Vehicle display control device, vehicle display control system, and vehicle display control method

Abstract

To prevent a user from feeling troublesomeness while correctly indicating a physical relation between the own vehicle and a peripheral vehicle as needed.SOLUTION: A vehicle display control device comprises: a physical relation acquisition unit 111 which acquires a physical relation between the own vehicle and a peripheral vehicle; and a display control unit 105 which displays a bird's-eye view indicating a physical relation with an own vehicle image viewed from a virtual view point on the upper side than the own vehicle and a peripheral vehicle image by using the physical relation between the own vehicle and the peripheral vehicle acquired by the physical relation acquisition unit 111 on a display unit 90 used in a cabin of the own vehicle. The display control unit 105 lowers the update frequency of the display position of the image of the peripheral vehicle in the bird's-eye view as a distance of the peripheral vehicle from the own vehicle becomes farther.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle display control device, a vehicle display control system, and a vehicle display control method. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for generating an overhead view including a host vehicle icon and another vehicle icon corresponding to the actual relative positional relationship between the host vehicle and another vehicle in a vehicle equipped with an automatic driving function, and displaying the overhead view on a display screen provided in the vehicle cabin. Patent Document 1 discloses that the host vehicle icon is displayed in the center of the overhead view. Patent Document 1 also discloses that the overhead view is repeatedly generated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-166913 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the vehicle icon is displayed in the center of the overhead view, so that if the positional relationship between the vehicle and the other vehicle changes, the position of the other vehicle icon in the overhead view is changed. Showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is considered to be useful for making it easier for the user to recognize the actual positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. However, each time the overhead view is repeatedly generated, the position of the other vehicle icon moves slightly, which may be annoying to the user.

[0005] One object of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle display control device, a vehicle display control system, and a vehicle display control method that can more accurately indicate the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles as needed, while reducing the inconvenience to the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The above object is achieved by the combination of features recited in the independent claims, and the subclaims define further advantageous embodiments of the disclosure. The reference characters in parentheses in the claims indicate a correspondence with specific means described in the following embodiment as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a first display control device for a vehicle of the present disclosure includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) used in a vehicle and acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and vehicles surrounding the vehicle, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship with an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles seen from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, and the display control unit reduces the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and the display control unit also includes an image simulating actual traffic lanes in the overhead view. Display the Even when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated, if the lane at which the image of the surrounding vehicle is displayed in the overhead view is curved, the display control unit displays the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view tilted in the direction of the curve of the lane. In order to achieve the above object, a second vehicle display control device of the present disclosure is used in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, and includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship with images of at least the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, and the display control unit reduces the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and includes an autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit (113) that acquires an autonomous driving-related state, which is a state related to the autonomous driving of the vehicle, and the display control unit (105b) reduces the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with the autonomous driving-related state acquired by the autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit. In order to achieve the above object, a third display control device for a vehicle according to the present disclosure includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) used in a vehicle and acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using images of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, and the display control unit reduces the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. 、 The display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle, and includes an image showing lanes in the overhead view. Display theThe positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the lane, and includes a lane change identification unit (103) that identifies that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes, and a deviation identification unit (104) that identifies a deviation of the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the center of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling, and the display control unit, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and which the lane change identification unit has identified as changing lanes or a surrounding vehicle whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is equal to or more than a threshold, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the traveling lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, on the other hand, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is less than the threshold, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the traveling lane in the overhead view at the center of the traveling lane of the surrounding vehicle, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle. In order to achieve the above object, a fourth display control device for a vehicle according to the present disclosure includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) used in a vehicle and configured to acquire a positional relationship between the vehicle and a vehicle's surrounding vehicles, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) configured to cause a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle to display an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, and the display control unit controls the display of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view according to a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle, and is provided with a surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit (112) that acquires values ​​related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control unit (105a) changes the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit, and the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle as the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control unit decreases the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with a decrease in the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, a first vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle, and includes a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and a vehicle's surrounding vehicles, which is executed by at least one processor, and a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles and an image of at least the surrounding vehicles, as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step, in which the display control step reduces the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and the display control step also includes an image simulating actual traffic lanes in the overhead view. Display the In the display control process, even when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated, if the lane at which the image of the surrounding vehicle is displayed in the overhead view is curved, the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view is displayed tilted along the direction of the curve of the lane. In order to achieve the above object, a second vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, and includes a positional relationship acquisition process executed by at least one processor, for acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and vehicles surrounding the vehicle, and a display control process for displaying, on a display (90) used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles and images of at least the surrounding vehicles, viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, the overhead view showing the positional relationship, the images of at least the surrounding vehicles, the display control process reducing the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view depending on predetermined conditions related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and includes an autonomous driving-related state acquisition process for acquiring an autonomous driving-related state, which is a state related to the autonomous driving of the vehicle, and the display control process reducing the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles depending on the autonomous driving-related state acquired in the autonomous driving-related state acquisition process. In order to achieve the above object, a third vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle, and includes a positional relationship acquisition step executed by at least one processor for acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle, and a display control step for displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, in which the display control step reduces a frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. 、 In the display control process, the update frequency can be changed for each surrounding vehicle, and the overhead view also includes an image showing lanes. Display the The positional relationship acquisition step also acquires the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the lane, and includes a lane change identification step of identifying that the surrounding vehicle will change lanes, and a deviation identification step of identifying a deviation of the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the center of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling, and the display control step, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and whose lane change is identified in the lane change identification step as being changed by the surrounding vehicle, or whose deviation identified in the deviation identification step is equal to or more than a threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the traveling lane in the overhead view at a position according to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step, while for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and whose deviation identified in the deviation identification step is less than the threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the traveling lane in the overhead view at a position in the center of the traveling lane of the surrounding vehicle. In order to achieve the above object, a fourth vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle, and includes a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and a vehicle's surrounding vehicles, which is executed by at least one processor, and a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The display control process reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control process is capable of changing the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle, and includes a surrounding behavior related value acquisition process for acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control process changes the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition process, and the surrounding behavior related value acquisition process acquires at least the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle as the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control process reduces the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with a decrease in the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition process.

[0009] According to the above configuration, since an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is displayed, it is possible to show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles in an overhead view. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle may change from time to time. However, depending on the conditions related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, there may be cases where it is less necessary to accurately show the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle. In response to this, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced according to a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, so that it is possible to suppress annoyance caused by small changes in the display position for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles that is less necessary to be shown accurately. As a result, it is possible to make the user feel less annoyed while showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles more accurately as necessary.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle display control system according to the present disclosure includes a display device (90) that is used in a vehicle and is used within a passenger compartment of the vehicle, and the above-described vehicle display control device (10, 10a, 10b).

[0011] According to this, since it includes the above-mentioned vehicle display control device, it is possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles as needed, while reducing the inconvenience to the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle system 1. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an HCU 10. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. [Figure 4] 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of an update frequency of the display position of a nearby vehicle according to the distance of the nearby vehicle from the host vehicle. FIG. [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of an update frequency of the display position of a nearby vehicle according to the distance of the nearby vehicle from the host vehicle. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a deviation of an actual lateral position of a nearby vehicle OVa from the center of a traveling lane. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a deviation of an actual lateral position of a nearby vehicle OVa from the center of a traveling lane. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a display position update-related process in the HCU 10. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an HCU 10a. [Figure 12]13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a display position update-related process in the HCU 10a. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an HCU 10b. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a display position update-related process in the HCU 10b. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] A number of embodiments for disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For convenience of description, in a number of embodiments, parts having the same functions as parts shown in the drawings used in the previous description may be given the same reference numerals and their description may be omitted. For parts given the same reference numerals, the description in other embodiments may be referred to.

