Road surface drawing device

Abstract

A road surface drawing device (20) is mounted on a vehicle (1) and is capable of drawing, on a road surface, information pertaining to a traveling direction (7). The road surface drawing device (20) comprises a control unit (10) that performs control so that the information is not drawn on the road surface when another vehicle (1) is in front of the vehicle (1) and the vehicle (1) is in a right-turn or left-turn dedicated lane (5).

Description

Road Surface Drawing Apparatus

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a road surface drawing apparatus.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicular lamp that indicates the traveling direction of a vehicle to other vehicles and pedestrians around the vehicle by drawing an image showing the traveling direction on a road surface in conjunction with a turn signal lamp.

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2022-29215

[0004] At road intersections and the like, there are cases where a plurality of vehicles waiting for a traffic light are lined up in a longitudinal column. When the vehicular lamp of Patent Document 1 is used in such a case, display images showing traveling directions from a plurality of vehicles are drawn on the road surface. Therefore, there is a possibility that this may cause annoyance to observers.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a road surface drawing apparatus that contributes to traffic safety at intersections and the like, and draws a display image on a road surface that is less likely to cause annoyance to observers even when a plurality of vehicles are lined up in a longitudinal column.

[0006] A road surface drawing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a road surface drawing apparatus mounted on a vehicle and capable of drawing information on a traveling direction on a road surface, comprising: a control unit that performs control so as not to draw the information on the road surface when there is another vehicle ahead of the vehicle and the vehicle is in a right-turn or left-turn exclusive lane.

[0007] According to the road surface drawing apparatus of the present disclosure, it contributes to traffic safety at intersections and the like, and can reduce the annoyance caused by a plurality of display images even when a plurality of vehicles are lined up in a longitudinal column.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a road surface drawing apparatus according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the road surface drawing apparatus according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the road surface drawing apparatus according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the road surface drawing apparatus according to Embodiment 2. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the road surface drawing apparatus according to Embodiment 2. Fig. 6A is a diagram showing a modified example of a second display image. Fig. 6B is a diagram showing a modified example of the second display image.

[0009] (Outline of Embodiments in this Disclosure) First, embodiments of this disclosure will be listed and described.

[0010] (1) The road surface drawing device of the present disclosure is a road surface drawing device mounted on a vehicle and capable of drawing information of the direction of travel on the road surface, and includes a control unit that controls the system so as not to draw the information on the road surface when there is another vehicle in front of the vehicle and the vehicle is in a lane reserved for right turns or left turns.

[0011] By determining whether a vehicle is in a right-turn or left-turn-only lane, it is easy to determine if the vehicle's direction of travel is the same as that of the preceding vehicle. If they are the same, the system can reduce the observer's inconvenience by not rendering the data.

[0012] (2) The control unit may be configured to draw the first display image on the road surface if there is no other vehicle ahead, and to draw the second display image on the road surface if there is another vehicle ahead and the vehicle is not in a right-turn or left-turn lane.

[0013] When a vehicle is in a normal lane, its direction of travel may differ from that of the vehicle in front. In this case, the road surface drawing device can reduce confusion and inform those around it of its direction of travel by drawing a second display image on the road surface that is different from that of the vehicle in front.

[0014] (3) The first display image may consist of a plurality of sign images arranged in a direction away from the vehicle, and the second display image may be a configuration in which at least some of the sign images in the first display image have lower road surface illumination.

[0015] By drawing a second display image on the road surface that has lower road surface illumination than the first display image, the visual appeal of the second display image can be reduced compared to the first image, making it possible to draw a display image on the road surface that is less likely to bother the observer.

[0016] (4) The first display image may consist of a plurality of sign images arranged in a direction away from the vehicle, and the second display image may be a sign image that is a part of the first display image.

[0017] By reducing the number of sign images to be drawn, a second display image that is less likely to annoy observers can be drawn on the road surface.

[0018] (5) The second display image may be configured such that the sign image furthest from the vehicle is excluded from the first display image.

[0019] If the distance to the vehicle in front is too short, the road sign image will not be drawn on the road surface but will be reflected by the vehicle in front, resulting in an inaccurate image of the road sign. Therefore, by excluding the road sign image furthest from the vehicle, an accurate road sign image can be drawn.

