JP2993345B2 - Display device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display system for a vehicle in which a stimulus signal is generated in the vicinity of a display system to be recognized by a driver so that a recognition time of a displayed portion is shortened. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a display system for a vehicle, a difference in each display system is differentiated by a difference in shape, size, display color, and the like. (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-99224, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No.
122322 and JP-A-4-273016).

[0003]

However, in the conventional vehicle display device as described above, the number of displays has been increasing with the increase in the number of control systems in the vehicle. However, there is a problem that much time is still required to recognize a display system to be viewed by a serious person or a person whose cognitive ability has decreased due to fatigue or the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and when there is a display system to be viewed by a driver, a stimulus signal which draws attention to the target display system so as to shorten the recognition time is provided. An object of the present invention is to promptly and accurately recognize a location to be displayed by generating the information.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a vehicle display for displaying a plurality of display systems such as a state of a power unit, a state of a vehicle, and a state of a driver. A device, a line-of-sight analyzing means for analyzing the position of the driver's line of sight, a driver action detecting means for determining from the signal from the analyzing means that the driver is confirming the display device, A stimulus signal generating means for generating a stimulus signal for, based on the detection information by the action detection means,
A display control unit that detects a specific display system that needs to be visually recognized by a driver's operation and controls the stimulus signal generation unit so as to be a stimulus signal generation target.

[0006] Further, a display device for a vehicle according to claim 2 comprises:
The display control means generates a signal for returning the line of sight to the front of the vehicle to the stimulus signal generating means when it is determined that the driver has been watching the display system for a predetermined time or more.

[0007] A vehicle display device according to claim 3 is
The display control means, when it is determined that the driver is tired, generates a stimulus signal for returning the sight line to the front of the vehicle with respect to the stimulus signal generation means.

[0008] The vehicle display device according to claim 4 is
A plurality of the display devices are provided, and the stimulus signal generating means generates different stimulus signals corresponding to the respective display devices.

A vehicle display device according to claim 5 is
The stimulus signal generating means stimulates any of the five senses of the driver.

[0010] The vehicle display device according to claim 6 is
The display device is a pointer-type meter, and the stimulus signal generating means blinks the tip of the pointer.

[0011] The vehicle display device according to claim 7 is
The stimulus signal generating means is means for stimulating hearing and non-auditory, and the display control means, when determining that the noise level in the vehicle compartment is larger than a predetermined value, outputs the stimulus signal by the stimulus of the stimulating signal generating means other than auditory. Is converted into a stimulus signal.

[0012]

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a display device for a vehicle according to the present invention (claim 1) detects an act of a driver confirming a display system by analyzing a position of a driver's line of sight. Then, based on the detection information, a signal that gives a stimulus to the driver is generated, and only the display device that needs to be visually recognized by the driver's operation is targeted for signal generation.

[0014]

Further, the vehicle display device according to the present invention (claim 2) outputs a control signal when it is determined that the driver has been watching the display system for a certain period of time or more, and returns his / her gaze forward. To generate a stimulus signal.

A display device for a vehicle according to the present invention (claim 3) detects a degree of fatigue of a driver, outputs a control signal when it is determined that the driver is tired, and looks forward in a forward direction. Generate a stimulus signal to return.

Further, the vehicle display device according to the present invention (claim 4) generates different stimulus signals corresponding to each display system.

Further, the vehicle display device according to the present invention (claim 5) stimulates any of the five senses of the driver.

Further, in the display device for a vehicle according to the present invention (claim 6), the tip of a needle of a meter blinks as a stimulus signal.

Further, the vehicle display device according to the present invention (claim 7) converts a stimulus signal by sound into a stimulus signal other than sound when it is determined that the noise level in the vehicle compartment is larger than a predetermined value.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a vehicle display device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram (corresponding to claims) showing a basic configuration of a vehicle display device according to the present invention. In FIG. The vehicle state detecting means 102 for detecting is a driver state detecting and detecting means for detecting the driver's state from the driver's heart rate, eye movement, posture movement, operation state and the like.

