Display device and display method

Abstract

To make it possible to notify a driver of that another faraway vehicle outside a display range on an information display screen is being recognized.SOLUTION: A display device 4 displays a user's own vehicle 100 and another vehicle that travel within a travel lane, together with the travel lane on an information display screen 44. When the other vehicle is present in a faraway area on a front side in a vehicle-traveling direction, which falls outside a display range on the screen, the display device 4 displays a mark indicating that the other vehicle is present in the faraway area on the front side in the vehicle-traveling direction that falls outside the display range on the screen, at a fixed position of the travel lane displayed on the screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device and a display method. [Background technology]

[0002] When a driving assistance system installed in a vehicle is providing driving assistance, it is desirable to disclose information that the vehicle has obtained to the driver. Therefore, conventionally, other vehicles existing around the vehicle are recognized, and the recognized other vehicles are displayed on an information display screen (for example, a meter display) with a vehicle figure representing the vehicle at the center (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-182906 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the recognition range of other vehicles around the vehicle is expanded, it becomes possible to recognize other vehicles located far away. However, even if a distant vehicle is recognized, if the position of the other vehicle is outside the display range of the information display screen, it is not possible to notify the driver that the other vehicle is recognized.

[0005] The present invention was made with an eye on such problems, and aims to be able to inform the driver that other distant vehicles that are outside the display range of the information display screen are recognized. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, a display device according to one aspect of the present invention is configured to display the host vehicle and other vehicles traveling in a driving lane together with the driving lane on an information display screen, and the display device is further configured to display, when the other vehicle is present in a distant area ahead of the vehicle in the direction of travel that is outside the display range of the information display screen, a mark indicating the presence of the other vehicle in that area at a fixed position on the driving lane displayed on the information display screen.

[0007] Furthermore, a display method according to one aspect of the present invention is a display method that displays the vehicle and other vehicles traveling within the driving lane on an information display screen, along with the driving lane, and determines whether the other vehicle is present in a distant area ahead of the vehicle in the direction of travel that is outside the display range of the information display screen.If the other vehicle is present in that area, a mark indicating that the other vehicle is present in that area is displayed at a fixed position on the driving lane displayed on the information display screen. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to these aspects of the present invention, it is possible to inform the driver that another distant vehicle that is outside the display range of the information display screen is recognized. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a system schematic diagram of a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the distance measuring sensor. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example in which other vehicles existing around the vehicle are displayed together with the vehicle on the information display screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an information display screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which other vehicles traveling in an area out of the display range ahead of the host vehicle are displayed as other vehicle recognition marks at fixed positions in the driving lane. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the display process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an information display screen according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which other vehicles traveling in an area out of the display range ahead of the host vehicle are displayed as other vehicle recognition marks at fixed positions in the driving lane. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an information display screen according to the third embodiment of the present invention, in which other vehicles traveling in an area out of the display range ahead of the host vehicle are displayed as other vehicle recognition marks at fixed positions in the driving lane. [Figure 9A] FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a state in which one of two other vehicles traveling in the host vehicle's driving lane in the out-of-display area ahead of the host vehicle has changed lanes. [Figure 9B] Figure 9B is a diagram that explains the problem that occurs when one of two other vehicles traveling in the vehicle's driving lane in the out-of-display area ahead of the vehicle changes lanes when another vehicle traveling in the out-of-display area ahead of the vehicle is displayed as an other vehicle recognition mark at a fixed position in the driving lane. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a display process according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, like components are designated by like reference numerals.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a system schematic diagram of a vehicle 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The vehicle 100 includes a camera 1, a distance measurement sensor 2, an object recognition device 3, a display device 4, and a vehicle control device 5. The camera 1, the distance measurement sensor 2, the object recognition device 3, the display device 4, and the vehicle control device 5 are communicably connected to each other via an in-vehicle network 6 that complies with a standard such as a controller area network.

[0013] The camera 1 is attached, for example, inside the cabin of the vehicle 100 so as to face forward of the vehicle 100, and captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 100 at a predetermined frame rate (for example, 10 [Hz] to 40 [Hz]), generating an image (hereinafter referred to as a "camera image") of the area ahead. Then, every time the camera 1 generates a camera image, it transmits the generated camera image to the vehicle control device 5 via the in-vehicle network 6.