[0020] (Details of Embodiments in this Disclosure) The present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings, based on preferred embodiments. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted as appropriate. Furthermore, the embodiments are illustrative and not limiting to the invention, and not all features or combinations thereof described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention.

[0021] (Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

[0022] (Road surface drawing device 20) As shown in Figure 1, the road surface drawing device 20 is mounted on the vehicle 1 and is a device that draws an image on the road surface (for example, lanes 5, 5a, and 6) by projecting a predetermined pattern of light toward the road surface. The road surface drawing device 20 comprises a control unit 10 and a road surface drawing unit 30. The road surface drawing devices 20 are installed inside each of the front and rear indicator lights of the vehicle 1, and a total of four are mounted on the vehicle 1.

[0023] (Control Unit 10) The control unit 10 is an in-vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls various devices of the vehicle 1. As shown in Figure 1, the control unit 10 controls the road surface drawing unit 30 based on detection results from the car navigation system 11, in-vehicle camera 13, turn signal 14, sensor 15, wireless communication unit 16, etc.

[0024] (Car Navigation System 11) The car navigation system 11 is connected to a satellite positioning system such as GPS 12, obtains the current location information of the vehicle 1, and guides the vehicle 1 by indicating an appropriate route to the destination entered by the driver. Therefore, the control unit 10 obtains the route information of the vehicle 1 from the car navigation system 11, as well as the current location information of the vehicle 1. In this embodiment, the control unit 10 obtains the route information of the vehicle 1 from the car navigation system 11, but the control unit 10 may obtain the route information using various known control means such as sequential instructions by automatic driving control, not limited to the examples in this embodiment.

[0025] The GPS (Global Positioning System) 12 is an example of a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The GPS 12 can acquire the current location information of the vehicle 1. The current location information of the vehicle 1 acquired by the GPS 12 is transmitted to the car navigation system 11. The GPS 12 may also be able to detect which lane 5, 5a, or 6 the vehicle 1 is in. The current location information of the vehicle 1 acquired by the GPS 12 may include information on whether the vehicle 1 is in a right-turn or left-turn-only lane 5. Note that the means for acquiring the current location information of the vehicle 1 may be other than GPS.

[0026] (On-board camera 13) The on-board camera 13 acquires external information from the front and rear of the vehicle 1. The on-board camera 13 installed on the vehicle 1 continuously photographs the front and rear views and transmits information to the control unit 10, including whether or not other vehicles or pedestrians are present in front of and behind the vehicle 1. The on-board camera 13 includes an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary MOS). In addition to the on-board camera 13, the vehicle 1 can also acquire external surrounding information such as other vehicles, pedestrians, road shape, traffic signs, and obstacles by combining information acquired from millimeter-wave radar, microwave radar, and laser radar.

[0027] (Direction indicator 14) The direction indicator 14 works in conjunction with a lever that the driver inputs the direction of travel 7 of the vehicle 1, inputting a signal indicating the direction of travel 7 of the vehicle 1 to the control unit 10, and also transmitting it to the outside of the vehicle 1 via a turn signal lamp. The control unit 10 can also acquire the vehicle 1's path information from this direction indicator 14.

[0028] (Sensor 15) Sensor 15, like the in-vehicle camera 13, obtains external information about the area around vehicle 1. Sensor 15 may be, for example, an infrared sensor that detects whether there are other vehicles or pedestrians in front of, behind, or to the sides of vehicle 1, or a motion capture device that detects the movement of pedestrians. If another vehicle or pedestrian is detected, sensor 15 transmits the detection data to the control unit 10.

[0029] (Wireless communication unit 16) The wireless communication unit 16 transmits and receives information wirelessly with other devices outside the vehicle, such as other vehicles, predetermined devices installed at intersections, and automatic driving instruction devices. The control unit 10 can obtain information about the vehicle's surroundings (other vehicles, pedestrians, etc.) based on the information received by the wireless communication unit 16. The wireless communication unit 16 may also be equipped with a form that transmits the position and direction of travel 7 of its own vehicle 1 to other vehicles, etc. This enables the wireless communication unit 16 to perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication, which is communication between vehicles, and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, which is communication with equipment installed on the road.

