Driver interface device of vehicle

Abstract

To provide a driver interface device 10 of a vehicle 1 that can suppress driving operation by a driver from being disordered during operation of a commander switch 12.SOLUTION: A driver interface device 10 of a vehicle 1 comprises a display part 11 that displays a presentation screen 200 and a commander switch 12 that receives operation by a driver to the presentation screen 200, and further comprises an accelerator pedal 13, acceleration variation calculating means (an accelerator aperture sensor 13a and an ECU 18) that calculate accelerator jerk degrees, storing means (a data base 18a) that stores the accelerator jerk degrees, and display control means (the ECU 18) that changes the presentation screen 200 to a response screen 201 responding to operation by the driver, when a predetermined response waiting time Tr elapses after the commander switch 12 receives the operation by the driver. When the accelerator jerk degrees are above a jerk degree threshold, the display control means extends the response waiting time Tr by predetermined extended hours.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driver interface device for a vehicle that accepts an operation by a driver on a presentation screen displayed on a display unit of the vehicle, for example, and displays a response screen to the driver's operation on the display unit. [Background technology]

[0002] In vehicles such as automobiles, a driver interface device is known that includes, for example, a display unit (liquid crystal monitor) provided on the instrument panel and a screen operation reception unit (commander) provided on the center console between the driver's seat and the passenger seat (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] More specifically, Patent Document 1 displays a presentation screen to be presented to the driver on a display unit, accepts the driver's operations on the presentation screen in a screen operation acceptance unit, and displays a response screen corresponding to the accepted operations on the display unit.

[0004] Recently, in such vehicles, the types of screens displayed on the display unit have become more diverse, such as audio operation screens, navigation operation screens, air conditioning operation screens, and vehicle information screens showing the vehicle's status, and drivers may need to operate the screen operation reception unit while driving the vehicle.

[0005] Therefore, in Patent Document 1, an operation reaction force is applied to the screen operation acceptance section so as to give the driver a sense of moderation, thereby making it easier to operate the screen operation acceptance section while driving. However, when a driver operates the screen operation reception unit while driving, the driver's attention may be directed to operating the screen operation reception unit or checking the display unit, which may unconsciously disrupt driving operations such as accelerator operation.

[0006] Therefore, the applicant conducted various experiments and verified the response waiting time, which is the length of time until the display screen starts to change to the response screen, and found that the disruption of driving operations while operating the screen operation reception section differs depending on the response waiting time, even for the same driver.

[0007] However, in most cases, the response waiting time is set to a predetermined length of time, so that, for example, in the case of a driver whose driving operation is significantly unstable even before operating the screen operation reception unit, there is a risk that the driving operation will become even more unstable while operating the screen operation reception unit, resulting in unstable vehicle behavior. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6481699 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a driver interface device for a vehicle that can suppress disruption of the driver's driving operation while operating a screen operation reception unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] This invention is a driver interface device for a vehicle comprising a display unit that displays a presentation screen to be presented to a driver of the vehicle, and a screen operation reception unit that is provided separately from the display unit and receives operations from the driver regarding the presentation screen displayed on the display unit, the device comprising: a vehicle speed operation reception unit that receives operations from the driver to adjust the vehicle speed; an acceleration change calculation means that calculates the acceleration change of the vehicle speed operation reception unit operated by the driver as an acceleration change amount; a memory means that stores the acceleration change amount calculated by the acceleration change calculation means; and a display control means that, when a predetermined response waiting time has elapsed since the screen operation reception unit received the driver's operation, changes the presentation screen displayed on the display unit to a response screen corresponding to the driver's operation, and is characterized in that, when the acceleration change amount stored in the memory means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the display control means extends the response waiting time by a predetermined extension time.

[0011] The above-mentioned presentation screens include operation screens for in-vehicle equipment such as audio, navigation, and air conditioning, vehicle information screens showing vehicle speed and vehicle status, and menu screens for transitioning to operation screens for in-vehicle equipment or vehicle information screens. The display unit refers to a display unit provided on an instrument panel, a display unit provided on a meter panel, or the like.

[0012] The screen operation reception unit refers to, for example, a rotary type screen operation reception unit, a joystick type screen operation reception unit, a touchpad type screen operation reception unit, or a button type screen operation reception unit. The vehicle speed operation receiving unit refers to an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, or a lever for operating an accelerator or a lever for operating a brake in a driving assistance device.