[0014] (Embodiment 1) <Overall configuration of vehicle system 1> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. A vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving (hereinafter, autonomous driving vehicle). As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle system 1 includes an HCU (Human Machine Interface Control Unit) 10, a communication module 20, a locator 30, a map database (hereinafter, map DB) 40, a vehicle state sensor 50, a surroundings monitoring sensor 60, a vehicle control ECU 70, an autonomous driving ECU 80, and a display 90. This vehicle system 1 corresponds to a vehicle display control system. A vehicle using the vehicle system 1 is not necessarily limited to an automobile, but the following description will be given taking an example of use in an automobile.

[0015] There are multiple levels of autonomous driving for autonomous vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "automation levels"), as defined by the SAE, for example. Automation levels are classified into levels 0 to 5, for example, as follows:

[0016] Level 0 is a level where the driver performs all driving tasks without the system intervening. The driving task may be rephrased as a dynamic driving task. The driving task may be, for example, steering, acceleration / deceleration, and surrounding monitoring. Level 0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. Level 1 is a level where the system assists with either steering or acceleration / deceleration. Level 1 corresponds to so-called driving assistance. Level 2 is a level where the system assists with both steering and acceleration / deceleration. Level 2 corresponds to so-called partial driving automation. Levels 1 and 2 are also considered to be part of autonomous driving.

[0017] For example, autonomous driving at levels 1 to 2 is autonomous driving in which the driver has a duty to monitor safe driving (hereinafter, simply referred to as the duty to monitor). The duty to monitor includes visual monitoring of the surroundings. Autonomous driving at levels 1 to 2 can be rephrased as autonomous driving in which a second task is not permitted. A second task is an act other than driving that is permitted for the driver and is a specific act that is specified in advance. A second task can also be rephrased as a secondary activity, other activity, etc. It is considered that a second task must not prevent the driver from responding to a request from the autonomous driving system to take over driving operations. As an example, actions such as watching content such as videos, operating a smartphone, reading, and eating are assumed to be second tasks.

[0018] Level 3 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in specific locations such as highways, and the driver takes over driving operations in an emergency. At level 3, the driver is required to be able to respond quickly when the system requests to take over driving. Level 3 corresponds to so-called conditional driving automation. Level 4 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks except under certain circumstances such as unmanageable roads and extreme environments. Level 4 corresponds to so-called high driving automation. Level 5 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in any environment. Level 5 corresponds to so-called full driving automation.

[0019] For example, autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 is autonomous driving where the driver has no monitoring responsibility. Autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 can be rephrased as autonomous driving where a second task is permitted. The autonomous driving vehicle in the first embodiment may be an autonomous driving vehicle in which the automation level cannot be switched, or may be an autonomous driving vehicle where the automation level can be switched. The automation level may be configured to be switchable only between some of levels 0 to 5.

[0020] The communication module 20 transmits and receives information to and from other vehicles via wireless communication. That is, it performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The communication module 20 may transmit and receive information to and from roadside devices installed on the roadside via wireless communication. That is, it may perform road-to-vehicle communication. When performing road-to-vehicle communication, the communication module 20 may receive information on surrounding vehicles transmitted from the surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via the roadside device. Also, the communication module 20 may transmit and receive information to and from a center outside the vehicle via wireless communication. That is, it may perform wide-area communication. When performing wide-area communication, the communication module 20 may receive information on surrounding vehicles transmitted from the surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via the center.

[0021] Locator 30 includes a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from a plurality of positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. Locator 30 sequentially determines the vehicle position (hereinafter, vehicle position) and traveling direction of the vehicle equipped with locator 30 by combining the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver with the measurement results of the inertial sensor. The vehicle position is represented, for example, by latitude and longitude coordinates. Note that the vehicle position may be determined using a travel distance calculated from a signal sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle.

[0022] The map DB 40 is a non-volatile memory and stores map data such as link data, node data, road shapes, and structures. The map data may be a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures. When a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures is used as the map data, the locator 30 may be configured not to use a GNSS receiver. For example, the locator 30 may be configured to specify the vehicle position using this three-dimensional map and a detection result by a perimeter monitoring sensor 60 such as a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) or a perimeter monitoring camera that detects a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures. The three-dimensional map may be generated based on captured images by REM (Road Experience Management).

[0023] The communication module 20 may receive map data distributed from an external server, for example, by wide area communication, and store the data in the map DB 40. In this case, the map DB 40 may be a volatile memory, and the communication module 20 may successively acquire map data of an area corresponding to the vehicle position.

[0024] The vehicle state sensor 50 is a group of sensors for detecting various states of the vehicle. The vehicle state sensor 50 includes a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed, a steering sensor for detecting the steering angle, and the like. The vehicle state sensor 50 outputs the detected sensing information to an in-vehicle LAN. The sensing information detected by the vehicle state sensor 50 may be configured to be output to the in-vehicle LAN via an ECU mounted in the vehicle.

[0025] The perimeter monitoring sensor 60 monitors the environment around the vehicle. As an example, the perimeter monitoring sensor 60 detects obstacles around the vehicle, such as moving objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles, and stationary objects such as objects fallen on the road. In addition, the perimeter monitoring sensor 60 detects road markings such as lane markings around the vehicle. The perimeter monitoring sensor 60 is, for example, a perimeter monitoring camera that captures a predetermined range around the vehicle, a millimeter wave radar that transmits a search wave to a predetermined range around the vehicle, a sonar, a LIDAR, or other sensor. The perimeter monitoring camera sequentially outputs the captured images as sensing information to the automatic driving ECU 80. The sonar, millimeter wave radar, LIDAR, or other sensor that transmits a search wave sequentially outputs a scan result based on a received signal obtained when receiving a reflected wave reflected by an obstacle to the automatic driving ECU 80 as sensing information. The sensing information detected by the perimeter monitoring sensor 60 may be configured to be output to an in-vehicle LAN via the automatic driving ECU 80.

[0026] The vehicle control ECU 70 is an electronic control device that performs driving control of the vehicle. Examples of driving control include acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control. The vehicle control ECU 70 includes a steering ECU that performs steering control, a power unit control ECU that performs acceleration / deceleration control, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU 70 performs driving control by outputting control signals to each driving control device mounted on the vehicle, such as an electronically controlled throttle, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor.

[0027] The autonomous driving ECU 80 includes, for example, a processor, a memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and executes a control program stored in the memory to execute processes related to autonomous driving. The memory referred to here is a non-transitory tangible storage medium that non-temporarily stores computer-readable programs and data. The non-transitory tangible storage medium is realized by a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.

[0028] The autonomous driving ECU 80 includes a first autonomous driving ECU 81 and a second autonomous driving ECU 82. The following description will be given assuming that the first autonomous driving ECU 81 and the second autonomous driving ECU 82 each include a processor, memory, I / O, and a bus connecting these. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which a common processor performs the functions of the first autonomous driving ECU 81 and the second autonomous driving ECU 82 using virtualization technology.

[0029] The first automatic driving ECU81 is responsible for the automatic driving function of the level 2 or lower mentioned above. In other words, the first automatic driving ECU81 enables automatic driving with a monitoring obligation to be performed. For example, the first automatic driving ECU81 can execute at least one of longitudinal control and lateral control of the host vehicle. The longitudinal direction is the direction that coincides with the front-rear direction of the host vehicle. The lateral direction is the direction that coincides with the width direction of the host vehicle. The first automatic driving ECU81 executes acceleration / deceleration control of the host vehicle as longitudinal control. The first automatic driving ECU81 executes steering control of the host vehicle as lateral control. The first automatic driving ECU81 includes a first environment recognition unit, an ACC control unit, and an LTA control unit as functional blocks.

[0030] The first environment recognition unit recognizes the driving environment around the host vehicle based on sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 60 and information on the surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle received by the communication module 20. As an example, the first environment recognition unit recognizes the detailed position of the host vehicle in the host vehicle lane based on information such as the dividing lines on the left and right of the host vehicle's driving lane (hereinafter, the host vehicle lane). In addition, the first environment recognition unit may also recognize the positions of the surrounding vehicles relative to the host vehicle, the traveling direction of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speeds of the surrounding vehicles relative to the host vehicle, the speeds of the surrounding vehicles, the accelerations of the surrounding vehicles, etc.

