Control device for vehicle

Abstract

To provide a control device for a vehicle that can improve the driver's convenience and allow the driver to perform driving operations safely.SOLUTION: A control device for a vehicle includes a control unit that switches a second notification unit from a mirror-surface mirror mode into a digital mirror mode. The control unit calculates a frequency at which a switching operation from the mirror-surface mirror mode to the digital mirror mode is performed in the second notification unit in a state where a shift position is switched from a first position that includes a forward position to a second position that includes a reverse position (step S3). When the frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and the shift position is switched from the first position to the second position (YES in step S4), the control unit switches the second notification unit into the digital mirror mode (step S6).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which a navigation device mounted on a vehicle accepts a request to display photographed information by user input operation or the like, and when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a threshold value (e.g., 10 km / h), photographed information (images) from a camera photographing the outside of the vehicle are displayed on a display unit. In the device described in Patent Document 1, if the vehicle speed exceeds the threshold value at the time when the request to display photographed information by user input operation or the like is accepted, the display of the photographed information is suspended and map information with a reservation mode icon is continued, and then the photographed information is displayed when the vehicle speed becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-250873 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 requires a user to perform an operation to display the shooting information on the navigation device, which is inconvenient.

[0005] In recent years, digital inner mirrors that display video images captured by a camera behind the vehicle have become popular as inner mirrors (also called room mirrors) for checking the rear of the vehicle. This digital inner mirror is located at the top end of the windshield like a normal inner mirror, and can be switched between a mirror mirror mode that shows the reflected image in the mirror and a digital mirror mode that displays a video image captured by a camera behind the vehicle by operating a switch lever. However, like the technology described in Patent Document 1, the operation required for switching is inconvenient.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a vehicle control device that can improve convenience for the driver and enable the driver to perform driving operations safely. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a vehicle control device comprising a first notification unit that is arranged below the windshield and that notifies information consisting of at least one of video or audio, and a second notification unit that is arranged at the upper end of the windshield and that notifies information consisting of at least one of video or audio, wherein the second notification unit is a vehicle control device that can be switched by a driver to a first mode or a second mode having different notification manners, and further comprising a control unit that switches the second notification unit from the first mode to the second mode, wherein the control unit calculates a frequency at which the second notification unit switches from the first mode to the second mode when the shift position is switched from a first position including a forward position to a second position including a reverse position, and switches the second notification unit to the second mode when the frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value and the shift position is switched from the first position to the second position. Effect of the Invention

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device that can improve convenience for the driver and enable the driver to safely perform driving operations. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a driver's seat of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a mirror mode switching operation by the vehicle control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] A vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first notification unit arranged below the windshield and notifying information consisting of at least one of video and audio, and a second notification unit arranged at the upper end of the windshield and notifying information consisting of at least one of video and audio, the second notification unit being a control device for a vehicle that can be switched by a driver between a first mode and a second mode having different notification modes, and a control unit that switches the second notification unit from the first mode to the second mode, the control unit calculating a frequency of switching from the first mode to the second mode in the second notification unit when the shift position is switched from a first position including a forward position to a second position including a reverse position, and switching the second notification unit to the second mode when the frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and the shift position is switched from the first position to the second position. As a result, the vehicle control device according to the embodiment of the present invention can improve the convenience of the driver and allow the driver to safely perform driving operations. EXAMPLES

[0011] Hereinafter, a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, up, down, front, back, left and right directions are the up, down, front, back, left and right directions of the vehicle.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 is equipped with a vehicle control device including a first notification unit 10, a second notification unit 20, a control unit 30, a first imaging device 11, a second imaging device 21, and a shift mechanism 31.

[0013] In a vehicle 1, a windshield 2 is provided at a vehicle front portion 1A, and a rear window 3 is provided at a vehicle rear portion 1B. A steering wheel 4 is provided in the passenger compartment between the windshield 2 and the rear window 3. The steering wheel 4 is disposed at approximately the same height as the lower end of the windshield 2.

