Vehicle-mounted display device, vehicle-mounted display method, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to an in-vehicle display apparatus, an in-vehicle display method, and a computer readable storage medium. The MET (58) and the HUD (56) are provided in the cabin of the host vehicle and are set so as to be visible to an occupant. The acquisition unit acquires information relating to a peripheral object present in the periphery of the host vehicle. The control unit suppresses the display of an image on the HUD (56), the image being an image of a peripheral object other than a first preceding vehicle (70) traveling preceding on a lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, from among the images of the peripheral object whose information has been acquired by the acquisition unit. Furthermore, for the MET (58), the control unit causes the first preceding vehicle (70) to display, and causes the other peripheral objects (72) to display such that the color tone thereof is gradually reduced in accordance with the degree of importance.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 202110992530.9, application date August 27, 2021, and invention name "Vehicle-mounted display device, vehicle-mounted display method and computer-readable storage medium". Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle-mounted display device, a vehicle-mounted display method, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0003] Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2020-042612 (Patent Document 1) describes a technology that displays an image simulating other vehicles recognized as objects on a display unit in a manner that overlaps with an image simulating a road on which the vehicle is located, and emphasizes the display of images simulating vehicles that may affect the behavior of the vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0004] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0005] Since the technology described in Patent Document 1 causes the display unit to display all vehicles existing around the vehicle, especially on a display unit with a limited display area such as a HUD (Head-Up Display), when there are a large number of vehicles existing around, the occupants may find the display cumbersome.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an in-vehicle display device, an in-vehicle display method, and a computer-readable storage medium that can suppress a situation in which a passenger feels troubled by the display.

[0007] Methods for solving problems

[0008] The vehicle-mounted display device involved in the first method includes: a first display unit, which is arranged in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by the occupants; a second display unit, which is arranged in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by the occupants; an acquisition unit, which acquires information related to surrounding object markers existing around the vehicle; and a control unit, which suppresses the display of the following image on the second display unit, wherein the image is an image of surrounding object markers other than a first preceding vehicle that is traveling ahead of the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, among the images of the surrounding object markers whose information has been acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0009] In the first aspect, the second display unit is prevented from displaying an image of a surrounding object other than a first preceding vehicle that is traveling in a lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, among images of surrounding object objects existing in the periphery of the host vehicle. Thus, even when the area of ​​the display region of the second display unit is limited like a HUD and the number of surrounding object objects existing in the periphery of the host vehicle is large, it is possible to prevent the occupant from feeling that the display of the second display unit is cumbersome.

[0010] According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, when an event is occurring during driving of the host vehicle, the control unit causes the second display unit to display an image of a surrounding object other than the first preceding vehicle, which is set based on the event.

[0011] According to the second aspect, by displaying images of surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle in response to an event occurring during driving of the host vehicle, it is possible to urge the occupant who has visually checked the display on the second display unit to pay attention.

[0012] The third mode is that, in the second mode, when an event is implemented during the driving process of the vehicle, that is, a second leading vehicle that is traveling in a lane other than the lane in which the vehicle is traveling changes lanes to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the control unit causes the second display unit to highlight the second leading vehicle.

[0013] According to the third aspect, when a so-called cut-in occurs, in which the second preceding vehicle changes lanes into the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, the occupant can easily recognize the cut-in.

[0014] The fourth mode is that, in the second mode or the third mode, when an event implemented during the driving process of the vehicle is an event in which the vehicle changes lanes from a lane in which the vehicle is traveling to a lane other than the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the control unit causes the second display unit to display a first leading vehicle that is traveling in advance in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, and a second leading vehicle that is traveling in advance in a lane other than the lane in which the vehicle is traveling.

[0015] According to the fourth aspect, when the host vehicle changes lanes from the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling to a lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, the occupant can easily recognize the presence of the first preceding vehicle and the second preceding vehicle related to the lane change.

[0016] According to a fifth aspect, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the control unit causes the first display unit to display an image of the surrounding object marker whose information is acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0017] According to the fifth aspect, by making the display modes different between the first display unit and the second display unit, when the first display unit has a large display area such as a meter display, the display area of ​​the first display unit can be effectively used.

