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

Abstract

To provide a vehicular display control system, a vehicular display control method, and a vehicular display control program that allow a specific occupant to visually recognize a specific content.SOLUTION: A virtual image formation part 6 displays a content in a display 2d for virtual image formation, whereby the content is reflected on a half-mirror 8 and a virtual image is formed in a virtual image formation region so as to be visually recognizable to a driver D and front passenger seat occupant P. A real image formation part 7 displays a real image in a display 9 in order to transmit the real image through the half mirror 8 and make it visually recognizable to the front passenger seat occupant P.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle display control system, a vehicle display control method, and a vehicle display processing program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the increase in content to be displayed on in-vehicle displays, such as vehicle information and entertainment (hereinafter abbreviated as "entertainment") system information, a technique has been proposed to provide a wide display area by installing a plurality of displays in the same housing of an instrument panel. A real image method is generally used in which the display surface of the display is installed so as to face the vehicle occupant, enabling the occupant to directly view the display.

[0003] However, since the inside of the vehicle is an environment that is easily affected by external light such as sunlight, it is desirable to adopt a method in which the occupant views a virtual image reflected by a mirror on the display surface of the display. By appropriately adjusting the installation relationship between the display and the mirror, it is possible to allow the occupant to view the image of the display while blocking external light, ensuring high visibility. In addition, by allowing the occupant to view a virtual image, it is possible to reduce the focus adjustment load at a distant viewing point, and there is an advantage that it can be installed even at a position where it is impossible to mount a display by the real image method.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In recent years, in order to meet the needs of various vehicle occupants, it has been required to provide a function of displaying entertainment content such as movies, games, and net content on the display near the front of the passenger seat among a plurality of displays.

[0006] However, when the driver checks, for example, an electronic mirror installed on the passenger seat side from the driver's seat, or checks the surroundings of the vehicle through the window on the passenger seat side, if the entertainment content displayed near the front of the passenger seat comes into the field of view, there is a risk that the driver may not be able to recognize the necessary information or may feel bothered. Therefore, in vehicle display control technology, there is a need for a technology that enables a specific occupant, such as a passenger in the passenger seat, among the occupants of the vehicle to view specific content.

[0007] The present invention provides a vehicle display control system, a vehicle display control method, and a vehicle display control program that enable a specific occupant to view specific content.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The invention according to claim 1 is directed to a vehicle display control system that controls the display of vehicle content for viewing by the occupants of the vehicle. The virtual image forming unit includes a first display unit for forming a virtual image, and displays the content on the first display unit, reflects the content on the half mirror, forms a virtual image in the virtual image forming region, and allows the occupants of the vehicle to view it. The real image forming unit includes a second display unit that displays a real image so that a specific occupant can view the real image through the half mirror. The viewing angle control unit controls the viewing angle of the content to be visually recognized by a specific occupant or an occupant other than the specific occupant. When the viewing angle is not controlled by the viewing angle control unit, the virtual image forming unit forms a virtual image by displaying the content on the first display unit and allows the occupants including the specific occupant to visually recognize the virtual image. When the viewing angle is controlled by the viewing angle control unit, the virtual image forming unit turns off the display of the first display unit in front of the specific occupant, and the real image forming unit displays the content on the second display unit to allow the specific occupant to visually recognize the real image.

[0009] According to the invention described in claim 1, since the real image forming unit displays the real image on the second display unit so that a specific occupant can view the real image of specific content, the specific occupant can view the second display unit through the half mirror and can view the specific content.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 12

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, several embodiments of the vehicle display control system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. For parts having the same configuration in each embodiment, the same reference numerals may be used in the following embodiments and the description may be omitted.

[0012] (First Embodiment) The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. The vehicle display control system 1 illustrated in FIG. 3 is mounted on a vehicle and includes a display 2 and an electronic control unit 11. The electronic control unit 11 is also referred to as an ECU, an Electronic Control Unit. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the display 2 is installed on the instrument panel 3 with its display surface exposed in the vehicle interior. Hereinafter, the instrument panel 3 will be abbreviated as the in-pan 3. The in-pan 3 is provided in front of the front seats including the driver's seat and the passenger seat of the vehicle. A steering wheel 4 is provided between the front seats of the vehicle and the in-pan 3, and a front windshield 5 is installed above the in-pan 3. The upper surface of the in-pan 3 is formed in a planar shape.

[0013] The display 2 includes a plurality of displays 2a to 2e provided together to form a virtual image forming unit 6. The virtual image forming unit 6 includes a display 2d as a first display unit for virtual image formation and a half mirror 8. The virtual image forming unit 6 forms a virtual image K in the virtual image formation region in front of the occupant by causing the half mirror 8 to reflect the content by displaying the content on the displays 2a to 2e.

