Vehicle driving assistance device

Abstract

To clearly notify an on-coming vehicle and a peripheral moving target of a route of the own vehicle when the own vehicle enters a parking area provided on premises of a store or the like.SOLUTION: A drive assist apparatus 1 includes: a DMS 22; left and right projector units 23l, 23r; and a drive support control unit 11. When a driver operates a winker switch 28 to turn an own vehicle M right or left, the drive assist control unit 11 estimates, by using the DMS 22 on the basis of a face orientation or a direction of a sight line of the driver, where the driver tries to turn; and upon determining the driver trying to enter a parking area of a store or the like other than an intersection, notifies an on-coming vehicle, a peripheral moving target OB and the like of a route by projecting a route image on a road surface by using the projector unit on the turning side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle driving assistance device that clearly notifies the driver of the path of the vehicle relative to surrounding moving objects when the driver is about to enter the vehicle into a parking lot of a store or the like. [Background technology]

[0002] According to road regulations, when a driver is about to make a turn (right or left), the driver must turn on the blinker when the driver reaches a predetermined distance (for example, 30 m) before the intersection where the driver is about to turn. By turning on the blinker, following vehicles, oncoming vehicles, pedestrians, etc. will be aware of the direction in which the vehicle is moving.

[0003] The same applies when changing lanes while driving autonomously. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2020-166393 A) discloses a technology in which, when the vehicle is about to change lanes, the turn signal lamp on the side of the lane to be changed flashes in advance to notify following and surrounding vehicles that the vehicle will be changing lanes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-166393 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The timing at which the turn signal lamps should start flashing when the vehicle is changing lanes and the timing at which the turn signal lamps should start flashing when the vehicle is about to turn right or left at an intersection are both regulated by law. Therefore, when the vehicle is about to turn (right or left), the turn signal lamps must start flashing when the vehicle reaches a predetermined distance (e.g., 30 m) before the intersection at which the vehicle is about to turn right or left, in accordance with the regulations.

[0006] However, if a driver flashes their turn signal to enter the parking lot of a store or other facility located just before an intersection, it becomes difficult for oncoming vehicles, following vehicles, and moving objects (pedestrians, cyclists, etc.) passing on the sidewalk in front of the store to determine whether the vehicle (their own vehicle) is entering the store's parking lot or turning at the intersection ahead.

[0007] In particular, when a vehicle is traveling on a road with left-hand traffic restrictions and turns right to enter a parking lot for a store or similar facility on the opposite side of the road, the driver of the oncoming vehicle may easily mistakenly believe that the other vehicle (the vehicle) is turning right at the intersection in front of the store, as seen from the other vehicle's perspective. As a result, the driver of the oncoming vehicle will attempt to pass in front of the store without slowing down, increasing the possibility of collision with the other vehicle (the vehicle).

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a vehicle driving assistance device that can clearly notify oncoming vehicles and surrounding moving objects of the direction in which the vehicle is traveling when the vehicle enters a parking lot provided at a store or the like. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device for a vehicle, which includes a driving environment information acquisition unit that acquires driving environment information around the vehicle, a direction detection unit that detects the direction of the driver's face or line of sight, a projection unit that projects a course image showing the turning direction of the vehicle onto a road surface ahead of the vehicle, and a control unit that sets the course image to be projected by the projection unit and controls the driving of the projection unit. The control unit is configured such that a turn signal operation detection unit detects a turn signal operation by the driver, and when the turn signal operation detection unit detects the turn signal operation, the control unit outputs the driving assistance device detected by the direction detection unit. an intersection determination unit that determines an intersection based on the driving environment information acquired by the driving environment information acquisition unit; and a course image setting unit that, when the intersection determination unit determines that the turning position estimated by the turning position estimation unit is not an intersection, calculates a distance from the vehicle to the turning position based on the driving environment information acquired by the driving environment information acquisition unit, and sets the course image indicating the position at which the vehicle will turn based on the calculated distance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, when the driver operates the turn signal, the position where the driver intends to turn the vehicle is estimated from the direction of the driver's face or line of sight, and if it is determined that this estimated position is not an intersection, a course image showing the position where the vehicle will turn is set and projected onto the road surface ahead from the projection unit.Therefore, when entering a parking lot set up in a store or the like, the course of the vehicle can be clearly notified to oncoming vehicles and nearby moving objects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] Front view of the vehicle [Figure 2A] Plan view of the vehicle about to turn right [Figure 2B] Plan view of the vehicle about to turn left [Figure 3] Right side view of the vehicle [Figure 4] Rear view of the vehicle [Figure 5A]An explanatory diagram showing right-turn information projected onto the rear window glass. [Figure 5B] An explanatory diagram showing left-turn information projected onto the rear window glass. [Figure 6] Schematic diagram of the driving assistance device [Figure 7] Flowchart showing a display control routine for right and left turns [Figure 8A] Flowchart showing right turn notification control subroutine (part 1) [Figure 8B] Flowchart showing right turn notification control subroutine (part 2) [Figure 9A] Flowchart showing left turn notification control subroutine (part 1) [Figure 9B] Flowchart showing left turn notification control subroutine (part 2) [Figure 10] Aerial view showing the notification status when turning right [Figure 11] Aerial view showing the notification status when turning left DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For convenience, this embodiment will be described using a road where traffic is restricted to driving on the left side. Therefore, for roads where traffic is restricted to driving on the right side, this embodiment will be applied with the left and right reversed.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, left turn signal lamps Ll are provided on the front and rear left sides of the front of the vehicle M, and right turn signal lamps Lr are provided on the front and rear right sides. A camera unit 21 is disposed in the upper part of the center in the vehicle width direction at the front of the cabin of the vehicle M. A driver monitoring system (DMS) 22 is disposed in front of the driver's seat (for example, on the instrument panel). The configurations of the camera unit 21 and the DMS 22 will be described later. The camera unit 21 and a rear detection unit 26, which will be described later, correspond to the driving environment information acquisition unit of the present invention. The DMS 22 corresponds to the direction detection unit of the present invention.