[0018] A sixth aspect is that, in the fifth aspect, the control unit displays, on the first display unit, images of surrounding objects other than a first preceding vehicle traveling in a lane in which the host vehicle is traveling so as not to be more conspicuous than the image of the first preceding vehicle.

[0019] According to the sixth aspect, even when there are many surrounding object markers existing around the host vehicle, it is possible to suppress the occupant from feeling that the display on the first display unit is cumbersome.

[0020] According to a seventh aspect, in the sixth aspect, the control unit displays the images of the surrounding object markers other than the first preceding vehicle in a lower tone so as to be displayed in a manner that the images of the surrounding object markers are not more conspicuous than the image of the first preceding vehicle.

[0021] According to the seventh aspect, by displaying the image of the first preceding vehicle and the images of other surrounding objects in an accentuated manner, the occupant can recognize the degree of influence exerted on the own vehicle during driving of the own vehicle.

[0022] An eighth aspect is, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the first display unit is an instrument display of the host vehicle, and the second display unit is a head-up display of the host vehicle.

[0023] According to the eighth embodiment, when the occupants of the vehicle visually check the front outside the vehicle, they can observe the suppressed images of surrounding objects other than the first leading vehicle from the second display unit (HUD), thereby enabling the occupants to quickly identify information related to surrounding objects while reducing complexity.

[0024] A ninth aspect is that, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the first display unit has a larger display area than the second display unit, and the second display unit uses as a display area the lower part of the foreground when the occupant of the vehicle visually confirms the front outside the vehicle.

[0025] According to the ninth aspect, the sizes of the display areas of the first display unit and the second display unit can be effectively utilized to allow the occupant to recognize information related to the surrounding object landmarks.

[0026] The in-vehicle display method involved in the tenth embodiment performs the following processing through a computer, and the processing includes: obtaining information related to surrounding object marks existing around the vehicle; suppressing the situation where the following image is displayed on the second display unit of the first display unit and the second display unit, wherein the first display unit is arranged in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by the occupants, and the second display unit is arranged in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by the occupants, and the image is an image of surrounding object marks other than a first preceding vehicle that is traveling ahead of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, among the images of the surrounding object marks for which the information has been obtained.

[0027] According to the tenth aspect, it is possible to suppress the situation in which the occupant finds the display on the second display unit cumbersome.

[0028] The computer-readable storage medium involved in the eleventh method stores an on-board display program for causing a computer to execute the following processing, the processing including: obtaining information related to surrounding object marks existing in the vicinity of the vehicle; suppressing the display of the following image on the second display unit among the first display unit and the second display unit, wherein the first display unit is arranged in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by the occupants, and the second display unit is arranged in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by the occupants, and the image is an image of surrounding object marks other than a first preceding vehicle that is traveling ahead of the first preceding vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, among the images of the surrounding object marks for which the information has been obtained.

[0029] According to the eleventh aspect, it is possible to suppress the situation in which the occupant finds the display on the second display unit cumbersome.

[0030] Effects of the Invention

[0031] The present disclosure has an effect of being able to suppress a situation where the occupant feels that the display is cumbersome. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 It is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of an in-vehicle system according to an embodiment.

[0033] Figure 2 : is a functional block diagram showing the control ECU.

[0034] Figure 3 This is an image diagram showing an example of the display range of the HUD.

[0035] Figure 4 Flowchart showing display control processing.

[0036] Figure 5A The figure is an image showing an example of a first-person single lane display image displayed on the HUD.

[0037] Figure 5B The figure is an image diagram showing an example of a third-person multi-lane display image displayed on the MET.

[0038] Figure 6 This is a video diagram showing an example of display on the HUD and MET involved in the embodiment.

[0039] Figure 7 This is a video diagram showing an example of display on the HUD and MET involved in the embodiment.

[0040] Figure 8 This is a video diagram showing an example of display on the HUD and MET involved in the embodiment.

[0041] Fig. 9 This is a video diagram showing an example of display on the HUD and MET involved in the embodiment.

