Vehicle start notification display device

Abstract

To provide a starting notice display device that enables a pedestrian or the like who looks at starting notice display drawn on a road surface from a vehicle to exactly grasp a timing at which the vehicle starts.SOLUTION: A starting notice display device 3 of a vehicle comprises a road surface drawing part 6 that draws starting notice display in a predetermined shape by light on a road surface in a running direction of the vehicle, and a control part 5 that determines whether to allow starting notice display to be drawn or not when the vehicle starts, controls the road surface drawing part 6 when determining that the display is allowed, so that the starting notice display is drawn, and controls the road surface drawing part 6 again when determining that notice of the drawn starting notice display should be stopped, so that the starting notice display is stopped, which further comprises a braking-brake detecting part 7 that detects switching from ON to OFF of a braking-brake. When determining that the detected switching from ON to OFF of the braking-brake signifies that the starting notice display is needed, the control part 5 makes the road surface drawing part 6 draw the starting notice display.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a departure notification display device that notifies pedestrians and the like of a vehicle starting. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a safety control device for vehicle start that projects a predetermined pattern of laser light onto the road surface as a parked vehicle starts to inform pedestrians and the like that the vehicle is starting. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-101797 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The safety control device for vehicle start described in Patent Document 1 draws a predetermined departure notification pattern on the road surface to notify pedestrians and others that the vehicle will start while parked, i.e., at zero speed, so that the parked vehicle continues to display the departure notification pattern on the road surface even if it does not start immediately after displaying the departure notification pattern. Therefore, pedestrians and other passing vehicles (hereinafter simply referred to as pedestrians and others) who see the departure notification pattern may not be able to accurately understand the timing of the vehicle's start and may become impatient, moving in the direction of the vehicle's travel and causing a collision accident.

[0005] In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a vehicle departure notification display device that allows pedestrians and others who see a departure notification display drawn on the road surface from a vehicle to accurately understand the timing of the vehicle's departure, thereby avoiding contact accidents. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A departure notification display device for a vehicle has a road surface drawing unit that is mounted on the vehicle and draws a departure notification display of a predetermined shape on the road surface in the direction of travel of the vehicle using light, and a control unit that determines whether a departure notification display is necessary when the vehicle starts, and when it determines that it is necessary, controls the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display, and when it determines that the drawn departure notification display should be stopped, controls the road surface drawing unit again to stop the departure notification display.The vehicle has a brake detection unit that detects switching of the brake from on (braking state) to off (released), and the control unit determines that a departure notification display is necessary when it detects that the brake is switched from on to off, and causes the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display.

[0007] (Operation) The road surface drawing unit draws a vehicle start notification display on the road surface in response to the release of the braking state performed immediately before the actual vehicle starts, and stops drawing the start notification display in accordance with a drawing stop determination.

[0008] Furthermore, it is desirable that the vehicle start notification display device has a start switch detection unit that detects the switching of the start switch, and that the control unit determines that it is necessary to have the road surface drawing unit draw a start notification display when it detects that the start switch has been switched from off to on before the detection of the switching of the braking brake from on to off.

[0009] (Operation) The road surface drawing unit draws a parked vehicle departure notification display on the road surface based on the turning on of the instruction switch when starting from a parked vehicle and the subsequent switching of the braking state from the braking state to the release state.

[0010] Furthermore, it is desirable that the vehicle departure notification display device has a shift detection unit that detects whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward, and that the control unit controls the road surface drawing unit to draw a departure notification display in front of the vehicle when it detects that the vehicle is moving forward, or to control the road surface drawing unit to draw a departure notification display behind the vehicle when it detects that the vehicle is moving backward.

[0011] (Function) The road surface drawing unit draws a departure notification display in front of the vehicle when it detects forward movement (the shift position is in drive "D") based on the shift detection unit, and draws a departure notification display behind the vehicle when it detects reverse movement (the shift position is in reverse "R").

[0012] Furthermore, it is desirable that the vehicle departure notification display device has a steering detection unit that detects right or left steering of the vehicle, and that the control unit controls the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display to the right of the vehicle when right steering of the vehicle is detected, or to control the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display to the left of the vehicle when left steering of the vehicle is detected.

[0013] (Operation) The road surface drawing unit draws a start notification display to the right of the vehicle when right steering is detected by the steering detection unit, and draws a start notification display to the left of the vehicle when left steering is detected.

[0014] Furthermore, it is desirable that the vehicle departure notification display device has a temporary stop detection unit that detects a temporary stop of the vehicle, and that the control unit determines that a departure notification display is necessary when the vehicle is detected as a temporary stop and the braking is detected as being switched from on to off after the non-notification determination time has elapsed from the time the temporary stop is detected, and causes the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display.

[0015] (Operation) The road surface drawing unit draws the vehicle start notification symbol on the road surface when the braking state is switched from the braking state to the release state, which is performed after the non-notification determination time has elapsed since the vehicle stopped temporarily.

[0016] In addition, it is desirable that the vehicle's departure notification display device has a detection unit for detecting objects required for the departure notification display, and that the control unit determines that a departure notification display is required when the braking system is switched from on to off after the detection of the required objects, and causes the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display.

[0017] (Operation) The road surface drawing unit draws a vehicle start notification symbol on the road surface based on the switching of the braking state from the braking state to the release state, which is performed after detecting an object requiring a start notification symbol.

[0018] It is also preferable that the necessary object detection unit is a car navigation system, and that the necessary object is detected based on road information acquired by the car navigation system.