[0031] The traveling direction of the surrounding vehicle may be recognized, for example, from a time-series change in the position of the surrounding vehicle relative to the vehicle itself. The traveling direction of the surrounding vehicle may also be referred to as the orientation of the surrounding vehicle. The speed of the surrounding vehicle may be recognized, for example, from the vehicle speed of the vehicle itself and the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle. If the speed of the surrounding vehicle can be received by the communication module 20 as information about the surrounding vehicle, the speed of the surrounding vehicle may be recognized from the received information. The acceleration of the surrounding vehicle may be recognized, for example, as the longitudinal acceleration and the lateral acceleration. The longitudinal acceleration may be recognized, for example, based on the change in the speed of the surrounding vehicle per unit time. The lateral acceleration may be recognized, for example, based on the change in the position of the surrounding vehicle per unit time. If the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle can be received by the communication module 20 as information about the surrounding vehicle, the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle may be recognized from the received information.

[0032] The first environment recognition unit may also recognize the lighting state of the blinker lamps of the surrounding vehicles. The lighting state of the blinker lamps of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized, for example, by image recognition processing of the captured images of the surrounding vehicles. The first environment recognition unit may have the same configuration as the second environment recognition unit described later.

[0033] The ACC control unit executes ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) control to realize constant speed driving of the host vehicle at a target speed or driving to follow a preceding vehicle. The ACC control unit may execute ACC control using the positions and speeds of vehicles around the host vehicle recognized by the first environment recognition unit. The ACC control unit may execute ACC control by causing the vehicle control ECU 70 to perform acceleration / deceleration control. The LTA control unit executes LTA (Lane Tracing Assist) control to keep the host vehicle traveling within its lane. The LTA control unit may execute LTA control using the detailed position of the host vehicle in the driving lane recognized by the first environment recognition unit. The LTA control unit may execute LTA control by causing the vehicle control ECU 70 to perform steering control. Note that ACC control is an example of longitudinal control. LTA control is an example of lateral control.

[0034] The first automatic driving ECU 81 executes both the ACC control and the LTA control to realize level 2 automatic driving. The first automatic driving ECU 81 may execute either the ACC control or the LTA control to realize level 1 automatic driving.

[0035] On the other hand, the second automatic driving ECU 82 is responsible for the above-mentioned level 3 or higher automatic driving function. In other words, the second automatic driving ECU 82 enables automatic driving without the obligation to monitor. The second automatic driving ECU 82 includes, as functional blocks, a second environment recognition unit, a behavior determination unit, a trajectory generation unit, and the like.

[0036] The second environment recognition unit recognizes the driving environment around the vehicle based on the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 60, the vehicle position acquired from the locator 30, the map data acquired from the map DB 40, and the information of other vehicles acquired by the communication module 20. As an example, the second environment recognition unit generates a virtual space that reproduces the actual driving environment using these pieces of information. Note that the second environment recognition unit may also recognize the positions of surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, the traveling direction of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, the speed of the surrounding vehicles, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles, as in the first environment recognition unit. The second environment recognition unit may be configured to use the recognition results of the first environment recognition unit. The second environment recognition unit may also recognize the detailed positions of the surrounding vehicles in each lane based on, for example, information such as the left and right dividing lines of the vehicle's lane and the surrounding lanes, and the positions of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle.

[0037] The second environment recognition unit discriminates manual driving areas (hereinafter, MD areas) in the area in which the host vehicle travels. The second environment recognition unit discriminates automatic driving areas (hereinafter, AD areas) in the area in which the host vehicle travels. The second environment recognition unit discriminates ST sections in the AD areas. The second environment recognition unit discriminates non-ST sections in the AD areas.

[0038] The MD area is an area where automated driving is prohibited. In other words, the MD area is an area where the driver is required to perform all of the vehicle's longitudinal control, lateral control, and periphery monitoring. For example, the MD area may be a general road.

[0039] An AD area is an area where autonomous driving is permitted. In other words, an AD area is an area where the vehicle can take over one or more of longitudinal control, lateral control, and perimeter monitoring. For example, an AD area may be an expressway or a road for automobiles only.

[0040] AD areas are divided into non-ST sections where automated driving at level 2 or below is possible, and ST sections where automated driving at level 3 or above is possible. In this embodiment, there is no distinction between non-ST sections where automated driving at level 1 is permitted and non-ST sections where automated driving at level 2 is permitted. An ST section may be, for example, a driving section where congestion occurs (hereinafter, congested section). An ST section may be, for example, a driving section where a high-precision map has been developed. A non-ST section may be a section that does not fall under the category of an ST section.

[0041] The behavior determination unit determines a behavior planned for the vehicle (hereinafter, future behavior) based on the recognition result of the driving environment by the second environment recognition unit. The behavior determination unit determines a future behavior for driving the vehicle by autonomous driving. The behavior determination unit may determine a type of behavior that the vehicle should take to arrive at the destination as the future behavior. Examples of this type include going straight, turning right, turning left, changing lanes, etc.

[0042] In addition, when the behavior determination unit determines that it is necessary to transfer the driving control to the driver (i.e., a driving handover), it generates a driving handover request and provides it to the HCU 10. An example of a case where it is necessary to transfer the driving control to the driver is when the vehicle moves from an AD area to an MD area. Another example is when a problem occurs in the recognition of the driving environment in the second environment recognition unit due to sensor loss, communication failure, etc.

[0043] The trajectory generation unit generates a driving trajectory of the vehicle in a section where autonomous driving can be performed, based on the recognition result of the driving environment by the second environment recognition unit and the future action determined by the action determination unit. The driving trajectory includes, for example, a target position of the vehicle according to the progress and a target speed at each target position. The trajectory generation unit sequentially provides the generated driving trajectory to the vehicle control ECU 70 as a control command to be followed by the vehicle in autonomous driving.

[0044] The automatic driving system configured to include the above-described automatic driving ECU 80 enables the vehicle to perform automatic driving at level 2 or lower and level 3 or higher. Further, for example, the automatic driving ECU 80 may be configured to switch the automation level of the vehicle's automatic driving as necessary. As an example, when the vehicle moves from the ST section to the non-ST section within the AD area, it may be switched from automatic driving at level 3 or higher to automatic driving at level 2 or lower. Further, when the automatic driving ECU 80 switches from automatic driving without a monitoring obligation to automatic driving with a monitoring obligation, it may be configured to generate a peripheral monitoring request and provide it to the HCU 10.

[0045] The display 90 is a display device provided in the vehicle. The display 90 is provided so that the display surface faces the interior of the vehicle cabin. For example, the display 90 is provided so that the display surface is located in front of the driver's seat of the vehicle. As the display 90, various displays such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and a head-up display (hereinafter, HUD) can be used.

[0046] The HCU 10 is mainly composed of a computer including a processor, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and is connected to the display 90 and the in-vehicle LAN. The HCU 10 controls the display on the display 90 by executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory. This HCU 10 corresponds to a vehicle display control device. The configuration of the HCU 10 regarding the control of the display on the display 90 will be described in detail below.

[0047] <Schematic configuration of HCU 10> Next, a schematic configuration of the HCU 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the HCU 10 includes an information acquisition unit 101, a distance identification unit 102, a lane change identification unit 103, a deviation identification unit 104, and a display control unit 105 as functional blocks for controlling the display on the display device 90. The execution of the processing of each functional block of the HCU 10 by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle display control method. Note that some or all of the functions executed by the HCU 10 may be configured as hardware using one or more ICs or the like. Also, some or all of the functional blocks included in the HCU 10 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware members.

