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

Abstract

To provide a vehicle display control device, a vehicle display control system, and a vehicle display control method which enable an occupant to intuitively understand a vehicle changing lanes.SOLUTION: A vehicle display control device is configured to cause display of a vehicle image of a vehicle performing a lane change, on a display area at a periphery of a driver's seat, in a case of a lane change by autonomous driving or a lane change by driving assistance. The vehicle display control device causes display of a front part of the vehicle image to face a direction of a moving destination lane.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a vehicle display device that changes the image displayed on the display unit from a first-person perspective image to a third-person perspective image when an event occurrence is notified by an automatic driving control unit that controls automatic driving of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-163932 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the device described in Patent Document 1 does not allow a driver to intuitively grasp the direction in which the vehicle will change lanes, and therefore there is room for improvement.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle display control device, a vehicle display control system, and a vehicle display control method that enable an occupant to intuitively recognize that the vehicle is changing lanes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicular display control device according to claim 1 is a vehicular display control device that displays an image of a vehicle making a lane change in a display area around a driver's seat when a lane change is made by autonomous driving or by driving assistance, Before and after a lane change, a planned driving route extending forward from the vehicle image is displayed in the display area, and when the lane change occurs, The front of the vehicle image is displayed facing the direction of the destination lane. and suspending the display of the planned driving route. do.

[0007] In the vehicle display control device according to claim 1, when a lane change is made by autonomous driving or by driving assistance, an image of the vehicle making the lane change is displayed in a display area around the driver's seat. This allows the occupant to understand that a lane change is occurring. Furthermore, by displaying the front of the vehicle image facing the direction of the destination lane, the occupant can intuitively understand the direction in which the vehicle will make the lane change. Additionally, when changing lanes, the display of the planned route is interrupted, allowing occupants to easily understand that a lane change is about to occur.

[0008] The vehicular display control device according to claim 2 is the device of claim 1, in which the angle of the vehicle image is changed in accordance with the steering angle of the vehicle.

[0009] In the vehicle display control device according to claim 2, the angle of the vehicle image changes depending on the steering angle, so the angle of the vehicle image differs when changing lanes one by one and when changing lanes two by two, allowing the driver to intuitively grasp not only the direction of the lane change but also the fact that the vehicle is moving between multiple lanes.

[0012] Claim 3 The vehicle display control system according to claim 1 or 2 and a head-up display device capable of projecting the vehicle image onto a windshield glass, wherein the display area includes a portion of the windshield glass onto which the vehicle image is projected by the head-up display device.

[0013] Claim 3 In the vehicle display control system according to the present invention, a vehicle image is projected onto the windshield glass, so that the occupant can easily grasp the direction of the lane change while facing the lane ahead.

[0014] Claim 4 The display control method for a vehicle according to the present invention displays an image of a vehicle changing lanes in a display area around the driver's seat when the vehicle changes lanes due to autonomous driving or driving assistance. A display control method for a vehicle, comprising: displaying a planned driving route extending forward from the vehicle image in the display area before and after a lane change; and, when the lane change occurs, The front of the vehicle image is displayed facing the direction of the destination lane. and suspending the display of the planned driving route. .

[0015] Claim 4 In the vehicle display control device according to the present invention, when an image of a vehicle making a lane change is displayed in the display area around the driver's seat, the front of the vehicle image is displayed facing the direction of the destination lane, allowing the occupants to intuitively understand the direction of the lane change. Furthermore, since the display of the planned driving route is interrupted when the vehicle changes lanes, the occupants can easily understand that a lane change is about to occur. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] As described above, the vehicle display control device, vehicle display control system, and vehicle display control method according to the present invention allow the occupants to intuitively understand that the vehicle is about to change lanes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a front portion of a vehicle interior of a vehicle to which a vehicular display control device according to an embodiment is applied, viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a vehicle display control device according to an embodiment; [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a vehicle display control device according to an embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a display area in the embodiment, showing a normal driving state before a lane change is performed. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a display area in the embodiment, illustrating a state during lane change. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a display process according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] A vehicle display control system 10 including a vehicle display control device 28 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the arrow UP in Fig. 1 indicates the upper side in the vehicle vertical direction, and the arrow RH indicates the right side in the vehicle width direction. In the following description, the vertical direction and the left-right direction refer to the up and down in the vehicle vertical direction and the left and right in the vehicle width direction, respectively.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, an instrument panel 14 is provided in the front of the cabin of a vehicle 12. The instrument panel 14 extends in the vehicle width direction, and a steering wheel 16 is provided on the right side of the instrument panel 14. That is, in this embodiment, as an example, the vehicle is a right-hand drive vehicle in which the steering wheel 16 is provided on the right side, and the driver's seat is located on the right side of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may also be applied to a vehicle in which the driver's seat is located on the left side of the vehicle.