[0014] Furthermore, a pair of left and right projector units 23l, 23r are disposed on both sides in the vehicle width direction (in the drawing, on the inner side of the headlights in the vehicle width direction) at the front of the vehicle M. Note that these projector units 23l, 23r correspond to the projection unit of the present invention.

[0015] A rear projector unit 24 is disposed as a rear projection unit in the rear interior of the vehicle M at the upper center in the vehicle width direction on the rear window side.

[0016] The left and right projector units 23l, 23r and the rear projector unit 24 are equipped with optical systems such as a light source, a liquid crystal panel, and a projection lens, and the light source and the liquid crystal panel are driven by drive signals from left and right projector drive units 32l, 32r and a rear projector drive unit 33, respectively, which will be described later.

[0017] When the driver of the vehicle M operates the blinker switch 28 (see FIG. 6) to make a turn (right or left) with the vehicle M, the left and right projector units 23r, 23l project a course image indicating the direction of the turn onto the road surface ahead of the vehicle M. FIGS. 2A and 3 show examples of the display of the right projector unit 23r. Also, FIG. 2B shows an example of the display of the left projector unit 23l.

[0018] When the driver turns the vehicle M right, crosses the oncoming lane and the sidewalk, and enters a parking lot of a store or the like (hereinafter referred to as a "store parking lot" for convenience), the right projector unit 23r is activated by turning on the blinker switch 28. Then, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, a near right-turn course image Pr1 and a distant non-right-turn course image Pr2 as a non-turn image are displayed in the right display area Ar of the vehicle M according to the surrounding conditions. The detailed display contents by the right projector unit 23r will be described later.

[0019] On the other hand, when the driver turns on the blinker switch 28 to turn the vehicle M left and cross the sidewalk to enter a store parking lot, the left projector unit 23l is activated and displays an upcoming right-turn path image Pr1 in the left display area Al in front of the vehicle M, as shown in Fig. 2B. The details of the display by the left projector unit 23l will be described later.

[0020] Furthermore, when the driver turns on the blinker switch 28 to drive the vehicle M into a store parking lot, if a following vehicle S (see FIGS. 10 and 11) is detected, the rear projector unit 24 is activated and projects a right-turn arrow or a left-turn arrow and a route image indicating the distance to the turning point (see FIGS. 5A and 5B) onto the rear display area Ad (see FIG. 4) set on the rear window glass of the vehicle M. The detailed display content by the rear projector unit 24 will be described later.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 6 , the vehicle M is equipped with a driving assistance device 1. The driving assistance device 1 further includes a driving assistance control unit 11 that controls the operations of the left and right projector units 23l and 23r and the rear projector unit 24. The driving assistance control unit 11 is configured with a microcontroller including a CPU, RAM, ROM, a rewritable non-volatile memory (flash memory or EEPROM), and peripheral devices. The ROM stores programs and fixed data required for the CPU to execute various processes. The RAM serves as a work area for the CPU, and temporarily stores various data for the CPU. The CPU is also called an MPU (microprocessor) or a processor. A GPU (graphics processing unit) or a GSP (graph streaming processor) may be used instead of the CPU. Alternatively, a CPU, a GPU, and a GSP may be selectively combined.