[0048] The information acquisition unit 101 acquires information input from outside the HCU 10. The information acquisition unit 101 acquires a recognition result of the driving environment recognized by, for example, the automatic driving ECU 80. The information acquisition unit 101 includes a positional relationship acquisition unit 111 as a sub-functional block. The positional relationship acquisition unit 111 acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The processing in the positional relationship acquisition unit 111 corresponds to a positional relationship acquisition step. The positional relationship acquisition unit 111 may acquire, for example, the position of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the vehicle recognized by the automatic driving ECU 80 as the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the lanes. The positional relationship acquisition unit 111 may acquire, for example, the detailed positions of the surrounding vehicles in each lane recognized by the automatic driving ECU 80 as the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the lanes.

[0049] The distance specifying unit 102 specifies the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles for each surrounding vehicle. The distance specifying unit 102 may specify the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles from the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111. The distance specifying unit 102 may specify the straight-line distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. In this case, the distance specifying unit 102 may specify the straight-line distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles by calculating the straight-line distance between the position coordinates of the host vehicle and the position coordinates of the surrounding vehicles. The distance specifying unit 102 may also specify the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles in the forward / rearward direction of the host vehicle as the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

[0050] The lane change identification unit 103 identifies that a nearby vehicle is about to change lanes. As an example, the lane change identification unit 103 may identify that a nearby vehicle that has recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80 that a turn signal lamp is on is about to change lanes. In addition, the lane change identification unit 103 may identify that a nearby vehicle whose lateral acceleration recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80 is equal to or greater than a threshold is about to change lanes. The threshold here may be a value that distinguishes whether or not the lateral acceleration is estimated to result in a lane change.

[0051] The deviation identification unit 104 identifies the deviation of the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from the center of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling. As an example, the deviation identification unit 104 may identify the deviation of the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from the center of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling, using the detailed positions of the surrounding vehicles in each lane recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80. The lateral position can also be rephrased as the position in the road width direction.

[0052] The display control unit 105 controls the display on the display 90. The processing in the display control unit 105 corresponds to a display control step. The display control unit 105 uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111 to display on the display 90 an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as seen from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle. This virtual viewpoint may be directly above the vehicle or may be a position shifted from directly above the vehicle. For example, the overhead view may be seen from a virtual viewpoint above and behind the vehicle. In this embodiment, the overhead view may include an image showing the dividing lines between the vehicle's lane and the surrounding lanes, and an image showing the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. In addition, when the vehicle's position is fixed in the overhead view, the overhead view may not include an image of the vehicle (hereinafter, the vehicle image). For example, in an overhead view showing only the situation ahead of the vehicle, the front end of the vehicle is located at the bottom of the overhead view, and only an image of the vehicle (hereinafter, a surrounding vehicle image) is shown among the vehicle and surrounding vehicles. Note that hereinafter, an explanation will be given using an example where the overhead view includes an image showing the dividing line between the vehicle's lane and the surrounding lanes.

[0053] The display control unit 105 fixes the display position of the vehicle image in the overhead view. The display control unit 105 also fixes the orientation of the vehicle image in the overhead view. Therefore, only the peripheral vehicle image among the vehicle image and the peripheral vehicle image is updated in the display position and orientation in the overhead view. The orientation of the vehicle image indicates the orientation of the vehicle shown in the image. As an example, the display control unit 105 may display an overhead view simulating the actual positional relationship between the vehicle and the peripheral vehicles by converting the coordinates indicating the position of the peripheral vehicles relative to the vehicle into the coordinates in the overhead view. The image showing the dividing line between the vehicle lane and the peripheral lanes may be an image that does not imitate the actual curvature of the dividing line, or may be an image that imitates the actual curvature of the dividing line. In order to more accurately show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the peripheral vehicles, it is preferable to use an image showing the dividing line between the vehicle lane and the peripheral lanes as an image that imitates the actual curvature of the dividing line.

[0054] Here, an example of displaying an overhead view will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows an example of displaying an overhead view from a virtual viewpoint above and behind the vehicle. Sc in FIG. 3 indicates the display screen of the display device 90. HVI in FIG. 3 indicates the vehicle image. OVIa, OVIb, and OVIc in FIG. 3 indicate surrounding vehicle images. The surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIa will be referred to as the surrounding vehicle OVa hereinafter. The surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIb will be referred to as the surrounding vehicle OVb hereinafter. The surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIc will be referred to as the surrounding vehicle OVc hereinafter. The surrounding vehicle OVa is located in the vehicle's own lane. The surrounding vehicles OVb and OVc are located in the surrounding lanes. The distance from the vehicle to the vehicle is assumed to be longer in the order of the surrounding vehicle OVa, the surrounding vehicle OVb, and the surrounding vehicle OVc. In the overhead view, an image HVI of the vehicle itself, an image OVIa of the surrounding vehicles OVIb, and an image OVIc of the surrounding vehicles OVIc are displayed, which are images of the actual vehicle itself and the surrounding vehicles OVIa, OVIb, and OVIc. In addition, an image PLI showing the dividing lines between the vehicle itself and the surrounding lanes is also displayed in the overhead view.

[0055] Furthermore, the display control unit 105 updates the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view. The display control unit is capable of updating the display position of the surrounding vehicle image for each surrounding vehicle. The display control unit 105 may periodically update the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view. The display control unit 105 may be capable of changing the period (hereinafter, update frequency) for updating the display position of the surrounding vehicle image for each surrounding vehicle. As an example, the default update frequency may be the same as the frequency at which the positional relationship acquisition unit 111 periodically acquires the positional relationship between the vehicle itself and the surrounding vehicles. The display control unit 105 may also be configured to periodically update the display orientation of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view.

[0056] The display control unit 105 may reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view for each surrounding vehicle as the distance specified by the distance specifying unit 102 becomes farther. Here, reducing the update frequency means reducing the update frequency that exists in at least two stages. For example, the update frequency may be configured to be lower than the default update frequency.

[0057] As an example, as shown in FIG. 4, the display control unit 105 may gradually lower the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the distance increases. The vertical axis of FIG. 4 indicates the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image. The horizontal axis of FIG. 4 indicates the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle. In the example of FIG. 4, an example is shown in which the update frequency is changed to two levels, "low" and "high", depending on whether the distance is equal to or greater than a threshold value TH. Here, the update frequency "high" may be configured to correspond to the default update frequency. It is to be noted that the example of FIG. 4 is not limited to this, and the update frequency may be changed to three or more levels by setting the threshold value TH to 2 or more. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the display control unit 105 may linearly lower the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the distance increases. It is to be noted that the vertical axis of FIG. 5 indicates the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image. The horizontal axis of FIG. 5 indicates the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle.

[0058] For a surrounding vehicle whose display position update frequency according to the distance specified by the distance specifying unit 102 is equal to or less than a specified value and whose deviation specified by the deviation specifying unit 104 is less than a threshold value, the display control unit 105 preferably displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the center of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle in the bird's-eye view when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle. The specified value referred to here is a distance at which at least two or more stages of update frequency are switched, and may be arbitrarily set. As an example, the update frequency has two stages, "high" and "low", and the specified value is the frequency "low", and the following explanation will be continued. In addition, the deviation threshold value may be an arbitrarily set value, and may be a value that distinguishes whether or not the target surrounding vehicle crosses the lane marking. Hereinafter, the deviation threshold value will be referred to as the deviation threshold value.

[0059] According to the above configuration, when the deviation of the actual lateral position HD from the center of the driving lane is small as shown in FIG. 6, the surrounding vehicle image OVIa is displayed in the center of the driving lane in the schematic diagram as shown in FIG. 7. The dashed line in FIG. 6 indicates the center of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle OVA. HD in FIG. 6 indicates the deviation of the actual lateral position of the surrounding vehicle OVA from the center of the driving lane. When the deviation of the actual lateral position from the center of the driving lane is small, even if the surrounding vehicle image is displayed in the center of the driving lane in the schematic diagram, the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles does not change significantly. Therefore, by reducing the frequency of updating the display position, it is possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles while suppressing the inconvenience of the display position moving minutely.