[0020] A windshield glass 18 is provided at the front end of the instrument panel 14. The windshield glass 18 extends in the vertical and lateral directions of the vehicle, and separates the interior and exterior of the vehicle compartment.

[0021] The right end of the windshield glass 18 is fixed to a front pillar 20 on the right side of the vehicle. The front pillar 20 extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the windshield glass 18 is fixed to the inner end of the front pillar 20 in the vehicle width direction. In addition, the front ends of front side windows 22 are fixed to the outer end of the front pillar 20 in the vehicle width direction. The left end of the windshield glass 18 is fixed to a front pillar on the left side of the vehicle (not shown).

[0022] Here, a first display unit 24 having an image display area V1 is provided on the instrument panel 14. The first display unit 24 is configured as a meter display provided in front of the driver's seat on the vehicle right side of the instrument panel 14. The first display unit 24 is connected to various meter devices mounted on the vehicle 12, and is provided in a position within the driver's field of view when the driver is looking forward.

[0023] The instrument panel 14 is provided with a second display unit 25 having an image display area V2. The second display unit 25 is configured by a center display disposed in the center of the instrument panel 14 in the vehicle width direction.

[0024] The windshield glass 18 is provided with a third display unit 26 having an image display area V3. The third display unit 26 is set above the first display unit 24 and is configured as a projection surface onto which an image is projected by a head-up display device 46 (see FIG. 2 ) serving as a display device. Specifically, the head-up display device 46 capable of projecting an image is provided on the vehicle front side of the instrument panel 14, and an image is projected from this head-up display device 46 onto the third display unit 26 of the windshield glass 18. In other words, the third display unit 26 is configured as part of the windshield glass 18 that serves as the projection surface for the head-up display device 46.

[0025] Here, the vehicle 12 is provided with a vehicle display control device 28 that constitutes the vehicle display control system 10. The vehicle display control device 28 of this embodiment is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that performs various controls.

[0026] (Hardware configuration of the vehicle display control device 28) 2, the vehicle display control device 28 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor) 30, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 34, a storage 36, a communication interface (communication I / F) 38, and an input / output interface (input / output I / F) 40. Each component is connected to each other via an internal bus 42 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0027] The CPU 30 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 30 reads programs from the ROM 32 or storage 36 and executes the programs using the RAM 34 as a work area. The CPU 30 also controls the above-mentioned components and performs various arithmetic processing in accordance with the programs recorded in the ROM 32 or storage 36.

[0028] The ROM 32 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 34 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 36 is configured by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) and is a non-temporary recording medium that stores various programs including an operating system and various data. In this embodiment, the ROM 32 or the storage 36 stores a display program for performing display processing and the like.

[0029] The communication interface 38 is an interface through which the vehicle display control device 28 communicates with a server and other devices, and uses standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network), Ethernet (registered trademark), LTE (Long Term Evolution), FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0030] The input / output interface 40 is connected to a gaze detection sensor 44, the first display unit 24, the second display unit 25, and a head-up display device 46. An image is projected onto the third display unit 26 by the head-up display device 46.

[0031] The gaze detection sensor 44 is provided, for example, on the instrument panel 14, and is arranged facing the face of the occupant (driver) seated in the driver's seat. The gaze detection sensor 44 detects the gaze direction of the occupant by recognizing the eyes of the occupant using principles such as the corneal reflex method and the scleral reflex method.