[0022] Sensors and switches that acquire parameters required to control the operation of the left and right projector units 23l and 23r and the rear projector unit 24 are connected to the input side of the driving assistance control unit 11. In addition to the camera unit 21 and the driver monitoring system (DMS) 22, these sensors and switches include a navigation system 25, a rear detection unit 26, an illuminance sensor 27 that detects the amount of external light, and a blinker switch 28 that the driver operates when turning the vehicle M.

[0023] Here, the camera unit 21 has a stereo camera consisting of a main camera 21a and a sub-camera 21b, each of which uses an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS, and an image processing unit (IPU) 21c. The camera unit 21 processes the driving environment information ahead of the vehicle M captured by both cameras 21a and 21b in a predetermined manner in the IPU 21c, and transmits the processed image to the driving assistance control unit 11.

[0024] The DMS 22 includes a driver recognition camera 22a (see FIG. 1) installed in front of the driver's seat (for example, on the instrument panel) and an IPU 22b that processes images captured by the driver recognition camera 22a. Based on the facial image of the driver processed by the IPU 22b, the driving assistance control unit 11 checks the direction of the driver's face (or line of sight) when the driver turns on the blinker switch 28.

[0025] The navigation system 25 also has a positioning radio wave receiving unit, and acquires position information (coordinates such as latitude and longitude) based on position signals received by this positioning radio wave receiving unit from positioning satellites such as a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).The navigation system 25 then matches a driving route to a destination set by the driver with road map information stored in the road map database 25a.Furthermore, the navigation system 25 matches the current position of the vehicle M with coordinates indicating the current position of the vehicle in the road map information.

[0026] The rear detection unit 26 includes a rear detection sensor 26a and a following vehicle detection unit 26b. The rear detection sensor 26a senses a predetermined rear sensing area to acquire driving environment information behind the host vehicle M. The rear detection sensor 26a is configured with at least one of a video camera, an ultrasonic sensor, a millimeter-wave radar, a microwave radar, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and the like. The video camera is not limited to a stereo camera, and may be a monocular camera. The following vehicle detection unit 26b detects following vehicle information such as the presence or absence of a following vehicle S following the host vehicle M, and the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed between the host vehicle M and the following vehicle S, from the rear environment information acquired by the rear detection sensor 26a.

[0027] On the other hand, the output side of the driving assistance control unit 11 is connected to a turn signal drive unit 31, a left projector drive unit 32l, a right projector drive unit 32r, and a rear projector drive unit 33. The turn signal drive unit 31 causes one of the left front / rear turn signal lamp Ll and the right front / rear turn signal lamp Lr to flash in response to the operation of a turn signal switch 28 operated by the driver.

[0028] Furthermore, the left projector driving unit 32l and the right projector driving unit 32r drive the light sources and liquid crystal panels provided in the left projector unit 23l and the right projector unit 23r based on signals from the driving assistance control unit 11. The light intensity of the light source is automatically adjusted according to the amount of external light detected by the illuminance sensor 27 so that the image projected on the road surface can be seen even on a clear day.

[0029] The left and right projector drivers 32l and 32r drive the projector units 23l and 23r, respectively, to project the route image displayed on the liquid crystal panel onto the road surface. In this embodiment, the route image projected is a right-turn arrow image or a left-turn arrow image as shown in Figures 2A and 2B.

[0030] Furthermore, rear projector driving unit 33 drives a light source and a liquid crystal panel provided in rear projector unit 24 (see FIG. 3) disposed in the center of the rear of the vehicle body based on a signal from driving assistance control unit 11. When rear projector driving unit 33 drives rear projector unit 24, an arrow indicating the direction of a turn (right or left turn) and a route image indicating the distance to the turning position are projected onto a display area (see FIG. 4) set on the rear window glass, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

[0031] The driving assistance control unit 11 described above detects the direction of the driver's face (or line of sight) when the driver operates the blinker switch 28 before an intersection and attempts to turn the vehicle M at a predetermined position ahead, using the DMS 22. Then, the driving assistance control unit 11 compares the direction in which the driver's face is facing with the driving environment information ahead of the vehicle M (forward driving environment information) detected by the camera unit 21. Alternatively, using the current position of the vehicle M (subject position) detected by the navigation system 25 as a reference, the driving assistance control unit 11 identifies the location on the road map where the driver intends to enter the vehicle M, based on the direction in which the driver's face is facing (or the direction of the driver's line of sight).

[0032] If it is estimated that the driver is about to turn his vehicle M into a parking lot by crossing the sidewalk on the side of the road just before an intersection, and if a moving object OB such as a pedestrian or bicycle walking on the sidewalk, or an oncoming vehicle F if his vehicle M is about to cross the oncoming lane, or a following vehicle S is detected, the following vehicle S is notified of where his vehicle M is about to turn by an image projected onto the road surface (see Figures 10 and 11) and an image projected onto the rear window glass (see Figures 5A and 5B).