[0013] Changing to the response screen means starting the transition from the presentation screen to the response screen, or completing the display of the response screen in response to the driver's operation. The response waiting time is a time period of 0 ms or more. Note that the response waiting time does not include response delays due to various information processing.

[0014] According to this invention, by calculating and storing the amount of acceleration change of the vehicle speed operation receiving section operated by the driver, the driver's habits regarding the operation of the vehicle speed operation receiving section before operating the screen operation receiving section can be known as the amount of acceleration change.

[0015] Furthermore, the applicant has conducted various experiments and verified that the response waiting time when the acceleration change amount of the vehicle speed operation receiving unit is small during operation of the screen operation receiving unit tends to be longer than the response waiting time when the acceleration change amount of the vehicle speed operation receiving unit is large.

[0016] Therefore, when the acceleration change amount of the vehicle speed operation receiving unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the response waiting time is extended by a predetermined extension time, so that the vehicle's driver interface device can guide the driver to unconsciously perform driving operations that reduce the acceleration change amount.

[0017] This allows the vehicle driver interface device to suppress an increase in the amount of change in acceleration of the vehicle speed operation acceptance unit during operation of the screen operation acceptance unit, thereby suppressing changes in vehicle speed that accompany operation of the screen operation acceptance unit and stabilizing vehicle behavior.

[0018] Therefore, the driver interface device of the vehicle can suppress disturbances in driving operations while operating the screen operation reception unit. Furthermore, by stabilizing the vehicle behavior, the driver interface device of the vehicle can give the driver the feeling that they are operating the vehicle as they wish.

[0019] As an aspect of the present invention, the acceleration change calculation means may be configured to calculate, as the amount of acceleration change, a moving average value of acceleration changes of the vehicle speed operation acceptance unit operated by the driver.

[0020] According to this configuration, the response waiting time is extended based on the acceleration change amount with reduced variation, so that the acceleration change amount of the vehicle speed operation receiving section during operation of the screen operation receiving section can be reliably reduced compared to when the response waiting time is not extended.

[0021] In another aspect of the present invention, the vehicle speed operation receiving unit may be configured to receive an accelerator operation by the driver, and the acceleration change calculation means may be configured to calculate an accelerator jerk, which is an acceleration change rate of the accelerator operation, as the acceleration change amount.

[0022] According to this configuration, the driver can unconsciously perform an accelerator operation with a reduced accelerator jerk, thereby reliably suppressing changes in vehicle speed due to operations on the screen operation reception unit.

[0023] In another aspect of the present invention, the display control means is configured to: 3 If the accelerator jerk is less than 0.5 deg / s, the response waiting time is set to a time length of 50 ms or more and 100 ms or less. 3 In the above cases, the response waiting time may be set to a time length of 100 ms or more and 150 ms or less.

[0024] According to this configuration, the response waiting time can be set to a suitable length of time for each driver, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the accelerator jerk from becoming large while the screen operation reception section is being operated. [Effects of the Invention]

[0025] The present invention can provide a driver interface device for a vehicle that can prevent the driver from being disturbed in driving operations while operating a screen operation reception unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the appearance of the driver interface device as seen from inside the vehicle. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a driver interface device. [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the ECU in response to the operation of the commander switch. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of a presentation screen and a response screen. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a response waiting time. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of a selection process. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the response standby time and the accelerator jerk. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a driver interface device 10 of a vehicle 1 that suppresses disturbances in the driver's driving operation while the commander switch 12 is being rotated will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a front view of the driver interface device 10 as seen from inside the vehicle 1, and FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the driver interface device 10. As shown in FIG.

[0028] First, as shown in FIG. 1, the interior of vehicle 1 is equipped with an instrument panel 2 extending in the vehicle width direction (reference numerals omitted), a center console 3 extending from approximately the center of the instrument panel 2 in the vehicle width direction toward the rear of the vehicle, and a driver's seat 4 and a passenger seat 5 arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction on either side of the center console 3.

[0029] Furthermore, inside the vehicle 1, a steering wheel 6 that is operated by the driver is disposed in front of the driver's seat 4. Spokes (reference numerals omitted) extending to the left and right of the steering wheel 6 are provided with a left-side operation switch 6a and a right-side operation switch 6b that accept various operations by the driver.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, the driver interface device 10 of such a vehicle 1 includes a display unit 11 provided at approximately the center of the instrument panel 2 in the vehicle width direction, and a cylindrical commander switch 12 provided on the top surface of the center console 3. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the driver interface device 10 is equipped with an accelerator pedal 13, the details of which are not shown, and a vehicle speed sensor 14 for detecting the speed of the vehicle 1.