[0014] The displays 2a to 2e display the content in a display area where the luminance and the viewing angle can be controlled, so that the virtual image K can be visually recognized by the occupants of the vehicle, for example, the driver D sitting in the front seat and the passenger P in the passenger seat.

[0015] The real image forming unit 7 includes a display 9 as a second display unit that displays a real image so that the real image can be visually recognized by the occupant through the half mirror 8. The real image forming unit 7 can display the real image so as to overlap the virtual image K in order to display the real image through the half mirror 8.

[0016] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the display 9 is installed on the back side of the display 2d installed in front of the passenger P in the passenger seat, in other words, in front of the vehicle of the display 2d. In the present embodiment, as the "specific occupant" according to the present application, a form corresponding to the passenger P in the passenger seat among the occupants in the vehicle is shown.

[0017] The instrument panel 3 is configured with hoods 3a for the displays 2a to 2e, and the displays 2a to 2b and the hood 3a are installed in a plate shape as a whole. The hood 3a is configured to cover the back surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e with a flat portion connected to the plane of the upper surface of the instrument panel 3.

[0018] The plurality of displays 2a to 2e, 9 are each composed of an organic EL display having a front display surface. The front display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e are installed facing downward and forward. The front display surface of the display 9 is installed facing the rear of the vehicle. The front display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e and 9 are configured as planes. In addition, due to the physical installation constraint conditions of the displays 2a to 2e and 9, and in order to design good visibility from the driver's seat shifted to either the left or right from the center of the vehicle, the display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e and 9 are not limited to simple planes. They may be configured in a convex surface, concave surface, or uneven surface shape.

[0019] The vehicle display control system 1 controls the display of content images on the displays 2a to 2e and 9. The displays 2a to 2e and 9 are each configured to be able to display various image contents such as meter images, imaging images of the peripheral camera 21 described later, entertainment images of still images and moving images, map images around the current position, and imaging images of electronic mirrors.

[0020] The organic EL display is configured using an organic light-emitting diode. The organic light-emitting diode is called an OLED. OLED is an abbreviation for Organic Light-Emitting Diode.

[0021] The displays 2a to 2e of the present embodiment are installed such that their display surfaces are generally parallel to the line of sight of the occupant or the front side faces downward. For this reason, the driver D or the passenger P in the passenger seat does not directly visually recognize the display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e. Further, a hood 3a is attached to the back of the displays 2a to 2e, or physically speaking, to the upper surface of the displays 2a to 2e. The hood 3a shields the solar light incident into the vehicle interior through the front windshield 5 so that it does not directly hit the displays 2a to 2e.

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section taken along line A-A of FIG. 1 and shows the display 2b in front of the driver's seat and its surrounding state. A half mirror 8 is installed in front of the display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e, or physically speaking, below the displays 2a to 2e. The half mirror 8 is a reflector and a reflecting member that reflects the image self-emitted from the display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e, and is cantilever-supported on a part of the instrument panel 3. And the half mirror 8 is installed so as to protrude obliquely backward and downward from the inner end of the flat part of the hood 3a. Thereby, the display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e and the reflecting surface of the half mirror 8 are kept in an installation relationship so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle.

[0023] The half mirror 8 is installed such that its reflecting surface faces obliquely rearward and upward, and is capable of reflecting an image toward the front seats installed behind the instrument panel 3, that is, the driver's seat and the passenger seat. Further, in order to improve the designability of the reflecting surface of the instrument panel 3 or the half mirror 8, or to improve the visibility from the driver's seat shifted to either the left or right side from the center, the reflecting surface of the half mirror 8 is not limited to a simple flat surface, and may be configured in a convex surface, a concave surface, or a concavo-convex surface. The half mirror 8 is configured as a virtual image display unit that projects a virtual image K in accordance with the line of sight of the occupant while specularly reflecting the image displayed on the display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e.

[0024] Since the half mirror 8 is installed below the hood 3a and the displays 2a to 2e, the incident light entering from the front windshield 5 is blocked by the hood 3a and there is no risk of being reflected by the half mirror 8. Since it is difficult for light to hit the reflecting surface of the half mirror 8, the vehicle occupants can easily visually recognize the virtual image K through the half mirror 8.

[0025] The driver D or the front passenger P can indirectly confirm the images projected on the display surfaces of the displays 2a to 2e as the virtual image K by visually recognizing the reflecting surface of the half mirror 8. At this time, the vehicle occupants can see the virtual image K as if it were behind the reflecting surface of the half mirror 8, that is, on the front side of the vehicle.

[0026] FIG. 4 schematically shows a perspective view of the periphery of the display 2d in front of the front passenger P, and FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal side view along the line B-B of FIG. 4. As described above, the half mirror 8 is installed in front of the display surface of the display 2d, physically speaking, below the display 2d. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a display 9 is installed on the back side of the half mirror 8.