[0030] (Road surface drawing unit 30) The road surface drawing unit 30 comprises a drawing control unit 31 and a drawing unit 32. The road surface drawing unit 30 transmits a display image instructed by the control unit 10 to the drawing control unit 31. The drawing control unit 31 converts the data into a format suitable for the drawing unit 32, and the drawing unit 32 irradiates light from a light source (not shown) according to this converted data and draws a predetermined display image on the road surface in front of the vehicle 1. The drawing control unit 31 sets the illumination state of the drawing unit 32 (on / off, light intensity, light emission area, etc.) according to the data of the display image so that the predetermined display image can be drawn. In this embodiment, the control unit 10 and the drawing control unit 31 are configured separately, but they may be configured integrally.

[0031] As described above, the drawing unit 32 draws the selected display image on the road surface in front of the vehicle 1.

[0032] (Operation of the road surface drawing device 20) As shown in Figure 2, the road surface drawing device 20 of this embodiment displays the first display image P1 in the following sequence.

[0033] The road marking device 20 obtains information about the direction of travel 7 of the vehicle 1 from the information received from the turn signal 14. (S1)

[0034] Next, the road surface drawing device 20 checks whether another vehicle is present within a predetermined distance L in front of vehicle 1 based on information from the car navigation system 11, onboard camera 13, sensor 15, wireless communication unit 16, etc. If another vehicle is present within the predetermined distance L in front, the process proceeds to S3; if no other vehicle is present within the predetermined distance L in front, the process proceeds to S4. (S2)

[0035] Next, the road surface drawing device 20 acquires information from the car navigation system 11, GPS 12, on-board camera 13, sensor 15, wireless communication unit 16, etc., to determine whether vehicle 1 is located in the right-turn or left-turn lane 5. If vehicle 1 is located in the right-turn or left-turn lane 5, the road surface drawing unit 30 terminates without drawing the road surface. If vehicle 1 is not located in the right-turn or left-turn lane 5, the process proceeds to S4. (S3)

[0036] In other words, if another vehicle is within a predetermined distance L in front of vehicle 1 and is located in a right-turn or left-turn-only lane 5, the road surface drawing unit 30 will not draw the first display image P1 in order to reduce inconvenience to the observer.

[0037] Next, if there are no other vehicles within a predetermined distance L ahead, or if vehicle 1 is not located in a right-turn or left-turn-only lane 5, the road surface drawing unit 30 draws a first display image P1 indicating a right turn or left turn on the road surface in front of vehicle 1 based on the information obtained in S1. (S4)

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the first display image P1 is of a boomerang shape with its corner pointing toward the traveling direction 7 of the vehicle 1, and is composed of a plurality (three in this embodiment) of indicator images P1a to P1c arranged in a direction away from the vehicle 1. It should be noted that the number of indicator images in the first display image P1 is not limited to three, and may be a single image or a plurality of images.

[0039] When the direction indicator 14 is ON, the road surface drawing device 20 proceeds to S4 again to repeatedly draw the first display image P1. When the direction indicator 14 is OFF, the road surface drawing device 20 stops drawing the first display image P1. (S5)

[0040] Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the operation of the road surface drawing device 20 of each vehicle 1a, 1b will be described. Each vehicle 1a, 1b is positioned in a right-turn exclusive lane 5a (the right-turn or left-turn exclusive lane 5).

[0041] The vehicle 1a is about to turn right, and there is no vehicle ahead within a predetermined distance L. Therefore, the road surface drawing unit 30 of the vehicle 1a draws the first display image P1 indicating a right turn on the road surface ahead of the vehicle 1a.

[0042] Ahead of the vehicle 1b, the vehicle 1a exists within the predetermined distance L, and the vehicle 1b is positioned in the right-turn exclusive lane 5a, so the road surface drawing unit 30 of the vehicle 1b does not draw the first display image P1. When the vehicle 1a enters the intersection and the distance between the vehicle 1b and the vehicle 1a becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined distance L, the road surface drawing unit 30 of the vehicle 1b draws the first display image P1 indicating a right turn on the road surface ahead of the vehicle 1b.

[0043] The predetermined distance L in this embodiment is a distance at which the first display image P1 is not drawn on the road surface but is drawn on the preceding vehicle. That is, the predetermined distance L is the length of the first display image P1 in the forward direction of the vehicle.