[0033] Specifically, the driving assistance control unit 11 notifies the moving object OB traveling on the sidewalk, the following vehicle S, and the oncoming vehicle F of the position at which the vehicle will turn, during the process of executing the right / left turn display control routine shown in FIG.

[0034] In this routine, first, in step S1, the process waits until the driver turns on the blinker switch 28, and if it is detected that the blinker switch 28 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, it is determined whether the right blinker switch is turned on. If the right blinker switch is turned on, the process proceeds to step S3, where right turn notification control is executed, and then to step S5. If the left blinker switch is turned on, the process branches to step S4, where left turn notification control is executed, and then to step S5. The processing in steps S1 and S2 corresponds to the blinker operation detection unit of the present invention that detects the blinker operation by the driver. [Right turn warning control] The right turn warning control in step S3 is executed in accordance with a right turn warning control subroutine shown in Figures 8A and 8B. In this subroutine, first, in step S11, driver information (DMS information) detected by the DMS 22 is read. Then, in step S12, the direction in which the driver's face is facing is recognized from the DMS information. Next, the process proceeds to step S13, where forward driving environment information detected by the camera unit 21 is read.

[0035] Next, the process proceeds to step S14, where the direction of the driver's face (or line of sight) is collated with the information on the forward driving environment to identify the location where the driver is about to turn right and enter (entry location). Alternatively, the direction in which the driver's face (or line of sight) is collated with road map information based on the current vehicle position detected by the navigation system 25 to identify the entry location. Then, the position of the driving lane facing this identified entry location is estimated as the right turn position (see FIG. 10). Note that the processing in step S14 and step S34, which will be described later, corresponds to the turning position estimation unit of the present invention.

[0036] In this case, if the driver's face direction (or line of sight) is facing in a direction different from the direction of the right turn, the driving assistance control unit 11 cannot identify the entry location where the driver is about to turn right. Therefore, the driving assistance control unit 11 generates a system error, and the program for controlling the display when turning right or left ends.

[0037] Next, the process proceeds to step S15, where it is determined whether the location where the driver is about to make a right turn is an intersection or a non-intersection based on the forward driving environment information or the right-turn location in the road map information. Here, an intersection refers to a location where another roadway connects to the driving lane of the host vehicle M, such as a T-junction or a crossroads. Also, a non-intersection refers to a location where the entrance to a parking lot of a store or the like faces the roadway, and in many cases, a sidewalk is provided between the roadway and the store entrance (see FIGS. 10 and 11). The processes in step S15, step S17 (described later), and steps S35 and S37 correspond to the intersection determination unit of the present invention.

[0038] If it is determined that the location is an intersection, the routine is exited. If it is determined that the location is not an intersection, the routine proceeds to step S16. Turning right at a location that is not an intersection may be, for example, a case where the vehicle crosses a sidewalk to enter the entrance (store entrance) of a parking lot (store parking lot) provided for a store or the like, as shown in FIG.

[0039] In step S16, the distance Lp from the current position of the vehicle M to the right-turn position set in step S14 is calculated. Next, in step S17, it is determined whether or not there is an intersection on the oncoming lane ahead of the right-turn position and relatively close (for example, within 10 m). Whether or not there is an intersection is determined based on forward driving environment information acquired by the camera unit 21 or road map information acquired by the navigation system 25.

[0040] If an intersection is detected, the process proceeds to step S 18. If an intersection is not detected, the process determines that the vehicle M will turn right at a location other than an intersection, and jumps to step S22.

[0041] When the process proceeds to step S18, since the position to turn right is not an intersection but there is an intersection ahead, the speaker of the navigation system 25 is used to confirm with the driver whether or not to turn right at this right turn position. If it is determined that a right turn will be made at this right turn position, the process proceeds to step S19. If it is determined that a right turn will be made at the intersection ahead of this right turn position, the process simply exits the routine. Note that the processes in step S18 and step S38, which will be described later, correspond to the intention confirmation unit of the present invention.

[0042] Regarding confirmation of the driver's intention in step S18, for example, based on the driver's facial movements recognized by the DMS 22, if the face is shaking vertically, it is judged as YES, and if the face is shaking horizontally, it is judged as NO. Alternatively, the driver's voice is collected by a speaker and a YES or NO answer is judged by sound recognition. Alternatively, the right turn position is displayed on the monitor of the navigation system 25, and a YES or NO touch switch is displayed and the driver is prompted to touch either one. Since the driver's intention is confirmed when displaying the route image on the road surface, it is possible to reliably prevent the image from being displayed incorrectly.