[0031] In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the driver interface device 10 includes a navigation unit 15, an audio unit 16, and an air conditioning unit 17, which are on-board equipment of the vehicle 1, and an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "ECU") 18 that controls the operation of these units.

[0032] More specifically, the display unit 11 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal display, and has the function of displaying various information based on control signals from the ECU 18 to a passenger such as a driver seated in the driver's seat 4.

[0033] The commander switch 12 is a switch configured to be able to accept operations in different input directions, and has a function of accepting an input operation by the driver and a function of outputting an operation signal corresponding to the input operation to the ECU 18. The commander switch 12 has three input directions: a depression direction along an axis center substantially parallel to the vehicle vertical direction; a tilt direction relative to the axis center; and a rotation direction around the axis center as the rotation axis.

[0034] Specifically, the commander switch 12 is equipped with a push button mechanism (not shown) that descends when pressed by the driver and applies a reaction force to the driver against the pressing operation, and a pressing detection sensor 12a (see FIG. 2) that is provided in the push button mechanism and detects the pressing operation by the driver.

[0035] Furthermore, the commander switch 12 is tilted by a tilting operation by the driver and is equipped with a tilting mechanism (not shown) that applies a reaction force to the driver in response to the tilting operation, and a tilt displacement sensor 12b (see Figure 2) that is provided in the tilting mechanism and detects the amount of displacement of the commander switch 12 in the tilting direction.

[0036] In addition, the commander switch 12 is rotated by a rotation operation by the driver and is equipped with a rotation mechanism (not shown) that applies a reaction force to the rotation operation, and a rotation displacement sensor 12c (see Figure 2) that is provided in the rotation mechanism and detects the amount of displacement of the commander switch 12 in the rotation direction.

[0037] The reaction force to the rotation operation is set to gradually increase from the start of rotation to give the driver a sense of gradual control, and to reach a maximum at a division angle obtained by dividing 360 degrees by a predetermined rotation angle.

[0038] The accelerator pedal 13 is, for example, an organ-type pedal unit, and has a function of receiving, at its tread surface, a depression operation by the driver to adjust the vehicle speed. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, accelerator pedal 13 is equipped with accelerator opening sensor 13a that detects the amount of displacement of the pedal surface due to the driver's operation as the depression amount and outputs the detected depression amount to ECU 18 as an accelerator opening signal.

[0039] The vehicle speed sensor 14 also has a function of detecting the rotation speed of a drive shaft connected to the wheels, for example, and a function of outputting the detected rotation speed to the ECU 18 as a rotation speed signal. Although not shown in detail, the navigation unit 15 is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). It consists of a GNSS antenna that receives GNSS signals from the Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and the navigation unit itself that processes various information based on the GNSS signals.

[0040] Examples of global navigation satellite systems include the Global Positioning System and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System. satellite system).

[0041] This navigation unit 15 has the function of detecting location information indicating the current location of the vehicle, the function of storing map information, and the function of outputting to the ECU 18 an operation screen that prompts the driver to select various information and various functions based on the map information and location information.

[0042] Although detailed illustrations are omitted, the audio unit 16 is composed of a radio antenna that receives radio signals, an audio unit that performs various information processing related to radio and music playback, and a speaker that outputs audio data as sound.

[0043] This audio unit 16 has the functions of converting radio signals into audio data, storing the audio data, reading a storage medium on which the audio data is stored, playing the audio data, and outputting to the ECU 18 an operation screen that prompts the driver to select various functions.

[0044] Although not shown in detail, the air conditioning unit 17 is composed of an interior temperature sensor, a compressor, an evaporator, a floor fan, etc. The air conditioning unit 17 has the functions of detecting the interior temperature, outputting a signal indicating the detected interior temperature to the ECU 18, operating based on a control signal from the ECU 18, and outputting to the ECU 18 an operation screen that prompts the driver to select various functions.

[0045] The ECU 18 is made up of hardware components such as a CPU, a memory, and a storage unit for storing various types of information, and software components such as programs and data. This ECU 18 has the function of acquiring various signals output by the commander switch 12, accelerator pedal 13, vehicle speed sensor 14, navigation unit 15, audio unit 16, and air conditioning unit 17, the function of performing various information processing based on the acquired various signals, and the function of controlling the operation of the display unit 11.