Reference numeral 103 denotes an action detection means for connecting the vehicle state detection means 101 and the driver state detection means 102, and detects an action of the driver checking the display device. Reference numeral 104 denotes an action detection signal of the action detection means 103. Stimulus signal generation determining means 105 for determining the generation of a stimulus signal for calling a driver's attention based on the output signal of the stimulus signal generation determining means 104, a flash signal, a sound signal, a color signal, a contrast signal, Stimulus signal generating means for generating stimulus signals such as changes in surface area, electrical stimulus signals, tactile stimulus signals,
Reference numeral 106 denotes a display device on which the stimulus signal of the stimulus signal generation means 105 is embodied.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of operation processing of the vehicle display device according to this embodiment. In this figure, when this processing is started, first, where the driver is looking, that is, gaze detection is performed. The operation is performed (S201), and the gaze position of the driver is determined (S202). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 described later, an eye camera or an eyeball position detecting device based on image analysis is used.
Next, it is determined whether or not the user is looking at the display system (S20).
3). This determination is made based on the eye movement stop time. That is, it is general that the human eye moves every 20 ms. When the human eye stops at one point for 100 ms or more, it is determined that the eye has focused on one point, and the display system is thereby viewed. And judge. At this time, when it is determined that the user is not looking at the display system, it is further determined whether the driver is gazing forward or falling asleep or looking aside (S
204). When it is determined that it is forward gaze, the process returns to step S201, and when it is determined that it is drowsiness and inattentive driving, a stimulus signal for forward gaze is generated (S20).
5) Return to step S201.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S203 that the user is looking at the display system, it is further determined which position of the display system is being viewed (S206). That is, in step S206, it is determined whether the user is looking at the display system in the meter cluster, looking at the display system in the center cluster, or looking at the HUD.

At this time, when it is determined that the display system in the meter cluster is being viewed, it is further determined whether or not a specific display system is being viewed (S207). At this time,
When it is determined that the user is not watching a specific display system, a stimulus signal for a speedometer is generated (S208). If it is determined in step S207 that a specific display system is being viewed, a stimulus signal for the specific display system is generated (S209). In this case, for example, when it is determined that the user is looking at the water thermometer, a stimulus signal is generated near the water temperature display so that the driver's attention is directed.

On the other hand, in step S206,
When it is determined that the user is looking at the display system in the center cluster, or when it is determined that he / she is looking at the HUD, it is further determined whether or not the user is looking at a specific display system (S210). At this time, when it is determined that the user is looking at the specific display system, the stimulus signal for the specific display system is generated in step 209. Conversely, when it is determined that the user is not watching the specific display system, the process proceeds to step S201. Return and repeat this process.

The stimulus signal is generated at a moment when it is determined that the user has looked at the specific display system, and the signal is oscillated for a predetermined time. In this way, the stimulus signal is issued at the moment when the driver looks at the display system while detecting the driver's line of sight, so that the displayed location can be quickly confirmed.

Next, the driver's line of sight detection processing will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a gaze detection method.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing types of eyes. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes an eye camera for capturing an image of a driver's eyeball;
302, a light emitting device for irradiating light to the driver;
Represents the light emission timing of the light emitting device 302 and the eye camera 301.
Command circuit for synchronizing the imaging timing of the camera, 3
04, an A / D converter for converting an image signal (analog signal) captured by the eye camera 301 into a digital signal;
Is an image memory for storing digitized image signals, 3
Reference numeral 06 denotes an eyeball position determining circuit that determines the position of the driver's eyeball, reference numeral 307 denotes an iris detection circuit that detects an iris in the eyeball, and reference numeral 308 denotes a drowsiness determination circuit that determines the driver's drowsiness state.

In FIG. 4, (a) shows the image of the driver's face, which is an image to be analyzed, (b) shows the line of sight when looking forward, (c) shows the line of sight when looking at the HUD, and (d). Shows the line of sight when the center cluster is gazed, (e) shows the line of sight when the meter cluster is gazed, (f) shows the line of sight when looking aside, and (g) shows the line of sight when dozing.