[0019] It is also preferable that the necessary object detection unit is an image capture unit that captures an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and that the necessary object is detected from an image captured by the image capture unit.

[0020] In addition, it is desirable that the vehicle's departure notification display device has a detection unit for detecting unnecessary objects for the departure notification display, and the control unit controls the road surface drawing unit so that the departure notification display is not drawn when the detection of a switch from on to off of the braking force after the detection of the unnecessary object is deemed to be unnecessary.

[0021] (Operation) Even if the braking state is released after detecting an object for which the start notification display is not required, the road surface drawing unit does not draw the vehicle start notification display on the road surface.

[0022] It is desirable that the unnecessary object detection unit is a car navigation system, and that the unnecessary object is acquired based on road information acquired by the car navigation system.

[0023] It is also preferable that the unnecessary object detection unit is an image capture unit that captures an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and that the unnecessary object is detected from an image captured by the image capture unit.

[0024] It is also preferable that the unwanted object detection unit is a stop signal detection unit that detects a vehicle stop signal as the unwanted object.

[0025] It is also preferable that the unwanted object detection unit is a vehicle-in-front detection unit that detects a vehicle in front of the vehicle as the unwanted object.

[0026] It is also preferable that the unwanted object detection unit is an automatic toll collection device detection unit that detects the passing of a vehicle past an automatic toll collection device as the unwanted object.

[0027] It is also preferable that the unwanted object detector is a turn signal lamp detector that detects the on and off of a turn signal lamp of a vehicle as the unwanted object. [Effects of the Invention]

[0028] According to the vehicle departure notification display device, the departure notification display is displayed only immediately before the vehicle starts, so that pedestrians who see the departure notification display can accurately understand the timing of the vehicle's departure and can avoid contact accidents.

[0029] According to the vehicle departure notification display device, the departure notification display is displayed immediately before a parked vehicle starts, but is not displayed immediately before a vehicle starting from a temporary stop, so that when a vehicle starts from a temporary stop where it is not necessary to notify pedestrians or the like of the vehicle's departure, such as starting from a traffic jam or waiting at a traffic light, an unnecessary departure notification display does not need to be drawn.

[0030] According to the vehicle departure notification display device, when a parked vehicle moves forward, a departure notification display is drawn on the road surface in front of the vehicle, and when the parked vehicle moves backward, a departure notification display is drawn on the road surface behind the vehicle, thereby allowing pedestrians and others to accurately understand the vehicle's departure direction and avoiding contact accidents.

[0031] According to the vehicle departure notification display device, when a parked vehicle moves in either the left or right direction from parallel parking or the like, pedestrians and the like can accurately know which direction the vehicle will depart from, thereby making it possible to avoid contact accidents.

[0032] The vehicle departure notification display device allows pedestrians and the like to accurately grasp the departure timing of a stopped vehicle when the vehicle starts from a sideways stop, but does not require drawing of an unnecessary departure notification display when the vehicle starts from a short stop, such as when waiting at a traffic light and there is no need to notify pedestrians and the like of the vehicle's departure.

[0033] According to the vehicle departure notification display device, when a situation where there is concern that a pedestrian may run out into the road dangerously, such as a stop sign, a T-junction, or a pedestrian waiting to cross, is detected as requiring a departure notification display, the departure notification display can be displayed even when the vehicle is starting from a stop sign, allowing pedestrians and others to accurately understand the timing of the vehicle's departure and avoiding contact accidents.

[0034] On the other hand, when a vehicle departure notification display device detects an object that does not require a departure notification display, such as waiting at a traffic light, traffic congestion, passing through a toll booth or automatic toll collector on a highway, waiting to turn right or left at a railroad crossing or intersection, it can avoid displaying unnecessary departure notification displays. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0035] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle departure notification display device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 1A] 2 is a block diagram showing a vehicle departure notification display system including a modified example of the departure notification display device of FIG. 1; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a departure notification display device. [Figure 3] 2 showing a cross-sectional view of a vehicle lamp including a departure notification display device; [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are diagrams relating to the optical deflection device of the road surface drawing unit, in which FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 4A. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a first embodiment in which departure notification displays are drawn on the road surface from vehicles that are starting from a parked state in front and behind the vehicle. [Figure 6] 10 is an explanatory diagram of a second embodiment in which a departure notification display is drawn on the road surface from a vehicle that starts diagonally forward on the left or right from a parallel parking state. FIG. [Figure 6A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a third embodiment in which a departure notification display is drawn on the road surface from a vehicle that is parked next to another vehicle and starts moving diagonally forward. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a fourth embodiment in which an object requiring a departure notification display is detected when the vehicle is temporarily stopped and the departure notification display is drawn on the road surface. [Figure 8]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a fifth embodiment in which an object that does not require a notification display, such as waiting at a traffic light, is detected when the vehicle is temporarily stopped, and a departure notification display is not drawn on the road surface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. In each figure, the directions of the road as seen from the driver of a vehicle equipped with a departure notification display device and each part of a vehicle lamp including the departure notification display device are described as (upper: lower: left: right: front: rear = Up: Lo: Le: Ri: Fr: Re).