[0027] The display surface of the display 9 is installed facing rearward or rearward and obliquely upward, and is installed facing the front passenger seat. The display surface of the display 9 is installed facing rearward and obliquely upward. The display surface of this display 9 is installed so as to overlap the formation region of the virtual image K formed by the virtual image forming unit 6. For this reason, the real image projected by the display 9 serving as the real image forming unit 7 and the virtual image K formed by the virtual image forming unit 6 can be visually recognized almost overlapping in the front-rear direction.

[0028] On the side of the driver's seat of the display 2d installed in the front of the passenger seat, an optical path control wall 10a is installed. At this time, it is desirable to install the optical path control wall 10a on the side opposite to the side where the half mirror 8 performs specular reflection, that is, on the back side. Structurally, it is desirable to configure by providing the optical path control wall 10a on the frame 8a that holds the half mirror 8. In the configuration shown in FIG. 5 of this embodiment, since the optical path control wall 10a is installed toward the lower back side of the half mirror 8, the optical path of the display 9 can be restricted.

[0029] That is, the optical path control wall 10a is provided as a restricting portion 10 that restricts the optical path and its light distribution angle by the display 9 that displays a real image, and restricts the visible range or the light distribution angle of the display 9. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, since the optical path control wall 10a is located and installed on the back side of the half mirror 8 and on the driver's seat side on the left side of the display 2d, the driver D cannot visually recognize the display 9.

[0030] In addition, the viewing angle may be controlled by providing a viewing angle control film 10b, for example, a film called VCF or LCF, on the surface of the display 9 as the restricting portion 10. VCF indicates an optical element that restricts the angle range in which light travels by arranging louvers at regular intervals and at a regular angle on the surface of the display 9. LCF is an abbreviation for a light collimating film, and is an optical film provided with a plurality of parallel grooves. When a vehicle occupant views from a direction perpendicular to the film surface, although the display image of the display 9 can be visually recognized, as the viewing angle increases deeply until it reaches a predetermined cut-off angle, the light will be blocked by the light absorbing material and the display surface cannot be observed.

[0031] Next, the electrical configuration of the electronic control unit 11 and the vehicle system around it will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Inside the vehicle, a number of electronic control units 11 (11a, 11b, 11c), 11z are configured, and they communicate and connect with each other using the in-vehicle network N to execute various controls within the vehicle. The electronic control units 11, 11z can be classified into an ECU for the display system, an ECU for the driving control system, etc. Among them, the electronic control unit 11 of this embodiment belongs to the ECU of the display system and is also called the HCU. The HCU is an abbreviation for Human Machine Interface Control Unit and indicates an information presentation control device. When the ECU of the driving control system receives a driving control signal, it drives the driving actuator to perform predetermined driving control. When performing autonomous driving, it drives the driving actuator to execute corresponding predetermined levels of driving assistance and autonomous driving.

[0032] Each of the electronic control units 11, 11z is mainly composed of a microcomputer including a processor, a cache memory, various storage units 13 such as a RAM and a ROM, and a bus connecting these.

[0033] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a form is shown in which a plurality of electronic control units 11a to 11c are connected by the in-vehicle network N or a dedicated line to constitute the electronic control unit 11. The plurality of electronic control units 11a to 11c share the processing capabilities of the internal physical resources to perform display control on a plurality of displays 2a to 2e, 9. The above-described storage unit 13 indicates a non-transitory physical storage medium that non-temporarily stores a computer-readable program and data. The non-transitory physical storage medium is realized by a semiconductor memory or the like. If the processing capabilities by the physical resources can be ensured, only one electronic control unit (for example, 11a) may be provided to execute the display control process described later.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 7, the electronic control device 11 includes a control device 12, a storage unit 13, an arithmetic unit 14, a display processing unit 15, an I / O control unit 16 that manages input or output from various external devices, and a communication control unit 17 that controls communication with another electronic control device 11z. Here, the output signals of the main components such as the locator 18, the operation panel 19, the occupant monitor 20, the peripheral camera 21, and the vehicle speed sensor 23 shown in FIG. 7 are input to the electronic control device 11 through the I / O control unit 16. However, the state of sensors or switches may also be input as the vehicle state between other electronic control devices 11z such as the ECU of the driving control system and the ECU of the peripheral monitoring system through the in-vehicle network N.

[0035] Based on the control of the control device 12, the arithmetic unit 14 calculates the display areas for displaying the image and character contents stored in the storage unit 13 on the display screens of the plurality of displays 2a to 2e and 9, calculates which area of the display screens of the displays 2a to 2e and 9 to display the image and character contents, and which areas to overlay and display them, and outputs the display areas together with the image and character contents to the control device 12.

[0036] Based on the control of the control device 12, the display processing unit 15 performs display processing of the image and character contents in the display screens of the plurality of displays 2a to 2e and 9. As a result, the character and image contents can be overlaid and displayed on the display screens of the displays 2a to 2e and 9 for each display layer.