[0046] Furthermore, the ECU 18 has a function of outputting control signals corresponding to the driver's input operation received by the commander switch 12 to the navigation unit 15 , the audio unit 16 and the air conditioning unit 17 .

[0047] In addition, ECU 18 has the function of acquiring signals from sensors installed in various parts of vehicle 1 (not shown), the function of outputting vehicle information indicating the state of vehicle 1 based on the acquired signals to display unit 11, and the function of outputting to ECU 18 an operation screen that prompts the driver to select various functions. The vehicle information includes, for example, the driving status of the motor in an electric vehicle and the charging status of the battery.

[0048] More specifically, the ECU 18 cooperates with the tilt displacement sensor 12b and the rotation displacement sensor 12c to realize a displacement amount calculation means for calculating the amount of displacement of the commander switch 12 in the tilt direction and the amount of displacement in the rotation direction.

[0049] Furthermore, the ECU 18 realizes accelerator opening degree calculation means that calculates the accelerator opening degree based on the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 13 in cooperation with the accelerator opening degree sensor 13a.

[0050] Furthermore, ECU 18 realizes an accelerator jerk calculation means that calculates a moving average value of the accelerator operation jerk (hereinafter referred to as accelerator jerk), which is the acceleration change rate of the accelerator operation, based on the time when the accelerator opening signal is acquired and the accelerator opening.

[0051] Additionally, the ECU 18 realizes a vehicle speed calculation means that cooperates with the vehicle speed sensor 14 to calculate the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 based on the rotation speed signal. The ECU 18 includes a database 18a in which the operation speed of the commander switch 12, the accelerator opening, the accelerator jerk, the vehicle speed, and the like are sequentially registered.

[0052] Next, the processing operation of the ECU 18 in the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the processing operations when the driver presses and rotates the commander switch 12 are explained, and a detailed explanation of the processing operations when the driver tilts the commander switch 12 is omitted.

[0053] 3 shows a flowchart of the processing operation of the ECU 18 in response to the operation of the commander switch 12, and FIG. 4 shows an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a presentation screen 200 and a response screen 201. In FIG. Furthermore, FIG. 5 shows an explanatory diagram for explaining the response waiting time Tr, FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the selection process, and FIG. 7 shows an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the response waiting time Tr and the accelerator jerk.

[0054] When power is supplied to the ECU 18 from the battery, the ECU 18 executes a predetermined program stored therein and starts processing operations in response to the operation of the commander switch 12. The ECU 18, which has started processing operations in response to the operation of the commander switch 12, displays a presentation screen 200 on the display unit 11 to be presented to the driver seated in the driver's seat 4, as shown in FIG. 3 (step S101).

[0055] The presentation screen 200 is a selection screen on which a cursor C indicating the currently selected item is displayed, and in this embodiment, as an example, it is a menu screen for transitioning to an operation screen for in-vehicle equipment or a vehicle information screen as shown in Figure 4(a).

[0056] Specifically, as shown in Figure 4(a), the presentation screen 200 displays the title "Main Menu" at the top, and below that five selection items are displayed: "1. Navigation," "2. Audio," "3. Air Conditioning," "4. Vehicle Information," and "5. Various Settings." Furthermore, on the presentation screen 200 (menu screen), a substantially rectangular cursor C indicating the currently selected item is displayed so as to surround "1. Navigation."

[0057] After the presentation screen 200 is displayed on the display unit 11, the ECU 18 determines whether or not an operation of the commander switch 12 by the driver has been detected, as shown in FIG. 3 (step S102). If the ECU 18 has not detected the operation of the commander switch 12 (step S102: No), the ECU 18 waits for the process to finish until the ECU 18 detects the operation of the commander switch 12.

[0058] On the other hand, if the ECU 18 detects an operation of the commander switch 12 (step S102: Yes), the ECU 18 determines whether the detected driver operation is a rotation operation of the commander switch 12 (step S103).

[0059] If the detected driver operation is not a rotation operation of the commander switch 12 but a pressing operation of the commander switch 12 (step S103: No), the ECU 18 determines that it has received a decision operation by the driver to decide on the selection item surrounded by the cursor C, and starts a decision process to display a screen corresponding to the selection item on the display unit 11 as a response process to the pressing operation (step S104).

