Display control device

Abstract

A display control device (100) displays a captured image of the surroundings of a vehicle (V) within the vehicle (V). A display control device (100) is provided with: an image acquisition unit (11) that acquires a captured image including at least one of the sides and the rear of a vehicle (V); a seating information acquisition unit (12) that acquires seating information indicating the presence or absence of an occupant in the passenger seat; a travel state acquisition unit (13) that acquires travel state information of the vehicle (V); and a display control unit (14) that controls the display position of the captured image in the vehicle (V) on the basis of the traveling state of the vehicle (V) when the seating information indicates that the passenger is in the passenger seat.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to display control devices. Background Technology

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a device that uses the left and right ends of a display provided on a vehicle as display units for a digital outer mirror.

[0003] Existing technical documents

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2021 / 079975 Summary of the Invention

[0006] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] For example, when getting out of the vehicle, the front passenger sometimes looks in the passenger-side side mirror to check the surroundings. In the aforementioned setup, no side mirrors are installed in the vehicle; instead, the image from the digital side mirror is displayed on a monitor. However, depending on the monitor's placement, the front passenger's visual confirmation of the digital side mirror image can sometimes be impaired.

[0008] Therefore, this disclosure describes a display control device that can improve the visual confirmation of the vehicle's surroundings by the passenger in the case of the passenger getting out of the vehicle.

[0009] Methods for solving problems

[0010] The display control device disclosed herein, [1] "is a display control device that displays captured images of the surrounding area of ​​a vehicle inside the vehicle, the display control device comprising: an image acquisition unit that acquires the captured images including at least one of the side and the rear of the vehicle; a seating information acquisition unit that acquires seating information indicating whether there is a passenger in the front passenger seat of the vehicle; a driving state acquisition unit that acquires driving state information indicating the driving state of the vehicle; and a display control unit that, when the seating information indicates that there is a passenger in the front passenger seat, controls the display position of the captured images inside the vehicle based on the driving state of the vehicle indicated by the driving state information."

[0011] The above-mentioned display control device may also be, [2] "Based on the display control device described above [1], the driving state acquisition unit acquires shift information indicating the position of the vehicle's shift position as the driving state information, and the display control unit, when the seating information indicates that there is an occupant in the front passenger seat and the shift information indicates that the position of the shift position is P, displays the captured image on a first display unit provided in the vehicle, and when the seating information indicates that there is an occupant in the front passenger seat and the shift information indicates that the position of the shift position is not P, displays the captured image on a second display unit provided in the vehicle and different from the first display unit."

[0012] The above-mentioned display control device may also be, [3] "Based on the display control device described above [2], the display control unit, after the seating information indicates that there is a passenger in the front passenger seat and the shift information indicates that the gear position is P gear, displays the captured image on the first display unit when the seat belt of the front passenger seat is not fastened."

[0013] The aforementioned display control device may also be, [4] "based on the display control device described in [2] or [3] above, the second display unit is disposed on the instrument panel of the vehicle, or disposed around the instrument panel, and the first display unit is disposed at a position closer to the passenger side than the second display unit."

[0014] The above-mentioned display control device may also be, [5] "Based on the display control device described in any one of [2] to [4] above, the display control unit, after displaying the captured image on the first display unit, displays the captured image on the second display unit when the seating information indicates that the passenger in the front passenger seat has disembarked."

[0015] Invention Effects

[0016] According to one aspect of this disclosure, it is possible to improve the visual confirmation of the vehicle's surroundings by the front passenger when the front passenger needs to get out of the vehicle. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a display control device according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing the configuration and location of each display.

[0019] Figure 3This is a flowchart illustrating the display control process performed by the display control device. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The following is a reference to the appendix. Figure 1 The exemplary embodiments will be described. Furthermore, in each figure, the same or equivalent elements are labeled with the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0021] Figure 1 The display control device 100 shown is mounted on a vehicle V. The display control device 100 controls the display of captured images of the surroundings of the vehicle V within the vehicle V. The display control device 100 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10 that manages the device in an overall manner.

[0022] ECU10 is an electronic control unit that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit. The storage unit may consist of, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), or EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). In ECU10, various functions are implemented, for example, by the CPU executing programs stored in the storage unit. ECU10 may also be composed of multiple electronic control units.