[0060] On the other hand, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency of the display position according to the distance identified by the distance identification unit 102 is equal to or less than the above-mentioned specified value and which has been identified by the lane change identification unit 103 as a vehicle that will change lanes, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, it is preferable for the display control unit 105 to display the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position that conforms to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111.

[0061] According to this, the surrounding vehicles that are changing lanes are displayed in the schematic diagram at positions according to their actual positional relationship. Since the surrounding vehicles that are changing lanes are relatively likely to affect the running of the vehicle, it is considered that there is a high need to display their positional relationship with respect to the vehicle more accurately. In contrast, according to the above configuration, the frequency of updating the display position is reduced, thereby suppressing the annoyance of the display position moving minutely, while making it possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles when the surrounding vehicles are changing lanes.

[0062] In addition, for a surrounding vehicle in which the update frequency of the display position according to the distance specified by the distance specifying unit 102 is equal to or lower than the above-described specified value, and in which the deviation specified by the deviation specifying unit 104 is equal to or greater than the deviation threshold value, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, in the bird's-eye view, the horizontal position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane is preferably displayed at a position according to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111.

[0063] According to the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, when the deviation of the actual horizontal position with respect to the center of the driving lane is large, as shown in FIG. 9, the surrounding vehicle image OVIa is displayed at a position according to the positional relationship between the actual host vehicle HV and the surrounding vehicle OVa in the schematic diagram. Since a surrounding vehicle with a large deviation of the actual horizontal position with respect to the center of the driving lane is relatively likely to affect the driving of the host vehicle, it is considered that there is a high need to show a more accurate positional relationship with respect to the host vehicle. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, by reducing the update frequency of the display position, it is possible to suppress the annoyance of the display position moving finely, and for a surrounding vehicle that is considered to be relatively likely to affect the driving of the host vehicle, it is possible to more accurately show the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

[0064] Note that when the display orientation of the surrounding vehicle image in the bird's-eye view is also periodically updated, a configuration may be adopted in which the display orientation is updated in conjunction with the update of the display position.

[0065] <Display position update related processing in HCU10> Here, an example of the flow of processing related to updating the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the HCU 10 (hereinafter, display position update related processing) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 10. The flowchart of FIG. 10 may be configured to start when a switch (hereinafter, power switch) for starting the internal combustion engine or motor generator of the vehicle is turned on and the above-mentioned bird's-eye view is displayed. In addition, in the case of a configuration in which the function for displaying the surrounding vehicle image can be switched on and off, the flow may be configured to start when the power switch is turned on while the function for displaying the surrounding vehicle image is on. In addition, the flow may be configured to start when the function for displaying the surrounding vehicle image is switched from off to on while the power switch is on. In the example of FIG. 10, a case in which the update frequency has two levels, "high" and "low", will be described as an example.

[0066] The overhead view displayed on the display 90 includes an image of the vehicle itself, images of surrounding vehicles, and an image showing the dividing line between the vehicle itself and surrounding lanes. The surrounding vehicle images included in the overhead view may be limited to those of surrounding vehicles within a certain distance as determined by the distance determination unit 102. The "certain" here may be a value greater than the above-mentioned threshold value TH and may be any value that can be set. The display position of the surrounding vehicle image is updated by the display control unit 105 at an update frequency set for each surrounding vehicle using the positional relationship between the vehicle itself and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111. The update frequency-related processing may be performed for each surrounding vehicle that is the subject of display of the surrounding vehicle image on the overhead view.

[0067] In step S1, the distance determination unit 102 determines the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle. In step S2, if the distance determined in S1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH (YES in S2), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the distance determined in S1 is less than the threshold value TH (NO in S2), the process proceeds to step S3.

[0068] In step S3, the display control unit 105 maintains the setting of the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image at the default "high" and proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, in step S4, the display control unit 105 lowers the setting of the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image from the default "high" to "low."

[0069] In step S5, if the lane change identification unit 103 identifies that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes (YES in S5), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the lane change identification unit 103 does not identify that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes (NO in S5), the process proceeds to step S7.

[0070] In step S6, when the display control unit 105 updates the display position of the image of a surrounding vehicle, for example, it sets the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle relative to the driving lane in the overhead view to be displayed at a position according to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle relative to the driving lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111, and proceeds to step S9.

[0071] In step S7, if the deviation identified by deviation identification unit 104 is equal to or greater than the deviation threshold value (YES in S7), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the deviation identified by deviation identification unit 104 is less than the deviation threshold value (NO in S7), the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, for example, the display control unit 105 sets the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane to be displayed in the center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view, and then proceeds to step S9.

[0072] In step S9, if it is time to end the display position update related process (YES in S9), the display position update related process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the display position update related process (NO in S9), the process returns to S1 and is repeated. Examples of the timing to end the display position update related process include when the power switch is turned off, when the function for displaying surrounding vehicle images is turned off, etc.

[0073] In addition, when the update frequency is three levels or more, instead of the threshold value TH, a configuration may be adopted in which a threshold value for classifying the update frequency of three levels or more into a high frequency and a low frequency is used.

[0074] <Summary of Embodiment 1> According to the configuration of Embodiment 1, since an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the host vehicle and surrounding vehicles is displayed, it becomes possible to show the positional relationship between the host vehicle and surrounding vehicles in an overhead display. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle can change one by one. However, since surrounding vehicles close to the host vehicle have a great influence on the host vehicle, it is highly necessary to accurately indicate the display position. On the other hand, since surrounding vehicles far from the host vehicle have a small influence on the host vehicle, the necessity of accurately indicating the display position is low. In contrast, as the distance from the host vehicle to the surrounding vehicle increases, the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view is decreased. Therefore, for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle for which the necessity of accurate indication is low, it becomes possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the fine movement of the display position. As a result, while more accurately showing the positional relationship between the host vehicle and surrounding vehicles as necessary, it becomes possible to make it less likely for the user to feel annoyed.

[0075] (Embodiment 2) In Embodiment 1, a configuration was shown in which the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view is changed according to the distance from the host vehicle to the surrounding vehicle. However, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, a configuration (hereinafter, Embodiment 2) in which the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view is changed according to a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle may be adopted. Hereinafter, an example of Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 2 is the same as the vehicle system 1 of Embodiment 1, except that it includes HCU10a instead of HCU10.

[0076] <Schematic Configuration of HCU10a> Next, a schematic configuration of the HCU 10a will be described with reference to Fig. 11. As shown in Fig. 11, the HCU 10a includes an information acquisition unit 101a, a distance identification unit 102, a lane change identification unit 103, a deviation identification unit 104, and a display control unit 105a as functional blocks for controlling the display on the display device 90. The HCU 10a is similar to the HCU 10 of the first embodiment, except that the HCU 10a includes the information acquisition unit 101a and the display control unit 105a instead of the information acquisition unit 101 and the display control unit 105. This HCU 10a corresponds to a display control device for a vehicle. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the HCU 10a by a computer corresponds to the execution of a display control method for a vehicle.

[0077] The information acquisition unit 101a includes a behavior-related value acquisition unit 112. This behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 corresponds to a surrounding behavior-related value acquisition unit. The information acquisition unit 101a is similar to the information acquisition unit 101 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the behavior-related value acquisition unit 112. The behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 acquires values ​​related to the behavior of surrounding vehicles (hereinafter, behavior-related values). Examples of the behavior-related values ​​include the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the host vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles. The behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 may be configured to acquire the behavior-related values ​​recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80.

[0078] The display control unit 105a is similar to the display control unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that the display control unit 105a changes the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with the behavior-related value acquired by the behavior-related value acquisition unit 112, instead of the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle. The processing in the display control unit 105a corresponds to a display control step.