[0014] The distance measurement sensor 2 horizontally and parallelly irradiates a distance measurement area around the vehicle 100 with multiple laser beams or radio waves at different irradiation angles as shown in FIG. 2(A), and receives reflected light of each irradiated laser beam or reflected waves of each irradiated radio wave. Based on the received reflected light or reflected waves, the distance measurement sensor 2 measures the distance to roads and obstacles (e.g., buildings, moving vehicles such as preceding and following vehicles on the road, oncoming vehicles, stopped vehicles, curbs, fallen objects, pedestrians, etc.) present within the distance measurement area. As shown in FIG. 2(B), the distances to the roads and obstacles are acquired for each reflection point (irradiation point) of the laser beam or radio wave. The distance measurement sensor 2 associates the distance to each reflection point with the coordinate information of each reflection point and transmits the distances to the object recognition device 3 via the in-vehicle network 6 as distance measurement data.

[0015] An example of the distance measurement sensor 2 that emits laser light is a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). An example of the distance measurement sensor 2 that emits radio waves is a millimeter wave radar sensor. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, a LiDAR attached to the roof of a vehicle 100 is used as the distance measurement sensor 2.

[0016] The object recognition device 3 recognizes other vehicles present around the vehicle 100 based on the distance measurement data, and transmits information about the recognized other vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "other vehicle information") to the display device 4 and the vehicle control device 5 via the in-vehicle network 6. Specifically, the object recognition device 3 recognizes other vehicles present around the vehicle 100 by grouping, among multiple reflection points detected based on reflected waves of irradiated laser light or the like, reflection points that satisfy predetermined conditions as reflection points of laser light or the like reflected from the same object. In the following description, the vehicle 100 may be referred to as the host vehicle 100 as necessary in order to clearly distinguish between the vehicle 100 and other vehicles present around the vehicle 100.

[0017] The display device 4 includes an information display screen 44 (see FIG. 4 ) arranged at a position visible to the driver of the vehicle 100. The information display screen 44 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or any of various other display types. The other vehicle information transmitted from the object recognition device 3 includes identification information of each other vehicle (such as an ID number assigned to each vehicle upon recognition), type information of each other vehicle (such as a passenger car, truck, or motorcycle), position information (relative position information) of each other vehicle relative to the vehicle 100, and preceding vehicle information regarding the presence or absence of another vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a “leading vehicle”) traveling in front of the vehicle 100 and in the same lane as the vehicle 100 and the distance between the vehicle 100 and the leading vehicle. Based on this other vehicle information, the display device 4 according to this embodiment displays other vehicles present around the vehicle 100 together with the vehicle 100 on the information display screen 44, as shown in FIG. 3 , for example. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 , if the other vehicle is a passenger car, the display device 4 displays a predetermined passenger car icon at the relative position of the other vehicle. Similarly, if the other vehicle is a truck, a predetermined truck icon is displayed in the relative position of the other vehicle, and although not shown, if the other vehicle is a two-wheeled vehicle, a predetermined two-wheeled vehicle icon is displayed in the relative position of the other vehicle.

[0018] In addition to the camera images and other vehicle information described above, the vehicle control device 5 receives various types of information (e.g., driver appearance information, current position information of the vehicle 100, vehicle speed information, etc.) necessary to implement various driving assistance operations that automatically perform some or all of the driving operations related to acceleration, steering, and braking. The vehicle control device 5 then creates a driving plan for the vehicle 100 based on this information, and automatically performs some or all of the driving operations related to acceleration, steering, and braking in accordance with the driving plan. Note that "acceleration, steering, and braking" may be interpreted as, for example, "acceleration, deceleration, and turning" or "driving, braking, and steering."

[0019] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the display device 4. As shown in FIG.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4, the display device 4 includes a communication interface 41, a storage unit 42, a processing unit 43, and an information display screen 44.