[0023] The ECU10 is connected to a driver's side camera 20A, a passenger side camera 20B, a driver's side display 30A, a passenger side display (second display unit) 30B, and a multimedia display (first display unit) 40.

[0024] The driver's side camera 20A and the passenger side camera 20B are each imaging devices used to capture images of the perimeter of the vehicle V. The driver's side camera 20A can capture images of at least one of the right side and rear (right rear) of the vehicle V. For example, the driver's side camera 20A can be mounted on the driver's side (right side) of the vehicle V. The passenger side camera 20B can capture images of at least one of the left side and rear (left rear) of the vehicle V. For example, the passenger side camera 20B can be mounted on the passenger side (left side) of the vehicle V. The images captured by the driver's side camera 20A and the passenger side camera 20B are input into the ECU 10.

[0025] The driver's side display 30A and the passenger side display 30B are installed inside the vehicle V. The driver's side display 30A and the passenger side display 30B are positioned at a location that the driver of the vehicle V can visually inspect. The driver's side display 30A can display the image captured by the driver's side camera 20A. The passenger side display 30B can display the image captured by the passenger side camera 20B.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, as an example, the driver's side display 30A and the passenger side display 30B are arranged around the instrument panel S located in front of the driver's seat. In this embodiment, the driver's side display 30A is positioned on the right side of the instrument panel S from the driver's perspective. The passenger side display 30B is positioned on the left side of the instrument panel S from the driver's perspective. Furthermore, the driver's side camera 20A and the passenger side camera 20B may also be arranged within the instrument panel S, rather than around it. That is, the instrument panel S and the driver's side camera 20A, etc., may be integrated.

[0027] The multimedia display 40 is a device that displays various information to the occupants of the vehicle V. The multimedia display 40 is located in a different position than the passenger-side display 30B and the driver-side display 30A. The multimedia display 40 can be visually confirmed not only by the driver of the vehicle V but also by the passenger in the passenger seat. The multimedia display 40 can display, for example, a navigation system's route guidance screen, a music selection screen, etc. In this embodiment, as an example, the multimedia display 40 is located near the center of the mounting panel P located in front of the driver's and passenger's seats (near the center in the vehicle width direction). Furthermore, the multimedia display 40 is located closer to the passenger seat than the passenger-side display 30B. In other words, the multimedia display 40 is located closer to the passenger seat than the passenger-side display 30B.

[0028] The ECU 10 functionally includes an image acquisition unit 11, a seating information acquisition unit 12, a driving status acquisition unit 13, and a display control unit 14. The image acquisition unit 11 acquires images from at least one of the sides and rear of the vehicle V. Here, the image acquisition unit 11 acquires images from the driver's side camera 20A and the passenger side camera 20B.

[0029] The seating information acquisition unit 12 acquires seating information indicating whether there is a passenger in the front passenger seat of vehicle V. Here, seating information is simply information indicating whether there is a passenger in the front passenger seat, and various types of information can be used. For example, seating information could be information indicating whether the front passenger seatbelt is fastened or not. Seatbelt information could be, for example, information obtained based on the detection results of sensors (sensors that detect whether the latch (metal part) is fixed to the buckle) installed in the seatbelt buckle. If the front passenger seatbelt is fastened, it can be determined that there is a passenger in the front passenger seat.

[0030] For example, seating information can also be image recognition information obtained based on images captured by an occupant camera near the passenger seat. The presence or absence of an occupant in the passenger seat can be identified based on images captured by the occupant camera, for example, using known image processing techniques. The seating information acquisition unit 12 can, for example, acquire image recognition information from an image processing unit that identifies the presence or absence of an occupant. For example, seating information can also be pressure-sensitive information obtained based on the detection results of a pressure-sensitive sensor installed on the seat surface or backrest of the passenger seat. For example, if pressure is detected by the pressure-sensitive sensor, it can be determined that there is an occupant in the passenger seat. On the other hand, if pressure is not detected by the pressure-sensitive sensor, it can be determined that there is no occupant in the passenger seat. Seating information can also include opening and closing information of the passenger-side door. Seating information can also include one or more of this information.