[0032] (Functional configuration of the vehicle display control device 28) The vehicular display control device 28 uses the above hardware resources to realize various functions. The functional configuration realized by the vehicular display control device 28 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0033] 3, the vehicle display control device 28 is configured to include, as functional components, a planned driving route acquisition unit 52, a surrounding conditions acquisition unit 54, a lane change necessity determination unit 56, and an information display unit 58. Each functional component is realized by the CPU 30 reading and executing a program stored in the ROM 32 or storage 36.

[0034] The planned driving route acquisition unit 52 acquires information about the planned driving route set by a navigation system or the like. For example, the occupant inputs the destination into a navigation system or the like, and the planned driving route to the destination is set. The planned driving route includes information about roads along which the vehicle is to travel, and location information about intersections where the vehicle will change course, such as turning right or left. Furthermore, if the planned driving route includes a motorway, location information about branching roads and entrances and exits to the motorway is also included.

[0035] The planned driving route may be stored in a storage mounted on the vehicle 12, or may be stored outside the vehicle 12, such as in a server. When the planned driving route is stored in the storage of the vehicle 12, the planned driving route acquisition unit 52 accesses the storage to acquire information about the planned driving route. When the planned driving route is stored in a server or the like outside the vehicle 12, the planned driving route acquisition unit 52 may acquire the planned driving route from the server via the communication I / F 38.

[0036] The surrounding condition acquisition unit 54 acquires the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 based on signals from a plurality of sensors mounted on the vehicle 12. For example, the vehicle 12 is equipped with cameras such as a front camera that captures images in front of the vehicle, a rear camera that captures images behind the vehicle, and side cameras that capture images on the sides of the vehicle. The vehicle 12 is also equipped with radars for detecting obstacles in the vicinity. The surrounding condition acquisition unit 54 acquires information about other vehicles traveling around the vehicle 12, information about obstacles, etc., based on signals received from these cameras and radars.

[0037] The lane change necessity determination unit 56 determines whether a lane change is necessary based on at least one of the planned driving route and the surrounding conditions. For example, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 determines that a lane change is necessary when the vehicle is approaching a right or left turn point and is traveling in a lane different from the lane in which the right or left turn will be made, based on information about the planned driving route acquired by the planned driving route acquisition unit 52.

[0038] In addition, when the vehicle is approaching an entry point to a branch road and is traveling in a lane that is not adjacent to the branch road, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 determines that it is necessary to change lanes to a lane adjacent to the branch road.

[0039] Furthermore, when the vehicle is traveling in a lane other than the lane leading to the entrance / exit of a highway, such as when the vehicle is approaching an entrance / exit of a highway, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 determines that it is necessary to change lanes to the lane leading to the entrance / exit.

[0040] Furthermore, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 determines that it is necessary to change lanes to overtake when the speed of the vehicle ahead traveling ahead is slow, based on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 acquired by the surrounding condition acquisition unit 54. For example, when the driving assistance function ACC (active cruise control) is enabled, if the speed of the vehicle ahead is slower than the speed set for the ACC and the inter-vehicle distance to the vehicle ahead is less than a predetermined distance, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 may determine that it is necessary to change lanes to overtake.

[0041] In addition, when an obstacle such as a fallen object is detected ahead of the driving lane from the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 acquired by the surrounding conditions acquisition unit 54, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 determines that a lane change is necessary to avoid the obstacle.

[0042] The information display unit 58 displays an image of a vehicle or the like in at least one of the display areas V1, V2, and V3. In particular, in this embodiment, the front part of the vehicle image is displayed facing the direction of the destination lane.

[0043] An example of a display by the information display unit 58 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. In Figures 4 and 5, the vehicle 12 is traveling on a motorway, and the automatic driving or driving assistance function is enabled.

[0044] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display area V3 in an embodiment, showing a normal driving state before a lane change is performed. As shown in FIG. 4, an image of a lane corresponding to the actual driving lane is displayed in the display area V3. In addition, a vehicle image M1 simulating a vehicle 12 is displayed at the bottom of the display area V3, and a planned driving route M2 is displayed forward from the vehicle image M1.