[0037] A pair of left and right vehicle headlights 1 of a vehicle C shown in Fig. 2 are each equipped with a departure notification lamp 2 including a departure notification display device 3 shown in Fig. 1 so as to project light onto the road surface in front of the vehicle, and a pair of left and right rear combination lamps 4 of the vehicle headlights 1 are also equipped with a pair of left and right departure notification lamps 2 including a pair of left and right departure notification display devices 3 so as to project light onto the road surface behind the vehicle. Note that one of the left and right vehicle headlights 1 (or rear combination lamps) may be omitted from the departure notification display devices 3, and one each for the front and rear of the vehicle may be mounted somewhere outside the vehicle, such as in the center, and the departure notification display device 3 for the rear of the vehicle may be omitted.

[0038] The departure notification display device 3 shown in Figure 2 may include any or all of a control unit 5 configured by an arithmetic and control device such as a CPU, a road surface drawing unit 6, a braking sensor 7, a start switch sensor 8, a shift sensor 9, a steering angle sensor 10, a speed sensor 11, a car navigation system 12, a photographing unit 13, a radar sensor 14, an automatic toll collection terminal 15, and a turn signal lamp sensor 16. 1A also shows a vehicle departure notification display system 33 including a departure notification display device 3' which is a modified example of the vehicle departure notification display device 3 shown in Fig. 1. The vehicle departure notification display system 33 of Fig. 1A is a system used in vehicles equipped with an automatic driving device, and is composed of the vehicle notification display device 3 of Fig. 1, namely, the departure notification display device 3' including a control unit 5 and a road surface drawing unit 6 (not shown) mounted on the vehicle (not shown), and the departure notification display device 3 of Fig. 1, excluding the control unit 5 and the road surface drawing unit 6, a braking sensor 7, a starter switch sensor 8, a shift sensor 9, a steering angle sensor 10, a speed sensor 11, a car navigation system 12, a photographing unit 13, a radar sensor 14, an automatic toll collection terminal 15, and a turn signal lamp sensor 16. The braking sensor 7, starter switch sensor 8, shift sensor 9, steering angle sensor 10, speed sensor 11, car navigation system 12, photographing unit 13, radar sensor 14, automatic toll collection terminal 15, and turn signal lamp sensor 16 in Figure 1A are installed outside the vehicle (they may be installed inside the vehicle except for the road monitoring camera 13b described later), and are each connected to the control unit 5 of the vehicle notification display device 3' mounted on the vehicle. 1A, only the departure notification display device 3', which includes the control unit 5 and road surface drawing unit 6 used to display the departure notification on the road surface, is mounted on a vehicle (not shown), and any or all of the other components, from the brake sensor 7 to the turn signal lamp sensor 16, are installed outside the vehicle, making it possible to build a system by adding (retrofitting) any missing components from the "other components" to existing sensors such as the brake sensor and car navigation system that are already installed on the vehicle. Also, according to the departure notification display system 33, the components other than the departure notification display device 3' are installed outside the vehicle, and multiple vehicles equipped with the departure notification display device 3' can be controlled by a single departure notification display system 33, thereby simplifying the departure notification display device.

[0039] 1 and 1A determines whether a departure notification display is necessary when vehicle C starts based on the detection results from the brake sensor 7, starter switch sensor 8, shift sensor 9, steering angle sensor 10, speed sensor 11, car navigation system 12, photographing unit 13, road information and communication system 130, radar sensor 14, automatic toll collection terminal 15, and turn signal lamp sensor 16, and controls the road surface drawing unit 6 to draw the departure notification display when it is determined that the departure notification display is necessary, and controls the road surface drawing unit 6 not to draw the departure notification display when it is determined that the departure notification display is unnecessary. Furthermore, the control unit 5 determines the notification stop conditions for the drawn departure notification display, and when it determines that the notification stop is to be determined, controls the road surface drawing unit 6 again to stop the departure notification display.

[0040] The road surface drawing section 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 1A, and 3. The road surface drawing section 6 has a light source 18 and a light deflector 19, and constitutes part of a road surface drawing unit 17. The road surface drawing unit 17 is configured by providing a unit body 17a with the light source 18, the light deflector 19, a reflective optical member 20 such as a reflector, a projection optical member 21 such as a plano-convex lens, and a light absorbing member 22. The road surface drawing unit 17 is disposed in a lamp chamber S formed inside a lamp body 2a having an opening in front of the vehicle and a transparent or translucent front cover 2b that closes the opening, thereby constituting the departure notification lamp 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the road surface drawing unit 17 is held inside the lamp body 2a so as to be horizontally rotatable, and is configured to swing about a central axis L1 by a motor 23 or the like. The road surface drawing unit 17 is controlled by the control unit 5 of Figures 1 and 1A to tilt left and right, switching the direction in which the road surface drawing display is irradiated onto the road surface to either forward or diagonally forward of the vehicle C (in the case of the road surface drawing unit 17 of the rear combination lamp 4, rear or diagonally forward).

[0041] The light source 18 can be a semiconductor light-emitting element such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), LD (Laser Diode), or EL (Electro Luminescence) element, or a light bulb, an incandescent lamp (halogen lamp), or a discharge lamp, and can be configured to emit, for example, white, yellow, or other colored light forward, and red, or other colored light backward.

[0042] The reflective optical member 20 reflects the light from the light source 18 to the optical deflector 19. The optical deflector 19 is disposed on the optical axis of the projection optical member 21, and selectively reflects the light reflected by the reflective optical member 20 back to the projection optical member 21 for emission outside the departure notification lamp 2. The light emitted from the departure notification lamp 2 of the vehicle headlamp 1 displays a vehicle departure notification display of a form to be described later in a range from the front to diagonally forward of the vehicle C based on the horizontal oscillation of the road surface drawing unit 17, and the light emitted from the departure notification lamp 2 of the rear combination lamp 4 displays a vehicle departure notification display of a form to be described later in a range from the rear to diagonally rear of the vehicle C based on the horizontal oscillation of the road surface drawing unit 17.