[0060] For example, when the menu screen of Figure 4(a) is displayed on the display unit 11 as the presentation screen 200, the ECU 18 determines that "1. Navigation" surrounded by the cursor C has been selected by the driver, and displays the navigation screen corresponding to the selection item "1. Navigation" on the display unit 11.

[0061] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the ECU 18 returns the process to step S102 and repeats the processes from step S102 to step S105, which will be described later, until the supply of electric power is interrupted.

[0062] On the other hand, in step S103, if the detected driver operation is a rotation operation of the commander switch 12 (step S103: Yes), the ECU 18 determines that it has received the driver's selection operation to change the currently selected item on the presentation screen 200, and starts a selection process to change the current position of the cursor C to a position corresponding to the rotation operation by the driver as a response process to the rotation operation (step S105).

[0063] As shown in FIG. 5(a), the ECU 18 determines that the rotational operation of the commander switch 12 has been detected when the rotational angle θ of the commander switch 12 detected by the rotational displacement sensor 12c reaches a reaction force generation angle θ1 that generates an operation reaction force that can be perceived by the driver.

[0064] More specifically, the ECU 18, which has started the selection process, reads the accelerator jerk from the database 18a and temporarily stores it, as shown in FIG. 6 (step S111). Furthermore, the ECU 18 sets the time when the rotation angle θ of the commander switch 12 reaches the reaction force generation angle θ1 as the acceptance time t1 (see FIG. 5(a)) when the rotation operation of the commander switch 12 is accepted, and initializes the response waiting time Tr from the acceptance time t1 to a predetermined length of time (step S112).

[0065] This response waiting time Tr is a predetermined time length in the range of 50 ms to 100 ms, and is set to, for example, 50 ms. As shown in FIG. 5(b), the response waiting time Tr is the length of time that does not include response delays associated with various information processing, and is the length of time from the reception time t1 to the movement start time t2 at which the cursor C on the presentation screen 200 starts moving.

[0066] After initializing the response waiting time Tr, the ECU 18 starts measuring the elapsed time from the reception time t1 (step S113), and then determines whether the accelerator jerk temporarily stored in step S111 is equal to or greater than the jerk threshold value (step S114).

[0067] The jerk threshold is, for example, an upper limit value of the accelerator jerk at which a change in vehicle speed due to an increase in the accelerator jerk can be tolerated, or an upper limit value of the accelerator jerk at which stable vehicle behavior can be maintained against an increase in the accelerator jerk, and in this embodiment is 0.5 deg / s 3 Let's say.

[0068] Accelerator jerk is 0.5deg / s 3 If it is less than the predetermined time (No in step S114), the ECU 18 proceeds to step S116, which will be described later, without changing the response waiting time Tr initialized in step S112.

[0069] On the other hand, the accelerator jerk is 0.5 deg / s 3 In the above case (step S114: Yes), the ECU 18 sets a new response waiting time Tr by extending the current response waiting time Tr by a preset extension time (step S115). The response waiting time Tr after this extension is a predetermined time length in the range of 100 ms to 150 ms, for example, 150 ms.

[0070] If the response waiting time Tr after extension exceeds 150 ms, the response waiting time Tr may become too long and cause discomfort to the driver, so it is desirable that the response waiting time Tr after extension be in the range of 100 ms to 150 ms.

[0071] If the processing continues with the response waiting time Tr set to the initial value in step S114, or if the response waiting time Tr is extended in step S115, the ECU 18 determines whether the elapsed time measured in step S113 is equal to or longer than the response waiting time Tr (step S116), as shown in FIG. 6.

[0072] If the elapsed time is less than the response waiting time Tr (step S116: No), the ECU 18 waits for the processing to finish until the elapsed time becomes equal to or greater than the response waiting time Tr. On the other hand, if the elapsed time is equal to or greater than the response waiting time Tr (step S116: Yes), the ECU 18 starts displaying the response screen 201 in response to the rotation operation of the commander switch 12 by the driver (step S117).

[0073] This response screen 201 is a screen in which the cursor C indicating the currently selected item on the presentation screen 200 has been moved to another selected item. For example, the response screen 201 will be explained using a menu screen, which is an example of the presentation screen 200 shown in Figure 4(a), as shown in Figure 4(b), where the cursor C surrounding "1. Navigation" on the presentation screen 200 has moved to a position surrounding "3. Air Conditioner."