[0037] The locator 18 accurately detects the position using a GNSS receiver such as a well-known GPS (not shown) and inertial sensors such as an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor. The locator 18 outputs a position detection signal to the control device 12 through the I / O control unit 16. The control device 12 realizes the function as an ADAS locator that sequentially measures the current position of the vehicle with high accuracy based on the map information input from the map data input device and the position detection signal of the locator 18. ADAS is the abbreviation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

[0038] The control device 12 can perform so-called navigation processing based on the current position of the vehicle. Also, the vehicle speed sensor 23 detects the speed of the vehicle and outputs vehicle speed information to the control device 12 through the I / O control unit 16. The control device 12 can identify the speed of the vehicle based on the input vehicle speed information. The operation panel 19 is composed of a touch panel or a mechanical switch, etc. When there is an operation input by the occupant, the I / O control unit 16 receives the operation input and outputs it to the control device 12. The control device 12 executes control based on the operation signal of the operation panel 19.

[0039] The occupant monitor 20 detects the state of the vehicle occupants riding in the vehicle. The occupant monitor 20 is, for example, based on a power switch, an occupant state monitor, a turn switch, an automatic control switch, etc., and outputs various signals to the control device 12. The occupant monitor 20 may include a steering sensor that detects whether the steering wheel 4 is being gripped or steered by the driver, a seating sensor that detects whether the driver is seated on the front seat, or a depression sensor for the accelerator pedal or brake pedal, an electronic throttle sensor, etc.

[0040] The power switch outputs a signal corresponding to the operation when it is turned on by the vehicle occupant in the vehicle interior to start the internal combustion engine or the electric motor. The occupant state monitor detects the state of the driver D or the passenger in the passenger seat by photographing with an image sensor, and outputs an imaging signal. The occupant state monitor is used to detect the state of occupants such as the driver during normal driving, during driving support, or during autonomous driving. In particular, the occupant state monitor for the driver D sitting in the driver's seat is called DSM. DSM is an abbreviation for Driver Status Monitor. The turn switch outputs a turn signal to turn right or left in response to the operation when it is turned on by the occupant in the vehicle interior to operate the direction indicator of the vehicle.

[0041] The automatic control switch is turned on by the vehicle occupant in the passenger compartment in order to command automatic control of the running state of the vehicle, and outputs an automatic control signal corresponding to the operation. The control device 12 can determine the behavior of the vehicle occupant, for example, the direction in which the line of sight is directed, based on the sensor signal of the occupant monitor 20, and can also input the operation state of the power switch, the operating state of the direction indicator, the command information of the automatic control of the vehicle, and the like.

[0042] The surrounding cameras 21 include a front camera that images the front of the vehicle, a back camera that images the rear of the vehicle, a corner camera that images the front side or the rear side of the vehicle, a side camera that images the side of the vehicle, a camera for an electronic mirror, etc. These are respectively output to the control device 12 through the I / O control unit 16 as imaging signals of the front guide monitor, the back guide monitor, the corner view monitor, the side guide monitor, and the electronic mirror, and are stored in the storage unit 13. The imaging signals stored in this storage unit 13 are subjected to display processing on the displays 2a to 2e and 9. The communication control unit 17 is connected to the in-vehicle network N such as CAN or LIN, and controls data communication between the control device 12 and other electronic control devices 11z.

[0043] Various applications (hereinafter referred to as apps) are stored in the storage unit 13. The apps include a navigation app, an image on / off app, an image synthesis app, etc. The navigation app realizes a navigation function and mainly draws contents such as a map displayed on a plurality of displays (for example, 2c, 2d) and a navigation screen including the current position of the vehicle.

[0044] The image on / off app is an app that controls the display on / off of each of the displays 2a to 2e and 9. The image composition app identifies the sizes and types of various image contents to be displayed on the display 2, composes the images of the contents within one frame, and outputs this composed mixed image to the plurality of displays 2a to 2e and 9. The image composition app realizes a function as an image composition unit, also referred to as a compositor. For an app that draws an image of content, a display layer for drawing the image of the content is assigned. These display layers are secured on the storage unit 13 in a size capable of drawing the content of the required image.

[0045] Also, the image contents displayed on the plurality of displays 2a to 2e and 9 are capable of animation operation. Here, the animation operation means a display mode in which the position and size of the image showing the content gradually change, the image rotates, the user interface moves entirely along with a swipe operation on the operation panel 19 by the vehicle occupant, the image gradually fades in or fades out, or the color of the image changes.

[0046] The control device 12 and the display processing unit 15 shown in FIG. 7 perform display control on the plurality of displays 2a to 2e and 9 by executing various apps stored in the storage unit 13. At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the displays 2a and 2e located at the left and right ends mainly perform display processing of content for the electronic mirror, and the display 2b located immediately in front of the driver's seat has its meter image display controlled.

