JP7655095B2 - Vehicle display device and vehicle display method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle display device and a vehicle display method that can switch the information displayed.

A system is known that traverses (moves) multiple stacked workspaces (windows for opening applications) along a stacking axis when a command to scroll the workspace is detected for the multiple workspaces stacked along the stacking axis (Patent Document 1). When traversing the workspaces, the system can reduce the size of a workspace or fade in another workspace while reducing the size of the workspace.

International Publication No. 2014/039157

However, with the above-mentioned conventional technology, when effects are simultaneously applied to multiple pieces of displayed information, there is a problem in that flickering occurs in the display due to differences in brightness and saturation before and after the effects are applied.

The problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide a vehicle display device and a vehicle display method that can suppress the occurrence of display flicker.

The present invention solves the above problem by executing a presentation process on the display portion of the information to be displayed when switching between a first state in which the user cannot see map information and a second state in which the user can see map information in response to a user operation, and by displaying a part of the information displayed in the second state before the other parts of the information displayed in the second state when switching from the first state to the second state.

The present invention makes it possible to suppress the occurrence of display flicker.

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a display device for a vehicle according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a display unit in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a first display unit and a second display unit shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the input unit of FIG. 1 . 2 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the display unit, touch operation unit, input unit, and control device of FIG. 1, as well as the control unit, superposition unit, switching unit, first control unit to fifth control unit, and first layer to fifth layer. FIG. 2A to 2C are diagrams showing an example of information displayed on the first to fifth layers of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a display unit in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a first layer in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of information displayed on the first layer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing yet another example of information displayed on the first layer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of map information displayed on a first layer in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of map information displayed on the first layer in FIG. 1 . 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of information displayed on the first to fifth layers of FIG. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating another example of information displayed on the display unit in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a third layer in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of information displayed on the third layer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a fifth layer in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of information displayed on the fifth layer of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a rendering process executed by the switching unit in FIG. 1 (part 1); FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a rendering process executed by the switching unit of FIG. 1 (part 2). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a rendering process executed by the switching unit in FIG. 1 (part 3). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the rendering process executed by the switching unit in FIG. 1 (part 1). FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of the rendering process executed by the switching unit in FIG. 1 (part 2). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the rendering process executed by the switching unit in FIG. 1 (part 3). 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing yet another example of information displayed on the first to fifth layers of FIG. FIG. 13B shows information displayed on the third layer L3 of FIG. 13A. 10 is a diagram showing yet another example of information displayed on the display unit in FIG. 1 . FIG. 11 is a diagram showing yet another example of the rendering process executed by the switching unit of FIG. 1 (part 1). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing yet another example of the rendering process executed by the switching unit of FIG. 1 (part 2). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing yet another example of the rendering process executed by the switching unit of FIG. 1 (part 3). 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 1); 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 2); 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 3); 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 4); 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 5); FIG. 15B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S1 of FIG. 15A. FIG. 15B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S1 of FIG. 15A. FIG. 15B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S6 of FIG. 15A. FIG. 15B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S6 of FIG. 15A. FIG. 15D is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S22 of FIG. 15C. FIG. 15D is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S22 of FIG. 15C. FIG. 15C is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S26 of FIG. 15D. FIG. 15C is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S26 of FIG. 15D. FIG. 15E is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S30 of FIG. 15D. FIG. 15D shows an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S30. FIG. 15D shows an example of information displayed on each layer in step S32 of FIG. 15D. FIG. 15D shows an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S32. FIG. 15C is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S36 of FIG. 15E. FIG. 15C is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S36 of FIG. 15E. 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the procedure of information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 1); 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the procedure of information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 2); 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the procedure of information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 3); 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the procedure of information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 4); 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the procedure of information processing in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1 (part 5); FIG. 23B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S1 of FIG. 23A. FIG. 23B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S1 of FIG. 23A. FIG. 23B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S6 of FIG. 23A. FIG. 23B is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S6 of FIG. 23A. FIG. 23D is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S42 of FIG. 23C. FIG. 23D is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S42 of FIG. 23C. FIG. 23E is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S48 of FIG. 23D. FIG. 23E is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S48 of FIG. 23D. FIG. 23E is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S52 of FIG. 23D. FIG. 23E is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S52 of FIG. 23D. FIG. 23C is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in step S54 of FIG. 23E. FIG. 23C is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the display unit in step S54 of FIG. 23E.

The following describes an embodiment of a vehicle display device and a vehicle display method according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the vehicle described below has a driver's seat on the left side of the vehicle, and for vehicles with a driver's seat on the right side of the vehicle, the following description should be interpreted as symmetrical between right and left.

