Automatic display confirmation system for meters and automatic display confirmation method for meters

Abstract

To provide an automatic display confirmation system for meters installed on an instrument panel or the like of a vehicle.SOLUTION: An automatic display confirmation system 10 for meters installed on an instrument panel of a vehicle, includes: a data processing unit 20; a signal generating unit 35 that sends a signal for displaying on a meter 30 to be inspected in response to a signal from the data processing unit; and an image processing unit 40 that determines the display of the meter to be inspected based on an image captured by an imaging element 42. The data processing unit 20 includes a control unit 22, a storage unit 23, a file creation unit, and a module unit. The control unit uses a file creation unit to create a meter drive signal for displaying evaluation items of the meter to be inspected and transmits it to the signal generating unit. The image processing unit determines whether the display of the meter to be inspected driven by the meter drive signal is appropriate based on whether the display is OK or NG, and sends a result of the determination to the control unit. The control unit that has received the result of the determination further performs automatic determination processing, stores a result of the automatic determination processing in the storage unit, and outputs a report.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic display checking system and method for a meter installed on an instrument panel or the like of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various meters such as a speedometer are installed on a vehicle's instrument panel, and to check whether these meters display correctly, signals are sent to the meters to confirm whether the expected display is obtained. These tests are performed manually, with each step including preparing measuring equipment, inputting the transmission signal to the meter, visually checking the meter display, recording the results of the evaluation, and creating an evaluation report. In order to automate the laborious work of checking the displays, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic evaluation device for vehicle-mounted display meters that can automatically and highly accurately evaluate meters mounted on vehicles.

[0003] Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic testing device for on-vehicle electrical equipment including the automatic evaluation device for on-vehicle indicators according to Patent Document 1. As shown in Fig. 13, the automatic testing device for on-vehicle electrical equipment includes an operation command signal output unit 111 that outputs operation command signals to each electrical equipment, a signal adjustment unit 112 that converts this operation command signal into a signal to be output to the vehicle side and converts response signals obtained from the electrical equipment into signals for monitoring processing, an interface unit 113 provided between the electrical equipment mounted on the vehicle, a signal monitoring unit 114 that monitors the response signals of the electrical equipment obtained via the wire harness, and a monitor signal comparison unit 115 that determines whether the operation of the electrical equipment is normal based on the monitoring results.

[0004] It is disclosed that the operation command signal output unit 111 outputs operation command signals to various electrical equipment such as lights, air conditioners, and audio equipment mounted on the vehicle, and also outputs operation command signals to an automatic evaluation device 116 for automatically evaluating various meters mounted on an instrument panel (instrument panel; display panel) or indicators such as warning lamps.

[0005] However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose how to automate the output of an operation command signal from an automatic evaluation device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4839611 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The automatic evaluation device of Patent Document 1 does not disclose how to automate the output of an operation command signal. The first object of the present invention is to provide a system for automatically checking the display of a meter installed on an instrument panel of a vehicle, and the second object is to provide a method for automatically checking the display of a meter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the first object, the automatic display confirmation system for a meter of the present invention is an automatic display confirmation system for a meter installed on an instrument panel of a vehicle, comprising: a data processing unit; a signal generating unit that sends a signal to be displayed on the meter under test in response to a signal from the data processing unit; an image processing unit that judges the display of the meter to be inspected based on an image captured by an image sensor; Including, The data processing unit includes a control unit, a storage unit, a file creation unit, a module unit, With The control unit a file creation unit creates a meter drive signal for displaying the evaluation items of the meter to be inspected, and transmits the signal to a signal generation unit; The image processing unit determines whether the display of the meter to be inspected, which is driven by the meter drive signal, is normal, i.e., whether the display is OK or NG, and sends the result of the determination to the control unit. The control unit receives the result of the determination. Furthermore, automatic judgment processing is performed, The results of the automatic determination process are stored in a storage unit, and a report is output.