[0047] Also, for the other displays 2c and 2d, display control is performed for a map screen of navigation processing, an imaging image of a front imaging camera, etc., or display control is performed for entertainment image content. The content to be displayed on each of the displays 2a to 2e is not limited to this. The control device 12 and the display processing unit 15 mainly perform display control of content to be visually recognized by the passenger P in the front passenger seat for the display 9.

[0048] Further, the control device 12 and the display processing unit 15 execute an image on / off application and an image synthesis application stored in the storage unit 13, thereby realizing the function as the viewing angle control unit 30 together with other components (for example, the optical path control wall 10a and the viewing angle control film 10b). The viewing angle control unit 30 controls the viewing angle of the content to be visually recognized by the passenger P in the passenger seat or a passenger other than the passenger P in the passenger seat (for example, the driver D).

[0049] As a specific example of the viewing angle control, the viewing angle control unit 30 controls the display on / off of the display 2d constituting the virtual image forming unit 6 and controls the display on / off of the display 9 constituting the real image forming unit 7. Thereby, the viewing angle control unit 30 can control whether or not the real image or the virtual image K is visually recognized by the passenger P in the passenger seat or the driver D.

[0050] When the viewing angle control unit 30 is not performing viewing angle control, the display 9 is turned off, and content is displayed on all the displays 2d to form the virtual image K, so that all the passengers can visually recognize the virtual image K. When the viewing angle control unit 30 is performing viewing angle control, the display 2d in front of the passenger P in the passenger seat is turned off, and the display of the display 9 is turned on to display the content. At this time, since the display of the display 2d is turned off, the driver D cannot visually recognize the display of the display 2d. The passenger P in the passenger seat can visually recognize the real image displayed on the display 9.

[0051] The display processing unit 15 realizes the function as the adjustment control unit 32 by executing an application. When the adjustment control unit 32 switches the content that formed the virtual image K using the display 2d in front of the passenger P in the passenger seat to real image display using the display 9, it controls the brightness adjustment and color tone adjustment between the displays 2d and 9. When switching the on / off of the displays 2d and 9 in front of the passenger P in the passenger seat, for example, when switching from virtual image display to real image display, the optical characteristics may be different between the image surface-reflected by the half mirror 8 and the image transmitted through the half mirror 8. Therefore, it is desirable to adjust the brightness difference and color tone difference.

[0052] As the display 9 installed behind the half mirror 8, it is advisable to use a display unit of the same type as the virtual image display 2d. Then, the luminance difference and color difference can be suppressed as much as possible. In this case, the displays 2d and 9 may be configured by either TFT or OLED. When using OLED, it can be configured thinner than TFT liquid crystal and the mountability can be improved. Conversely, for example, from the perspective of cost reduction, it is desirable to use TFT for the displays 2d and 9.

[0053] In the above-described display control example, an example of turning on the display operation of either one of the displays 2d or 9 was shown, but it is not limited to this. At the same time as the virtual image K is projected by the virtual image forming unit 6, a real image may be formed by the real image forming unit 7. That is, the displays 2d and 9 may be turned on for display operation simultaneously.

[0054] By turning on the displays 2d and 9 for display operation simultaneously, it is also possible to superimpose and display content that is not visible to the driver D together with content that may be visible to the driver D and the passenger P in the passenger seat.

[0055] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the virtual image forming unit 6 can display content on the display 2d, reflect the content on the half mirror 8, form the virtual image K in the virtual image formation region, and make it visible to the vehicle occupants. Further, the real image forming unit 7 displays a real image on the display 9 so that the passenger P in the passenger seat can visually recognize the real image through the half mirror 8. As a result, the passenger P in the passenger seat can visually recognize specific content and enjoy the specific content.

[0056] In general, a technology for controlling the viewing angle that can switch between on and off using a TFT and a liquid crystal shutter has been developed and is called privacy view. However, when an OLED with a particularly wide viewing angle is adopted, the viewing angle control effect becomes low even when a liquid crystal shutter is used. According to the present embodiment, since an OLED having a wide viewing angle is adopted in a virtual image method, the passenger P in the passenger seat can enjoy the display content of the display 9, and moreover, the visibility for the driver D can be ensured.

[0057] (Second Embodiment) The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows the peripheral environment of the displays 2d and 9 from the viewpoint of the passenger P in the passenger seat. The viewing angle control unit 30 may control the viewing angle by dividing the display areas by virtual image display and real image display into upper and lower specific areas Ra and Rb and performing display control. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, if necessary, an optical path control wall 210a may be provided beside the lower specific area Rb, or a viewing angle control film 10b may be attached to the lower specific area Rb.

