle 1, an ultrasonic sensor, a millimeter wave radar, and the like.

In this embodiment, the forward information acquisition unit 50 transmits to the CPU 31a forward image data indicating a front scenery image captured by a stereo camera, data indicating a distance to an object measured by a distance measurement sensor, and other detection data. I do.

The car navigation device 60 includes a GPS controller that calculates the position of the vehicle 1 based on a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal received from an artificial satellite or the like. The car navigation device 60 has a storage unit that stores map data, reads out map data near the current position from the storage unit based on position information from the GPS controller, and displays a guide route to a destination set by the user. decide. Then, the car navigation device 60 outputs information on the current position of the vehicle 1 and the determined guidance route to the control unit 31. In addition, the car navigation device 60 outputs information indicating the name and type of the facility in front of the vehicle 1 and the distance between the facility and the vehicle 1 to the control unit 31 by referring to the map data. The map data includes road shape information (lane, road width, number of lanes, intersections, curves, branch roads, etc.), regulation information on road signs such as speed limits, and information on each lane when there are multiple lanes. Various information is associated with the position data. The car navigation device 60 outputs these various types of information to the control unit 31 as route guidance information. Note that the car navigation device 60 is not limited to the one mounted on the vehicle 1, and performs wired or wireless communication with the control unit 31 and has a car navigation function such as a mobile terminal (smartphone, tablet PC (Personal Computer), etc.). ).

The ECU 70 controls each unit of the vehicle 1, and transmits, for example, vehicle speed information indicating the current vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 to the CPU 31a. Note that the CPU 31a may acquire vehicle speed information from a vehicle speed sensor. In addition, the ECU 70 transmits to the CPU 31a measurement amounts such as the engine speed, warning information of the vehicle 1 itself (such as low fuel and abnormal engine oil pressure), and other vehicle information. Based on the information acquired from the ECU 70, the CPU 31a can display an image indicating the vehicle speed, the engine speed, various warnings, and the like on the display unit 20 via the GDC 31b. That is, in addition to the first image C1 and the second image C2, a vehicle information image indicating vehicle information can be displayed in the display area of the virtual image V. In addition, the vehicle information image is displayed at a perspective degree of 0% so that the vehicle information image is visually recognized facing the driver 5, for example.

The operation unit 80 receives various operations by the driver 5 and supplies a signal indicating the content of the received operation to the control unit 31. For example, the operation unit 80 receives a switching operation of the display mode of the virtual image V by the driver 5 or the like.

The control unit 31 displays the virtual image V in the simultaneous display mode as shown in FIG. 3A, for example, when the operation unit 80 receives a switching operation to the simultaneous display mode as a display mode switching operation. . The display of the virtual image V in the simultaneous display mode may be limited according to the automatic driving level of the vehicle 1. For example, the virtual image V may be displayed in the simultaneous display mode only when the automatic operation level is equal to or higher than level 2 or level 3. The control unit 31 can specify the current automatic operation level by acquiring operation mode information indicating the current automatic operation level from the ECU 70, for example.

The second image C2 is displayed in the second area B according to the guide route to the destination set by the user with the car navigation device 60. On the other hand, the first image C1 is displayed in the first area A in response to the control unit 31 specifying the forward object to be superimposed. For example, based on the position of the object indicated by the object information acquired by V2I or V2V from the roadside infrastructure via the peripheral information acquisition unit 40 from the roadside infrastructure, the control unit 31 determines whether the object is in the display area of the virtual image V as viewed from the driver 5. When it is specified that the object is located at the position, it is determined that there is a forward object. The method for specifying the presence of the forward object is not limited to this. For example, the object information from the peripheral information acquisition unit 40 is not limited to V2I or V2V, and may be acquired by any communication (at least one of V2N, V2V, and V2P) of V2X. Further, the control unit 31 may specify the forward object based on the information acquired from the forward information acquiring unit 50. Specifically, based on the forward image data, for example, a forward object may be specified by a known image analysis method such as a pattern matching method, or a distance measurement sensor, a sonar, an ultrasonic sensor, and a detection signal from a millimeter wave radar. The forward object may be specified based on the. When the front object is specified by the method described above, the control unit 31 displays the first image C1 in an AR mode at a position corresponding to the specified front object.

(About linear image pattern)
Subsequently, a linear image pattern (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a “pattern”) will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 5 to 7, the first image C1 that can be displayed in the first area A is not shown. Further, among various patterns described below, a pattern realized in the simultaneous display mode may be an arbitrary predetermined pattern, or may be set to a user's preference by a setting operation from the operation unit 80. It may be selected accordingly. In the ROM 32, various image parts data necessary for realizing one or more of the patterns shown in FIG. 4 and the like are stored in advance.