[0045] Furthermore, other vehicle images M3 to M5 that represent other vehicles traveling around the vehicle 12 are displayed in the display area V3. The other vehicle image M3 shows another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle 12 in the same lane as the vehicle 12. The other vehicle images M4 and M5 show other vehicles traveling in the lane to the left of the lane in which the vehicle 12 is traveling.

[0046] Fig. 5 is a display example of the display area V3 when changing lanes. As shown in Fig. 5, a vehicle image M1 corresponding to the vehicle 12 changing lanes to the adjacent lane on the right is displayed. Specifically, the vehicle image M1 is moving to the right of the driving lane, and the front of the vehicle image M1 is displayed facing the right side, which is the destination of the movement.

[0047] In this embodiment, the information display unit 58 changes the angle of the vehicle image M1 when displaying it in accordance with the steering angle of the vehicle 12. That is, as shown in Fig. 5, the angle of the vehicle image M1 is changed when changing lanes from the center lane to the right lane and when moving across two lanes from the left lane to the right lane across the center lane.

[0048] In this embodiment, when a lane change is performed, the information display unit 58 suspends the display of the planned driving route M2. Specifically, the information display unit 58 suspends the display of the planned driving route M2 immediately before the lane change is performed. After the lane change is completed, the information display unit 58 resumes the display of the planned driving route M2.

[0049] (action) Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

[0050] (Display processing) An example of a display process for displaying information about a lane change on the third display unit 26, which is the projection screen of the head-up display device 46, will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 6. This display process is executed by the CPU 30 reading a display program from the ROM 32 or the storage 36, and expanding and executing it in the RAM 34. Note that in the present embodiment, as an example, the display process is executed when the vehicle 12 is traveling on a motorway and an autonomous driving or driving assistance function is enabled.

[0051] In step S102, the CPU 30 acquires information about the planned driving route. Specifically, the CPU 30 acquires the planned driving route of the vehicle 12 using the function of the planned driving route acquisition unit 52. For example, the CPU 30 may acquire only the planned driving route up to the upcoming event that requires a lane change.

[0052] The CPU 30 acquires the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 in step S104. Specifically, the CPU 30 acquires the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 using the function of the surrounding conditions acquisition unit .

[0053] In step S106, the CPU 30 determines whether or not it is necessary for the vehicle 12 to change lanes. Specifically, the CPU 30 determines whether or not it is necessary for the vehicle 12 to change lanes, using the function of the lane change necessity determination unit 56, based on the information acquired by the planned driving route acquisition unit 52 and the information acquired by the surrounding condition acquisition unit 54.

[0054] If the CPU 30 determines in step S106 that a lane change is necessary, the process proceeds to step S108. On the other hand, if the CPU 30 determines in step S106 that a lane change is not necessary, the display process ends.

[0055] In step S108, the CPU 30 acquires the steering angle of the vehicle 12. Specifically, the CPU 30 acquires steering angle information from the steering ECU of the vehicle 12 or the like.

[0056] In step S110, CPU 30 displays vehicle image M1 in a predetermined display area. At this time, CPU 30 displays vehicle image M1 with the front part facing the direction of the destination lane. CPU 30 also changes the inclination of vehicle image M1 according to the steering angle acquired in step S108.

[0057] 5, the steering, accelerator, and the like are controlled by an automatic driving function or a driving assistance function installed in the vehicle 12, and the lane change of the vehicle 12 is executed.

[0058] As described above, the vehicle display control system 10 equipped with the vehicle display control device 28 according to this embodiment displays the vehicle image M1 of the vehicle changing lanes in at least one of the display areas V1, V2, and V3 around the driver's seat when the vehicle changes lanes due to autonomous driving or driving assistance. This allows the occupant to understand that a lane change is occurring. In particular, in this embodiment, the vehicle image M1 is projected onto the display area V3 of the windshield glass 18, so the occupant can easily understand the direction of the lane change while facing the lane ahead.

[0059] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by displaying the front part of the vehicle image M1 facing the direction of the destination lane, the occupant can intuitively grasp the direction in which the vehicle 12 will change lanes.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the angle of the vehicle image M1 is changed depending on the steering angle, so the angle of the vehicle image M1 is different when changing lanes, compared to when changing lanes between two lanes. This allows the driver to intuitively grasp not only the direction of the lane change, but also the fact that the vehicle is moving between multiple lanes.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the display of the planned travel route M2 is interrupted when the vehicle changes lanes, which allows the occupants to easily understand that a lane change is about to occur.