[0043] Next, in step S19, it is determined whether or not an oncoming vehicle F traveling in the oncoming lane has been recognized within a predetermined distance ahead of the intersection, based on the forward traveling environment information acquired by the camera unit 21. If an oncoming vehicle F has been recognized, the process proceeds to step S20. If an oncoming vehicle F has not been recognized, the process jumps to step S22.

[0044] In step S20, the distance Lk from the vehicle position to the intersection position is calculated based on the forward driving environment information acquired by the camera unit 21 or the road map information acquired by the navigation system 25.

[0045] Next, the process proceeds to step S21, where the driving assistance control unit 11 sets a distant no-right-turn course image Pr2 to be projected onto the road surface from the right projector unit 23r based on the distance Lk from the host vehicle position to the intersection, and then the process proceeds to step S22. This distant no-right-turn course image Pr2 notifies oncoming vehicles F that the host vehicle M will not turn right at the intersection, but will turn right before the intersection. FIGS. 2A and 10 show the distant no-right-turn course image Pr2 projected onto the road surface. As shown in the figures, in this embodiment, the distant no-right-turn course image Pr2 is an image projected that displays a right-turn direction arrow with an X at its tip, indicating no right turn, to indicate that the host vehicle will not turn right at the intersection ahead. Incidentally, this step S21 and the processes in steps S22, S39, and S43, which will be described later, correspond to the route image setting unit of the present invention.

[0046] Thereafter, when the process proceeds from any of steps S17, S18, and S20 to step S22, the driving assistance control unit 11 sets a nearby right-turn path image Pr1 to be projected onto the road surface from the right projector unit 23r, and the process proceeds to step S23. Figures 2A and 10 show the nearby right-turn path image Pr1 projected onto the road surface. This right-turn path image indicates the right turn direction with an arrow, and notifies the driver that the vehicle M will enter in the direction of the arrow.

[0047] As shown in Figure 10, when the host vehicle M attempts to turn right, the distance Lp from the host vehicle M to the right turn position and the distance Lk to the intersection position gradually become shorter as the host vehicle M moves forward, but the arrow position of the near right turn course image Pr1 and the arrow position of the distant non-right turn course image Pr2 are projected onto the road surface in a fixed state.

[0048] Therefore, only the straight line portion of the near right-turn course image Pr1 actually becomes shorter. The liquid crystal panel of the right projector unit 23r that displays this near right-turn course image Pr1 is controlled so that the arrow portions of the distant non-right-turn course image Pr2 and the near right-turn course image Pr1 gradually approach the side of the host vehicle M as the host vehicle M approaches the right turn position.

[0049] Then, when proceeding to step S23, the driving assistance control unit 11 outputs the image signals of the distant non-right-turn course image Pr2 set in step S21 and the near right-turn course image Pr1 set in step S22 to the right projector driving unit 32r.

[0050] 2A, 3, and 10, the right projector driving unit 32r drives the right projector unit 23r to project a distant non-right-turn path image Pr2 and a near right-turn path image Pr1 onto the road surface ahead of the host vehicle M. This clearly notifies the driver of the oncoming vehicle F and any moving object (pedestrian, bicycle, etc.) OB passing on the sidewalk that the host vehicle M will enter a parking lot of a store or the like just before the intersection. As a result, the oncoming vehicle F knows the position where the other vehicle (host vehicle M) is about to turn, and can decelerate before that point and pay attention to the behavior of the other vehicle (host vehicle M). Meanwhile, the moving object OB can also predict that the host vehicle M will enter the entrance of the store or the like, and can therefore be prevented from carelessly running into the store entrance.

[0051] Since the image from the right projector unit 23r is projected onto the road surface, the shape and color of the displayed image can be set arbitrarily if the LCD panel is color. For example, the distant non-right-turn course image Pr2 may be a high-brightness achromatic color, and the near right-turn course image Pr1 may be a high-brightness chromatic color, so that they can be easily distinguished.

[0052] Then, the process proceeds to step S24, where the following vehicle information (presence or absence of a following vehicle S, the distance between the vehicle M and the following vehicle S, the relative speed, etc.) detected by the following vehicle detection section 26b provided in the rear detection unit 26 is read, and the process proceeds to step S25.

[0053] In step S25, it is checked from the following vehicle information whether a following vehicle S following the host vehicle M has been detected. If a following vehicle S has not been detected, the routine is exited and the process proceeds to step S5 in Fig. 7. On the other hand, if a following vehicle S has been detected, the process proceeds to step S26.