Next, the operation will be described. In this eyeball position detecting method, a driver's face image is captured by an eye camera 301 in synchronization with light emitted by a light emitting device 302 toward the driver's face by a timing command circuit 303, and the image is subjected to A / A. The data is converted into a digital signal by the D converter 304 and stored in the image memory 305 as a density gradation image. Thereafter, the eyeball position determining circuit 306 scans two predetermined regions of the input image and counts the number of pixels in each of the predetermined regions that is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. Further, it is determined whether or not the brightness of the input image is uneven based on the count value. Thus, the region where the driver's eyeball is present is specified.

The above two predetermined areas are set to a limited range in which external light to be directly input is limited, and when it is determined that the brightness of the input image is not uniform, the entire face image is On the other hand, when it is determined that the face image is non-uniform, only one side of the face image is set as the eyeball search range, and the area where the eyeball exists is specified. The iris detection circuit 307 detects the position of the iris in the eyeball as shown in FIG. 4, and detects the state of the driver from which state shown in FIG. Further, the dozing determination circuit 308
Is determined to be dozing when no eyeball is detected as shown in FIG. 4 (g). In addition to the above, it is also possible to consider changes in the driver's posture, head movements, and differences in individual physiques.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a flash signal for forward gaze stimulation, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a sound signal for forward gaze stimulation. Here, when it is determined in step S204 shown in FIG. 2 that the driver is dozing or driving aside, as shown in FIG. 5, a stimulus signal generation process for forward gaze (step S205) is performed as shown in FIG. A stimulus signal is given to the driver by a flash signal or by sound as shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another processing operation, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an output example of each stimulus signal in the processing operation. In FIG. 7, when the process is started, first, the operation state of the driver is detected (S70).
1) It is determined whether the driver is performing an operation related to the display system (S702). At this time, when it is determined that the operation related to the display system is not performed, the above-described step S is performed.
Return to 701. Conversely, when it is determined that an operation related to the display system is being performed, it is further determined whether the operation is an air-conditioning-related operation, an audio-related operation, or a NAVI (navigation system) -related operation. (S703).

If it is determined in step S703 that the operation is related to air conditioning, the stimulus signal (flash signal, color signal, sound signal, etc.) corresponding to each air conditioning operation is determined.
Is executed (S704). That is, (a)
When the operation is a fan operation, as shown in FIG.
Stimulus signal for fan display (in this case, flash signal)
Occurs. (B) When the wind direction operation is performed, FIG.
As shown in (b), a stimulus signal (in this case, a flash signal) for wind direction display is generated. (C) In the case of a differential operation, a stimulus signal for differential display is generated. (D) When the operation is a temperature operation, a stimulus signal (in this case, a color signal) for temperature display is generated as shown in FIG.

In the above step S703,
If it is determined that the operation is related to audio, the stimulus signal (flash signal,
A generation process of a color signal, a sound signal, and the like is executed (S70).
5). That is, (a) when a volume operation is performed, a stimulus signal for volume display is generated. (B) When the channel selection operation is performed, a stimulus signal for channel selection display is generated. Further, in step S703, the NA
When it is determined that the operation is a VI-related operation, a preset stimulus signal for each display is generated.

In the above description, the stimulus signal generation process is limited to three processes, that is, air conditioning, audio, and NAVI. However, other processes are also required for the vicinity of the operation / display unit. A similar process can be developed in accordance with.

Here, an embodiment in which different stimulus signals are generated corresponding to each display system will be described. FIGS. 9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams showing examples of types and combinations of stimulus signals corresponding to types of display systems. FIG. 9A shows a flash signal emission timing, FIG. 9B shows a color signal type, and FIG. Type,
(D) shows a combination table indicating a stimulus signal corresponding to the type of display system.

The types of the stimulus signals include a flash signal,
There are color signals, sound signals, and the like, and each signal gives many types of signal patterns to many signals. For example, in the case of a flash signal, as shown in FIG. 9A, many variations are provided by changing the intensity and cycle of the flash signal. The color signal is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9 (c), sound signals such as red, orange, yellow, yellow-green,..., Blue, etc., are ping-pong, bone, phone,. Gives a lot of variations depending on the strength of the sound.