[0058] Also, when simultaneously displaying on the upper and lower specific areas Ra and Rb, for example, it is good to display vehicle information with the driver D and the passenger P in the passenger seat as viewing targets in the upper specific area Ra. Also, for example, in the upper specific area Ra, it is good to perform display control of the seat belt detachment warning light of the passenger P and the half-door warning light of the passenger seat side door when the vehicle is running. Then, even if the driver D checks from the driver's seat side, it becomes easier to notice an abnormality on the passenger seat side, and the passenger P can be alerted to this point.

[0059] It is good to display content for the passenger P, for example, entertainment information, in the lower specific area Rb. In the lower specific area Rb, it is good to perform display control of high-drawing-load and high-frame-rate entertainment movies, games, video conferences, etc. that utilize the in-vehicle network N and the out-of-vehicle network communication. Note that it is good to avoid, as much as possible, interrupting the display of vehicle information such as warning lights in the lower specific area Rb because there is a concern that the processing load will increase and the processing speed will be adversely affected.

[0060] When the virtual image forming unit 6 and the real image forming unit 7 form a virtual image K and a real image in the specific area Rb on the lower side toward the passenger P in the passenger seat, the virtual image K and the real image can be formed by overlapping them. Therefore, it is possible to superimpose content that cannot be interrupted or superimposed. For example, it is possible to superimpose specific Internet content on vehicle information, or to superimpose vehicle information such as warning lights on the display of entertainment information.

[0061] (Third Embodiment) The third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10. The display processing unit 15 can variably control the width of the viewing angle control area by combining display controls in which the area is divided by the viewing angle control unit 30. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the display area of the content may be switched and controlled, such as the left half area Rc, the right half area Rd of the display 9, or one-third, two-thirds, etc., or the area may be gradually enlarged or reduced to variably control the display area.

[0062] For example, in recent years, in-vehicle displays are often of the landscape-wide type with an aspect ratio of 8:3, such as 12.3 inches or 10.25 inches. However, the content of various applications such as the display of entertainment content may not fully use the entire screen, such as when displaying in landscape with an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 4:3, or in portrait with an aspect ratio of 9:16 or 9:19 when mirror-linking a smartphone. Therefore, by partially dividing the screen without making the entire screen a privacy view, a larger information display area for the driver's seat can be secured.

[0063] In addition, it is desirable that the virtual image forming unit 6 and the real image forming unit 7 allocate resources so that the display control of the content to be viewed by the passenger P in the passenger seat can be processed at high speed compared to the content to be viewed by the driver D, and display the content on the displays 2d and 9 to project the virtual image K and the real image. The frame rate of the display 2 mounted on the automobile is often about 10 to 60 fps. In contrast, there is also content that recommends a processing speed of 60 fps or more than 120 fps in recent high-resolution movies and games.

[0064] Therefore, when controlling the display of content to be viewed by the passenger P in the passenger seat, it is desirable to increase the frame rate compared to the content for normal automotive display. At this time, if the display control processing for all the displays 2a to 2e and 9 is made fast, there is a risk of over-specification and an increase in the cost of the microcomputer. Therefore, it is desirable to allocate more resources to the display control of the content to be viewed by the passenger P in the passenger seat compared to the content to be viewed by the driver D, so that high-speed processing can be achieved.

[0065] (Fourth Embodiment) The third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. As illustrated in FIG. 11, as the second display unit installed behind the half mirror 8, an enlarged optical system using the small display 409 and the convex lens 50 may be configured. Further, the viewing angle, the optical path, and the light distribution angle may be controlled using the configuration of this enlarged optical system or other lens components.

[0066] The small display 409 is installed behind the half mirror 8, and the convex lens 50 is installed between the half mirror 8 and the small display 409. The convex lens 50 is an optical system component by an enlarged lens that enlarges and projects the display content of the small display 409.

[0067] The virtual image forming unit 407 is composed of the small display 409 and the convex lens 50, and is configured to project a virtual image K to the passenger through the half mirror 8. At this time, it is possible to project the virtual image K in a larger size behind the installation area of the small display 409, the whole can be miniaturized, and the mounting space can be reduced. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 12, it may be configured using a Fresnel lens 51 instead of the convex lens 50. Then, the same operational effects can be obtained.

[0068] (Other Embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified and implemented, and is applicable to various embodiments without departing from the gist thereof.

[0069] In the foregoing embodiment, a form was shown in which, in addition to the driver D sitting in the driver's seat, for example, the passenger P in the passenger seat was taken as a specific passenger, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the specific passenger may be the driver D.

[0070] The method by the electronic control device 11 described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the electronic control device 11 and its method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits.

[0071] Or, the electronic control device 11 and its method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions and a processor configured by one or more hardware logic circuits. Further, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions to be executed by a computer.