[0009] In the above configuration, preferably, The automatic determination process is executed by the control unit in the following steps. Transmission signal creation process ST1 Transmission signal transmission processing ST2 Signal meter display processing ST3 Camera shooting processing ST4 Image judgment process ST5 Automatic judgment process ST6 Report Output ST7

[0010] In order to achieve the second object, the present invention provides an automatic display confirmation method for a meter installed on an instrument panel of a vehicle, the method comprising: a transmission signal generation processing step for generating a meter drive signal for displaying evaluation items of the meter to be inspected; a transmission processing step of transmitting a meter drive signal; a meter display processing step of driving a display of the meter to be inspected by a meter drive signal; an imaging processing step of imaging the display of the meter to be inspected that is driven by a meter drive signal; an image judgment processing step for judging whether the photographed display image of the inspected meter is OK or NG; an automatic determination processing step of receiving a determination result of the display image of the inspected meter and automatically performing determination processing; and a report output step of storing the result of the automatic determination process in the storage unit and outputting a report. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic meter display confirmation system and an automatic meter display confirmation method that realize automation of signal transmission and automation of judgment, automate operations that have previously been performed manually, and reduce the labor and time required for evaluation work. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic meter display confirmation system according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart showing an automatic display checking method of the automatic display checking system of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of a main module. [Figure 4A] 10 is a flowchart showing the first half of the process of an additional signal generation module. [Figure 4B] 10 is the second half of a flowchart showing the processing of an additional signal generation module. [Figure 5] 4B is a flowchart illustrating the creation of the signal function of FIG. 4A. [Figure 6] 4C is a flowchart illustrating the creation of the item-sub function of FIG. 4B. [Figure 7A] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of an MLT screen initial setting module in the initial setting module. [Figure 7B] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of an IV3 screen initial setting module in the initial setting module. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of a determination result acquisition module. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of a program switching module of the image processing unit. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of an additional signal transmission module. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of an evaluation result output module. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram comparing the work time of the automatic determination and evaluation of the present invention and the manual work time of the comparative example. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic testing device for on-vehicle electrical equipment including a conventional automatic evaluation device for on-vehicle indicators according to Patent Document 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and can be modified as appropriate. In particular, the shape, dimensions, positional relationship, etc. of each component shown in the drawings are merely conceptual matters and can be freely modified depending on the application scene. In each drawing, the same or corresponding components are assigned the same reference numerals.

[0014] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an automatic meter display checking system 10 of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the automatic meter display checking system 10 of the present invention is configured to include a data processing unit 20, a signal generating unit (also referred to as MLT) 35 that is connected to the data processing unit 20 and transmits a signal to a meter 30 (also simply referred to as a meter) to be inspected, an image processing unit 40 that detects the display of the meter 30 to be inspected, and the like.

[0015] The data processing unit 20 generates a signal from the signal generating unit 35 to display the meter 30 to be inspected, created by the control unit 22, and determines in the image processing unit 40 whether the display of the meter 30 is normal or not, automatically judging the display for all evaluation items of the meter 30 to be inspected.

[0016] The data processing unit 20 is composed of a computer equipped with an input / output interface unit 21 that interfaces with the control unit 22, a storage unit 26 equipped with a main storage unit and an auxiliary storage unit, an arithmetic unit that performs arithmetic operations such as four arithmetic operations, and a control unit that controls the storage unit and the arithmetic unit, and a data processing program for checking the display of the meter 30 is stored in the auxiliary storage unit, and by deploying and executing the data processing program in the arithmetic unit, the data processing unit 20 is functionally equipped with the control unit 22, storage unit 23, file creation unit 24, and module unit 25 as shown in Figure 1. In the illustrated example, the data processing unit 20 creates a master file including test items and parameters 30 using the program of the automatic display confirmation system 10 stored in the storage unit 23.

[0017] 2 is a flow diagram showing the automatic display confirmation method of the automatic display confirmation system 10 of the present invention. In this automatic display confirmation method, the following transmission signal creation process ST1, transmission signal transmission process ST2, meter display process ST3 for the signal, camera photography process ST4, report creation process ST5, automatic judgment process ST6, and report output ST7 are performed in this order.

[0018] (I) Transmission signal creation process ST1 A scenario file is created from the master file.