The patterns P1 to P3 are modes in which the width at the center of the linear image E is wider than the width at the end (portion toward the corner of the rectangular display area of the virtual image V).
As shown in FIG. 5A, the pattern P1 is a mode in which the linear image E is displayed in a gradation form assimilating the background color of the virtual image V from the end to the center. As shown in FIG. 5B, the pattern P2 is a mode in which the linear image E is displayed in a gradation form assimilating the background image of the virtual image V from the center to the end. The pattern P3 is a mode in which no gradation processing is performed on the linear image E, as shown in FIG.

The patterns P4 to P6 are modes in which the width at the end of the linear image E (the portion toward the corner of the rectangular display area of the virtual image V) is wider than the width at the center.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the pattern P4 is a mode in which the linear image E is displayed in a gradation form assimilating the background color of the virtual image V from the end to the center. As shown in FIG. 6B, the pattern P5 is a mode in which the linear image E is displayed in a gradation form in which the linear image E is assimilated to the background color of the virtual image V from the center to the end. The pattern P6 is a mode in which no gradation processing is performed on the linear image E, as shown in FIG.

The patterns P7 to P9 are modes in which the width of the linear image E is constant (the width at the end is equal to the width at the center).
As shown in FIG. 7A, the pattern P7 is a mode in which the linear image E is displayed in a gradation form assimilating the background color of the virtual image V from the end to the center. As shown in FIG. 7B, the pattern P8 is a mode in which the linear image E is displayed in a gradation form in which the linear image E is assimilated to the background color of the virtual image V from the center to the end. The pattern P9 is a mode in which no gradation processing is performed on the linear image E, as shown in FIG.

Among these patterns, among the patterns subjected to gradation processing other than P3, P6, and P9, the “gradation shape assimilated to the background color of the virtual image V” refers to the background of the area where the linear image E is displayed. In this mode, the color gradually assimilate. For example, when displaying the linear image E in the first area A, gradation processing may be performed so that a predetermined portion of the linear image E is assimilated to the background color of the first area A. When the linear image E is displayed in the second area B, gradation processing may be performed so that a predetermined portion of the linear image E is assimilated to the background color of the second area B. When the linear image E is matched with the above-mentioned boundary line D, a predetermined portion of the linear image E is assimilated to the background color of either the first area A or the second area B. What is necessary is just to perform a gradation process.

The HUD device 10 described above is an example of a display device that displays a superimposed image visually recognized by a viewer (for example, the driver 5) as a virtual image V overlapping a scene in front of the vehicle 1. The HUD device 10 controls the display of the superimposed image, and the first image C1 (AR image) and the first image C1 (AR image) that are visually recognized along the road surface ahead of the vehicle 1 in the superimposed image display area (corresponding to the virtual image V display area). A display control unit (for example, the control unit 31 or the display unit 20) capable of displaying a second image C2 (non-AR image) that stands up to the viewer side from the one image C1 and is visually recognized is provided.

(1) Particularly, when the first image C1 and the second image C2 are displayed in the same period (in the case of the simultaneous display mode), the first image C1 is displayed in the first area A in the display area. Is displayed, the second image C2 is displayed in the second area B adjacent to the first area A, the boundary G between the first area A and the second area B is displayed in a gradation form, and along the boundary G A linear image E visually recognized in a linear manner is displayed.
According to this configuration, while the AR image and the non-AR image can be displayed separately while straddling the linear image E, the boundary G between the first area A and the second area B is displayed in a gradation. This can reduce the complexity of the information displayed on the boundary G given to the viewer. That is, when the AR image and the non-AR image are displayed in the same period, both can be displayed easily.

(2) The linear image E extends from the center to the end of the superimposed image, and the width at the end is smaller than the width at the center (for example, linear image patterns P1 to P3). You may do so.
By doing so, it is possible to display the first image C1 and the second image C2 without discomfort while clearly separating the first image C1 and the second image C2 near the center.

(3) The linear image E extends from the center to the end of the superimposed image, and the width at the end is larger than the width at the center (for example, linear image patterns P4 to P6). You may do so.
In this way, when the first image C1 is displayed in the first area A, it is possible to prevent the first image C1 and the linear image E from interfering with each other and causing trouble to the viewer.

(4) Further, the linear image E extends from the center to the end of the superimposed image, and is displayed in a gradation shape assimilated from the center to the end with the background color of the superimposed image (for example, , Linear image patterns P2, P5, P8).
By doing so, it is possible to display the first image C1 and the second image C2 without discomfort while clearly separating the first image C1 and the second image C2 near the center.

(5) Further, the linear image E extends from the center to the end of the superimposed image, and is displayed in a gradation form assimilating the background color of the superimposed image from the end to the center (for example, , Linear image patterns P1, P4, P7).
In this way, when the first image C1 is displayed in the first area A, it is possible to prevent the first image C1 and the linear image E from interfering with each other and causing trouble to the viewer.