[0043] 1, 1A, 3, and 4, a DMD (Digital Mirror Device), which is a type of micromirror device, is used for the optical deflection device 19 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the optical deflection device 19 includes a micromirror array 25 in which a plurality of minute mirror elements 24, each having a reflective surface 24a on its surface, are arranged in a matrix. The optical deflection device 19 includes a transparent cover material 26 arranged on the light-emitting side of the reflective surface 24a of the mirror element 24.

[0044] Each mirror element 24 of the micromirror array 25 is configured to be switchable between an ON state (solid line position shown in FIG. 4(b)) in which light emitted from the light source 18 is emitted toward the projection optical member 21 so that the light is used as a desired light distribution pattern, and an OFF state (dashed line position shown in FIG. 4(b)) in which the light emitted from the light source 18 is reflected by the light absorbing member 22 so that the light is not effectively used. Specifically, each mirror element 24 is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis between the ON state and the OFF state. Each mirror element 24 emits a portion of the emitted light toward the projection optical member 21 and reflects the remaining light toward the light absorbing member 22 so that the remaining light is not effectively used. The micromirror array 25 can obtain a light distribution pattern for a desired projection image by independently controlling the ON / OFF states of the many mirror elements 24 arranged in a matrix.

[0045] The micromirror array 25 shown in each diagram in Figure 4 expresses gradations of light and darkness by adjusting the ON time ratio when each mirror element 24 is switched on and off at high speed, and expresses reflected white light as monochrome. To express the reflected light of each mirror element 24 as a desired color, the light source 18 uses three or more light source units, such as red, green, and blue, to illuminate the light deflector 19 in a time-division manner, and the mirror elements are switched on and off several thousand times per second, creating an optical illusion (afterimage effect) that causes the reflected light to be perceived as a mixed light by a human eye. As a result, the tiny mirror elements 24 express a variety of colors with predetermined brightness and darkness, and the light deflector 19 can draw a desired mark, i.e., a departure notification sign, on the road surface by emitting a matrix of light points with predetermined brightness and color using the independently controlled multiple mirror elements 24.

[0046] Instead of a DMD, the optical deflection device 19 may employ a scanning mechanism that reflects light from a light source using a reflecting mirror that can oscillate two-dimensionally at high speed, and scans the reflected light two-dimensionally at high speed to draw a mark of a desired shape on the road surface, and a wide range of devices can be used, including a rotary scanner, a galvanometer scanner, a resonant scanner, an optical MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) scanner, a polygon mirror, etc. Furthermore, the road surface drawing unit 6 may be configured to draw only one type of departure notification mark on the road surface by passing light through a predetermined optical member.

[0047] The departure notification lamp 2 including the road surface drawing unit 6 in this embodiment draws an array of departure notification displays 27 made up of multiple boomerang-shaped marks 27a to 27c with their corners facing in the direction of travel of the vehicle, as shown in Fig. 2. The number of marks is not limited to three as long as there is more than one, and the shape of each mark is not limited to a boomerang shape. It is desirable that the departure notification displays 27 be drawn so that mark 27a closest to the vehicle is turned on and off, then mark 27b is turned on and off, and finally mark 27c is turned on and off.

[0048] In this case, the departure notification display 27 appears to have mark 27a gradually progressing to positions 27b and 27c along the vehicle's direction of travel, so pedestrians and others who see the departure notification display 27 can not only recognize the vehicle's departure direction by the direction in which departure notification display 27 is displayed relative to vehicle C, but can also recognize the vehicle's departure direction by the fact that mark 27a appears to progress in sequence to positions 27b and 27c.

[0049] 1 and 1A functions as a brake detection unit that detects the switching of the foot brake of vehicle C between on (braked state) and off (released). The brake detected by the brake sensor 7 is not limited to a foot brake, but may be a hand brake or an automatic brake that is automatically controlled by the system of an autonomous vehicle without driver operation, as long as it stops the moving vehicle based on the degree of closure and releases the brake at a predetermined opening degree. The brake sensor 7 detects the release of the foot brake of vehicle C that was in a braking state and outputs the detection result to the control unit 5.

[0050] The start switch sensor 8 in Figures 1 and 1A functions as a braking detection unit that detects the switching between off and on of the start switch (ignition switch, keyless system start switch, etc.) of the vehicle C, and detects the switching from off to on of the start switch and outputs the result to the control unit 5.

[0051] The shift sensor 9 functions as a shift detection unit that detects whether the shift lever of the vehicle C is in forward (D position: drive), reverse (R position: reverse), or parking (P position). The shift sensor 9 detects the forward movement of the vehicle C and outputs the result to the control unit 5 when the shift lever is in "drive," and detects the reverse movement of the vehicle C and outputs the result to the control unit 5 when the shift lever is in "reverse."

[0052] The steering angle sensor 10 functions as a steering detection unit that detects whether the vehicle C is traveling straight or steering to the right or left. For example, if the steering angle when steering to the right is defined as a positive angle and the steering angle when steering to the left is defined as a negative angle, the steering angle sensor 10 detects a positive steering angle as steering to the right of the vehicle C, or a negative steering angle as steering to the left of the vehicle C, and outputs the detected steering angle to the control unit 5.