[0031] The driving status acquisition unit 13 acquires driving status information indicating the driving status of the vehicle V. In this embodiment, the driving status acquisition unit 13 acquires shift information indicating the gear position of the vehicle V as driving status information. This shift information includes information about whether the gear position of the vehicle V is P (parking gear) or another gear. For example, if the gear position is P, the driving status of the vehicle V can be said to be a parked state. If the gear position is other than P, the driving status of the vehicle V can be said to be a driving state (driving or temporarily stopped due to a red light, etc.).

[0032] The display control unit 14 controls the display position of the images captured by the driver's side camera 20A and the passenger side camera 20B. In this embodiment, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the driver's side camera 20A on the driver's side display 30A. The display control unit 14 also displays the image captured by the passenger side camera 20B on the passenger side display 30B or the multimedia display 40. The details of the process for displaying the image captured by the passenger side camera 20B on the passenger side display 30B or the multimedia display 40 will be explained below.

[0033] The display control unit 14 uses seating information acquired by the seating information acquisition unit 12 and driving status information acquired by the driving status acquisition unit 13 to control the display position of the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B acquired by the image acquisition unit 11 within the vehicle V. Here, when the seating information indicates that there is a passenger in the passenger seat, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the passenger-side display 30B or the multimedia display 40 based on the driving status of the vehicle V indicated by the driving status information.

[0034] Specifically, there may be a situation where the seating information indicates there is a passenger in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information indicates the gear is in Park (P). In this case, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40. That is, when the vehicle V is in a parked state, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40 so that the passenger in the front passenger seat can also easily see the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B.

[0035] Additionally, there may be instances where the seating information indicates there is a passenger in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information indicates the gear position is other than P. In this case, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B on the front passenger side display 30B. That is, when the vehicle V is in motion, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B on the front passenger side display 30B so that the driver can easily see the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B.

[0036] Furthermore, when displaying the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40, the display control unit 14 can also control the display based on seat belt information. Specifically, after the seating information indicates that there is an occupant in the passenger seat and the gear shift information indicates that the gear position is P, the display control unit 14 can display the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40 when the passenger seat belt is unfastened.

[0037] In other words, the display control unit 14 determines whether the front passenger seatbelt is unfastened based on the seatbelt information included in the seating information. If an occupant unfastens their seatbelt during vehicle parking (V-parking), it is considered highly likely that the occupant intends to exit the vehicle. Therefore, the display control unit 14 can determine the likelihood of the front passenger occupant exiting the vehicle based on the seatbelt information. Furthermore, if the likelihood of the front passenger unfastening their seatbelt and intending to exit the vehicle is high, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40 so that the front passenger can easily visually confirm the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B. In this case, the display control device 100 can more appropriately determine whether the front passenger intends to exit the vehicle by using the seatbelt information. Furthermore, the display control device 100 can more appropriately switch the display position of the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B based on this determination result.

[0038] In addition, after the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B is displayed on the multimedia display 40, if the seating information indicates that the passenger in the passenger seat has disembarked, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the passenger-side display 30B.

[0039] For example, the display control unit 14 can determine that the front passenger occupant has exited the vehicle if it cannot recognize the occupant based on image recognition information. Alternatively, the display control unit 14 can determine that the front passenger occupant has exited the vehicle if the pressure sensor installed in the front passenger seat does not detect pressure based on pressure-sensitive information. Furthermore, the display control unit 14 can determine that the front passenger occupant has exited the vehicle if the seat belt is unfastened and the door is opened or closed based on seat belt information and door opening / closing information. In addition to these, the display control unit 14 can also determine whether the seating information indicates that the front passenger occupant has exited the vehicle based on one or more pieces of information included in the seating information.

[0040] Next, use Figure 3 The flowchart below describes the display control processing performed by the display control device 100. Here, the display control processing when the display control device 100 displays the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the passenger-side display 30B or the multimedia display 40 will be explained. Regarding... Figure 3 The process shown, if the process has reached its end, will resume from the beginning after a predetermined time.

[0041] like Figure 3As shown, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the passenger-side display 30B (S101). The display control unit 14 determines whether the seating information indicates that there is a passenger in the passenger seat (S102). If there is no passenger in the passenger seat (S102: No), the process ends. If there is a passenger in the passenger seat (S102: Yes), the display control unit 14 determines whether the gear position is P (Park) based on the gear shift information obtained by the driving status acquisition unit 13 (S103). If the gear position is not P (S103: No), the process ends.