[0054] In step S26, the driving assistance control unit 11 sets a right-turn path image Pre for a following vehicle as a path image for a following vehicle. This right-turn path image Pre for a following vehicle is projected from the rear projector unit 24 onto the rear display area Ad (see FIG. 4) on the rear window glass. FIG. 5A shows an example of the right-turn path image Pre for a following vehicle projected onto the rear display area Ad. The right-turn path image Pre for a following vehicle shown in the figure is made up of an arrow indicating a right turn that flashes in conjunction with the blinker switch 28 operated by the driver, and a distance Lp from the host vehicle M to the right-turn position. Note that the distance Lp is displayed in stages; for example, from 30 to 10 m, it is displayed at 5 m intervals, and from 10 m, it is displayed at 1 m intervals.

[0055] Next, in step S27, the driving assistance control unit 11 outputs the image signal of the right turn information for the following vehicle set in step S26 to the rear projector driving unit 33, exits the routine, and proceeds to step S5 in FIG.

[0056] Then, the rear projector driving section 33 drives the rear projector unit 24 to project the right turn information for the following vehicle onto the rear display area Ad set on the rear window glass shown in Fig. 4. The right turn information for the following vehicle is as shown in Fig. 5A, and has already been described, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0057] When a following vehicle S is detected making a right turn, right turn information for the following vehicle is projected onto the rear display area Ad on the rear windshield, thereby visually informing the driver of the following vehicle S of the timing when the preceding vehicle (host vehicle M) is about to turn right. As a result, the driver of the following vehicle S can prevent a rear-end collision by slowing down or changing lanes to follow the preceding vehicle (host vehicle M) as the preceding vehicle (host vehicle M) approaches the right turn position. Note that, since an image is projected onto the right display area Ar from the rear projector unit 24, if the liquid crystal panel is color, the shape and color scheme of the displayed image can be set arbitrarily. Therefore, the right turn information for the following vehicle is not limited to the display content of FIG. 5A. [Left turn warning control] On the other hand, the left turn notification control executed in step S4 of FIG. 7 is processed according to a left turn notification control subroutine shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B.

[0058] In this subroutine, first, in steps S31 to S33, the same processes as those in steps S11 to S13 in FIG. 8A described above are executed.

[0059] Then, the process proceeds to step S34, where the direction of the driver's face (or line of sight) is compared with the forward driving environment information to identify the location where the driver is about to turn left and enter (entry location). Alternatively, the direction of the driver's face (or line of sight) is compared with road map information based on the current vehicle position detected by the navigation system 25 to identify the entry location. The position of the driving lane facing this entry location is then estimated as the left turn location (see FIG. 11). In this case, if the driver's face (or line of sight) is facing in a direction different from the direction in which the driver is about to turn left, the driving assistance control unit 11 cannot identify the entry location. Therefore, the driving assistance control unit 11 generates a system error, and the program for display control when turning right or left ends.

[0060] Next, the process proceeds to step S35, where it is determined whether the location where the driver is about to turn left is an intersection based on the forward driving environment information or the left turn location in the road map information. If it is determined that the location is an intersection, the process exits the routine. On the other hand, if it is determined that the location is not an intersection, the process proceeds to step S36. Turning left at a location that is not an intersection could be, for example, crossing the sidewalk to enter the entrance (store entrance) of a parking lot (store parking lot) provided for a store or the like, as shown in FIG. 11.

[0061] In step S36, the distance Lp from the current position of the vehicle M to the left turn position set in step S34 is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S37. In step S37, it is determined whether there is an intersection on the left turn side that is ahead of the left turn position and relatively close (for example, within 10 m). If an intersection is detected, the process proceeds to step S38. If an intersection is not detected, the process exits the routine and proceeds to step S5 in FIG. 7.

[0062] When the process proceeds to step S38, since the position to turn left is not an intersection, the speaker of the navigation system 25 is used to confirm with the driver whether or not to turn left at this left turn position. If it is determined that a left turn will be made at this left turn position, the process proceeds to step S39. If it is determined that a left turn will be made at the intersection beyond this left turn position, the process simply exits the routine. The confirmation of the driver's intention in this case has already been described, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. Since the driver's intention is confirmed when the course image is displayed on the road surface, it is possible to reliably prevent an incorrect image from being displayed.

[0063] In step S39, the driving assistance control unit 11 sets the upcoming left-turn course image Pl to be projected onto the road surface from the left projector unit 34l, and then proceeds to step S40. Figures 2B and 11 show the upcoming left-turn course image Pl to be projected onto the road surface. In these figures, the course in the left turn direction is indicated by an arrow, and the direction of this arrow is The system notifies the driver that the vehicle M will be entering the intersection.