[0019] (II) Transmission processing ST2 of the transmission signal A signal file is created from the scenario file created in the transmission signal creation process ST1, and is sent to the signal generating unit 35. Here, the signal generated by the signal generating unit 35 is a signal used for control inside the vehicle, such as a CAN signal used to drive meters installed on the instrument panel.

[0020] (III) Signal meter display processing ST3 A meter driving signal is transmitted from the signal generating unit 35 to the meter 30 .

[0021] (IV) Camera photography process ST4 The image processing unit 40 is configured to include an imaging element 42 that captures the display of the meter 30, and an image processing computer that processes the image captured by the imaging element 42. The image processing unit 40 determines whether the display of the meter 30 is normal, that is, whether the display is appropriate, and sends the determination result to the control unit 22 via the input / output interface unit 21 of the data processing unit 20. To determine whether the display of the meter 30 is normal, pattern matching, learning, deep learning, various AI-based methods, etc. can be used.

[0022] A commercially available image discrimination sensor can be used for the image processing unit 40. An example of such an image discrimination sensor is the IV3 manufactured by Keyence. The IV3 is capable of image discrimination through deep learning.

[0023] (V) Image judgment process ST5 The result of the determination process on the image output from the image processing unit 40 (whether or not it is appropriate to display it) is sent to the control unit 22 via the input / output interface unit 21.

[0024] (VI) Automatic Judgment Processing ST6 The display of the meter 30 is compared with an expected value of the display of the meter 30 in the control unit 22, and an automatic determination process is performed to determine whether or not the display is normal.

[0025] (VII) Report Output ST7 An evaluation report is created and output based on the automatic determination process ST6. This evaluation report may be displayed on a display, or may be printed on paper by a printer connected to the data processing unit 20, if necessary.

[0026] The method for automatically checking a meter display of the present invention is a method for automatically checking a meter display installed on an instrument panel of a vehicle, comprising: a transmission signal generation processing step for generating a meter drive signal for displaying evaluation items of the meter to be inspected; a transmission processing step of transmitting a meter drive signal; a meter display processing step of driving a display of the meter to be inspected by a meter drive signal; an imaging processing step of imaging the display of the meter to be inspected that is driven by a meter drive signal; an image judgment processing step for judging whether the photographed display image of the inspected meter is OK or NG; an automatic determination processing step of receiving a determination result of the display image of the inspected meter and automatically performing determination processing; and a report output step of storing the results of the automatic determination process in the storage unit and outputting a report. A program for executing each of these steps is stored in the storage unit 22 and is executed by the data processing unit 20 of the automatic display confirmation system 10.

[0027] The evaluation items are listed below, and may differ depending on the country and the laws and regulations. Item 1 Celsius (C) / Fahrenheit (F), Item 2 Fuel economy units (◎: default, ○: selectable), L / 100km, km / L, MPG Item 3 Four-wheel drive display AWD / 4WD Item 4 Smart Entry Wording 7 For countries other than North America Item 5 Smart Entry Wording 12.3 For Non-North America Item 6 TEMP gauge indication characteristics Middle East / outside Middle East Item 7 Fuel gauge scale EF or R-1 / 1 Item 8: Rotation speed unit r / min or RPM Item 9 Dial design European speed scale with red scale Item 10 Dial design Maximum speed displayable (main display) Item 11 Telltale TRC OFF / TRACOFF Item 12 Speedometer Regulations Vehicle speed unit (◎: default, ○: selectable), km / h or MPH Item 13 Legal Symbol (FMVSS) BRAKE Telltale Item 14 Legal Symbol (FMVSS) ABS Telltale Item 15 Regulatory Symbol (FMVSS) EPB / PKB Telltale Item 16 Legal Symbol (FMVSS) TAIL / HEAD Telltale Item 17 Regulatory Symbol (FMVSS) CHECK E / G Telltale

[0028] The temperature rating in item 1 of the evaluation varies from country to country. The fuel economy units in item 2, the fuel gauge scale in item 7, the RPM units in item 8, and the speedometer in item 12 all have different display units depending on the country. The four-wheel drive display in item 3 and the smart entry in items 4 and 5 have different wording depending on the country. The engine water temperature display in item 6 varies from country to country. The speed scale in item 9 is displayed differently depending on the country. The maximum vehicle speed in item 10 varies from country to country. The telltale in item 11 and the telltale displays in items 13 to 17 also vary from country to country.