[0044] In this way, the road surface drawing unit 30 of the vehicle 1a draws the first display image P1 on the forward road surface, so that it can call the attention of other vehicles and surrounding pedestrians. Since the road surface drawing unit 30 of the vehicle 1b, which is the following vehicle of the vehicle 1a, does not draw a display image, annoyance to other vehicles and surrounding pedestrians can be reduced.

[0045] (Embodiment 2) Next, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. This embodiment differs from Embodiment 1 in that, when another vehicle is present within a predetermined distance L in front of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 1 is located in a right-turn or left-turn exclusive lane 5, the second display image P2 is drawn instead of the first display image P1. Descriptions of content overlapping with Embodiment 1 are omitted.

[0046] In this embodiment, unlike Embodiment 1, if it is determined in S3 that the vehicle 1 is not located in a right-turn or left-turn exclusive lane 5, the process proceeds to S104.

[0047] When the vehicle 1 is not located in a right-turn or left-turn exclusive lane 5, based on the information obtained in S1, a second display image P2 indicating a right turn or a left turn is drawn on the road surface in front of the vehicle 1. (S104)

[0048] As shown in FIG. 5, the second display image P2 is composed of sign images P1a and P1b. The region surrounded by the broken line is a region that is not drawn on the road surface. In other words, the second display image P2 is a display image obtained by removing the sign image P1c farthest from the vehicle 1 from the first display image. Note that the number of sign images in the second display image P2 may be one or more, and is not limited to two.

[0049] When the direction indicator 14 is ON, the road surface drawing device 20 proceeds to S104 again and repeats the drawing of the second display image P2. When the direction indicator 14 is OFF, the drawing of the second display image P2 is stopped. (S105)

[0050] Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the operation of the road surface drawing device 20 of each vehicle 1c, 1d will be described. Each vehicle 1c, 1d is located in a normal lane 6 that is not a right-turn or left-turn exclusive lane 5.

[0051] The vehicle 1c is about to turn left, and there is no vehicle ahead within the predetermined distance L, so the road surface drawing unit 30 of the vehicle 1c draws the first display image P1 indicating a left turn on the road surface in front of the vehicle 1c.

[0052] Vehicle 1d is about to turn left, and vehicle 1c is located within a predetermined distance L ahead of vehicle 1d. Furthermore, since vehicle 1d is normally located in lane 6, the road surface drawing unit 30 draws a second display image P2 indicating a left turn on the road surface in front of vehicle 1d. When vehicle 1c enters the intersection and the distance between vehicle 1d and vehicle 1c becomes greater than or equal to the predetermined distance L, the road surface drawing unit 30 of vehicle 1d switches to drawing a first display image P1 indicating a left turn on the road surface in front of it.

[0053] In this way, the road surface drawing unit 30 of vehicle 1c draws a display image on the road surface ahead, thus alerting other vehicles and pedestrians in the vicinity. The road surface drawing unit 30 of vehicle 1d, which is following vehicle 1c, draws a second display image P2 on the road surface, excluding the sign image P1c that is furthest from the vehicle, thus reducing inconvenience for other vehicles and pedestrians in the vicinity.

[0054] Figures 6A and 6B show modified examples of the second display image P2. In Figures 6A and 6B, the hatching of sign images P1a to P1c indicates that the road surface illumination is lower compared to the blacked-out sign images. As shown in Figure 6A, the road surface illumination of sign image P1c, which is furthest from vehicle 1, may be lower than that of sign images P1a and P1b. Also, as shown in Figure 6B, the second display image P2 may be a display image that includes sign images P1a to P1c, all of which have lower road surface illumination compared to the first display image P1.

[0055] (Effects of this embodiment) Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. The road surface drawing device 20 of this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1 and is capable of drawing information in the direction of travel 7 on the road surface. The road surface drawing device 20 includes a drawing control unit 31 (control unit) that controls the road surface not to draw at least a part of the information on the road surface when there is another vehicle 1 in front of vehicle 1 and vehicle 1 is in a right-turn or left-turn only lane 5.

[0056] The drawing control unit 31 (control unit) can easily determine whether the vehicle 1 is located in a right-turn or left-turn-only lane 5, thereby confirming that the direction of travel 7 of the vehicle 1 is the same as the direction of travel 7 of the preceding vehicle. If the direction of travel 7 of the vehicle 1 and the direction of travel 7 of the preceding vehicle are the same, the inconvenience to the observer can be reduced by not drawing at least a part of the first display image P1.