[0074] That is, in the above-mentioned step S117, starting to display the response screen 201 means that the cursor C on the presentation screen 200 starts to move. When the display of the response screen 201 is completed, the ECU 18 ends the selection process, and then returns the process to step S102 in FIG. 3, and repeats the processes from step S102 to step S105 until the supply of power is interrupted.

[0075] In this way, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 varies the timing at which it starts displaying the response screen 201 depending on the accelerator jerk stored before the driver operates the commander switch 12, thereby guiding the driver's accelerator operation while rotating the commander switch 12 to an operation with a reduced accelerator jerk.

[0076] Next, the accelerator operation guidance according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7, which shows the relationship between the response waiting time Tr and the accelerator jerk. First, FIG. 7 is a distribution diagram where the horizontal axis represents the response wait time Tr and the vertical axis represents the accelerator jerk. The black circles in the diagram indicate the accelerator jerk during the rotation operation of the commander switch 12, and the thin curve in the diagram indicates an approximation curve based on all accelerator jerk values.

[0077] The accelerator jerk was measured for multiple drivers using vehicles with different response waiting times Tr while maintaining a constant vehicle speed under three vehicle speed conditions (e.g., 30 km / h, 50 km / h, and 80 km / h).

[0078] FIG. 7, which shows the distribution of accelerator jerk calculated under these conditions, shows that the maximum variation in accelerator jerk gradually decreases from response wait time Tr=0 ms to response wait time Tr=200 ms.

[0079] That is, the response standby time Tr when the accelerator jerk of the accelerator pedal 13 is small during operation of the commander switch 12 tends to be longer than the response standby time Tr when the accelerator jerk of the accelerator pedal 13 is large.

[0080] Furthermore, according to Figure 7, the accelerator jerk is 0 deg / s3 Above 0.5 deg / s 3 Therefore, even if a driver is good at maintaining the vehicle speed, there is a tendency for the driver to operate the commander switch 12 at a speed of 0.5 deg / s or less. 3 It can be said that the accelerator pedal 13 is unconsciously operated with an accelerator jerk of less than this.

[0081] Therefore, in this embodiment, in step S114 of FIG. 6, the accelerator jerk is set to 0.5 deg / s. 3 In this case, the response waiting time Tr is extended to prevent the accelerator jerk from exceeding 0.5 deg / s. 3 The above accelerator operation is performed with an accelerator jerk of 0.5 deg / s. 3 This encourages drivers to operate the accelerator pedal at less than this speed.

[0082] In other words, in this embodiment, by extending the response waiting time Tr according to the accelerator jerk, a driver who is poor at maintaining vehicle speed, for example, is guided to unconsciously perform accelerator operation similar to that of a driver who is good at maintaining vehicle speed.

[0083] As a result, in this embodiment, when a driver with a large accelerator jerk starts to rotate the commander switch 12, a large change in vehicle speed during the rotation operation is suppressed.

[0084] As described above, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 in this embodiment includes the display unit 11 that displays the presentation screen 200 to be presented to the driver of the vehicle 1, and the commander switch 12 that is provided separately from the display unit 11 and accepts driver operations on the presentation screen 200 displayed on the display unit 11.

[0085] Furthermore, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 includes an accelerator pedal 13 that accepts driver operation to adjust the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, an acceleration change calculation means (accelerator opening sensor 13a and ECU 18) that calculates the acceleration change of the accelerator pedal 13 operated by the driver as an accelerator jerk, and a storage means (database 18a) that stores the accelerator jerk calculated by the acceleration change calculation means.

[0086] In addition, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 is equipped with a display control means (ECU 18) that changes the presentation screen 200 displayed on the display unit 11 to a response screen 201 corresponding to the driver's operation when a predetermined response waiting time Tr has elapsed since the commander switch 12 accepted the driver's operation. Then, when the accelerator jerk stored in the storage means (database 18a) is equal to or greater than the jerk threshold, the display control means (ECU 18) extends the response waiting time Tr by a predetermined extension time.

[0087] According to this configuration, by calculating and storing the accelerator jerk of the accelerator pedal 13 operated by the driver, the driver's habits regarding accelerator operation before the commander switch 12 is operated can be known as the accelerator jerk.

[0088] Furthermore, the applicant has conducted various experiments and verified that the response wait time Tr when the accelerator jerk of the accelerator pedal 13 is small during operation of the commander switch 12 tends to be longer than the response wait time Tr when the accelerator jerk of the accelerator pedal 13 is large.