[0029] Next, the function of the module unit 25 will be described. The module unit 25 is a function provided to modularize the program functions in detail and make the program design easier to understand, since the meter display differs depending on the country even for the same passenger car. Each module stored in the module unit 25 will be described below. (a) The main module controls the overall flow of the evaluation. (b) The additional signal creation module creates additional signals that need to be transmitted from the master file. (c) The initial setting module acquires coordinates to operate the software using RPA. Here, RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is a computer-based automation method. (d) The determination result acquisition module acquires the determination result of the image processing unit 40. (e) The program switching module of the image processing unit 40 switches the determination program of the image processing unit 40. (f) The action item creation module creates a scenario file from a master file. (g) The additional signal transmission module transmits an additional signal from the signal generating unit 35 in response to a command from the control unit 22. (h) The country code switching module transmits a signal from the signal generating unit 35 to switch the country to be evaluated in response to a command from the control unit 22. (i) The evaluation result output module creates an evaluation report and displays it on a display connected to the data processing unit 20. The processing of each module will be explained below.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing of the main module. As shown in Figure 3, when the main module starts, in step ST11, an additional signal is created using the additional signal creation function, in step ST12, an action item is created using the action item creation function, in step ST13, initial settings are performed using the initial setting function, in step ST14, measurement is started using MLT, in step ST15, the IV3 judgment program is switched, in step ST16, the action item is confirmed, and steps ST18 to ST30 are repeated. Next, in step ST18, the country code switching button is pressed, and in step ST19, a country is selected using the country code switching function, and steps ST21 to ST30 are repeated. In step ST21, it is determined whether or not a transmission signal needs to be added to reproduce the confirmation item.

[0031] If an additional transmission signal is required (Yes), in step ST22, the additional signal button is pressed, in step ST23, an additional signal is created using the additional signal transmission function, in step ST24, the judgment result is obtained using the judgment result acquisition function, in step ST25, the evaluation result is output using the evaluation result output function, and in step ST26, it is determined whether or not the program needs to be switched (Yes) or not (No). In step ST26, if there is no need to switch the program, the process returns to step ST21. If there is a need to switch the program, the process switches to an image determination program, for example, the IV3 determination program, in step ST30, and then returns to step ST21.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the additional signal creation module, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the creation of the signal function of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the creation of the item-sub function of FIG. 4, in the additional signal generation function, first, in step ST32, the action item list of the master file is opened, and in step ST33, the last row of the "No" column is obtained from the action item list. Thereafter, steps ST35 to ST40 are repeated. In step ST35, it is determined whether or not "◯ (to be implemented)" is entered in the implementation item, and if it is entered, that is, if the answer is Yes, in step ST36, the information of the line in question is added to the list, and the process proceeds to step ST37. Here, in step ST35, if there is no implementation item, that is, if the answer is No, the process returns to step ST35 via counting up in step ST38.

[0033] In step ST37, it is determined whether or not "〇 (Yes)" is entered in the additional signal, and if it is entered, that is, if the answer is Yes, in step ST39, a signal function, which will be described later, is created, and the process proceeds to step ST40, where the process moves to the next evaluation item by counting up, and then returns to step ST35. After repeating steps ST35 to ST40, it is determined in step ST42 whether or not there is an additional signal. If there is no additional signal, that is, if the answer is No in step ST37, the process returns to step ST38 and then to step ST35.

[0034] If there is one or more additional signals in step ST42, that is, if the result is Yes, the last line of the Excel (registered trademark) program is acquired in step ST43, and steps ST45 to ST46 are repeated. In step ST45, it is determined whether the line contains "Lbl," which is the label of the signal to be transmitted. If the row contains "Lbl" in step ST45, that is, if the answer is Yes, then in step ST46, the "state" is acquired and the process returns to step ST45. After repeating steps ST45 to ST46, in step ST48, the "state" acquired in step ST46 is entered in the program Excel, and the process proceeds to step ST49, where an action item is created using the "item-sub" function according to the flowchart described later, and in step ST50, the master sheet is deleted and only the action sheet is saved. Next, in step ST51, the action sheet is saved in the storage unit 23 with the extension "xlsx", and in step ST52, the action sheet is saved in the storage unit 23 with the extension "csv", and the process ends.