[0014] The first notification unit 10 is disposed at a position P1 below the windshield 2 at the front part 1A of the vehicle, and notifies information consisting of at least one of video and audio. The first notification unit 10 is composed of an in-vehicle navigation device, and notifies information such as route guidance. The first notification unit 10 is capable of displaying video images captured by the first imaging device 11. Note that the first notification unit 10 may notify information acquired from a sonar sensor (not shown) instead of the video images captured by the first imaging device 11.

[0015] The first imaging device 11 is disposed at a position P3 at the upper edge of a license plate (not shown) below the rear window 3 at the rear part 1B of the vehicle. The first imaging device 11 is configured as a backup camera that captures an image immediately behind the vehicle, and outputs the captured image to the first notification unit 10 via the control unit 30.

[0016] The second notification unit 20 is disposed at a position P2 at the upper end of the windshield 2 at the front part 1A of the vehicle, and notifies information consisting of at least one of video and audio. The second notification unit 20 is a digital inner mirror. The digital inner mirror is a device that allows rearward confirmation through a mirror and rearward confirmation through a video image.

[0017] The second notification unit 20 is configured to be switchable by the driver 5 to mirror modes having different notification modes. The second notification unit 20 has a mirror that reflects the rear of the vehicle and a display panel disposed inside the mirror. The second notification unit 20 can display the captured image output from the second imaging device 21 on the display panel.

[0018] The mirror modes of the second notification unit 20 include a mirror mirror mode as a first mode and a digital mirror mode as a second mode. The mirror mirror mode is a mode in which the rear of the vehicle is reflected by a mirror, similar to a normal inner mirror. The digital mirror mode is a mode in which an image (video image) of the rear of the vehicle captured by the second imaging device 21 is displayed on the display panel. The video image displayed in the digital mirror mode has a wide angle and a wide shooting range, is optimized in brightness, and does not include reflections of the rear seats, etc., compared to the rear view that can be confirmed in the mirror mirror mode.

[0019] 2, the first notification unit 10 includes a speaker 12 that outputs sound. The first notification unit 10 can also output sound to left and right speakers 12L and 12R provided in the vehicle 1. These speakers 12, 12L, and 12R are disposed below the windshield 2.

[0020] A gripping part 20A that the driver 5 grips to switch between the mirror mirror mode and the digital mirror mode is provided at the bottom of the second notification part 20. The second notification part 20 is switched between the mirror mirror mode and the digital mirror mode by the driver 5 gripping the gripping part 20A and changing its angle (elevation angle). The angle of the second notification part 20 that becomes the mirror mirror mode is an angle at which the driver 5 can see the rear of the vehicle by the reflection in the mirror.

[0021] 1, the second imaging device 21 is provided at a position P4 at the upper end of the rear window 3 at the rear part 1B of the vehicle. The second imaging device 21 captures an image of the rear of the vehicle and outputs the captured image to the second notification unit 20 via the control unit 30. The first imaging device 11 and the second imaging device 21 have different imaging ranges and installation attitudes (imaging directions). The first imaging device 11 is installed in an attitude looking down on a relatively narrow range immediately behind the vehicle so as to capture the range, whereas the second imaging device 21 is installed in an attitude facing approximately horizontally so as to capture a relatively wide range including the distant area behind the vehicle.

[0022] The shift mechanism 31 is an automatic gear shift mechanism that automatically switches gears. The shift positions of the shift mechanism 31 include a P range, which is a parking position, an R range, which is a reverse position, an N range, which is a neutral position, and a D range and an M range, which are forward positions. The D range is a shift position where automatic gear shifting is performed, and the M range is a shift position where the driver 5 selects a gear.

[0023] The control unit 30 is configured by a computer unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an input port, and an output port.

[0024] The ROM of the computer unit stores various constants, various maps, and the like, as well as a program for causing the computer unit to function as the control unit 30. That is, in the computer unit, the CPU executes the program stored in the ROM, causing the computer unit to function as the control unit 30 in this embodiment.

[0025] The first imaging device 11, the second imaging device 21, and the shift mechanism 31 are connected to an input port of the control unit 30. Various control targets including the first notification unit 10 and the second notification unit 20 are connected to an output port of the control unit 30.