[0089] Therefore, when the accelerator jerk of the accelerator pedal 13 is equal to or greater than the jerk threshold, the response waiting time Tr is extended by a predetermined extension time, so that the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 can guide the driver to unconsciously perform driving operations with reduced accelerator jerk.

[0090] This allows the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 to suppress an increase in the accelerator jerk of the accelerator pedal 13 during operation of the commander switch 12. As a result, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 can suppress changes in vehicle speed that accompany operation of the commander switch 12, thereby stabilizing the vehicle behavior.

[0091] Therefore, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 can suppress disturbances in driving operation during operation of the commander switch 12. Furthermore, by stabilizing the vehicle behavior, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 can give the driver the feeling that he or she is operating the vehicle 1 as intended.

[0092] The acceleration change calculation means (accelerator opening sensor 13a and ECU 18) is configured to calculate, as an accelerator jerk, a moving average value of the acceleration jerk of accelerator pedal 13 operated by the driver.

[0093] According to this configuration, the response standby time Tr is extended based on the accelerator jerk with reduced variation, so the accelerator jerk of the accelerator operation during operation of the commander switch 12 can be reliably reduced compared to when the response standby time Tr is not extended.

[0094] The acceleration change calculation means (accelerator opening sensor 13a and ECU 18) is configured to calculate the acceleration change rate of the accelerator operation as an accelerator jerk. According to this configuration, the driver can unconsciously operate the accelerator with reduced accelerator jerk, so that changes in vehicle speed accompanying operation of the commander switch 12 can be reliably suppressed.

[0095] In addition, the display control means (ECU 18) displays the accelerator jerk at 0.5 deg / s. 3 If the response waiting time Tr is set to a time length of 50 ms or more and 100 ms or less, and the accelerator jerk is 0.5 deg / s 3 In the above cases, the response waiting time Tr is set to a time length of 100 ms or more and 150 ms or less.

[0096] According to this configuration, the response waiting time Tr can be set to a suitable length of time for each driver, so that the accelerator jerk can be reliably prevented from becoming large while the commander switch 12 is being operated.

[0097] In correspondence between the configuration of this invention and the above-mentioned embodiment, The screen operation receiving unit of the present invention corresponds to the commander switch 12 of the embodiment, Similarly, The vehicle speed operation reception unit corresponds to the accelerator pedal 13, The amount of change in acceleration corresponds to the accelerator jerk, The acceleration change calculation means corresponds to the accelerator opening sensor 13a and the ECU 18, The storage means corresponds to the database 18a, The display control means corresponds to the ECU 18, The predetermined threshold corresponds to a jerk threshold, The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and many other embodiments can be obtained.

[0098] For example, in the above embodiment, the display unit 11 is provided on the instrument panel 2, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be provided on a meter panel, for example. Furthermore, the rotary commander switch 12 has been used as the screen operation reception unit that receives the driver's operation on the presentation screen 200 in the above description, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be a screen operation reception unit of any suitable configuration. For example, the screen operation reception unit may be a joystick type, a touchpad type, or a button type.

[0099] Alternatively, the screen operation receiving unit that receives the driver's operation on the presentation screen 200 may be a left operation switch 6a or a right operation switch 6b provided on the steering wheel 6.

[0100] Furthermore, while the operation screen for in-vehicle equipment or the menu screen for transitioning to the vehicle information screen have been given as examples of the presentation screen 200, the present invention is not limited to this, and the presentation screen 200 may be any appropriate screen, such as an operation screen for in-vehicle equipment such as the audio unit 16, navigation unit 15, and air conditioning unit 17, or a vehicle information screen that displays various information about the vehicle 1.

[0101] Furthermore, the screen on which the cursor C on the presentation screen 200 is moved to another selection item is referred to as the response screen 201, but this is not limiting, and the response screen may be a screen different from the presentation screen 200. In this case, in step S116 of FIG. 6, if the elapsed time exceeds the response waiting time Tr, the display of the response screen different from the presentation screen 200 begins.

[0102] Furthermore, the configuration is such that the selection process is started when the driver's rotation operation of the commander switch 12 is received, but this is not limited to this, and the configuration may be such that the selection process is started when the driver's tilt operation of the commander switch 12 is received.