[0057] According to this embodiment, the drawing control unit 31 (control unit) may be configured to draw a first display image P1 on the road surface if there is no other vehicle 1 in front of vehicle 1, and to draw a second display image P2 on the road surface if there is another vehicle 1 in front of vehicle 1 and vehicle 1 is not in a right-turn or left-turn-only lane 5.

[0058] When vehicle 1 is normally located in lane 6, there is a possibility that the direction of travel 7 of vehicle 1 and the direction of travel 7 of the preceding vehicle may be different. In this case, the road surface drawing unit 30 can reduce inconvenience and inform those around it of the direction of travel 7 by drawing a second display image P2 on the road surface that is different from that of the preceding vehicle.

[0059] According to this embodiment, the first display image P1 consists of a plurality of sign images P1a to P1c arranged in a direction away from the vehicle 1, and the second display image P2 may be sign images P1a to P1c of the first display image P1 that have low road surface illumination.

[0060] By having the road surface drawing unit 30 draw a second display image P2 on the road surface that has a lower road surface illumination than the first display image P1, the visual appeal of the second display image P2 can be reduced compared to the first display image P1, and a display image that is less likely to bother the observer can be drawn on the road surface.

[0061] According to this embodiment, the first display image P1 consists of a plurality of sign images P1a to P1c arranged in a direction away from the vehicle 1, and the second display image P2 may be sign images P1a to P1c that are part of the first display image P1.

[0062] By reducing the number of sign images P1a to P1c to be drawn, a second display image P2 that is less likely to annoy the observer can be drawn on the road surface.

[0063] According to this embodiment, the second display image P2 may be a display image obtained by removing the sign image P1c that is furthest from the vehicle 1 from the first display image P1.

[0064] If all sign images P1a to P1c are drawn despite the presence of a preceding vehicle within a predetermined distance L from vehicle 1, at least a portion of the sign images P1a to P1c will not be drawn on the road surface but will be reflected by the preceding vehicle's body, resulting in an inaccurate drawing of the sign images P1a to P1c. Therefore, the accurate sign images are drawn by excluding the sign image P1c furthest from vehicle 1.

[0065] (Other Embodiments) (1) In the above embodiment, the control unit 10 can acquire information on the direction of travel 7 of the vehicle 1 using the turn signal 14, but the configuration for acquiring information on the direction of travel 7 of the vehicle 1 is not limited to this example. The control unit 10 may, for example, acquire the course information by the steering angle of the steering wheel.

[0066] (2) In the above embodiment, the road surface drawing device 20 draws on the road surface in front of the vehicle 1, but the road surface drawing device 20 of this disclosure is not limited to this example. For example, it may be configured to draw on the road surface behind the vehicle in order to inform following vehicles of the direction of travel 7, or it may be configured to draw on both the road surface in front of and behind the vehicle.

[0067] (3) In the above embodiment, the predetermined distance L is the distance at which the first display image P1 is not drawn on the road surface but on the preceding vehicle. However, in this disclosure, the predetermined distance L is not limited to this example. The predetermined distance L may be, for example, 5 m, which is approximately the length of one vehicle.

[0068] This application claims priority under Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-047677, filed on 24 March 2025, and incorporates all the provisions contained herein.

Claims

1. A road surface drawing device mounted on a vehicle and capable of drawing information about the direction of travel on the road surface, comprising a control unit that controls the system so as not to draw at least a portion of the information on the road surface when another vehicle is in front of the vehicle and the vehicle is in a lane reserved for right turns or left turns.

2. The road surface drawing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the drawing of a first display image on the road surface when there is no other vehicle ahead, and controls the drawing of a second display image on the road surface when there is another vehicle ahead and the vehicle is not in a right-turn or left-turn lane.

3. The road surface drawing device according to claim 2, wherein the first display image consists of a plurality of sign images arranged in a direction away from the vehicle, and the second display image is a sign image of which at least a portion of the sign images in the first display image have low road surface illumination.

4. The road surface drawing device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first display image consists of a plurality of sign images arranged in a direction away from the vehicle, and the second display image is a sign image consisting of a part of the first display image.

5. The road surface drawing device according to claim 4, wherein the second display image excludes the sign image that is furthest from the vehicle among the first display images.

Images