(6) The shadow image S adjacent to the linear image E may be displayed on the first area A side or the second area B side of the linear image E. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the shadow image S is displayed on the second area B side of the linear image E, the first area A can be displayed more emphasized than the second area B. . On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the shadow image S is displayed on the first area A side of the linear image E, the second area B is displayed more emphasized than the first area A. Can be. The shadow image S is preferably, for example, a drop shadow drawn under the control of the control unit 31. However, if the shadow image S can be visually recognized in a shadow shape as shown in FIG. It may be realized using an effect.

(7) The first area A is located above the second area B when viewed from the viewer, and the linear image E at the center of the superimposed image extends in the left-right direction when viewed from the viewer. Is also good. (8) The linear image E extends from the center of the superimposed image toward the end, and the end may be located below the center when viewed from the viewer. .
As shown in FIG. 9A, the virtual image V in the simultaneous display mode is set with a boundary line D connecting the upper side and the lower side of the rectangle of the display area, and the first area A and the second area A are connected to each other. The region B may be configured to be adjacent in the left-right direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the virtual image V in the simultaneous display mode is defined such that the boundary line D is a curved line, and the end of the virtual image V is not the lower side or the corner but the left side of the rectangle of the display area of the virtual image V. Or a configuration extending toward the right side. In these cases, similarly, the boundary portion G between the first region A and the second region B can be displayed in a gradation form, and a linear image E visually recognized linearly along the boundary portion G can be displayed. As described above, if the first area A and the second area B adjacent to each other can be separated in the display area of the virtual image V, the shapes of the first area A and the second area B can be changed according to the purpose. Optional.

The display color of the linear image E may be a color included in the background color of either the first area A or the second area B, or a color not included in the background color (for example, the background color). Darker than black).

Note that the present invention is not limited by the above embodiments, modifications, and drawings. Modifications (including deletion of components) can be made as appropriate without changing the gist of the present invention.

The phrase "the first image C1 (AR image) is visually recognized along the front road surface" is not limited to the perspective level of 100%, but means that the driver 5 can recognize that the image is displayed along the front road surface. If so, the predetermined degree may be smaller than 100%. The forward object whose presence is notified by the first image C1 is not limited to the vehicle, but may be a pedestrian, a bicycle, or another moving object.

The projection target of the display light L is not limited to the windshield 3, but may be a combiner including a plate-shaped half mirror, a hologram element, and the like. The display device that displays the virtual image V described above is not limited to the HUD device 10. The display device may be configured as a head mounted display (HMD: Head Mounted Display) mounted on the head of the driver 5 of the vehicle 1. That is, the display device is not limited to the display device mounted on the vehicle 1 and may be any display device used in the vehicle 1.

では In the above description, descriptions of well-known technical matters have been omitted as appropriate to facilitate understanding of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 vehicle display system 10 HUD device 20 display unit 30 control device 31 control unit (31a CPU, 31b GDC)
32 ROM, 33 RAM
40: peripheral information acquisition unit 50: forward information acquisition unit 60: car navigation device 70: ECU
Reference Signs List 80 operation unit 1 vehicle 2 dashboard 3 windshield 5 driver 4 eye box L display light V virtual image A 1st area C1 1st image B 2nd area , C2: second image D: boundary line, G: boundary portion E: linear image S: shadow image

Claims

A display device that displays a superimposed image visually recognized by a viewer as a virtual image overlapping a scene in front of the vehicle,
A display control of the superimposed image is performed, and a first image that is visually recognized along a road surface ahead of the vehicle in a display area of the superimposed image, and a second image that is more standing up to the viewer side than the first image and visually recognized. Display control means capable of displaying an image and
When the first image and the second image are displayed in the same period, the display control unit displays the first image in a first area in the display area and a second image adjacent to the first area. Displaying the second image in two regions,
Displaying a boundary between the first region and the second region in a gradation form;
Displaying a linear image visually recognized linearly along the boundary portion,
Display device.
The linear image extends from the center of the superimposed image toward the end, and the width at the end is smaller than the width at the center.
The display device according to claim 1.
The linear image extends from the center of the superimposed image toward the end, and the width at the end is larger than the width at the center.
The display device according to claim 1.
The linear image extends from the center to the end of the superimposed image, and is displayed in a gradation shape assimilated to the background color of the superimposed image from the center to the end.
The display device according to claim 1.
The linear image extends from the center to the end of the superimposed image, and is displayed in a gradation shape assimilating to the background color of the superimposed image from the end toward the center.
The display device according to claim 1.
Displaying a shadow-like image adjacent to the linear image on the first region side or the second region side of the linear image;
The display device according to claim 1.
The first region is located above the second region when viewed from the viewer,
The linear image in the central portion of the superimposed image is along the left and right directions as viewed from the viewer,
The display device according to claim 1.
The linear image extends from the center to the end of the superimposed image,
The end portion is located below the central portion as viewed from the viewer,
The display device according to claim 1.