[0042] Fig.10 This is a video diagram showing an example of display on the HUD and MET according to the comparative example.

[0043] Fig.11 This is a video diagram showing an example of display on the HUD and MET according to the comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 The vehicle-mounted system 10 shown has a communication bus 12, to which a peripheral condition acquisition device group 14, a vehicle driving state detection sensor group 26, an automatic driving ECU (Electronic Control Unit: electronic control unit) 34 and a display control ECU 42 are connected. Figure 1 Only a part of the vehicle-mounted system 10 is shown. In addition, the vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted system 10 is hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle.

[0045] The surrounding condition acquisition device group 14 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) device 16 , an onboard communication device 18 , a navigation system 20 , a radar device 22 , and a camera 24 as devices for acquiring information indicating the conditions of the surrounding environment of the host vehicle.

[0046] The GPS device 16 receives GPS signals from a plurality of GPS satellites to measure the position of the vehicle. The GPS device 16 improves the accuracy of the positioning as the number of GPS signals that can be received increases. The vehicle-mounted communicator 18 is a communication device that implements at least one of vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles and road-to-vehicle communication with roadside equipment. The navigation system 20 includes a map information storage unit 20A that stores map information, and based on the position information obtained from the GPS device 16 and the map information stored in the map information storage unit 20A, it implements processing to display the position of the vehicle on a map or guide the path to the destination.

[0047] The radar device 22 includes a plurality of radar devices with different detection ranges, which detect objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles existing around the vehicle as point group information, and obtain the relative position and relative speed of the detected objects and the vehicle. In addition, the radar device 22 is built with a processing device for processing the detection results of the surrounding objects. The processing device excludes roadside objects such as noise and guardrails from the monitoring objects based on the changes in the relative position and relative speed of each object contained in the recent multiple detection results, and follows and monitors specific objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles as surrounding object markers. In addition, the radar device 22 outputs information such as the relative position and relative speed of each surrounding object marker. The camera 24 uses multiple cameras to shoot the surroundings of the vehicle and outputs the captured images.

[0048] In addition, the vehicle driving state detection sensor group 26 includes a steering angle sensor 28 for detecting the steering angle of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 30 for detecting the driving speed of the vehicle, and an acceleration sensor 32 for detecting the acceleration applied to the vehicle as multiple sensors for obtaining the driving state of the vehicle.

[0049] The automatic driving ECU 34 is connected to a throttle ACT (Actuator) 36 for changing the throttle opening of the vehicle and a brake ACT 38 for changing the braking force generated by the braking device of the vehicle. In addition, the automatic driving ECU 34 is connected to a steering ACT 40 for changing the steering amount achieved by the steering device of the vehicle.

[0050] The automatic driving ECU 34 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) and other memories, a non-volatile storage unit such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a SSD (Solid State Drive), and a communication I / F (Interface). The automatic driving software is stored in the storage unit. The automatic driving ECU 34 executes the automatic driving software by the CPU, and when the automatic driving mode is selected, it implements the automatic driving process of making the vehicle automatically drive without the driving operation performed by the occupant of the vehicle. The automatic driving process is a process of judging the conditions of the vehicle and its surroundings based on the information obtained from the peripheral condition acquisition device group 14 and the vehicle driving state detection sensor group 26, thereby controlling the throttle ACT 36, the brake ACT 38 and the steering ACT 40.

[0051] Specifically, the automatic driving ECU 34 obtains information about surrounding objects existing around the vehicle from the surrounding condition acquisition device group 14 including the radar device 22. Then, the automatic driving ECU 34 determines whether an event is being implemented during the driving of the vehicle based on the conditions of the vehicle and its surroundings indicated by the obtained information. Examples of the events mentioned here include lane merging, lane changes, passing intersections, and the insertion of leading vehicles. The presence or absence of an event and its type are output to the display control ECU 42 as surrounding condition information.