[0021] The communication interface 41 includes an interface circuit for connecting the display device 4 to the in-vehicle network 6. That is, the communication interface 41 is connected to the object recognition device 3 via the in-vehicle network 6. Every time the communication interface 41 receives other vehicle information from the object recognition device 3, it passes the received other vehicle information to the processing unit 43.

[0022] The storage unit 42 has a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs and data used in the processing by the processing unit 43.

[0023] The processing unit 43 has one or more processors and their peripheral circuits. The processing unit 43 executes various computer programs stored in the storage unit 42 and comprehensively controls the overall operation of the display device 4, and is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processing unit 43 executes display processing for displaying other vehicles present around the vehicle 100 on the information display screen 44 based on the other vehicle information received via the communication interface 41. Details of this display processing will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

[0024] As mentioned above, the information display screen 44 is a display of various types, such as an LCD display or an organic EL display, and is positioned in a position visible to the driver of the vehicle 100, and displays information (e.g., text information or image information) corresponding to the signal output from the processing unit 43.

[0025] Although the hardware configurations of the object recognition device 3 and the vehicle control device 5 are not shown, they are equipped with a communication interface, a storage unit, and a processing unit, similar to the display device 4.

[0026] Here, during driving assistance by the vehicle control device 5, it is desirable to disclose information grasped by the vehicle side to the driver and inform the driver whether the information grasped by the vehicle side is accurate, etc. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3 , other vehicles present around the vehicle 100 grasped by the vehicle side, i.e., other vehicles present around the vehicle 100 recognized by the object recognition device 3, are displayed on the information display screen 44 by the display device 4.

[0027] In this case, if the recognition range of other vehicles by the object recognition device 3 is expanded, it becomes possible to recognize other vehicles that are located far away. However, if all recognized other vehicles are to be displayed on the information display screen 44, the scale must be reduced as the recognition range of other vehicles expands. As a result, there is a problem in that the display of each other vehicle becomes small and difficult to see.

[0028] On the other hand, if the scale is maintained at an appropriate scale similar to that used up until now, even if another vehicle ahead that is far away is recognized, if the position of the other vehicle is outside the display range of the information display screen 44, the other vehicle cannot be displayed on the information display screen 44, and therefore it is not possible to inform the driver that another vehicle ahead that is far away is recognized. For example, in a case where other vehicles present within a range up to 100 m ahead of the host vehicle 100 are displayed on the information display screen 44, if another vehicle present 150 m ahead is recognized, the other vehicle present 150 m ahead becomes a vehicle located outside the display range of the information display screen 44, and therefore it is not possible to display the other vehicle on the information display screen 44.

[0029] Therefore, in this embodiment, when another vehicle traveling in an area ahead of the host vehicle 100 and outside the display range of the information display screen 44 (hereinafter referred to as the "out-of-display area ahead of the host vehicle") is recognized, a predetermined other vehicle recognition mark 200 indicating that the other vehicle is recognized is displayed at a fixed position, for example, at the end of the driving lane in which the other vehicle is traveling on the front side in the vehicle travel direction, as shown in Fig. 5. Note that in this embodiment, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 is a vehicle icon similar to the host vehicle 100, as shown in Fig. 5, but is not limited to this form and the other vehicle recognition mark 200 may be, for example, a simple symbol or letter.

[0030] In this way, when another vehicle traveling in an area outside the display range ahead of the vehicle is recognized, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 is displayed at a fixed position (the end on the forward side in the direction of travel of the vehicle) of the driving lane in which the other vehicle is traveling, thereby maintaining an appropriate scale and ensuring ease of viewing the screen, while informing the driver that another vehicle located in the distance is recognized.

[0031] In the example shown in Figure 5, other vehicle recognition marks 200 are displayed in the driving lane in which the host vehicle 100 is driving (hereinafter referred to as the "host vehicle driving lane"), and in the adjacent driving lanes on the left and right adjacent to the host vehicle driving lane, so there are other vehicles traveling outside the display range of the information display screen 44 in the host vehicle driving lane and the adjacent driving lanes on the left and right.

[0032] 6 is a flowchart illustrating details of the display processing according to this embodiment, which is executed in the processing unit 43 of the display device 4. The display device 4 executes this routine every time it receives other vehicle information from the object recognition device 3.