[0035] (Creating a signal function) As shown in FIG. 5, the signal function is created by extracting arguments in step ST39A, assigning 2 to a variable called make_item_row in step ST39B, writing the label row for program transmission in step ST39C, updating the latest row in step ST39D, and then repeating steps ST39E to ST39H. Next, in step ST39F, the contents of the data of the additional signal are obtained in a list, in step ST39G, the transmission data of the additional signal is written in the Excel (registered trademark) program, and in step ST39H, the latest line is updated. Next, after repeating steps ST39E to ST39H, in step ST39J, the last line of the program transmission is written, the latest line is updated, and the make_signal function is terminated.

[0036] (Creating an item-sub function) 6, to create an item-sub function, arguments are extracted in step ST49A, 2 is assigned to the variable "make_item_row" in step ST49B, the contents are transcribed into the Action sheet in step ST49E, step ST49E is repeated as many times as the number of items to be implemented, and step ST49E is repeated as many times as the number of country codes to be implemented. This repetition is performed from step 49C to step 49G. Next, in step ST49I, the number of the item to be performed is entered, and step ST49I is repeated the number of times corresponding to the number of items to be performed, and then the process ends. This process is repeated from step 49H to step 49J.

[0037] 7A and 7B are flowcharts showing the processing of the initial setting modules, with Fig. 7A being a flowchart showing the processing of the MLT screen initial setting module and Fig. 7B being a flowchart showing the processing of the IV3 screen initial setting module. The initial setting function is created by first executing the MLT screen initial setting module (A) and then executing the IV3 (B) screen initial setting module.

[0038] (MLT screen initial setting module) As shown in FIG. 7A, when the MLT screen initial setting module is started, a screenshot of the entire MLT screen is acquired in step ST61, the MLT measurement start coordinates are acquired in step ST62, and the MLT measurement stop coordinates are acquired in step ST63. Next, in step ST64, the icon coordinates of the MLT task bar are acquired, and in step ST55, the button to start MLT measurement is pressed. Next, in step ST66, a screenshot of the entire MLT screen is acquired, in step ST67, coordinates are acquired using a button on the MLT panel display, and in step ST68, the button on the MLT panel display is pressed.

[0039] Next, in step ST69, the country code is pressed on the MLT panel button to acquire the coordinates, in step ST70, the additional signal is pressed on the MLT panel button to acquire the coordinates, and in step ST71, the MLT measurement is stopped and terminated.

[0040] (IV3 screen initial setting module) When the MLT screen initial setting module is completed (see A in FIG. 7A), the IV3 screen initial setting module is started (see B in FIG. 7B). As shown in FIG. 7B, when the IV3 screen initial setting module is started, a screenshot of the entire IV3 screen is acquired in step ST81, the IV3 measurement start coordinates are acquired in step ST82, and the IV3 measurement stop coordinates are acquired in step ST83. Next, in step ST84, the icon coordinates of the IV3 task bar are acquired, and in step ST85, the coordinates of judgment result display 1 are acquired. Next, in step ST86, the coordinates of judgment result display 2 are acquired, and in step ST87, the coordinates of judgment result display 3 and subsequent displays are calculated based on the coordinates of judgment result display 1 and the coordinates of judgment result table 2.

[0041] Next, in step ST88, the coordinates of the program switching location are acquired, in step ST89, the coordinates of program switching location 1 are acquired, in step ST90, the coordinates of program switching location 2 are acquired, and in step ST91, the coordinates of program switching location 3 and beyond are calculated based on the coordinates of program switching location 1 and the coordinates of program switching location 2, and the process ends.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the determination result acquisition module. Regarding the judgment result acquisition function for acquiring the judgment result in IV3, first, in step ST101, a screenshot of the entire screen of IV3 is acquired. In step ST102, the part to be judged for the evaluation item is acquired from the master data. In step ST103, only the range to be judged is extracted. In step ST104, the image is compared with an OK pattern image and an OK image is extracted. In step ST105, a flag is attached to the OK image extracted in step ST104.