[0052] In addition, the automatic driving ECU 34 evaluates the magnitude of the influence of the existence of each surrounding object on the automatic driving as the importance of each surrounding object existing around the vehicle based on the relative position and relative speed of the surrounding object represented by the information obtained from the radar device 22, etc. For example, in the absence of an event, when there are surrounding objects around the vehicle, the automatic driving ECU 34 sets the importance of each surrounding object in such a way that the importance of the surrounding objects increases as the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding objects decreases. In addition, when there is a first preceding vehicle that is traveling ahead of the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the importance of the first preceding vehicle is set to the maximum.

[0053] Furthermore, for example, in the case where a second preceding vehicle that is traveling in a lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is about to change lanes to the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, the automatic driving ECU 34 sets the importance of the second preceding vehicle to be higher than the importance of other surrounding objects. Furthermore, for other objects, the importance of the surrounding objects is set so that the importance of the surrounding objects becomes higher as the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding objects becomes smaller.

[0054] In addition, for example, in the case of an event in which the vehicle changes lanes from the first lane in which the vehicle is traveling to the second lane outside the first lane, the automatic driving ECU 34 evaluates the importance of the first leading vehicle traveling in the first lane and the second leading vehicle traveling in the second lane as being higher than the importance of other surrounding object markers. In addition, for other object markers, the importance of the surrounding object markers is set in such a way that the importance of the surrounding object markers becomes higher as the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding object markers becomes smaller. Information indicating the importance of each surrounding object marker is output to the display control ECU 42 as surrounding object marker information together with information indicating the relative position and relative speed of each surrounding object marker.

[0055] In addition, in the present embodiment, the level of the autonomous driving implemented by the autonomous driving ECU 34 is level 2 or level 3. In level 2 or level 3 autonomous driving, the occupant is required to monitor the autonomous driving implemented by the autonomous driving ECU 34 and participate in it as needed to prevent, for example, situations where the vehicle is out of the controllable range or inappropriate actions caused by misdetection, non-detection, or failure of sensor components.

[0056] The display control ECU 42 includes a CPU 44, a memory 46 such as a ROM or RAM, a nonvolatile storage unit 48 such as a HDD or SSD, and a communication I / F 50. The CPU 44, the memory 46, the storage unit 48, and the communication I / F 50 are connected together via an internal bus 52 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The storage unit 48 stores a display control program 54. The display control ECU 42 reads the display control program 54 from the storage unit 48 and expands it into the memory 46, and uses the CPU 44 to execute the display control program 54 expanded in the memory 46, thereby serving as a display control program. Figure 2 The acquisition unit 53 and the control unit 55 shown in the figure function to implement the display control process which will be described later. In addition, the display control program 54 is an example of an in-vehicle display program.

[0057] The display control ECU 42 is connected to a head-up display (hereinafter referred to as HUD) 56 and a meter display 58 (hereinafter referred to as MET). Figure 3 As shown in the figure 60 indicating the display range, a small HUD is used to display a part of the front field of the occupant of the vehicle as the display range (forming an image in the lower part of the foreground) by reflection on the windshield, etc. In addition, MET58 is a display provided on the dashboard of the vehicle. The display control ECU 42 controls the information display on HUD56 and MET58. Preferably, the display area of ​​MET58 is larger than the display area of ​​HUD56.

[0058] Specifically, the acquisition unit 53 acquires information about surrounding object markers existing around the host vehicle. The control unit 55 suppresses the display of images of surrounding object markers other than the first preceding vehicle that is traveling in the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, among the images of the surrounding object markers whose information is acquired by the acquisition unit 53, on the HUD 56. In addition, the MET 58 is an example of the first display unit, and the HUD 56 is an example of the second display unit.

[0059] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The display control ECU 42 performs the following operation while the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on. Figure 4 In step 100 of the display control process, the acquisition unit 53 acquires lane information recognized by the automatic driving ECU 34 from the automatic driving ECU 34. In addition, the lane information includes information about the lane in which the vehicle is traveling (information such as whether it is a straight line or a curve), and information about adjacent lanes adjacent to the left and right of the lane (the presence or absence of adjacent lanes, etc.). Furthermore, the control unit 55 generates an image based on the lane information acquired by the acquisition unit 53 from the automatic driving ECU 34 as an example. Figure 5A The first-person single lane image shown is an image including the road width line 62 simulating the boundary line of the lane, and the HUD 56 is caused to display the generated first-person single lane image.