[0026] The control unit 30 is configured to display the image captured by the first imaging device 11 on the first notification unit 10 when the shift position is switched to the second position. That is, when the vehicle 1 is moving backwards, the video image of the first imaging device 11 as a backup camera is automatically displayed on the first notification unit 10. This allows the driver 5 to move the vehicle 1 backwards while checking not only the rear of the vehicle through the second notification unit 20 in the mirror mode, but also the video image captured by the first imaging device 11 immediately behind the vehicle 1.

[0027] Here, since the video image of the first imaging device 11 and the video image of the second imaging device 21 have different shooting ranges, the driver 5 may wish to check the video image of the immediate vicinity of the vehicle 1 captured by the first imaging device 11 on the first notification unit 10 and to check the wide-range video image captured by the second imaging device 21 on the second notification unit 20 in digital mirror mode when the vehicle 1 is moving backwards. The driver 5 may wish to use the second notification unit 20 in the mirror mirror mode while the vehicle 1 is moving forward, and to use the second notification unit 20 in the digital mirror mode while the vehicle 1 is moving backwards or parked. The driver 5 can check the video image of the second imaging device 21 by performing an operation to switch the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode when the vehicle 1 is moving backwards. However, it is inconvenient to perform a switching operation on the second notification unit 20, which is located in a hard-to-reach position at the top end of the windshield 2, while paying attention to the video image displayed on the first notification unit 10 located below the windshield 2 and the audio from the speakers 12, 12L, and 12R located below the windshield 2 every time the vehicle 1 moves backward. In addition, performing a switching operation may cause an impediment to driving operations.

[0028] Therefore, the control unit 30 switches the second notification unit 20 from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode when the driver 5 frequently switches the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode at a rate equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value when the shift position is in a second position such as the R range. The control unit 30 calculates the frequency with which the second notification unit 20 switches from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode when the shift position is switched from a first position including a forward position to a second position including a reverse position. The first positions are the D range, the M range, and the N range. The second positions are the R range and the P range.

[0029] The frequency of switching operations refers to the ratio of the number of switching operations from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode when the shift position is in the second position to the number of switching operations from the first position to the second position. For example, in one driving cycle of the vehicle 1 from system startup to system shutdown, if switching from the D range as the first position to the R range as the second position is performed five times, and in the R range state, the second notification unit 20 performs four switching operations from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode, the frequency ratio is 0.8. The control unit 30 then compares the frequency obtained by this calculation with a predetermined threshold value.

[0030] When the frequency of switching to the digital mirror mode is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and the shift position is switched from the first position to the second position, the control unit 30 switches the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode. For example, when the predetermined threshold is set to 0.5, the frequency (proportion of the number of times) is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, so that when the shift position is switched to the second position such as the R range, the control unit 30 switches the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode.

[0031] The control unit 30 switches the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode by turning on the display panel inside the mirror, not by changing the angle of the second notification unit 20. In other words, the second notification unit 20 can display the video image on the display panel through the mirror while remaining at the angle of the mirror mode.

[0032] Thus, in this embodiment, if the second notification unit 20 is frequently switched to the digital mirror mode by the operation of the driver 5 at a rate equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold when the shift position is in the second position such as R range, the second notification unit 20 is automatically switched to the digital mirror mode by the control unit 30 when the shift position is in the second position such as R range.

[0033] The second notification unit 20 has an output unit 22. The output unit 22 outputs a warning by light or sound when an obstacle is found within the range of the captured image output from the second imaging device 21. The output unit 22 outputs the warning by, for example, blinking an LED (not shown) or blinking a display panel by increasing or decreasing the backlight brightness.

[0034] The mirror mode switching operation by the vehicle control device of this embodiment configured as above will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The mirror mode switching operation described below is repeatedly executed while the control unit 30 is operating.

[0035] First, in step S1, the control unit 30 detects the shift position of the shift mechanism 31. Next, in step S2, the control unit 30 detects whether the mirror mode of the second notification unit 20 is the mirror mirror mode or the digital mirror mode.