[0062] The vehicle display control system 10, the vehicle display control device 28, and the vehicle 12 according to the embodiment have been described above, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which information about lane changes is displayed in the display area V3 of the third display unit 26, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which information about lane changes is displayed in the display area V1 of the first display unit 24 or the display area V2 of the second display unit 25 may also be adopted.

[0063] Furthermore, information about lane changes may be displayed in more than one of the display areas V1, V2, and V3.

[0064] Furthermore, when the vehicle image M1 is displayed in the display area V3, the display position of the vehicle image M1 may be changed according to the line of sight of the occupant. For example, the line of sight of the occupant may be detected by the line of sight detection sensor 44, and the display position of the vehicle image M1 may be adjusted based on this line of sight direction.

[0065] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the display of the planned driving route M2 is interrupted when the vehicle changes lanes, but this is not limiting. The direction of the lane change may be determined by visually checking both the planned driving route M2 and the vehicle image M1.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the angle of the vehicle image M1 is changed according to the steering angle of the vehicle 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the vehicle image M1 may be tilted at a predetermined angle regardless of the steering angle of the vehicle 12. Even in this case, the direction of the lane change can be ascertained by looking at the tilt direction.

[0067] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 determines whether or not a lane change is necessary based on at least one of the information about the planned driving route acquired by the planned driving route acquisition unit 52 and the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 acquired by the surrounding conditions acquisition unit 54. However, this is not limiting. For example, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 may determine whether or not a lane change is necessary based only on the information about the planned driving route acquired by the planned driving route acquisition unit 52. Alternatively, the lane change necessity determination unit 56 may determine whether or not a lane change is necessary based only on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 acquired by the surrounding conditions acquisition unit 54.

[0068] Furthermore, the processing performed by the CPU 30 after reading the program in the above embodiment may be performed by various processors other than the CPU 30. Examples of such processors include dedicated electrical circuits, such as programmable logic devices (PLDs) (such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)) whose circuit configuration can be changed after fabrication, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that are processors with circuit configurations specifically designed to perform specific processing. The processing may be performed by one of these various processors, or by a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types, such as multiple FPGAs or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA. The hardware structure of these various processors is, more specifically, an electrical circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor devices.

[0069] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, various data is stored in the storage 36, but this is not limiting. For example, a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory may be used as the storage unit. In this case, various programs, data, etc. are stored in these recording media.

[0070] Furthermore, the processing flow described in the above embodiment is an example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be changed within the scope of the main idea.

[0071] The display process described in the above embodiment is applicable to both an autonomously driven vehicle and a manually driven vehicle, as well as to a manually driven vehicle and an autonomously driven vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 10. Vehicle display control system 12 vehicles 18 Windshield glass 28 Vehicle display control device 46 Head-up display device M1 vehicle image M2 planned route V1~V3 display area

Claims

1. A vehicle display control device that displays an image of a vehicle changing lanes in a display area around a driver's seat when changing lanes by autonomous driving or by driving assistance, before and after a lane change, a planned driving route extending forward from the vehicle image is displayed in the display area; When changing lanes, the display control device for a vehicle displays the front part of the vehicle image facing the direction of the destination lane, and suspends the display of the planned driving route.

2. 2. The display control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the vehicle image is changed in accordance with the steering angle of the vehicle.

3. 3. A vehicle display control device comprising: the vehicle display control device according to claim 1 or 2; and a head-up display device capable of projecting the vehicle image onto a windshield glass, The display area includes a portion of a windshield glass onto which the vehicle image is projected by the head-up display device.

4. A vehicle display control method for displaying an image of a vehicle changing lanes in a display area around a driver's seat when changing lanes due to autonomous driving or driving assistance, before and after a lane change, a planned driving route extending forward from the vehicle image is displayed in the display area; When changing lanes, the vehicle image is displayed so that the front part of the vehicle image faces the direction of the destination lane, and the display of the planned driving route is interrupted.

Images