[0060] The first-person single lane image is an image that approximates the state of the front viewed by the occupant through the windshield of the vehicle, and the lanes adjacent to the left and right of the lane are excluded from the display object. The first-person single lane image is an image that minimizes complexity by displaying the lane as large as possible and omitting the display of information that is not important when monitoring driving.

[0061] In the next step 102, the control unit 55 generates an image as an example based on the lane information obtained by the acquisition unit 53 from the automatic driving ECU 34. Figure 5B The third-person multi-lane image shown is an image including the road width line 62 simulating the boundary line of the lane. Then, the control unit 55 causes the MET 58 to display the generated third-person multi-lane image.

[0062] The third-person multi-lane image is an image that displays lanes adjacent to the vehicle's lane on the left and right as if the vehicle is viewed from above and behind. By excluding non-existent lanes from the display objects, a maximum of three lanes are displayed under normal conditions. However, in order to make the transition state caused by divergence or merging easier to understand, it is not limited to a maximum of three lanes. In the third-person multi-lane image, the vehicle is displayed as an icon 64. For example, when changing the lane of the vehicle, in a situation where the lane change is suspended before the other vehicle passes due to the approach of other vehicles from the right rear or left rear, the third-person multi-lane image can display the approach of other vehicles and the situation where the lane change is suspended.

[0063] Since the road width line 62 simulating the boundary line of the lane is displayed in the first-person single-lane image and the third-person multi-lane image, the occupants can understand that the first-person single-lane display image and the third-person multi-lane display image are road schematic diagrams that are reduced in contrast to the real scene. In addition, in the first-person single-lane image and the third-person multi-lane image, marks 66 are respectively displayed at positions corresponding to the future position of the vehicle, and the arrangement of the marks 66 moves toward the reference position corresponding to the vehicle according to the travel of the vehicle (moves downward on the display). As a result, the occupants can intuitively grasp the situation that the first-person single-lane image and the third-person multi-lane image correspond to the actual foreground. In addition, in the first-person single-lane image and the third-person multi-lane image, a strip track line 68 including the arrangement of the marks 66 is displayed. In the first-person single-lane image and the third-person multi-lane image, the extension direction of the strip track line 68 indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle, so that the occupants can intuitively grasp the traveling position of the vehicle.

[0064] In the next step 104, the acquisition unit 53 acquires peripheral object information indicating the relative position, relative speed, importance, etc. of each peripheral object from the automatic driving ECU 34. The peripheral object information is an example of information related to the peripheral object. In addition, in step 106, the acquisition unit 53 acquires peripheral condition information indicating the presence or absence of an event and its type from the automatic driving ECU 34. In step 108, the control unit 55 determines whether an event is being implemented during the driving process of the vehicle based on the peripheral condition information acquired by the acquisition unit 53 from the automatic driving ECU 34.

[0065] If no event occurs during the driving of the vehicle (in a constant speed state), the judgment of step 108 is denied and the process is transferred to step 110. In step 110, the control unit 55 judges whether there is a first preceding vehicle that is traveling in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling in the surroundings of the vehicle based on the surrounding object marker information. Then, if there is a first preceding vehicle that is traveling in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling in the surroundings of the vehicle, the control unit 55 will, as an example, Figure 6 as well as Figure 7 As shown, only the first preceding vehicle 70 is displayed superimposed on the first-person single lane image displayed on the HUD 56 .

[0066] In the case where there are surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle around the host vehicle, if, as an example, Fig.10 If the HUD 56 is made to display all surrounding objects as shown in FIG. 1 , the display of the HUD 56 will become cumbersome for the occupants. Figure 6 as well as Figure 7 As shown, the HUD 56 displays only the first preceding vehicle 70 among the surrounding objects existing around the host vehicle, so that the occupant can be prevented from feeling that the display of the HUD 56 is cumbersome.