[0042] With the gear in Park (P) (S103: Yes), the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40 (S104). Based on seating information, the display control unit 14 determines whether the passenger in the passenger seat has disembarked (S105). If the passenger in the passenger seat has not disembarked (S105: No), the display control unit 14 proceeds to step S104. If the passenger in the passenger seat has disembarked (S105: Yes), the process ends. Thus, the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B is displayed on the passenger-side display 30B (S101).

[0043] Furthermore, as described above, when the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40, it can also control the display based on seat belt information. In this case, after determining that it is in Park (P) gear in step S103, the display control unit 14 determines whether the passenger-side seat belt is unfastened. Furthermore, even if the passenger-side seat belt is unfastened, the display control unit 14 can still display the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40 through step S104.

[0044] As described above, when the seating information indicates that there is a passenger in the front passenger seat, the display control unit 14 controls the display position of the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B within the vehicle V based on the driving status of the vehicle V indicated by the driving status information. Therefore, the display control device 100 can improve the visual confirmation of the captured images around the vehicle V for the front passenger when the passenger wants to get out of the vehicle.

[0045] More specifically, when the seating information indicates there is a passenger in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information (driving status information) indicates that it is in Park (P), the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40. Conversely, when the seating information indicates there is a passenger in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information indicates a gear other than Park, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B on a front passenger side display 30B, which is different from the multimedia display 40. In this way, the display control unit 14 can change the display position of the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B based on whether there is a passenger in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information. Furthermore, the multimedia display 40 is positioned so that the passenger in the front passenger seat can easily visually confirm the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B. Therefore, the display control device 100 can improve the visual confirmation of the front passenger's view of the image captured by the front passenger side camera 20B when the passenger needs to get out of the vehicle.

[0046] The passenger-side display 30B is mounted on or around the instrument panel S. The multimedia display 40 is positioned closer to the passenger side than the passenger-side display 30B. Therefore, when the passenger-side occupant needs to exit the vehicle, the display control device 100 can display the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40, which is more easily visually confirmed by the passenger-side occupant than the passenger-side display 30B. Thus, the display control device 100 improves the visual confirmation of the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B for the passenger-side occupant.

[0047] After displaying the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the multimedia display 40, the display control unit 14 displays the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B on the passenger-side display 30B when the passenger has exited the vehicle. This allows the driver of the vehicle V to easily visually confirm the image captured by the passenger-side camera 20B.

Claims

1. A display control device for displaying captured images of the surroundings of a vehicle inside the vehicle, the display control device comprising: The image acquisition unit acquires the captured image including at least one of the side view and the rear view of the vehicle; The seating information acquisition unit acquires seating information indicating whether there is a passenger in the front passenger seat of the vehicle; The driving status acquisition unit acquires driving status information indicating the driving status of the vehicle; as well as The display control unit, when the seating information indicates that there is an occupant in the front passenger seat, controls the display position of the captured image within the vehicle based on the driving status of the vehicle indicated by the driving status information.

2. The display control device according to claim 1, The driving status acquisition unit acquires shift information indicating the gear position of the vehicle as the driving status information. The display control unit, When the seating information indicates that there is an occupant in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information indicates that the gear position is P, the captured image is displayed on a first display unit installed inside the vehicle. When the seating information indicates that there is an occupant in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information indicates that the gear position is other than P, the captured image is displayed on a second display unit installed inside the vehicle and different from the first display unit.

3. The display control device according to claim 2, After the display control unit reaches a state where the seating information indicates that there is an occupant in the front passenger seat and the gear shift information indicates that the gear position is P, the captured image is displayed on the first display unit when the front passenger seat seat belt is not fastened.

4. The display control device according to claim 2, The second display unit is disposed on the vehicle's dashboard, or around the dashboard. The first display unit is positioned closer to the passenger side than the second display unit.

5. The display control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, After displaying the captured image on the first display unit, the display control unit displays the captured image on the second display unit if the seating information indicates that the passenger in the front passenger seat has disembarked.

Images