[0043] In step ST106, the image is compared with the NG pattern image and NG images are extracted. In step ST107, the NG images extracted in step ST106 are flagged. In step ST108, a decision is made based on the following conditions, and the decision result is returned to the computer, i.e., sent, and the process ends. (a) OK=1&NG=0→Judged as OK. (b) OK=0&NG=1 → Determine as NG. (c) OK=1&NG=1 → Determined as suspicious. (d) OK=0&NG=0 → Determined as suspicious.

[0044] A method for extracting OK images using the PTM function in step ST104 will be described. In step ST104A, the calculation "compare_Kinds=0" is executed to determine whether it is Yes or No. If the calculation is Yes, in step ST104B, TMP is executed with "OK_tmp" and "compare_pic", the process proceeds to step ST104C, an OK image is found, and in step ST104D, a flag indicating the determination result is returned, the process ends, and the process proceeds to step ST105. In step ST104A, the calculation "compare_Kinds=0" is executed, and if the calculation is No, in step ST104B', TMP is executed in "NG_tmp" and "compare_pic", and the process proceeds to step ST104C, where an OK image is found, and in step ST104D, a flag indicating the judgment result is returned and the process ends, and the process proceeds to step ST105.

[0045] 9 is a flowchart showing the processing of the program switching module of the image processing unit 40. An example in which IV3 is used as the image processing unit 40 will be described. Regarding the switching function of the determination program in IV3, first, in step ST111, the name of the determination program after switching is read out. In step ST112, the program switching coordinates are pressed. In step ST113, the mouse is moved to the scroll bar. In step ST114, the mouse is moved to the top of the scroll bar. In step ST115, the character strings are combined to generate an image path for the program. Thereafter, steps ST117 to ST123 are repeated. In step ST117, it is determined whether or not the image path of the searched program exists. If the image path of the searched program exists, that is, if the answer is Yes, in step ST118, the program is switched by clicking the mouse, the operation is interrupted in ST119, and the result is obtained in ST121, and the process ends.

[0046] In step ST117, if the image path of the searched program does not exist, that is, if the answer is No, exception handling is executed in step ST122, and in step ST123, the scroll bar or keyboard is operated to display other programs, and the result is obtained in ST121 and the process ends.

[0047] 10 is a flowchart showing the process of the additional signal transmission module. As shown in FIG. 10, the additional signal transmission module first checks the number of additions (count) in step ST131. Next, in step ST132, a signal transmission according to the number of additions is executed, and the process ends. Here, the signal transmission according to the number of additions corresponds to the program transmission sent to the MLT.

[0048] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the evaluation result output module. 11, in the process of the evaluation result output module, first, the action sheet is read out in step ST141, and the number of action items is extracted in step ST142. Thereafter, steps ST144 to ST152 are repeated. In step ST144, the country code number is extracted, and in step ST145, the action items are extracted. In step ST146, the No. row corresponding to the country code number is obtained from the expectation file. In step ST147, the No. column corresponding to the action items is obtained from the expectation file.

[0049] In step ST148, the results of the action items are compared with the matrix of the expectation file. In step ST149, it is determined whether the results in step ST148 are the same or different. If the results are the same in step ST149, that is, if the answer is Yes, then in step ST150, "OK" is written to the expectation file and the process ends. If the results are different in step ST149, that is, if the answer is No, then in step ST152, "NG" is written to the expectation file and the process ends.

[0050] The automatic meter display confirmation system 10 of the present invention realizes automation of the transmission of a test signal to the meter 30 and the determination of whether the display on the meter 30 is correct. Therefore, by automating operations that were previously performed manually, it becomes possible to reduce the labor required for evaluation work and shorten the time required. This will be explained in more detail below using examples.

[0051] An automatic meter display confirmation system 10 shown in FIG. 1 was constructed, and the display of the meter 30 on the instrument panel of one vehicle model was tested in accordance with the specifications of 64 countries. Computer used: Mouse Computer Co., Ltd. (Model number B4-i7) DRAM: 32MB SSD: 512GB Signal generating unit 35: MLT manufactured by PRISM (model number 5CF2L2CX2) was used. Image processing unit 40: IV3 (model number IV3-G600CA) manufactured by Keyence Corporation was used. Using the function of the IV3, one OK still image and one NG still image were memorized in advance.