[0067] In step 112, the control unit 55 performs the following operation as an example: Figure 6 as well as Figure 7 As shown, the first leading vehicle 70 is displayed overlappingly with respect to the third-person multi-lane image displayed on the MET 58, and other surrounding object marks 72 are displayed overlappingly in a manner of gradually lowering the color tone according to the importance. An example of lowering the color tone is to make the display color lighter, display it in a darker color (such as gray), and reduce the sharpness of the display to make it blurred. When the processing of step 112 is implemented, return to step 104.

[0068] In the case where there are surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle around the host vehicle, if, as an example, Fig.10 as well as Fig.11 If the MET 58 is made to display all surrounding object markers in a normal display mode as shown in FIG. 1 , the display of the MET 58 will become cumbersome for the passengers. Figure 6 as well as Figure 7 As shown, the surrounding object marks 72 other than the first preceding vehicle 70 existing around the host vehicle are displayed in a manner with a lower tone according to the importance, so that the occupant can be prevented from feeling that the display of the MET 58 is cumbersome. In addition, the occupant can recognize the importance of each of the surrounding object marks other than the first preceding vehicle existing around the host vehicle.

[0069] Furthermore, if an event is being performed during the driving of the host vehicle, the determination in step 108 is affirmative and the process moves to step 114. In step 114, the control unit 55 determines whether the event being performed during the driving of the host vehicle is an event in which a second preceding vehicle that is traveling in a lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling changes lanes (intercepts) into the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling.

[0070] If the determination in step 114 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 116. In step 116, the control unit 55 performs the following operations as an example, based on the importance level set for the second preceding vehicle. Figure 8 As shown, the HUD 56 is used to highlight the second leading vehicle 74. In addition, an example of highlighting is to display it in a specific display color (e.g., amber), to display it in a manner surrounded by a frame line, or to display it in a flashing manner. As a result, when the second leading vehicle 74 changes lanes into the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, so-called cutting in, the attention of the occupants can be drawn, so that the occupants can easily recognize the cutting in. In addition, since the surrounding object markers other than the second leading vehicle 74 are not displayed on the HUD 56, it is possible to suppress the situation where the occupants feel that the display of the HUD 56 is cumbersome.

[0071] In the next step 118, the control unit 55 performs the following operation as an example: Figure 8 As shown, with respect to the third-person multi-lane image displayed on the MET 58, the MET 58 emphasizes the second leading vehicle 74 and displays other surrounding objects in a manner of lowering the color tone according to the importance. In addition, as an example, Figure 8This indicates that there are no surrounding objects other than the second preceding vehicle 74 around the vehicle. This can draw the attention of the occupants and make it easier for them to recognize the interruption, while preventing the occupants from feeling annoyed by the display of the MET 58. When the process of step 118 is performed, the process returns to step 104.

[0072] If the determination in step 114 is negative, the process proceeds to step 120. In step 120, the control unit 55 determines whether the event being implemented during the driving of the host vehicle is an event in which the host vehicle changes lanes from the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling to a lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling.

[0073] If the determination in step 120 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 122. In step 122, the control unit 55 performs the following operation as an example: Fig. 9 As shown, the HUD 56 displays the first preceding vehicle 76 that is traveling in the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and the second preceding vehicle 78 that is traveling in the lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling in an overlapping manner. Thus, when the host vehicle changes lanes from the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling to the lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, the occupant who has visually checked the HUD 56 can easily recognize the presence of the first preceding vehicle 76 and the second preceding vehicle 78 related to the lane change. In addition, since the surrounding object markers other than the first preceding vehicle 76 and the second preceding vehicle 78 are not displayed on the HUD 56, it is possible to suppress the situation where the occupant feels that the display of the HUD 56 is cumbersome.

[0074] In step 124, the control unit 55 performs the following operation as an example: Fig. 9 As shown, the MET 58 is made to overlap and display the first preceding vehicle 76 and the second preceding vehicle 78, and to overlap and display other surrounding object marks in a manner of lowering the color tone according to the importance. In addition, as an example, Fig. 9 This indicates that there are no surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle 76 and the second preceding vehicle 78 around the host vehicle. When the process of step 124 is performed, the process returns to step 104 .