[0033] In step S1, the display device 4 determines whether or not there is another vehicle traveling in the out-of-display area ahead of the host vehicle based on the relative position information of each other vehicle around the host vehicle, which is included in the other vehicle information. If there is another vehicle traveling in the out-of-display area ahead of the host vehicle, the display device 4 proceeds to processing in step S2. On the other hand, if there is no other vehicle traveling in the out-of-display area ahead of the host vehicle, the display device 4 proceeds to processing in step S3.

[0034] In this embodiment, the area up to 100 m ahead of the host vehicle 100 is within the display range of the information display screen 44, and therefore the area from 100 m ahead of the host vehicle 100 to the recognition limit of the object recognition device 3 (for example, 150 m ahead of the host vehicle 100) is the area outside the display range ahead of the host vehicle. Hereinafter, the area ahead of the host vehicle 100 and within the display range of the information display screen 44 will be referred to as the "area within the display range ahead of the host vehicle" to distinguish it from the area outside the display range ahead of the host vehicle.

[0035] In step S2, the display device 4 displays other vehicles present in the area within the display range ahead of the host vehicle and other vehicle recognition marks 200 on the information display screen 44. Specifically, the display device 4 displays other vehicles present in the area within the display range ahead of the host vehicle at their relative positions, and also displays other vehicle recognition marks 200 at fixed positions (in this embodiment, at the end on the forward side in the vehicle's traveling direction) of the driving lane of other vehicles traveling in the area outside the display range.

[0036] In this embodiment, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 is a vehicle icon, and in order to minimize the sense of incongruity felt by the driver, the vehicle icon is displayed at a fixed position on the driving lane so that its center point is located on the center line of the driving lane. The vehicle icon is also displayed at a fixed position on the driving lane so that its orientation coincides with the orientation of the tangent to the center line of the driving lane.

[0037] In addition, in this embodiment, the fixed position of the driving lane (the end on the forward side in the vehicle's direction of travel) is set to a point on the driving lane that is the boundary between the area within the display range in front of the vehicle and the area outside the display range in front of the vehicle (a point 100 m ahead of the vehicle 100).

[0038] In step S3, the display device 4 displays other vehicles present in the area within the display range ahead of the host vehicle on the information display screen 44. Specifically, the display device 4 displays other vehicles present in the area within the display range ahead of the host vehicle at their relative positions.

[0039] The display device 4 according to the present embodiment described above is configured to display the host vehicle 100 and other vehicles traveling within the traveling lane, together with the traveling lane, on the information display screen 44. Furthermore, when the other vehicle is present in a distant area ahead of the host vehicle in the traveling direction that is outside the display range of the information display screen 44 (i.e., an area outside the display range ahead of the host vehicle), the display device 4 is configured to display a other vehicle recognition mark 200 (a vehicle icon in this embodiment) at a fixed position of the traveling lane displayed on the information display screen 44 (at the end of the traveling lane ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle in this embodiment).

[0040] As a result, other vehicles traveling in a nearby area within the display range of the information display screen 44 can be displayed on the information display screen 44 while maintaining an appropriate scale and ensuring easy viewing of the screen. Furthermore, for other vehicles traveling in a distant area outside the display range of the information display screen 44, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 can be displayed at the end of the driving lane in which the other vehicle is traveling on the forward side in the vehicle's traveling direction, thereby informing the driver that another vehicle located in the distance has been recognized.

[0041] From another perspective, this embodiment can also be seen as a display method for displaying the host vehicle 100 and other vehicles traveling in the traveling lane, together with the traveling lane, on the information display screen 44. Specifically, this can also be seen as a display method for determining whether other vehicles are present in a distant area ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle, which is outside the display range of the information display screen 44, and, if other vehicles are present in that area, displaying other vehicle recognition marks 200 at fixed positions on the traveling lane displayed on the information display screen 44, indicating that other vehicles are present in that area.

[0042] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the other vehicle recognition mark 200 is displayed only in the host vehicle's driving lane. The following description will focus on this difference.