[0053] The speed sensor 11 functions as a temporary stop detection unit that detects a temporary stop of the vehicle from a change in the vehicle speed and outputs the result to the control unit 5. Specifically, the speed sensor 11 detects the vehicle speed at regular time intervals, and when it detects that the vehicle speed is either a positive speed (forward) or a negative speed (reverse) and then detects zero vehicle speed, it outputs the result to the control unit 5 as a detection of a temporary stop of the vehicle. The speed sensor 11 is also used by the control unit 5 to determine whether to stop the start notification display.

[0054] The car navigation system 12 functions as a necessary object detector that detects objects that require a vehicle departure notification display or an unnecessary object detector that detects objects that do not require a vehicle departure notification display, based on road information that the car navigation system 12 possesses or that is transmitted via a communication line, and vehicle position information obtained by a satellite positioning system such as GNSS (an abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite System) or GPS (a registered trademark: an abbreviation for Global Positioning System). The car navigation system 12 detects objects that require or do not require a vehicle departure notification display and outputs the detected objects to the control unit 5.

[0055] Objects that require a vehicle departure notification display, as detected by the car navigation system 12, include whether or not there is an obligation to stop at an intersecting road at the location where vehicle C has arrived, a T-junction, an entrance to a priority road (from a narrow road to a wide road) at an intersection, etc. Objects that do not require a vehicle departure notification display include a "traffic jam" at the location where vehicle C has arrived, a toll booth on a highway, a railway crossing, etc.

[0056] As shown in Figures 1 and 1A, the photographing unit 13 is composed of an in-vehicle camera 13a, a road monitoring camera 13b, and an image processing device 13c, and functions as a necessary object detection unit that detects necessary objects for the vehicle departure notification display from images taken around the vehicle C, or an unnecessary object detection unit that detects unnecessary objects for the vehicle departure notification display.

[0057] 2, the in-vehicle camera 13a is built into the vehicle headlight 1 so as to be able to photograph the surroundings ahead of the vehicle C, or is mounted in a position so as to be able to photograph the upper surface of the roof of the vehicle, the hood, the door mirrors, etc. or the surroundings of the vehicle C, or is mounted in the rear combination lamp 4 so as to be able to photograph the surroundings behind the vehicle C, and photographs the surroundings of the vehicle C on which it is mounted. The road monitoring camera 13b is installed on the road and photographs the surroundings of an approaching vehicle C. The image processing device 13c is mounted on the vehicle C, and performs image analysis on the images photographed by the in-vehicle camera 13a or the images photographed by the road monitoring camera 13b transmitted via a communication line to detect objects that require or do not require a vehicle departure notification display, and outputs the results to the control unit 5.

[0058] Objects that require a vehicle departure notification display, which are detected by the photographing unit 13, include a stop obligation sign at an intersecting road, a T-junction, an entrance to a priority road (from a narrow road to a wide road) at an intersection, pedestrians waiting to cross, etc., which are photographed by the in-vehicle camera 13a at the position that the vehicle C has reached, and further include the vehicle C approaching a road with a stop obligation sign, a T-junction, an entrance to a priority road (from a narrow road to a wide road) at an intersection, or pedestrians waiting to cross, which are photographed by the road monitoring camera 13b. Furthermore, objects that do not require a vehicle departure notification display, which are detected by the photographing unit 13, include a "traffic jam," a highway toll booth, or a railway crossing, etc., which are photographed by the in-vehicle camera 13a, and the vehicle C approaching a "traffic jam," "highway toll booth," or "railroad crossing," etc., which are photographed by the road monitoring camera 13b.

[0059] In addition, the car navigation system 12 may use a radar-based sensor using millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), ultrasonic waves, or the like in the necessary object detection section and the unnecessary object detection section to detect necessary objects and unnecessary objects for the departure notification display.

[0060] The road information communication system 130 functions as an unnecessary object detection unit (a stop signal detection unit in the case of detecting stop signals) that detects traffic congestion information at the current position of the vehicle and stop signal (red signal) information at traffic lights such as intersections that the vehicle will soon arrive at as unnecessary objects for displaying a start notification in conjunction with the vehicle's position information obtained by the satellite positioning system of the car navigation system 12. The road information communication system 130 is a VICS (registered trademark: an abbreviation for Vehicle Information and Communication System) or the like, and detects traffic congestion and stop signals (red signals) that are unnecessary objects and outputs them to the control unit 5.

[0061] The radar sensor 14 is a microwave radar sensor, a millimeter wave radar sensor, or the like, and functions as a vehicle ahead detection unit that detects vehicles ahead of the vehicle as targets that do not require a vehicle start notification display, and detects the vehicle ahead and outputs the results to the control unit 5.

[0062] The automatic toll collection terminal 15 is an on-board device such as ETC (registered trademark: abbreviation for Electronic Toll Collection system) that automatically pays tolls based on the vehicle's passage through an automatic toll collection device 32 (see FIG. 8) installed at a toll booth on a highway, etc. The automatic toll collection terminal 15 communicates wirelessly with the automatic toll collection device at the toll booth, functions as an automatic toll collection device detection unit that detects the vehicle's passage through the automatic toll collection device 32 as an object that does not require a vehicle start notification display, and outputs to the control unit 5 that the vehicle has passed through the automatic toll collection device.