[0075] Thus, when the host vehicle changes lanes from the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling to a lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, it is possible for the occupant who has visually confirmed the MET 58 to easily recognize the presence of the first preceding vehicle 76 and the second preceding vehicle 78 related to the lane change. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occupant from finding the display of the MET 58 cumbersome.

[0076] If the determination in step 120 is negative, the process proceeds to step 126. In step 126, the control unit 55 performs display control processing corresponding to the event being performed during the driving of the vehicle (e.g., merging of lanes, passing through an intersection, etc.), and returns to step 104. In this case, since only the minimum number of surrounding object markers required according to the importance is displayed on the HUD 56, it is possible to prevent the occupant from feeling that the display of the HUD 56 is cumbersome.

[0077] As described above, in the present embodiment, the first display unit (MET58) is provided in the compartment of the vehicle and is configured to be visually confirmed by the passengers, and the second display unit (HUD56) is provided in the compartment of the vehicle and is configured to be visually confirmed by the passengers. In addition, the acquisition unit 53 acquires information related to the peripheral object marks existing in the periphery of the vehicle. Moreover, the control unit 55 suppresses the display of the following image on the second display unit, wherein the image is an image of the peripheral object marks other than the first preceding vehicle that is traveling in advance in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, among the images of the peripheral object marks whose information is acquired by the acquisition unit 53. Thus, even if the area of ​​the display region of the second display unit is limited like HUD56, and the number of peripheral object marks existing in the periphery of the vehicle is large, it is possible to suppress the situation where the passengers feel cumbersome with respect to the display of the second display unit.

[0078] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when an event is being carried out during driving of the host vehicle, the control unit 55 causes the second display unit to display images of surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle set according to the event. In this way, by displaying images of surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle according to the event being carried out during driving of the host vehicle, the attention of the occupant who has visually checked the display on the second display unit can be urged.

[0079] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the event being implemented during the driving of the host vehicle is an event that a second preceding vehicle that is traveling in a lane other than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling changes lanes to the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, the control unit 55 causes the second display unit to highlight the second preceding vehicle. Thus, when the second preceding vehicle changes lanes to the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, so-called cutting in, occurs, the occupants can easily recognize the cutting in.

[0080] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the event being implemented during the driving of the vehicle is an event in which the vehicle changes lanes from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling to a lane other than the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the control unit 55 displays the first preceding vehicle that is traveling in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling and the second preceding vehicle that is traveling in the lane other than the lane in which the vehicle is traveling on the second display unit. Thus, when the vehicle changes lanes from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling to a lane other than the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the occupants can easily recognize the presence of the first preceding vehicle and the second preceding vehicle that are related to the lane change.

[0081] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 55 causes the first display unit to display the image of the surrounding object target whose information is acquired by the acquisition unit 53. Thus, by making the display modes different between the first display unit and the second display unit, when the display area of ​​the first display unit is large like the MET 58, the display area of ​​the first display unit can be effectively used.

[0082] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 55 displays the image of the surrounding object other than the first preceding vehicle traveling in the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling on the first display unit in a manner that is not more eye-catching than the image of the first preceding vehicle. Thus, even when there are a large number of surrounding object markers around the host vehicle, it is possible to prevent the occupant from feeling that the display on the first display unit is cumbersome.

[0083] In addition, in the present embodiment, the control unit 55 displays the images of the surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle in a manner that is not more eye-catching than the image of the first preceding vehicle by lowering the color tone of the images of the surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle. Thus, by displaying the image of the first preceding vehicle and the images of the surrounding objects other than the first preceding vehicle in a gradated manner, the occupants can recognize the degree of influence exerted on the own vehicle during the driving of the own vehicle.

[0084] In addition, in the present embodiment, the first display unit is a display (MET58) provided on the dashboard of the vehicle, and the second display unit is HUD56 which uses a part of the front visual field of the occupants of the vehicle as a display range by reflection on the windshield, etc. The occupants of the vehicle can quickly recognize the content displayed on HUD56 without intentionally changing the focus when visually checking the front outside the vehicle. By suppressing the display of the image of the surrounding object marks other than the first leading vehicle on the display area of ​​HUD56, it is possible to suppress the situation that makes the occupants who want to visually check the front outside the vehicle feel cumbersome. In addition, on MET58, the surrounding object marks other than the first leading vehicle suppressed on HUD56 can be displayed.