[0072] Although the present invention has been described in accordance with the foregoing embodiments, it is understood that the present invention is not limited to such embodiments and structures. The present invention includes various modifications and modifications within an equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, and further other combinations and forms including one element, more, or less thereof, are within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0073] In the drawings, 1 represents a vehicle display control system, 2a to 2e represent displays (2d is the first display unit), 6 represents a virtual image forming unit, 7 represents a real image forming unit, 8 represents a half mirror, 9 represents a display (second display unit), 11 represents an HCU (vehicle device), 50 represents a convex lens (magnifying lens), 51 represents a Fresnel lens (magnifying lens), and 409 represents a small display.

Claims

1. A vehicle display control system (1) for controlling the display of vehicle content for visual recognition by vehicle occupants, comprising a first display unit (2d) for forming a virtual image, displaying the content on the first display unit, reflecting the content on a half mirror (8) to form a virtual image in a virtual image formation region, and forming a virtual image for visual recognition by the vehicle occupants; a virtual image forming unit (6), a real image forming unit (7) comprising a second display unit (9) for displaying a real image so as to allow a specific occupant among the vehicle occupants to visually recognize the real image through the half mirror, and a viewing angle control unit (30) for controlling the viewing angle of the content to be visually recognized by the specific occupant or the occupants other than the specific occupant. When the viewing angle is not controlled by the viewing angle control unit, the virtual image forming unit forms the virtual image by displaying the content on the first display unit, and allows the occupants including the specific occupant to visually recognize the virtual image. When the viewing angle is controlled by the viewing angle control unit, the virtual image forming unit turns off the display of the first display unit in front of the specific occupant, and the real image forming unit displays the content on the second display unit to allow the specific occupant to visually recognize the real image. A vehicle display control system.

2. A vehicle display control system (1) for controlling the display of vehicle content for visual recognition by vehicle occupants, comprising a first display unit (2d) for forming a virtual image, displaying the content on the first display unit, reflecting the content on a half mirror (8) to form a virtual image in a virtual image formation region, and forming a virtual image for visual recognition by the vehicle occupants; a virtual image forming unit (6), a real image forming unit (7) comprising a second display unit (9) for displaying a real image so as to allow a specific occupant among the vehicle occupants to visually recognize the real image through the half mirror, and a limiting unit (10) configured on the side opposite to the side where the half mirror performs specular reflection, controlling the optical path and the light distribution angle of the real image, and limiting the visible range or the light distribution angle of the second display unit. The vehicle display control system is configured by providing an optical path control wall (10a; 210a) that restricts the optical path of the real image of the second display unit to the half mirror.

3. The vehicle display control system according to claim 2, wherein the restricting unit is configured by providing a viewing angle control film (10b) on the surface of the second display unit.

4. The vehicle display control system according to claim 2, wherein the optical path control wall (10a) is installed on the back side of the half mirror and on the driver's seat side to the left of the first display unit (2d).

5. A vehicle display control system (1) that controls the display of vehicle content for viewing by vehicle occupants, An image forming unit (6) that includes a first display unit (2d) for forming a virtual image, displays the content on the first display unit, reflects the content on a half mirror (8), forms a virtual image in a virtual image forming region, and allows the vehicle occupants to view the virtual image; A real image forming unit (7) that includes a second display unit (9) for displaying a real image so that a specific part of the vehicle occupants can view the real image through the half mirror; Comprising: While the virtual image is being displayed by the virtual image forming unit, the real image is simultaneously displayed by the real image forming unit, The vehicle display control system that, together with the content that may be viewed by the driver (P) and the front passenger (D) by simultaneously displaying the virtual image and the real image, superimposes and displays the content that is not to be viewed by the driver as the virtual image and the real image.

6. A vehicle display control system (1) that controls the display of vehicle content for viewing by vehicle occupants, An image forming unit (6) that includes a first display unit (2d) for forming a virtual image, displays the content on the first display unit, reflects the content on a half mirror (8), forms a virtual image in a virtual image forming region, and allows the vehicle occupants to view the virtual image; An image forming unit (7) including a second display unit (9) that displays the real image so as to allow a specific part of the passengers in the vehicle to visually recognize the real image through the half mirror; comprising; When the co-driver is applied as the specific passenger, The virtual image forming unit and the real image forming unit allocate resources so that the display control of the content to be visually recognized by the co-driver can be processed at high speed compared to the content to be visually recognized by the driver, and display the content on the first display unit and the second display unit. A vehicle display control system.

7. The vehicle display control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the specific passenger is a co-driver among the passengers.

8. The vehicle display control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the second display unit uses the same type of display unit as the first display unit for forming the virtual image.

9. The vehicle display control system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second display unit is composed of a TFT or an OLED.

10. The vehicle display control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the second display unit is composed of an enlarged optical system using a small display (409) and enlarged lenses (50, 51).