[0064] 11, when the host vehicle M attempts to turn left, the distance Lp from the host vehicle M to the left turn position gradually becomes shorter as the host vehicle M travels, but the position of the arrow in the left turn path image is fixed as it is projected onto the road surface, and the straight portion of this near left turn path image Pl gradually becomes shorter. Therefore, on the liquid crystal panel of the left projector unit 34l, the arrow portion of the near left turn path image Pl is controlled so that it gradually approaches the host vehicle M as the host vehicle M approaches the left turn position.

[0065] Next, in step S40, the driving assistance control unit 11 outputs the image signal of the upcoming left-turn path image Pl set in step S39 to the left projector driving unit 32l.

[0066] 2B and 11, the left projector driving unit 32l drives the left projector unit 23l to project the near left turn path image Pl onto the road surface ahead of the host vehicle M. This makes it possible to clearly notify a moving object sign (pedestrian, bicycle, etc.) OB traveling on the sidewalk that the host vehicle M will enter a parking lot of a store or the like just before the intersection. As a result, the moving object sign OB can predict that the host vehicle M will enter the entrance of the store or the like, and can prevent the host vehicle M from inadvertently running into the store entrance. If the liquid crystal panel provided in the left projector unit 23l is color, the shape and color scheme of the image displayed on the road surface can be set arbitrarily.

[0067] Then, the process proceeds to step S41, where the following vehicle information detected by the following vehicle detection section 26b provided in the rear detection unit 26 is read, and in step S42, it is checked whether or not a following vehicle S following the host vehicle M has been detected from the read following vehicle information.

[0068] If a following vehicle S is not detected, the routine is exited and the process proceeds to step S5 in Fig. 7. On the other hand, if a following vehicle S is detected, the process proceeds to step S43. As shown in Fig. 11, the following vehicle S is not limited to automobiles, but also includes vehicles traveling in the driving lane, such as motorcycles.

[0069] In step S43, the driving assistance control unit 11 drives the rear projector unit 24 to set an image for projecting left-turn information for a following vehicle onto the rear display area Ad (see FIG. 4) on the rear window glass. FIG. 5B shows an example of a left-turn path image Ple for a following vehicle as a path image for a following vehicle projected onto the rear display area Ad. In the same figure, an arrow indicating a left turn is flashed in conjunction with the turn signal switch 28 operated by the driver, and the distance Lp from the host vehicle M to the left-turn position is projected as the left-turn path image Ple for a following vehicle. Note that an example of displaying the distance Lp has already been described, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0070] Next, in step S44, the driving assistance control unit 11 outputs the image signal of the following vehicle left turn information set in step S43 to the rear projector driving unit 33, exits the routine, and proceeds to step S5 in FIG.

[0071] Then, the rear projector driving section 33 drives the rear projector unit 24 to project the left turn information for the following vehicle onto the rear display area Ad set on the rear window glass shown in Fig. 4. The left turn information for the following vehicle is as exemplified in Fig. 5B described above.

[0072] When a following vehicle S is detected making a left turn, left-turn information for the following vehicle is projected onto the rear display area Ad on the rear windshield, thereby clearly visually informing the driver of the following vehicle S of the timing when the preceding vehicle (host vehicle M) is about to make a left turn. As a result, the driver of the following vehicle S can prevent a rear-end collision by slowing down or changing lanes to follow the preceding vehicle (host vehicle M) as the preceding vehicle (host vehicle M) approaches the left-turn position. Furthermore, if the following vehicle S is a motorcycle or bicycle, it can be prevented from being hit by the host vehicle M when turning left. Note that, since an image is projected onto the right display area Ar from the rear projector unit 24, the shape and color of the displayed image can be set arbitrarily if the LCD panel is color. Therefore, the left-turn information for the following vehicle is not limited to the display content of FIG. 5B.

[0073] 7, the driving assistance control unit 11 checks whether the host vehicle M has reached a turning position (a right turn position or a left turn position). If the host vehicle M has not yet reached the turning position, the driving assistance control unit 11 exits the routine. On the other hand, if the host vehicle M has reached the turning position, the driving assistance control unit 11 proceeds to step S6. Whether the host vehicle M has reached the turning position is checked based on the distance Lp, and it is determined that the host vehicle M has reached the turning position when the distance Lp is 0 or a value close to 0 (approximately 0.5 to 1 [m]).

[0074] Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6, where the turning display control is terminated and the routine is exited. The turning display control is terminated by outputting an OFF signal to the driving unit that is currently being driven among the right projector driving unit 32r, the left projector driving unit 32l, and the rear projector driving unit 33.