[0043] In the first embodiment described above, as shown in Fig. 5, when there is another vehicle in each travel lane in the area outside the display range of the information display screen 44, the other vehicle recognition marks 200 are displayed at the end of all travel lanes on the forward side in the direction of travel of the vehicle. In this case, as shown in Fig. 5, the other vehicle recognition marks 200 are displayed in a horizontal row at the end of each travel lane on the forward side in the direction of travel of the vehicle.

[0044] In most cases, other vehicles traveling in each travel lane outside the display range of the information display screen 44 do not actually travel in a horizontal line. Therefore, if other vehicle recognition marks 200 are displayed in a horizontal line at the end of each travel lane on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction, this may cause discomfort to the driver.

[0045] 7, in this embodiment, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 is displayed at the end of the host vehicle's driving lane on the front side in the vehicle's direction of travel only when another vehicle is driving in the host vehicle's driving lane in the area outside the display range of the information display screen 44. In other words, even if another vehicle is driving in a driving lane other than the host vehicle's driving lane in the area outside the display range of the information display screen 44, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 is not displayed in the driving lane in which the other vehicle is driving.

[0046] This prevents other vehicle recognition marks 200 from being displayed in a horizontal row at the end of each driving lane on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction, thereby reducing the sense of discomfort felt by the driver.

[0047] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the display range of the host vehicle's driving lane on the forward side in the vehicle's traveling direction is longer than the display range of driving lanes other than the host vehicle's driving lane on the forward side in the vehicle's traveling direction. The following description will focus on this difference.

[0048] As described above, if other vehicle recognition marks 200 are displayed in a horizontal row at fixed positions (the ends on the forward side in the vehicle travel direction) of each driving lane as shown in Fig. 5, the driver may feel uncomfortable. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 8, the display range on the forward side in the vehicle travel direction of the host vehicle's driving lane is made longer than the display range on the forward side in the vehicle travel direction of driving lanes other than the host vehicle's driving lane.

[0049] This makes it possible to make the fixed position of the host vehicle's driving lane (the end on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction) different from the fixed position of an adjacent driving lane other than the host vehicle's driving lane (the end on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction) (the fixed position of the host vehicle's driving lane is located farther away than the fixed position of the adjacent driving lane), so even if other vehicle recognition marks 200 are displayed at the end on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction of all driving lanes, it is possible to prevent the other vehicle recognition marks 200 from being lined up in a horizontal row. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling uncomfortable.

[0050] In addition, the display range on the front side of the vehicle's driving lane in the vehicle's direction of travel may be made longer than the display range on the front side of driving lanes other than the vehicle's driving lane in the vehicle's direction of travel, and the other vehicle recognition mark 200 may be displayed only in the vehicle's driving lane, as in the second embodiment described above.

[0051] (Fourth embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that when a vehicle that has been displayed at a fixed position in the driving lane is replaced by another vehicle, the vehicle recognition mark 200 is erased or flashed for a certain period of time before being displayed again.

[0052] 9A is a diagram showing a situation in which one of two other vehicles 101, 102 traveling in the host vehicle's driving lane in an area outside the display range ahead of the host vehicle has changed lanes. FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating a problem that can occur when one of two other vehicles traveling in the host vehicle's driving lane in an area outside the display range ahead of the host vehicle has changed lanes in a case in which the other vehicle traveling in the area outside the display range ahead of the host vehicle is displayed as a other vehicle recognition mark at a fixed position in the driving lane.

[0053] In the first embodiment described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 9A, when two other vehicles 101, 102 are traveling in the host vehicle driving lane in the area outside the display range in front of the host vehicle, even if the other vehicle 101 on the front side as seen from the host vehicle 100 changes lanes and moves to an adjacent driving lane, the other vehicle 102 on the back side as seen from the host vehicle 100 is traveling in the host vehicle driving lane, so as shown in FIG. 9B, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 continues to be displayed at a fixed position in the host vehicle driving lane (the end on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction), and the display of the other vehicle recognition mark 200 in the host vehicle driving lane does not change before and after the other vehicle 101 changes lanes.