[0085] In addition, in the present embodiment, the sizes of the display areas of the first display unit and the second display unit are different. By suppressing the amount of information displayed on the second display unit (HUD 56) compared with the amount of information displayed on the first display unit (MET 58), the cumbersomeness felt by the occupants is reduced, and the occupants can be provided with an amount of information commensurate with the display area.

[0086] In addition, although Figures 6 to 9 In the example in which the surrounding object marker is a vehicle (four-wheeled vehicle), the surrounding object marker is not limited to this, and the surrounding object marker may also be a two-wheeled vehicle (bicycle, etc.) or a pedestrian.

[0087] In addition, although the above content describes the method of using MET58 as the first display unit and HUD56 as the second display unit, it is not limited to this. For example, a central monitor provided at the center of the dashboard of the vehicle may be used as the first display unit or the second display unit.

[0088] In addition, although the above content describes a method in which the automatic driving ECU 34 implements level 2 or level 3 automatic driving, it is not limited to this and can also be applied to a method of implementing level 4 or level 5 automatic driving.

[0089] In addition, although the above content describes that the display control program 54 as an example of the vehicle display program involved in the present disclosure is pre-stored (installed) in the storage unit 48 of the display control ECU 42. However, the vehicle display program involved in the present disclosure can also be provided in a form recorded in a non-temporary recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a memory card, etc.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted display device, comprising: a first display unit, which is provided in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually recognized by the occupant; a second display unit, which is disposed in the cabin of the host vehicle and can be visually recognized by the occupant; an acquisition unit that acquires information related to surrounding object markers existing around the host vehicle; A control unit that displays, on the first display unit, an image of a first preceding vehicle that is traveling ahead of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, among the images of the surrounding object marks whose information has been acquired by the acquisition unit, together with an image representing the host vehicle, and that, in the second display unit, displays the lane in the first display unit as a straight line around the image representing the host vehicle and displays the lane in the first display unit as a curved line on the front side of the image representing the host vehicle, while displaying the image representing the first preceding vehicle instead of the image representing the host vehicle and displaying the lane in the first display unit in a curved manner.

2. The vehicle-mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein: The first display unit is an instrument display of the host vehicle, and the second display unit is a head-up display of the host vehicle.

3. The vehicle-mounted display device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein: The first display unit has a larger display area than the second display unit, and the second display unit uses as a display area a lower portion of a foreground when an occupant of the host vehicle visually checks the front outside the vehicle.

4. A vehicle-mounted display method, which performs the following processing by a computer, the processing comprising: Acquiring information related to surrounding objects existing around the vehicle; An image of a first preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, from among images of surrounding object markers for which the information has been obtained, is displayed on a first display unit together with an image representing the vehicle. The first display unit is disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by an occupant. Moreover, in a second display unit disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by an occupant, when an image representing the first preceding vehicle is displayed instead of an image representing the vehicle and the lane is displayed in a curved manner, the lane in the first display unit is displayed as straight lines around the image representing the vehicle and the lane in the first display unit is displayed in a curved manner on the front side of the image representing the vehicle.

5. A computer program product, comprising an in-vehicle display program, wherein the in-vehicle display program causes a computer to execute the following processing, wherein the processing comprises: Acquiring information related to surrounding objects existing around the vehicle; An image of a first preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, from among images of surrounding object markers for which the information has been obtained, is displayed on a first display unit together with an image representing the vehicle. The first display unit is disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by an occupant. Moreover, in a second display unit disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and can be visually confirmed by an occupant, when an image representing the first preceding vehicle is displayed instead of an image representing the vehicle and the lane is displayed in a curved manner, the lane in the first display unit is displayed as straight lines around the image representing the vehicle and the lane in the first display unit is displayed in a curved manner on the front side of the image representing the vehicle.

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