[0063] The turn signal lamp sensor 16 functions as a turn signal lamp detection unit that detects the switching of the turn signal lamp switch from off to on as an unnecessary target for the vehicle start notification display, and outputs the switching of the turn signal lamp from off to on to the control unit 5.

[0064] Next, a first embodiment of a departure notification display for a vehicle C that starts moving forward or backward from a parked state will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In Figs. 5 to 8, the departure notification display devices 3 in Fig. 2 that are mounted on the left and right vehicle headlights 1 and that display the departure notification display on the road surface in front of the vehicle are indicated by reference numerals 3a (for the left front) and 3b (for the right front), the departure notification displays displayed by the left and right front departure notification display devices 3a and 3b are indicated by reference numerals 271 (for the left front) and 272 (for the right front), the departure notification display devices 3 that are mounted on the left and right rear combination lamps 4 and that display the departure notification display on the road surface behind the vehicle are indicated by reference numerals 3c (for the left rear) and 3d (for the right rear), and the departure notification displays displayed by the left and right rear departure notification display devices 3c and 3d are indicated by reference numerals 273 (for the left rear) and 272 (for the right rear).

[0065] First, the driver (not shown) of vehicle C in Fig. 5 turns on the start switch of vehicle C while the foot brake pedal is depressed (brake on). Next, the driver shifts the shift lever of vehicle C into forward (drive) or reverse (reverse) and releases the foot brake that was depressed (brake off).

[0066] The control unit 5 of the vehicle departure notification display device 3 detects the switching of the start switch from off to on using the start switch sensor 8, and then detects the switching of the brake from on (braking) to off (released) using the brake sensor 7, and determines that a departure notification display is necessary, and determines the display direction of the departure notification display based on the vehicle's traveling direction detected from the position of the shift lever by the shift sensor 9.

[0067] Specifically, in vehicle C, when the driver turns on the start switch and releases the brake pedal that he was pressing with the shift lever in drive, the control unit 5 of the departure notification display devices 3a, 3b controls the road surface drawing unit 6 to draw departure notification displays 271, 272 on the road surface in front of the vehicle, alerting pedestrians H1 and others who are about to cross in front of vehicle C that "parked vehicle C is about to start moving forward," and if the shift lever is in reverse position, the control unit 5 of the departure notification display devices 3c, 3d controls the road surface drawing unit 6 based on the release of the brake pedal to draw departure notification displays 273, 274 on the road surface behind the vehicle, alerting pedestrians and others (not shown) who are about to cross behind vehicle C that "parked vehicle C is about to back up," thereby avoiding a collision between vehicle C and the pedestrian and others. In addition, when determining whether a departure notification display is necessary, the on / off switching of the start switch does not have to be included in the determination conditions. In that case, however, the departure notification display will be displayed even when the vehicle is temporarily stopped in a situation where the departure notification display is not necessary (such as waiting at a traffic light). Therefore, in such cases, it is desirable to limit the conditions for determining whether the display is necessary and restrict the display.

[0068] The control unit 5 of the departure notification display device 3 controls the road surface drawing unit 6 again to stop drawing the departure notification display on the road surface when the vehicle speed of the vehicle C detected at regular time intervals by the speed sensor 11 reaches a predetermined speed or higher (for example, 5 km / h or higher, but not limited to this speed) from zero, when an odometer or the like (not shown) of the vehicle C detects that the vehicle C has traveled a certain distance since it started to move (for example, 10 m since it started to move, but not limited to this distance), when a certain time has passed since the vehicle C started to move (for example, 10 seconds since it started to move, but not limited to this time), or when left and right steering of the vehicle C has ended (i.e., when the steering angle sensor 10 detects that the detected angle of the steering device has returned to zero from either a positive or negative angle, or when the turn signal lamp sensor 16 detects that the turn signal switch has switched from on to off). When the photographing unit 13 detects a pedestrian or another vehicle around the vehicle C, it is desirable that the control unit 5 change the above-mentioned end value (for example, change the arrival speed for stopping from 5 km / h or more to 10 km / h or more, the arrival distance from 10 m to 15 m, the arrival time from 10 seconds to 15 seconds, etc.) and draw the departure notification display for a longer period of time in order to sufficiently alert the detected pedestrian or the like to the departure of the vehicle C. It is desirable that the stopping of the departure notification display be controlled in the same way in the second to fifth embodiments described later.

[0069] Furthermore, the departure notification display device 3 of vehicle C determines that a necessary condition for displaying a departure notification is that the start switch is switched on before the brake pedal is released, so in the first embodiment, no unnecessary departure notification display is made in situations where a departure notification display is not required, such as when starting from a stop sign at a red light or railroad crossing.

[0070] Next, a second embodiment of the start notification display for vehicle C starting diagonally forward from a parallel parked state will be described with reference to Figure 6. In Figure 6, the driver (not shown) of vehicle C turns on the start switch of vehicle C while the foot brake pedal is depressed to apply the brake (brake on). Next, the driver puts the shift lever of vehicle C into forward (drive) position, steers the steering wheel (steering device not shown) to the left or right, and releases the foot brake that was being depressed (brake off).

[0071] The control unit 5 of the vehicle's departure notification display device 3 detects the switching of the start switch from off to on using the start switch sensor 8, and then detects the switching of the brake from on (braking) to off (released) using the brake sensor 7, and determines whether a departure notification display is necessary, and also determines the display direction of the departure notification display based on the shift lever being in the drive position (forward) detected by the shift sensor 9 and the steering direction of the vehicle being either left or right detected by the steering angle sensor.