[0054] As a result, it was not possible to inform the driver that the other vehicle 101 displayed at a fixed position in the vehicle's driving lane (the end on the front side in the vehicle's direction of travel) had been replaced by another other vehicle 102.

[0055] Therefore, in this embodiment, when another vehicle that was displayed at a fixed position in each driving lane is replaced by another vehicle, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 that was displayed at the fixed position is erased or flashed for a certain period of time, and then redisplayed.

[0056] This allows the driver to be notified when another vehicle that has been displayed at a fixed position in each driving lane in the out-of-display area ahead of the vehicle is replaced by another vehicle.

[0057] 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of the display processing according to this embodiment, which is executed by the processing unit 43 of the display device 4 while the other vehicle recognition mark 200 is being displayed. The display device 4 executes this routine every time it receives other vehicle information from the object recognition device 3.

[0058] In step S11, the display device 4 determines whether the other vehicle displayed at a fixed position (the end on the forward side in the vehicle's traveling direction) of each driving lane has been replaced with another other vehicle, based on the identification information (ID number) of the other vehicle included in the other vehicle information acquired from the object recognition device 3. Specifically, if the ID number of the other vehicle closest to the host vehicle 100 among the other vehicles traveling in the host vehicle driving lane in the area outside the display range ahead of the host vehicle is different from that at the time of the previous processing, the display device 4 determines that the other vehicle displayed at a fixed position (the end on the forward side in the vehicle's traveling direction) of the host vehicle driving lane has been replaced with another other vehicle. The display device 4 similarly determines whether or not a change has occurred for driving lanes other than the host vehicle driving lane.

[0059] If the vehicle that was displayed at the fixed position (the end on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction) of each travel lane has been replaced by another vehicle, the display device 4 proceeds to the processing of step S12. On the other hand, if the vehicle that was displayed at the fixed position (the end on the front side in the vehicle's traveling direction) of each travel lane has not been replaced by another vehicle, the display device 4 ends this processing.

[0060] In step S12, the display device 4 erases or blinks the other vehicle recognition mark 200 that has been displayed at a fixed position in the changed driving lane for a certain period of time, and then displays it again.

[0061] Thus, according to this embodiment, when the vehicle that is closest to the vehicle 100 in each driving lane and located in the area outside the display range ahead of the vehicle is replaced by another vehicle, the display device 4 is configured to erase or blink the display of the other vehicle recognition mark for a certain period of time and then re-display it.

[0062] This allows the driver to be notified when another vehicle that has been displayed at a fixed position in each driving lane in the out-of-display area ahead of the vehicle is replaced by another vehicle.

[0063] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments merely illustrate some of the application examples of the present invention, and it is not intended that the technical scope of the present invention be limited to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

[0064] For example, in the above embodiment, when another vehicle is present in an area ahead of the host vehicle 100 in the vehicle travel direction and within the display range of the information display screen 44, the other vehicle recognition mark 200 may not be displayed even if the other vehicle is present in an area outside the display range in front of the host vehicle. This is because, in a state in which other vehicles traveling in the host vehicle's driving lane or being followed by the host vehicle 100, or other vehicles traveling in an adjacent driving lane and expected to affect the driving of the host vehicle 100 are displayed on the information display screen 44, it may not be necessary to necessarily display other vehicles present in an area outside the display range in front of the host vehicle that have a smaller impact than these other vehicles. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 100 vehicles, own vehicle 3 Object recognition device 4 Display device 43 Processing section 44 Information display screen

Claims

1. A display device that displays other vehicles recognized by an object recognition device together with the subject vehicle in a predetermined display area of ​​an information display screen, the area recognizable by the object recognition device includes an area within the display range displayed in the display area and an area outside the display range outside the display range area, When the other vehicle is present in the out-of-display range area, a mark indicating that the other vehicle is present in the out-of-display range area is displayed at an end of the display area on the front side in the vehicle traveling direction of the lane in which the other vehicle is traveling. Display device.

2. When the other vehicle existing in the display range area is to be displayed in the display area, the other vehicle is displayed as a vehicle icon; further configured to display the mark in a manner different from the vehicle icon. The display device according to claim 1 .

Images