[0103] Furthermore, although the selected items on the presentation screen 200 are changed by rotating the commander switch 12, this is not limiting, and for example, the presentation screen may be enlarged or reduced by rotating the commander switch 12. In this case, a response screen obtained by enlarging or reducing the presentation screen is displayed on the display unit 11 through the same processes as in steps S111 to S117 in Fig. 6 .

[0104] Furthermore, although the accelerator pedal 13 has been used in the description, the present invention is not limited to this and may be, for example, a brake pedal, as long as it is a vehicle speed operation receiving unit that receives an operation by the driver to adjust the speed of the vehicle 1. Alternatively, it may be a lever for operating an accelerator or a lever for operating a brake in a driving assistance device. Furthermore, although the accelerator jerk, which is the acceleration change rate of the accelerator operation, has been used in the above description, it is not limited to the acceleration change rate as long as it is the amount of acceleration change of the accelerator operation.

[0105] Although not mentioned in the above embodiment, a means for identifying the driver seated in the driver's seat 4 may be provided, and the accelerator jerk of the accelerator operation may be registered in the database 18a for each driver. In this case, in step S111 of FIG. 6, by reading the accelerator jerk corresponding to the driver seated in the driver's seat 4, the driver interface device 10 of the vehicle 1 can change the presentation screen 200 at a display timing that suits the driver.

[0106] Also, in step S112 of FIG. 6, the response waiting time Tr is the length of time until the cursor C on the presentation screen 200 starts to move, but this is not limited to this, and the response waiting time Tr may be the time from the reception time t1 to the completion of displaying the response screen 201.

[0107] In addition, in step S112 of FIG. 6, the initial value of the response waiting time Tr is set to 50 ms as an example, but this is not limited to this, and the initial value of the response waiting time Tr may be any appropriate length of time as long as it is between 50 ms and 100 ms.

[0108] In step S114 of FIG. 6, the jerk threshold is set to 0.5 deg / s 3 However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the jerk threshold value may be any appropriate value as long as it is an upper limit value of the accelerator jerk that allows a change in vehicle speed due to an increase in the accelerator jerk.

[0109] 6, the extended response wait time Tr is set to 150 ms as an example, but is not limited to this and may be any appropriate length within the range of 100 ms to 150 ms. Alternatively, the response wait time Tr may be set to a different value within the range of 100 ms to 150 ms for each accelerator jerk temporarily stored in step S111.

[0110] 6 is a processing operation of the ECU 18, the selection process is not limited to this, and may be a processing operation performed by the navigation main body of the navigation unit 15 or the audio main body of the audio unit 16, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1...Vehicle 10...Driver interface device 11...Display section 12...Commander switch 13...Accelerator pedal 13a...Accelerator opening sensor 18...ECU 18a...Database 200…Presentation screen 201...Response screen Tr...Response waiting time

Claims

1. a display unit that displays a presentation screen to be presented to a driver of the vehicle; a screen operation receiving unit that is provided separately from the display unit and that receives an operation of the driver on the presentation screen displayed on the display unit, a vehicle speed operation receiving unit that receives an operation by the driver to adjust the vehicle speed; an acceleration change calculation means for calculating an acceleration change of the vehicle speed operation reception unit operated by the driver as an acceleration change amount; a storage means for storing the acceleration change amount calculated by the acceleration change calculation means; a display control means for changing the presentation screen displayed on the display unit to a response screen corresponding to the driver's operation when a predetermined response waiting time has elapsed since the screen operation acceptance unit accepted the driver's operation, The display control means If the acceleration change amount stored in the storage means is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the response waiting time is extended by a predetermined extension time. A driver interface device for a vehicle.

2. The acceleration change calculation means The acceleration change amount is calculated as a moving average value of the acceleration change of the vehicle speed operation acceptance unit operated by the driver.

10. The vehicle driver interface device according to claim 1.

3. The vehicle speed operation receiving unit is configured to receive an accelerator operation by the driver, and the acceleration change calculation means is The acceleration change amount is calculated as an accelerator jerk, which is an acceleration change rate of the accelerator operation.

10. The vehicle driver interface device according to claim 1.

4. The display control means The accelerator jerk is 0.5 deg / s ３ If the accelerator jerk is less than 0.5 deg / s, the response waiting time is set to a time length of 50 ms or more and 100 ms or less. ３ In the above cases, the response waiting time is set to a time length of 100 ms or more and 150 ms or less.

4. The vehicle driver interface device according to claim 3.

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