[0036] Next, in step S3, the control unit 30 calculates the frequency of switching from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode. Here, the control unit 30 calculates the frequency of switching from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode in the second notification unit when the shift position is switched from the first position including the forward position to the second position including the reverse position.

[0037] Next, in step S4, the control unit 30 determines whether or not to switch the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode. Here, the control unit 30 determines whether or not, with the second notification unit 20 set to the mirror mode, the switching frequency calculated in step S3 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and the shift position has been switched from the first position to the second position.

[0038] If the switching frequency is not greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, or if the shift position has not been switched from the first position to the second position (NO in step S4), the control unit 30 maintains the second notification unit 20 in the mirror mode in step S5 and ends the current operation.

[0039] On the other hand, if the switching frequency is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold and the shift position has been switched from the first position to the second position (YES in step S4), the control unit 30 switches the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode in step S6 and terminates the current operation.

[0040] As described above, the vehicle control device according to this embodiment includes the control unit 30 that switches the second notification unit 20 from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode. The control unit 30 calculates the frequency of switching operation from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode in the second notification unit 20 when the shift position is switched from the first position including the forward position to the second position including the reverse position. Then, when the frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and the shift position is switched from the first position to the second position, the control unit 30 switches the second notification unit 20 to the digital mirror mode.

[0041] As a result, the second notification unit 20, which is difficult to switch because it is located at the upper end of the windshield 2, is automatically switched to the digital mirror mode by the control unit 30 when the past switching frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. This improves the convenience for the driver 5. In addition, since the switching to the digital mirror mode is performed automatically, the driver 5 can concentrate on driving operations and can safely perform driving operations. As a result, the convenience for the driver 5 can be improved, and the driver 5 can safely perform driving operations.

[0042] In addition, in the vehicle control device of this embodiment, the frequency of switching operations to the digital mirror mode refers to the ratio of the number of switching operations from the mirror mirror mode to the digital mirror mode when the shift position is in the second position to the number of switching operations from the first position to the second position.

[0043] This makes it possible to quantitatively determine whether or not the driver 5 wants the control unit 30 to automatically switch to the digital mirror mode in the second position, such as R range, based on the number of times the shift position is changed and the number of times the second notification unit 20 is changed.

[0044] In addition, in the vehicle control device of this embodiment, the second notification unit 20 is capable of displaying the captured image output from the second imaging device 21 provided at the rear 1B of the vehicle, and has an output unit 22 that outputs a light or audio warning when an obstacle is detected within the range of the captured image.

[0045] This allows the output unit 22 to warn the driver 5 that an obstacle has been found in a situation where the driver 5 is not paying attention to the second notification unit 20 but is paying attention to other first notification units, side mirrors, etc.

[0046] Although an embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended that all such modifications and equivalents be included in the following claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1 vehicle 1B Rear of vehicle 2. Windshield 5 Drivers 10 First Notification Division 11 First imaging device (imaging device) 20. Second Notification Division 20A grip part 21 Second imaging device 22 Output section 30 Control section

Claims

1. A first notification unit is disposed below the windshield and configured to notify information consisting of at least one of video and audio; A second notification unit is disposed at an upper end of the windshield and notifies information consisting of at least one of a video and a sound, The second notification unit is a vehicle control device that can be switched by a driver between a first mode and a second mode having different notification modes, a control unit that switches the second notification unit from the first mode to the second mode, The control unit is calculating a frequency of a switching operation from the first mode to the second mode in the second notification unit in a state where the shift position is switched from a first position including a forward drive position to a second position including a reverse drive position; A vehicle control device characterized in that, when the frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and the shift position is switched from the first position to the second position, the second notification unit is switched to the second mode.

2. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the frequency is a ratio of a number of switching operations from the first mode to the second mode when the shift position is in the second position to a number of switching operations from the first position to the second position.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the second notification unit is capable of displaying an image output from an imaging device provided at the rear of the vehicle, and has an output unit that outputs a light or sound warning when an obstacle is found within the range of the image.

Images