[0075] In this way, in this embodiment, when the vehicle M makes a turn (right or left) to enter a store parking lot or the like just before an intersection, a course image indicating the turn position is projected onto the road surface ahead of the vehicle M, so that when turning right, the right turn position can be clearly notified to oncoming vehicles F. Furthermore, when turning, it is possible to notify moving item tags OB traveling on the sidewalk that the vehicle M will enter a store parking lot or the like, thereby preventing them from rushing out.

[0076] Furthermore, when the vehicle M makes a turn before an intersection, the presence or absence of a following vehicle S is checked, and if a following vehicle S is detected, information indicating that a turn will be made is projected onto the rear display area Ad set on the rear window glass to notify the following vehicle S of the timing of the turn, thereby preventing a rear-end collision. Also, if the following vehicle S is a motorcycle or bicycle, it can be prevented from being hit by the following vehicle S when the vehicle M makes a left turn.

[0077] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, one projector unit may be provided at the center of the front of the vehicle M in the vehicle width direction, and this projector unit may function as both the left and right projector units 23l and 23r. Furthermore, a projector unit may be provided on the side of the vehicle M, and an image notifying the driver that the vehicle M is about to enter a store parking lot or the like just before an intersection may be projected onto the sidewalk on the turning side. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 1... Driving assistance device, 11... Driving assistance control unit, 21...Camera unit, 21a...Main camera, 21b...Sub camera, 21c, 22b...image processing unit, 22...Driver monitoring system, 22a...Driver recognition camera, 23l...Left projector unit, 23r...Right projector unit, 24...Rear projector unit, 25...Navigation system, 25a...Road map database, 26...Rear detection unit, 26a...rear detection sensor, 26b...following vehicle detection unit, 27...Illuminance sensor, 28...Turn signal switch, 31...Wind signal drive unit, 32l...Left projector drive unit, 32r...Right projector drive unit, 33...Rear projector drive unit, 34l...Left projector unit, 34r...Right projector unit, Ad...Rear display area, Al…Left display area, Ar...Right display area, F...oncoming vehicles, Lk,Lp…distance, Ll...Left front and rear turn signal lamp, Lr...Right front and rear turn signal lamp, M...own vehicle, OB…moving target, Pl... Nearby left turn route image, Ple...Left turn route image for following vehicles, Pr1...Image of a nearby right turn course, Pr2: Image of a distant non-right-turn path, Pre...Right turn route image for following vehicles, S: Following vehicle

Claims

1. a driving environment information acquisition unit that acquires driving environment information around the vehicle; a direction detection unit that detects the direction of the driver's face or line of sight; a projection unit that projects a course image indicating a turning direction of the host vehicle onto a road surface ahead of the host vehicle; a control unit that sets the route image to be projected by the projection unit and controls the driving of the projection unit; A driving assistance device for a vehicle comprising: The control unit a turn signal operation detection unit that detects a turn signal operation by a driver; a turn position estimation unit that, when the turn signal operation detection unit detects the turn signal operation, estimates a turn position of the vehicle from the face direction or line of sight direction of the driver detected by the direction detection unit; an intersection determination unit that determines an intersection based on the driving environment information acquired by the driving environment information acquisition unit; a route image setting unit that calculates a distance from the host vehicle to the turn position based on the driving environment information acquired by the driving environment information acquisition unit when the intersection determination unit determines that the turn position estimated by the turn position estimation unit is not an intersection, and sets the route image indicating the position at which the host vehicle will turn based on the calculated distance; A vehicle driving assistance device comprising:

2. further comprising an intention confirmation unit that confirms whether the driver intends to turn the vehicle at the turning position estimated by the turning position estimation unit, The route image setting unit sets the route image only when the intention confirmation unit determines that the driver will turn at the turn position estimated by the turn position estimation unit.

2. The vehicle driving assistance device according to claim 1.

3. The route image setting unit sets a non-turn image at an intersection when the turn signal operation detection unit detects the turn signal operation in a direction crossing an oncoming lane and the intersection determination unit detects an intersection before the turn position.

3. A vehicle driving assistance device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The route image setting unit displays the non-turning image only when an oncoming vehicle is detected in the oncoming lane based on the driving environment information acquired by the driving environment information acquisition unit.

4. The vehicle driving assistance device according to claim 3.

5. a following vehicle detection unit that detects a following vehicle following the host vehicle; a rear projection unit provided on the rear side of the vehicle; and When the following vehicle detection unit detects the following vehicle, the route image setting unit sets a route image for the following vehicle, which indicates the turning position, to be projected by the rear projection unit.

5. The vehicle driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the driving assistance device is a vehicle driving assistance device.

Images