[0079] It is preferable that the display control unit 105a lowers the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view for each surrounding vehicle as the vehicle speed slows. Here, lowering the update frequency means lowering the update frequency that exists in at least two stages. For example, it may be configured to lower the update frequency below the default update frequency. The same applies to subsequent descriptions of lowering the update frequency. The display control unit 105a may stepwise lower the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the vehicle speed slows. Furthermore, the display control unit 105a may linearly lower the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the vehicle speed slows.

[0080] When the speed of the surrounding vehicles is slow, the surrounding vehicles do not move significantly. Therefore, compared to when the surrounding vehicles move significantly, the influence on the vehicle is small and the need to accurately indicate the display position is low. In contrast, according to the above configuration, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced as the speed of the surrounding vehicles slows, so that it is possible to suppress annoyance caused by small movements of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles that do not need to be accurately indicated. In addition, particularly when the surrounding vehicles are in a traffic jam, the surrounding vehicles do not move significantly. Therefore, the display control unit 105a may be configured to reduce the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view when the surrounding vehicles are moving at a speed equal to or lower than the speed estimated to be in a traffic jam, compared to when the surrounding vehicles are moving at a speed higher than the speed estimated to be in a traffic jam.

[0081] The display control unit 105a preferably reduces the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the host vehicle decreases for each surrounding vehicle. The display control unit 105a may gradually reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the host vehicle decreases. Alternatively, the display control unit 105a may linearly reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the host vehicle decreases.

[0082] When the relative speed of a surrounding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle is low, the movement of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle is small. Therefore, compared with the case where the movement of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle is large, the influence on the host vehicle is small, and the necessity of accurately indicating the display position is low. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle decreases, the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the bird's-eye view is reduced. Therefore, for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle for which the necessity of accurate indication is low, it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the fine movement of the display position.

[0083] The display control unit 105a may reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the bird's-eye view according to each surrounding vehicle as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases. The display control unit 105a may gradually reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the bird's-eye view as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases. Further, the display control unit 105a may linearly reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the bird's-eye view as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases.

[0084] When the absolute value of the acceleration of a surrounding vehicle is low, the movement of the surrounding vehicle is small. Therefore, compared with the case where the movement of the surrounding vehicle is large, the influence on the host vehicle is small, and the necessity of accurately indicating the display position is low. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases, the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the bird's-eye view is reduced. Therefore, for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle for which the necessity of accurate indication is low, it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the fine movement of the display position.

[0085] <Display position update related processing in HCU10a> Here, an example of the flow of the display position update related processing in HCU10a will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 12. The flowchart of FIG. 12 may be configured to start in the same manner as the flowchart of FIG. 10. Also in the example of FIG. 12, the case where the update frequency is in two stages of "high" and "low" will be taken as an example for explanation. The default update frequency may be "high".

[0086] In step S21, the behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 acquires a behavior-related value. As the behavior-related value, for example, the speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle are acquired. In step S22, if the speed of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is less than a vehicle speed threshold value (hereinafter, vehicle speed threshold value) that divides the update frequency into "high" and "low" (YES in S22), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if the speed of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is equal to or greater than the vehicle speed threshold value (NO in S22), the process proceeds to step S23.

[0087] In step S23, if the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the vehicle identified in S21 is less than a relative speed threshold value (hereinafter, relative speed threshold value) that divides the update frequency into "high" and "low" (YES in S23), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the vehicle identified in S21 is equal to or greater than the relative speed threshold value (NO in S23), the process proceeds to step S24.

[0088] In step S24, if the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is less than the acceleration threshold value (hereinafter, acceleration threshold value) that divides the update frequency into "high" and "low" (YES in S24), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is equal to or greater than the acceleration threshold value (NO in S24), the process proceeds to step S25.

[0089] In step S25, the display control unit 105a maintains the setting of the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image at the default "high" and proceeds to step S31. On the other hand, in step S26, the display control unit 105a lowers the setting of the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image from the default "high" to "low."

[0090] The processes in steps S27 to S30 are performed in the same manner as the processes in steps S5 to S8. In step S31, if it is time to end the display position update related process (YES in S31), the display position update related process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the display position update related process (NO in S31), the process returns to S21 and is repeated.

[0091] When the update frequency has three or more stages, thresholds for classifying the three or more stages of update frequency into high frequency and low frequency may be used as the vehicle speed threshold, the relative speed threshold, and the acceleration threshold.

[0092] <Summary of the second embodiment> According to the configuration of the second embodiment, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is also displayed, so that the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles can be displayed in an overhead view. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle can change from time to time. However, as described above, depending on the values ​​related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicles, such as the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles, there are cases where it is less necessary to accurately display the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle. In contrast, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced according to the values ​​related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicles, such as the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the display position moving in small increments for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles that is less necessary to be displayed accurately. As a result, it is possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as necessary, while making it less likely for the user to feel annoyed.

[0093] In the second embodiment, the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the vehicle itself, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle are used as values ​​related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be used in which only some of the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the vehicle itself, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle are used. In addition, a configuration may be used in which values ​​related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle that change the need to recognize the exact position of the surrounding vehicle are other than the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the vehicle itself, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle.

[0094] (Embodiment 3) In the first and second embodiments, the case where the HCU 10, 10a is used in an autonomous vehicle has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the HCU 10, 10a may be used in a vehicle that does not have an autonomous driving function. However, in an autonomous vehicle, the demand for displaying the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles in an overhead view during autonomous driving is considered to be higher than in a vehicle that does not have an autonomous driving function. Therefore, it is preferable that the HCU 10, 10a is used in an autonomous vehicle. In particular, it is preferable that the HCU 10, 10a is used during autonomous driving in an autonomous vehicle.

[0095] (Embodiment 4) In the first embodiment, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view is changed according to the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view may be changed according to the state of the autonomous driving of the vehicle (hereinafter, the fourth embodiment). An example of the fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the fourth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 includes an HCU 10b instead of the HCU 10.

[0096] In this embodiment, autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 is autonomous driving in which the driver does not have a monitoring obligation. Autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 can be rephrased as autonomous driving in which a second task is permitted. In this embodiment, the presence or absence of a monitoring obligation is switched by switching between an automation level of level 3 or higher and an automation level of level 2 or lower. Therefore, when switching from an automation level of level 3 or higher to an automation level of level 2 or lower, the driver is required to monitor safe driving. On the other hand, the driver may be required to take over driving when switching from an automation level of level 2 or higher to an automation level of level 1 or lower. In addition, the driver may be required to take over driving when switching from an automation level of level 3 or higher to an automation level of level 2 or lower.

[0097] The automated driving vehicle of this embodiment is assumed to be capable of switching the automation level. The automation level may be configured to be switchable only between some of the levels from level 0 to level 5. In this embodiment, a case where the automated driving vehicle can switch between automated driving at automation level 3 and automated driving at automation level 2 or lower or manual driving will be described as an example. For example, the automated driving at automation level 3 may be permitted only in traffic jams.

[0098] <Schematic configuration of HCU10b> Subsequently, the schematic configuration of HCU10b will be described with reference to FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 13, with regard to the control of the display on the display 90, HCU10b includes an information acquisition unit 101b, a distance identification unit 102, a lane change identification unit 103, a deviation identification unit 104, and a display control unit 105b as functional blocks. HCU10b is the same as HCU10 of Embodiment 1 except that it includes an information acquisition unit 101b and a display control unit 105b instead of the information acquisition unit 101 and the display control unit 105. This HCU10b corresponds to the vehicle display control device. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of HCU10b by a computer corresponds to the execution of the vehicle display control method.