[0072] Specifically, in vehicle C in Figure 6, when the driver turns on the start switch, puts the shift lever into drive, turns the steering wheel to the right, and releases the brake pedal that he was pressing, the control unit 5 of the departure notification display device 3b controls the road surface drawing unit 6 to draw a departure notification display 272 on the road surface diagonally forward to the right of vehicle C, alerting pedestrians H2 and others who are passing on the right side of parallel parked vehicle C in countries where vehicles drive on the left that "parallel parked vehicle C is about to start moving forward to the right," and when the driver releases the brake pedal that he was pressing with the steering wheel turned to the left, the control unit 5 of the departure notification display device 3a controls the road surface drawing unit 6 to draw a departure notification display 271 on the road surface diagonally forward to the left of vehicle C, alerting pedestrians H3 and others who are passing on the left side of parallel parked vehicle C in countries where vehicles drive on the right that "parallel parked vehicle C is about to start moving forward to the left," thereby avoiding a collision accident with vehicle C. Furthermore, the departure notification displays 271, 272 displayed diagonally forward to the left and diagonally forward to the right may be displayed horizontally to either the left or right instead of diagonally, in cases where a parallel-parked vehicle will depart directly sideways due to future automated driving, etc.

[0073] In the second embodiment of Figure 6, since the steering wheels of many conventional vehicles are on the front wheels, the shift lever is in the drive position (forward), and it is described that the vehicle start notification displays 271, 272 are drawn diagonally forward to the right or diagonally forward to the left depending on the steering direction. However, in future autonomous driving technology, it is conceivable that the steering wheels will be provided on the rear wheels, and vehicle C will start diagonally backward. In that case, the vehicle start notification display device 3 provided on the rear combination lamp 4 may swing the road surface drawing unit 17, and cause the road surface drawing section 6 to display the start notification displays 273, 274 diagonally backward to the left or diagonally backward to the right depending on the steering direction of the rear wheels.

[0074] Next, a third embodiment of the start notification display for a vehicle C that starts diagonally forward from a state where it has temporarily stopped alongside another vehicle C1 will be described with reference to Fig. 6A. First, the control unit 5 of the start notification display device 3 of the vehicle C shown in Fig. 1 detects, via the speed sensor 11 that periodically detects the vehicle speed, that the vehicle speed has changed from a positive speed to zero due to the driver's foot brake operation, as a temporary stop of the vehicle C, and detects, via the braking sensor 7, that the driver has released the foot brake that he had been stepping on within a certain time period after the temporary stop has been detected (for example, until one minute has passed since the temporary stop, but this time is not limited to), and the steering wheel is steered to the right (or left). When the steering angle sensor 10 detects that the vehicle C has been turned (or steering to the left), the control unit 5 controls the road surface drawing unit 6 of the departure notification display device 3b (or the departure notification display device 3a if the vehicle C is steered to the left) to draw a departure notification display 272 on the road surface diagonally forward to the right of the vehicle C (or a departure notification display 271 on the road surface diagonally forward to the left if the vehicle C is steered to the left), thereby alerting another traveling vehicle C1 that "vehicle C parked alongside is about to start to the right front (or left front) and invade the driving line of vehicle C1," thereby avoiding a collision between vehicle C and vehicle C1. Note that the control unit 5 determines that the foot brake on / off detection detected until a certain time has elapsed since the temporary stop is unnecessary, assuming that the detection was based on a temporary stop such as waiting at a traffic light, where a departure notification display is not necessary, and controls the road surface drawing unit 6 not to draw the departure notification display.

[0075] 7, a fourth embodiment of a departure notification display based on detection of an object requiring a departure notification display by the car navigation system 12 and the photographing unit 13 when the vehicle C stops will be described. First, the control unit 5 of the departure notification display device 3 detects, via the car navigation system 12 and the photographing unit 13 functioning as a detection unit for an object requiring a departure notification display, whether or not a stop is required at the intersection where the vehicle C arrives (detected only by the car navigation system 12), a stop sign 28 required at the intersection where the vehicle C arrives and a stop sign (not shown) written on the road surface (detected only by the photographing unit 13), a T-junction without a traffic light where the vehicle C arrives, an entrance to a priority road (an entrance from a narrow road to a wide road) at the intersection where the vehicle C arrives, a pedestrian H4 waiting to cross and a vehicle C3 about to pass through the intersection (only by the photographing unit 13), etc. Then, the brake sensor 7 detects a change from a temporary stop caused by the driver's foot brake depression (brake on) to a release of the foot brake (brake off), thereby determining whether or not a departure notification display is required.

[0076] Based on the necessary determination, the control unit 5 controls the road surface drawing unit 6 of the departure notification display devices 3a, 3b as shown in Figure 7 to draw departure notification displays 271, 272 on the road surface of the cross road R2 in front of the vehicle C that intersects with the road R1 on which the vehicle is traveling, thereby alerting pedestrian H4 who is passing in front of the vehicle C and trying to cross road R1 at a cross road such as the T-junction in Figure 7, and other vehicles C3 traveling on the cross road, that "vehicle C, which has just stopped temporarily, will enter the cross road ahead," thereby preventing contact accidents with pedestrian H4 and other vehicles C3. Furthermore, since the departure notification displays 271, 272 are not displayed unless the driver of vehicle C1 releases the brake pedal that he has pressed, when the driver of vehicle C1 gives way to pedestrian H4 who is waiting to cross and crosses road R1 before vehicle C1 passes, pedestrian H4 can accurately understand that vehicle C1 will not start moving because the departure notification displays are not displayed, and can therefore cross in front of vehicle C1 safely.