For example, as shown in FIG.
The flash signal F-1 is output in correspondence with the flash signal F-1 to present the attention stimulus in the speedometer high-speed range, and the color signal C-9 is output in response to the attention stimulus in the audio volume display.

Here, a description will be given of an embodiment in which the tips of the hands of meters and the like are turned on and off. FIG.
It is explanatory drawing which showed the example of the stimulus signal in the meter needle tip part, (a) The example which added the stimulus signal to the speedometer needle, (b) The example where the meter needle tip part was the stimulus signal of the color, (c) ) Shows an example in which the tip of the meter needle is a stimulus signal of a flash signal.

As is clear from FIG. 10, as the stimulus signal generating means, the tips of the needles of the meters are blinked so that the pointer position of the meter can be quickly recognized. The stimulus signal in this case may be either a flash signal or a sound signal.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another processing operation. In this figure, when this processing is started, first, a stimulus signal is generated (S1101). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the stimulus signal is a sound signal (S110).
2). At this time, when it is determined that the signal is a sound signal, a noise value N is further measured by a sensor for measuring the noise in the vehicle compartment (S1103), and the measured noise value N is set to a reference value N _0.
It is determined whether this is the case (S1104). That is, it is determined whether or not the noise value N> the reference value N ₀ .

If it is determined in step 1103 that the noise value N is equal to or greater than the reference value N ₀ , the stimulus signal is converted into a stimulus signal other than sound (S1105). Conversely, when it is determined that the noise value N is equal to or _smaller than the reference value N ₀ , the sound stimulus signal is used as it is. In this way, when the vehicle interior is noisy due to noise, it is difficult to hear it as a stimulus signal using a sound signal, so that control is performed so as to provide another stimulus signal.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another processing operation. In this figure, when this processing is started, first, the gaze direction of the driver is detected (S1201), and the gaze turns to the display system. It is determined whether or not there is (S120)
2). Here, the line of sight is when it is determined that faces the display system starts the time measurement (S1203), the measured time t to determine whether long or not than the reference time t ₀ (S12
04). That is, it is determined whether or not the measurement time t> the reference time t ₀ . When the measured time t in the step S1204 is judged to longer than the reference time t ₀ is
In order to return the driver's line of sight to the front, a stimulus signal as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 is generated (S120).
5). As a result, the driver can look at the display system and be careful not to look ahead.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing another processing operation. When this processing is started, first, the driver's electromyogram, eyeball movement, running time, running distance, and the like are used to start the processing. The degree of fatigue is detected (S1301), and it is determined whether the driver is tired (S1302). At this time, if it is determined that the driver is not tired, the process returns to step S1301 without generating a stimulus signal (S1303). Conversely, when it is determined that the driver is tired, a stimulus signal is given to the driver based on the above-described stimulus signal generation determination processing (S1304).

The measurement of the driver's fatigue in the above is as follows.
For example, for the myoelectricity, a method of measuring by decreasing the amplitude peak value of the myoelectric potential or a method of obtaining a power spectrum of the myoelectricity are used. More specifically, the detection of muscle fatigue of the occupant may be performed by using the means disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-197314 by the present inventors. Further, various methods are known, such as determining that the user is tired when the running time or running distance exceeds a certain time or a certain distance, and these methods can be used to easily determine.

As described above, the caution stimulus signal for the display system is generated as described above only when it is determined that the driver is tired, and the stimulus signal is not provided when the driver is not tired. By performing such control, the driver is not presented when he / she feels unsightly, and can supply the attention stimulus signal only when the driver is tired and the recognition time for the display system is extremely slow. .

[0048]

As described above, the vehicle display device according to the first aspect of the present invention analyzes the position of the driver's line of sight, thereby detecting the act of the driver confirming the display system. Generates a signal that stimulates the driver based on the
In order to enhance the recognizability of a specific display system to be displayed, the display system to be displayed can be promptly and accurately recognized. Further, since only the display system that needs to be visually recognized by the driver's operation is targeted for signal generation, useless control can be eliminated and operability can be improved. Furthermore, since the position of the driver's line of sight is analyzed, it is possible to more accurately determine which position of the display system is being viewed.