[0099] The information acquisition unit 101b includes an automated driving related acquisition unit 113. This automated driving related acquisition unit 113 corresponds to the automated driving related state acquisition unit. The information acquisition unit 101b is the same as the information acquisition unit 101 of Embodiment 1 except that it includes the automated driving related acquisition unit 113. The automated driving related acquisition unit 113 acquires the state of the host vehicle related to automated driving (hereinafter, the automated driving related state). Examples of the automated driving related state include the presence or absence of the driver's peripheral monitoring obligation of the host vehicle, the presence or absence of a driving handover request, and the presence or absence of a peripheral monitoring request. The driving handover request and the peripheral monitoring request are requests from the vehicle-side system to the driver. The automated driving related acquisition unit 113 may be configured to acquire these automated driving related states from the action determination unit of the automated driving ECU 80.

[0100] The display control unit 105b is the same as the display control unit 105 in Embodiment 1, except that it changes the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the bird's-eye view according to the driving assistance-related state acquired by the driving assistance-related acquisition unit 113 instead of the distance to the surrounding vehicles from the host vehicle. The processing in this display control unit 105b corresponds to the display control step.

[0101] The display control unit 105b reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles according to the driving assistance-related state acquired by the driving assistance-related acquisition unit 113. When the driving assistance-related state acquired by the driving assistance-related acquisition unit 113 is a state where there is no obligation for the driver of the host vehicle to monitor the surroundings and there are no requests for driver change and no requests for surrounding monitoring, the display control unit 105b preferably reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles more than when there is an obligation for the driver of the host vehicle to monitor the surroundings or when there are requests for driver change or requests for surrounding monitoring.

[0102] When the driver of the host vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, there is a higher need to accurately indicate the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the host vehicle than when the driver of the host vehicle has no obligation to monitor the surroundings. On the other hand, when the driver of the host vehicle has no obligation to monitor the surroundings, there is a lower need to accurately indicate the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the host vehicle. Also, when a request for driver change or a request for surrounding monitoring is made from the system on the host vehicle side to the driver, there is a high need for the driver to immediately grasp the surrounding situation. In contrast, according to the above configuration, when the need to accurately indicate the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the host vehicle is low, the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the bird's-eye view is reduced. Therefore, when the need to accurately indicate is low, it is possible to reduce the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles and suppress the annoyance caused by the fine movement of the display position.

[0103] <Processing related to display position update in HCU10b> Here, an example of the flow of display position update related processing in the HCU 10b will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 14. The flowchart in Fig. 14 may be configured to start in the same manner as the flowchart in Fig. 10. In the example in Fig. 14, the update frequency has two levels, "high" and "low." The update frequency "high" may be set as the default update frequency.

[0104] In step S41, the autonomous driving related acquisition unit 113 acquires an autonomous driving related state. As the autonomous driving related state, for example, whether or not the driver of the host vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, whether or not there is a request to switch drivers, and whether or not there is a request to monitor the surroundings are acquired. In step S42, if the autonomous driving related state acquired in S41 is a state in which the driver of the host vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings (YES in S42), the process proceeds to step S44. On the other hand, if the autonomous driving related state acquired in S41 is a state in which the driver of the host vehicle does not have an obligation to monitor the surroundings (NO in S42), the process proceeds to step S43.

[0105] In step S43, if the automatic driving related state acquired in S41 is a state in which there is a driving change request or a surrounding monitoring request (YES in S43), the process proceeds to step S44. On the other hand, if the automatic driving related state acquired in S41 is a state in which there is no driving change request or surrounding monitoring request (NO in S43), the process proceeds to step S45.

[0106] In step S44, the display control unit 105b maintains the setting of the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image at the default "high" and proceeds to step S50. On the other hand, in step S45, the display control unit 105b lowers the setting of the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image from the default "high" to "low."

[0107] The processes in steps S46 to S49 are performed in the same manner as the processes in steps S5 to S8. In step S50, if it is time to end the display position update related process (YES in S50), the display position update related process is ended. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the display position update related process (NO in S50), the process returns to S41 and is repeated.

[0108] <Summary of the fourth embodiment> According to the configuration of the fourth embodiment, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is also displayed, so that the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles can be displayed in an overhead view. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle can change from time to time. However, as described above, depending on the state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle, such as the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring obligation of the driver of the vehicle, the presence or absence of the driving change request, and the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring request, there may be cases where it is less necessary to accurately display the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle. In contrast, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced according to the automatic driving related state of the vehicle, such as the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring obligation of the driver of the vehicle, the presence or absence of the driving change request, and the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring request, so that it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the display position moving in small increments for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles that is less necessary to be displayed accurately. As a result, it is possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as necessary, while making it less likely for the user to feel annoyed.

[0109] In the fourth embodiment, the case where the driver of the vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, the driver has a request to take over driving, and the driver has a request to monitor the surroundings is used as the autonomous driving related state of the vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. If the autonomous driving related state is one in which the necessity to recognize the exact position of surrounding vehicles is switched, the autonomous driving related state other than the driver of the vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, the driver has a request to take over driving, and the driver has a request to monitor the surroundings may be used.

[0110] For example, a hands-on / off state, either a hands-on state or a hands-off state, may be used as the autonomous driving-related state. The hands-on state is a state in which the driver is holding the steering wheel with his / her hands. The hands-off state is a state in which the driver is not holding the steering wheel with his / her hands. The hands-on / off state may be detected by a sensor provided on the steering wheel. Alternatively, the hands-on / off state may be detected by image recognition of an image of the driver.

[0111] In the hands-on state, the display control unit 105b preferably reduces the update frequency compared to the hands-off state. This is because in the hands-on state, the driver's line of sight should be directed toward the front of the vehicle rather than the display surface of the display 90, and there is less need to accurately indicate the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle relative to the vehicle than in the hands-off state. For example, in the case where the driver does not have a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is no driving change request or surrounding monitoring request, and in the hands-on state, the driver does not have a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is no driving change request or surrounding monitoring request, and the update frequency may be reduced compared to the hands-off state. On the other hand, the display control unit 105b may be configured to increase the update frequency compared to the hands-on state when the driver has a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is a driving change request or surrounding monitoring request, and in the hands-off state, the driver has a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is a driving change request or surrounding monitoring request.

[0112] (Embodiment 5) Furthermore, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to include an image simulating an actual lane in the overhead view. The image simulating an actual lane is an image simulating the presence or absence of a curve in the actual lane. For example, an image simulating the degree of curvature of the curve may be used. In this case, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to tilt the orientation of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view in accordance with the direction in which the lane is curved, even at a timing when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated, in the case where the lane at the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view is curved (hereinafter, referred to as embodiment 5).

[0113] In the fifth embodiment, the information acquisition units 101, 101a, and 101b may acquire information including the degree of curvature of each lane. Then, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may use the degree of curvature of each lane acquired by the information acquisition units 101, 101a, and 101b to display the surrounding vehicle image OVIa with the orientation tilted along the direction in which the lane of the surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIa curves, as shown in FIG. 15. This makes it possible to suppress the deviation between the orientation of the lane curve displayed in the overhead view and the orientation of the surrounding vehicle image. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the user from being unable to grasp the positional relationship between the vehicle itself and the surrounding vehicles.

[0114] The above-mentioned processing in the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to be performed by narrowing down the images of surrounding vehicles whose update frequency of the display position is equal to or less than the above-mentioned specified value, for example. This is because a decrease in the update frequency of the display position tends to increase the deviation between the direction of the curve of the lane displayed in the overhead view and the direction of the surrounding vehicle images.

[0115] (Embodiment 6) Furthermore, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to indicate that a surrounding vehicle is being driven in a specific manner by changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image in which the surrounding vehicle is being driven in a specific manner.