[0077] In the first to fourth embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6, 6A, and 7, the control unit 5 makes a necessary judgment and displays a departure notification display in the direction of travel of vehicle C only when the in-vehicle camera 13a detects pedestrians H1 to H4 or passing vehicles C2 and C3 in the direction of travel of the vehicle before the driver releases the foot brake that he was pressing, and if no pedestrians or passing vehicles are detected, the control unit 5 may make a judgment that the departure notification display is unnecessary and control the road surface drawing unit 6 not to display the departure notification display.

[0078] Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8, in which the departure notification display is not performed based on the detection of an unnecessary object when the vehicle C stops temporarily. The car navigation system 12, the photographing unit 13, the radar sensor 14, the automatic toll collection terminal 15, and the turn signal lamp sensor 16 shown in Fig. 1 function as an unnecessary object detection unit that detects an unnecessary object for the departure notification display.

[0079] Objects for which a departure notification display is not required include traffic congestion (not shown) detected by the car navigation system 12 at the location where vehicle C has arrived, a highway toll gate 29, and a railway crossing 30 shown in Figure 8, as well as highway toll gates 29, railway crossings 30, and stop signals (red lights) 31 detected from an image of the location where vehicle C has arrived taken by the onboard camera 13a of the photographing unit 13, traffic congestion and stop signals (red lights) 31 detected at the location where vehicle C has arrived by the road information and communication system, a leading vehicle (not shown) traveling in front of vehicle C detected by the radar sensor 14, an automatic toll collection device 32 detected by the automatic toll collection terminal 15 at a toll gate on a highway or the like where vehicle C has arrived, and vehicle C waiting to turn right or left detected by the turn signal lamp sensor 16.

[0080] The control unit 5 of the departure notification display device 3 shown in Fig. 1 determines that the departure notification display is unnecessary when, after detecting an unnecessary object via the unnecessary object detection unit for the departure notification display, the brake sensor 7 detects a switch from a temporary stop caused by the driver stepping on the foot brake (brake on) to a release of the foot brake (brake off). The control unit 5 controls the road surface drawing unit 6 so as not to display the departure notification display based on the detection of an unnecessary object for the departure notification display, even if the driver temporarily stops by stepping on the foot brake and then releases the foot brake. Therefore, the departure notification display device 3 does not display unnecessary departure notification displays in situations where pedestrians and other vehicles in the direction of travel can easily grasp the timing of the departure of vehicle C without drawing a departure notification display on the road surface, such as when starting from a temporary stop at a traffic light. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 3, 3' Departure notification display device 5. Control section 6 Road surface drawing section 7 Brake sensor (braking detection section) 8 Start switch sensor (start switch detector) 9 Shift sensor (shift detection part) 10 Steering angle sensor (steering detection section) 11 Speed ​​sensor (pause detection section) 12 Car navigation system 13 Photography Department 130 Road Information Communication System (Stop Signal Detection Unit) 14 Radar sensor (front vehicle detection section) 15 Automatic fare collection terminal (automatic fare collection device detection unit) 16 Turn signal lamp sensor (turn signal lamp detector) C. Vehicles equipped with a departure notification display device

Claims

1. A departure notification display device for a vehicle, comprising: a road surface drawing unit that draws a departure notification display on a road surface with light; and a control unit that controls the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display and stops the drawn departure notification display, The predecessor department, when the braking is switched from on to off, the road surface drawing unit draws a start notification display; controlling the road surface drawing unit to draw a departure notification display on the road surface to the right when the vehicle is steered to the right, or to draw a departure notification display on the road surface to the left when the vehicle is steered to the left; When the steering of the vehicle returns from steering to either left or right to straight ahead steering, the display of the departure notification display is stopped, When a pedestrian or another vehicle is detected around the vehicle, the predetermined speed for stopping is set to be higher than when these are not detected, a road surface drawing unit that draws a starting notification display and stops the drawing of the starting notification display when the vehicle speed reaches or exceeds the predetermined speed;

2. The control unit If a pedestrian or another vehicle is detected around the vehicle, the fixed time for stopping is made longer than when these are not detected, 2. The vehicle departure notification display device according to claim 1, wherein the road surface drawing unit stops drawing the departure notification display when the predetermined time has elapsed since the vehicle started to move.

3. 2. The vehicle departure notification display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines that the braking is switched from on to off after the start switch is switched from off to on and causes the road surface drawing unit to draw a departure notification display.

4. The vehicle departure notification display device according to claim 3, characterized in that the control unit controls the road surface drawing unit to draw a departure notification display in front of the vehicle when the vehicle is moving forward, or to draw a departure notification display behind the vehicle when the vehicle is moving backward.

5. The control unit determines that the braking force is switched from on to off after a non-notification determination time has elapsed since the vehicle stopped, and causes the road surface drawing unit to draw a departure notification display.

6. The vehicle departure notification display device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit determines that a departure notification display is necessary when the braking is switched from on to off after detecting an object requiring the departure notification display, and causes the road surface drawing unit to draw the departure notification display.

7. A vehicle departure notification display device as described in claim 6, characterized in that the required object is detected based on road information obtained by a car navigation system.

8. A vehicle call notification display device as described in claim 6, characterized in that the required object is detected from a captured image.

Images