[0049]

The vehicle display device according to claim 2 is
When it is determined that the driver has been watching the display system for a certain period of time or more, an appropriate warning is issued to the driver while driving to output a control signal and generate a stimulus signal for returning the gaze forward. Can be issued.

The vehicle display device according to claim 3 is
It detects the driver's degree of fatigue and outputs a control signal when it is determined that the driver is tired, and generates a stimulus signal to return the driver's gaze in the forward direction. , The attention stimulus signal can be given only in a state where the recognition time for the display system becomes extremely slow due to fatigue.

The vehicle display device according to claim 4 is
In order to generate different stimulus signals for each display system,
An appropriate stimulation signal according to the situation is obtained.

The vehicle display device according to claim 5 is
Since any of the five senses of the human is stimulated, quicker and more accurate recognition can be performed.

The vehicle display device according to claim 6 is
Since the tip of the needle of the meters blinks as a stimulus signal, the pointer position of the meter can be quickly recognized.

The vehicle display device according to claim 7 is
When it is determined that the noise level in the vehicle compartment is higher than a predetermined value, the stimulus signal based on the sound is converted into a stimulus signal other than the sound, so that the stimulus can be reliably transmitted to the driver.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram (corresponding to claims) showing a basic configuration of a vehicle display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation example of the vehicle display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a gaze detection method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing types of line of sight according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a flash signal for forward gaze stimulation according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a sound signal for forward gaze stimulation according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another processing operation example of the vehicle display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an output state of each stimulus signal in the operation processing shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing types of stimulus signals corresponding to types of display systems according to the present invention and examples of combinations thereof.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a stimulus signal at the tip of the meter needle according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another processing operation example of the vehicle display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another processing operation example of the vehicle display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing another processing operation example of the vehicle display device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 vehicle state detecting means 102 driver state detecting means 103 action detecting means 104 stimulus signal generation determining means 105 stimulus signal generating means 106 display device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI B60Q 5/00 G01D 7/00 K G01D 7/00 302Z 302 G08B 5/00 B G08B 5/00 6/00 6/00 G09F 9 / 00363A G09F 9/00 363 G12B 11/04 P G12B 11/04 A61B 3/10 B (72) Inventor Takayuki Yanagishima Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (2) Kaihei 4-43131 (JP, A) JP-A 3-24429 (JP, U) JP-A 64-37755 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60K 35 / 00 A61B 3/113 B60K 28/02 B60K 28/10 B60Q 1/00 B60Q 5/00 G01D 7/00 G08B 5/00 G08B 6/00 G09F 9/00 G12B 11/04

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A display device for a vehicle for displaying a plurality of display systems such as a state of a power unit, a state of a vehicle, and a state of a driver, a line of sight analyzing means for analyzing a position of a line of sight of a driver, and the analyzing means Driver action detecting means for determining that the driver is performing an action of confirming the display device based on a signal from the control unit; a stimulus signal generating means for generating a stimulus signal for the driver; and detection by the action detecting means. A display control unit that detects a specific display system that needs to be visually recognized by a driver's operation based on the information, and controls the stimulus signal generation unit so as to be a stimulus signal generation target. Display device for vehicles. 2. The display control means generates a signal for returning a line of sight to the front of the vehicle to the stimulus signal generation means when it is determined that the driver has been watching the display system for a predetermined time or more. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the driver determines that the driver is tired, the display control unit generates a stimulus signal for returning the line of sight to the front of the vehicle with respect to the stimulus signal generation unit. The display device for a vehicle as described in the above. 4. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said display devices are provided, and said stimulus signal generating means generates different stimulus signals corresponding to each display device. 5. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein said stimulus signal generating means stimulates one of five senses of a driver. 6. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is a pointer-type meter, and the stimulus signal generating means blinks a pointer tip. 7. The stimulus signal generating means is means for stimulating auditory sense and non-auditory stimulus, and the display control means uses the stimulus signal generating means for hearing when it determines that the noise level in the vehicle compartment is larger than a predetermined value. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the stimulus signal is converted into a non-aural stimulus signal.