11. A field angle control unit (30) for controlling a field angle of the content to be visually recognized by the specific passenger or the passengers other than the specific passenger is provided, The vehicle display control system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the field angle control unit controls the field angle by dividing the area for displaying the virtual image and the area for displaying the real image vertically or horizontally.

12. A vehicle display control method for controlling the display of vehicle content and allowing passengers to visually recognize it, A process in which a virtual image forming unit causes the first display unit for virtual image formation to display the content, thereby reflecting the content on the half mirror and forming a virtual image in a virtual image formation region in front of a specific occupant among the occupants of the vehicle; A process in which a real image forming unit causes the real image to be visually recognized by the occupant through the half mirror and causes the second display unit to display the real image so as to overlap with the virtual image; A process in which a viewing angle control unit controls the viewing angle of the content to be visually recognized by the specific occupant or an occupant other than the specific occupant, and includes: When the viewing angle is not controlled by the viewing angle control unit, the virtual image forming unit forms the virtual image by displaying the content on the first display unit, and causes the occupant including the specific occupant to visually recognize the virtual image. A vehicle display control method in which when the viewing angle is controlled by the viewing angle control unit, the virtual image forming unit turns off the display of the first display unit in front of the specific occupant, and the real image forming unit causes the second display unit to display the content, thereby causing the specific occupant to visually recognize the real image.

13. A vehicle display control method for controlling the display of vehicle content to be visually recognized by an occupant, comprising: A process in which a virtual image forming unit causes the first display unit for virtual image formation to display the content, thereby reflecting the content on the half mirror and forming a virtual image in a virtual image formation region in front of a specific occupant among the occupants of the vehicle; A process in which a real image forming unit causes the real image to be visually recognized by the occupant through the half mirror and causes the second display unit to display the real image so as to overlap with the virtual image; A process in which a restricting unit is configured on a side opposite to the side where the half mirror performs specular reflection, controls the optical path and the light distribution angle of the real image, and restricts the visible range or the light distribution angle of the second display unit, and includes: The restricting unit is configured by providing an optical path control wall (10a; 210a) that restricts the optical path of the real image of the second display unit on the half mirror.

14. The vehicle display control method according to claim 13, wherein the restricting unit is configured by providing a viewing angle control film (10b) on the surface of the second display unit.

15. A vehicle display control method for controlling the display of vehicle content to be visually recognized by an occupant, comprising: a process in which a virtual image forming unit causes the content to be displayed on a first display unit for virtual image formation, thereby reflecting the content on a half mirror and forming a virtual image in a virtual image formation region in front of a specific occupant among the occupants of the vehicle; a process in which a real image forming unit transmits through the half mirror to allow the occupant to visually recognize a real image and causes the real image to be displayed on a second display unit so as to overlap the virtual image; displaying the virtual image by the virtual image forming unit and simultaneously displaying the real image by the real image forming unit; the vehicle display control method, wherein the virtual image forming unit and the real image forming unit superimpose and display, as the virtual image and the real image, content that is not visually recognized by the driver together with the content that may be visually recognized by the driver (P) and the front passenger (D) by simultaneously displaying the virtual image and the real image.

16. A vehicle display control method for controlling the display of vehicle content to be visually recognized by an occupant, comprising: a process in which a virtual image forming unit causes the content to be displayed on a first display unit for virtual image formation, thereby reflecting the content on a half mirror and forming a virtual image in a virtual image formation region in front of a specific occupant among the occupants of the vehicle; a process in which a real image forming unit transmits through the half mirror to allow the occupant to visually recognize a real image and causes the real image to be displayed on a second display unit so as to overlap the virtual image; when the front passenger is applied as the specific occupant, the vehicle display control method, wherein the virtual image forming unit and the real image forming unit allocate resources so as to be capable of high-speed processing for display control of the content to be visually recognized by the front passenger as compared with the content to be visually recognized by the driver, and cause the content to be displayed on the first display unit and the second display unit.

17. A vehicle display control program for controlling the display of vehicle content for the driver to view, a procedure in which a virtual image forming unit causes the first display unit for virtual image formation to display the content, thereby reflecting the content on the half mirror and forming a virtual image in a virtual image formation region in front of a specific driver among the drivers of the vehicle; a procedure in which a real image forming unit allows the driver to view a real image through the half mirror and causes the second display unit to display the real image so as to overlap the virtual image; a procedure in which a viewing angle control unit controls the viewing angle of the content to be viewed by the specific driver or the driver other than the specific driver; and when the viewing angle control unit is not controlling the viewing angle, the virtual image forming unit forms the virtual image by displaying the content on the first display unit and allows the driver including the specific driver to view the virtual image, when the viewing angle control unit is controlling the viewing angle, the virtual image forming unit turns off the display of the first display unit in front of the specific driver, and the real image forming unit causes the second display unit to display the content so that the specific driver can view the real image. A vehicle display control program.

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