[0052] The comparative example compared to the working example was a conventional manual method of checking the meter display, which took 13 hours to prepare the equipment, 128 hours to conduct the evaluation, and 19 hours to summarize the results, for a total work time of 160 hours.

[0053] An automatic evaluation was carried out on the automatic generation of the signal to be transmitted to the signal generator 35 and the automatic generation of an evaluation report showing the results at a glance. This automatic evaluation took 3 hours to prepare the equipment, 5 hours to prepare the signal, and 40 hours to input the evaluation results, for a total of 48 hours of work time. As a result, the automatic evaluation was able to reduce the work time by 70% compared to the comparative example.

[0054] The automatic evaluation included the automatic generation of the signal to be sent to the signal generator 35 and the automatic generation of an evaluation report listing the results. Furthermore, the actual display was compared with the expected value based on the judgment made by the image processor 40, and an automatic judgment was made as to whether or not it conformed to specifications. In other words, in the automatic judgment in which all the steps explained in Figure 2 of the automatic display confirmation system 10 were carried out, it took three hours to prepare the equipment and five hours to prepare the signal, for a total work time of eight hours. As a result, the automatic judgment was able to reduce the work time by 95% compared to the comparative example.

[0055] Figure 12 is a diagram comparing the work time required for the automatic judgment and evaluation of the present invention and a manual comparative example. The horizontal axis of Figure 12 represents work time. Figure 12 shows that the automatic meter display confirmation system 10 of the present invention can dramatically reduce work time compared to the current system.

[0056] The above-described embodiment can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the invention. The data processing methods described in the embodiments of the present invention, particularly the examples, are merely examples and may be modified as appropriate using ordinary programming techniques. The image processing unit 40 may perform deep learning of meter display using normal still images as training data. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 10 Automatic meter display confirmation system 20 Data Processing Unit 21 Input / output interface section 22 Control Unit 23 Memory section 24 File Creation Department 25 Module section 26 Storage device 30 Meter (Meter to be inspected) 35 Signal Generator (MLT) 40 Image processing section 42 Image sensor

Claims

1. An automatic display confirmation system for a meter installed on an instrument panel of a vehicle, comprising: a data processing unit; a signal generating unit that sends a signal to be displayed on the meter to be inspected in response to a signal from the data processing unit; an image processing unit that judges the display of the meter to be inspected based on an image captured by an image sensor; Including, The data processing unit includes a control unit, a storage unit, a file creation unit, and a module unit. With The control unit a meter drive signal for displaying the evaluation items of the inspected meter is created by the file creation unit and transmitted to the signal generation unit; The image processing unit determines whether the display of the inspected meter driven by the meter drive signal is OK or NG, and sends the result of the determination to the control unit; Upon receiving the result of the determination, the control unit Furthermore, automatic judgment processing is performed, The automatic meter display confirmation system stores the results of the automatic determination process in the storage unit and outputs a report.

2. The automatic meter display confirmation system according to claim 1 , wherein the automatic determination process is executed by the control unit through the following steps: Transmission signal creation process ST1 Transmission processing ST2 of transmission signal Meter display processing for signals ST3 Photographing process by camera ST4 Image determination process ST5 Automatic determination process ST6 Report output ST7

3. A method for automatically checking the display of a meter installed on an instrument panel of a vehicle, comprising: a transmission signal generation processing step for generating a meter drive signal for displaying evaluation items of the meter to be inspected; a transmission processing step of transmitting the meter drive signal; a meter display processing step of driving a display of the meter to be inspected by the meter drive signal; an imaging processing step of imaging the display of the inspected meter driven by the meter drive signal; an image judgment processing step for judging whether the photographed display image of the inspected meter is OK or NG; an automatic determination processing step of receiving a determination result of the display image of the inspected meter and automatically performing determination processing; a report output step of storing the result of the automatic determination process in a storage unit and outputting a report,

Images