[0116] For example, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to change the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image of the surrounding vehicle that is driving in a swerving manner to indicate that the surrounding vehicle is driving in a swerving manner. Whether or not the surrounding vehicle is driving in a swerving manner may be determined by the HCUs 10, 10a, and 10b based on, for example, the change in the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle sequentially identified by the deviation identification unit 104. Examples of the change in the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image that indicates that the surrounding vehicle is driving in a swerving manner include blinking and changing the display color. In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, an icon (see MM in FIG. 16) that gives the impression of driving in a swerving manner may be superimposed and displayed. This makes it possible to make it easier for the user to recognize the swerving of the surrounding vehicle, which is difficult to recognize only from the display position of the surrounding vehicle image that is updated sequentially.

[0117] The above-mentioned processing in the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to be performed by narrowing down to surrounding vehicle images of surrounding vehicles whose update frequency of the display position is equal to or less than the above-mentioned specified value, for example. This is because the update frequency of the display position is reduced, making it easier for the user to recognize the meandering of surrounding vehicles, which is particularly difficult to recognize only from the display position of the sequentially updated surrounding vehicle images. This makes it easier for the user to recognize the sudden deceleration of surrounding vehicles, which may be difficult to recognize only from the display position of the sequentially updated surrounding vehicle images.

[0118] In addition, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to indicate that a vehicle is suddenly decelerating by changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image of the vehicle that is suddenly decelerating. Examples of changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image to indicate that a vehicle is suddenly decelerating include changing the display color and superimposing an icon that gives the impression of a vehicle suddenly decelerating.

[0119] In addition, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to indicate that the hazard lights are on by changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image of the surrounding vehicle with the hazard lights on. Whether or not the surrounding vehicle has the hazard lights on may be determined by the HCUs 10, 10a, and 10b from the recognition result of the driving environment in the automatic driving ECU 80. In this case, the automatic driving ECU 80 may be configured to recognize the lighting state of the hazard lights of the surrounding vehicles as the driving environment by image recognition or the like. Examples of changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image indicating that the hazard lights are on include superimposing an icon that gives the impression that the hazard lights are on. This makes it possible for the user to easily recognize the lighting of the hazard lights of the surrounding vehicles, which is difficult to recognize only from the display position of the surrounding vehicle image that is updated sequentially.

[0120] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer constituting a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated hardware logic circuit. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor that executes a computer program and one or more hardware logic circuits. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transient tangible recording medium as instructions executed by the computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 1 Vehicle system (vehicle display control system), 10, 10a, 10b HCU (vehicle display control device), 90 display, 101 information acquisition unit, 102 distance determination unit, 103 lane change determination unit, 104 deviation determination unit, 105, 105a, 105b display control unit, 111 positional relationship acquisition unit, 112 behavior-related value acquisition unit (surrounding behavior-related value acquisition unit), 113 automatic driving related acquisition unit (automatic driving related state acquisition unit)

Claims

1. Used in vehicles, A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle; the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, The display control unit displays the overhead view including an image simulating an actual lane, The display control unit is a vehicle display control device that, even when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated, if the lane at which the image of the surrounding vehicle is displayed in the overhead view is curved, displays the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view at a tilted angle along the direction in which the lane is curved.

2. In claim 1, A vehicle display control device used in autonomously driven vehicles.

3. In claim 2, An automatic driving related state acquisition unit (113) that acquires an automatic driving related state which is a state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle, The display control unit (105b) is a display control device for a vehicle that reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle depending on the autonomous driving-related state acquired by the autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit.

4. For use in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle; the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, An automatic driving related state acquisition unit (113) that acquires an automatic driving related state which is a state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle, The display control unit (105b) is a display control device for a vehicle that reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle depending on the autonomous driving-related state acquired by the autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit.

5. In claim 3 or 4, The autonomous driving related state acquisition unit acquires, as the autonomous driving related state, at least the presence or absence of a surrounding monitoring obligation of the driver of the vehicle, and the presence or absence of a driving change request which is a request for the transfer of driving control from the vehicle side system to the driver, or a surrounding monitoring request which is a request from the vehicle side system to the driver to monitor the surroundings, The display control unit of the vehicle display control device reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle when the autonomous driving-related state acquired by the autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit is a state in which the driver has no obligation to monitor the surroundings and there is no request to take over driving and no request to monitor the surroundings, compared to when the driver has an obligation to monitor the surroundings or there is a request to take over driving or a request to monitor the surroundings.

6. In any one of claims 1 to 5, The display control unit is a vehicle display control device capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles.

7. In claim 6, the display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles, and displays the overhead view including an image showing lanes; The positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires a positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane, A lane change identification unit (103) that identifies that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes; a deviation identification unit (104) that identifies a deviation of a lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from a center of a lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling, The display control unit, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose lane change identification unit has identified that the surrounding vehicle will change lanes, or the deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value.On the other hand, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, the display control unit displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is less than a threshold value, in a center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle.

8. Used in vehicles, A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle; the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, the display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles, and displays the overhead view including an image showing lanes; The positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires a positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane, A lane change identification unit (103) that identifies that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes; a deviation identification unit (104) that identifies a deviation of a lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from a center of a lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling, The display control unit, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose lane change identification unit has identified that the surrounding vehicle will change lanes, or the deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value.On the other hand, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, the display control unit displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is less than a threshold value, in a center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle.

9. In any one of claims 6 to 8, The display control unit (105) is a vehicle display control device that reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles as the distance from the vehicle increases.

10. In any one of claims 6 to 8, A surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit (112) for acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, The display control unit (105a) changes the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit.

11. Used in vehicles, A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle; the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, The display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles, A surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit (112) for acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, The display control unit (105a) changes the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit; The surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least an acceleration of the surrounding vehicle as a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, The display control unit reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in response to a decrease in absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit.

12. In claim 10 or 11, The surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least a vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle as a value related to a behavior of the surrounding vehicle, The display control unit reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in response to a decrease in the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit.

13. In any one of claims 10 to 12, The surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least a relative speed of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the vehicle as a value related to a behavior of the surrounding vehicle, The display control unit reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles as the relative speed acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit decreases.

14. Used in vehicles, A display (90) for use in a passenger compartment of the vehicle; A vehicle display control system including the vehicle display control device (10, 10a, 10b) according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A vehicle display control method for use in a vehicle, comprising: Executed by at least one processor, a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step; the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, In the display control step, an image simulating an actual traffic lane is also included in the overhead view and displayed, The display control method for a vehicle includes a display control process for displaying the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view at a tilted angle in accordance with the direction in which the lane is curved, even when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated.

16. A vehicle display control method for use in an autonomously driven vehicle, comprising: Executed by at least one processor, a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step; the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, An automatic driving related state acquisition step of acquiring an automatic driving related state which is a state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle, The display control method for a vehicle reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in accordance with the autonomous driving-related state acquired in the autonomous driving-related state acquisition process.

17. A vehicle display control method for use in a vehicle, comprising: Executed by at least one processor, a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step; the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, In the display control step, the update frequency can be changed for each of the surrounding vehicles, and an image showing lanes is also included in the overhead view and displayed. In the positional relationship acquisition step, a positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane is also acquired, a lane change identification process for identifying that the surrounding vehicle is about to change lanes; a deviation identifying step of identifying a deviation of a lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from a center of a lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling, In the display control step, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and for which a lane change has been identified in the lane change identification step as being performed, or for a surrounding vehicle whose deviation identified in the deviation identification step is equal to or greater than a threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane is displayed in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step, while, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and for which the deviation identified in the deviation identification step is less than a threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane is displayed in a center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view.

18. A vehicle display control method for use in a vehicle, comprising: Executed by at least one processor, a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle; a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step; the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, In the display control step, the update frequency can be changed for each of the surrounding vehicles, a surrounding behavior related value acquisition step of acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle; In the display control step, the update frequency is changed for each of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition step; In the surrounding behavior related value acquisition step, at least an acceleration of the surrounding vehicle is acquired as a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, In the display control step, the update frequency is reduced for each of the surrounding vehicles as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition step becomes smaller.

Images