[Configuration of vehicle display device]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle display device 1 according to the present invention. In the conventional vehicle display device, when the display of the screen changes significantly, such as when changing the display from a menu screen to a map information screen, a performance is simultaneously performed on the display parts of multiple pieces of information. As a result, the brightness difference, saturation difference, etc. of the displayed screen change significantly before and after the performance is performed, and flickering may occur on the screen. In particular, when changing from a menu screen displayed in a dark color to a map information screen having a light background color, if the display parts of multiple pieces of information are changed simultaneously, the screen suddenly becomes bright, and there is a risk that the user feels dazzled and the map information becomes difficult to see. The vehicle display device 1 according to the present invention suppresses large changes in brightness difference, saturation difference, etc. of the displayed screen by displaying some information before other information. As a result, the occurrence of flickering on the screen can be suppressed, and the visibility of the information display part can be suppressed from decreasing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle display device 1 includes a display unit 11, a touch operation unit 12, an input unit 13, and a control device 14. The devices constituting the vehicle display device 1 are connected to each other in a state in which data can be exchanged between them by known means such as a wired or wireless LAN, typified by a CAN (Controller Area Network). The control device 14 does not need to be provided together with the display unit 11, the touch operation unit 12, and the input unit 13, and may be provided in a server in a remote location away from the vehicle.

The display unit 11 is a display device for providing information to the user, such as a liquid crystal display, a projector such as a head-up display (HUD), etc. The users include the driver, passengers in the front passenger seat and the rear seat, and passengers who are located away from the vehicle and virtually ride in the vehicle using avatars (alter egos). In this embodiment, the display unit 11 is installed in front of the driver's seat of the vehicle, and its length in the vehicle width direction is, for example, 30 to 50% of the overall width of a typical vehicle. If the overall width of a typical vehicle is about 1.5 m, the length of the display unit 11 is 45 to 75 cm, which is equivalent to a display size of about 20 to 35 inches. This allows a balance between the user's operability and the size of the display unit 11. The display unit 11 may be a single display unit as a hardware device, but may also be equipped with two display units as a hardware device, a first display unit 11a and a second display unit 11b that is different from the first display unit 11a and is installed on the passenger seat side of the first display unit 11a in the vehicle width direction, as shown in FIG. 1. The display unit 11 may be composed of three or more display units as a hardware device, and may be equipped with a speaker in addition to a screen that displays information.

2A is a plan view showing an example of the display unit 11. In FIG. 2A, the display unit 11 is installed in the instrument panel IP of the vehicle, and has a first area A1 that displays information used for vehicle driving control, and a second area A2 that displays information not used for vehicle driving control. The first area A1 and the second area A2 are separated by a boundary B shown by a dashed line near the center of the display unit 11, and the sizes of the first area A1 and the second area A2 can be changed by a user operation and an instruction from the control device 14. Since the information used for vehicle driving control is mainly used by the driver, the first area A1 is provided on the driver's seat side of the display unit 11. In other words, the first area A1 is provided in a position closer to the driver's seat than the second area A2.

In the first area A1 of FIG. 2A, information used for vehicle driving control is displayed in the hatched portion indicated by D1a. The information used for vehicle driving control is, for example, information used for control of the vehicle's speed control, steering control, stability control, etc., and includes information acquired from various sensors of the vehicle as information indicating the vehicle's driving state. The vehicle's stability control is, for example, control to suppress the vehicle's skid by controlling the roll angle and yaw angle of the vehicle. The information displayed in the first area A1 includes the vehicle's driving speed and acceleration, engine speed, coolant and engine oil temperatures, parking brake operation state, gear position, turn signal operation state, headlight illumination state, wiper operation state, and vehicle angular velocity. In addition to information acquired from sensors, information indicating the vehicle's driving state includes information indicating the state of the vehicle's autonomous driving support. For example, this information may include information indicating that only one of the autonomous speed control or autonomous steering control assistance is being performed, information indicating that both speed control and steering control are being autonomously controlled, information indicating that lane change assistance is being performed, and information indicating that the vehicle is following a leading vehicle with autonomous driving assistance.

On the other hand, in the second area A2 in FIG. 2A, information that is not used for vehicle driving control is displayed in the hatched areas indicated by D2a, D2b, and D2c. Information that is not used for vehicle driving control is, for example, information that is not used for control of the vehicle's speed, steering, and stability, and is information that does not indicate the vehicle's driving state. For example, map information from a navigation device, operation information for AV devices in the vehicle such as a radio, music player, and DVD player, application information such as games, and image information that serves as the background of the display unit 11 are included. In the second area A2 in FIG. 2A, information is displayed in three parts, D2a, D2b, and D2c, but the form of information display in the second area A2 is not particularly limited, and each piece of information may be displayed in multiple parts, or may be displayed together as one part. In addition, there may be a part in the second area A2 where no information is displayed.

2A is a region that includes the region where the steering wheel is present as viewed from the driver's perspective and the region where the driver's hands that operate the steering wheel pass as viewed from the driver's perspective. Hereinafter, the region X is also referred to as the steering wheel operation region. The display unit 11 of this embodiment does not display information in the portion of the first region A1 that is included in the steering wheel operation region X, that is, the portion that overlaps with the steering wheel or the driver's hands as viewed from the driver's perspective. This is because the information displayed on the steering wheel or behind the hand cannot be seen by the driver, and if information used for vehicle driving control is displayed in the portion that overlaps with the steering wheel operation region X, the driver cannot grasp the vehicle's driving state and cannot concentrate on driving. In the case of FIG. 2A, the information used for vehicle driving control in the first region A1 is displayed in the portion D1a, but the outer edge of D1a is not included in the region X as viewed from the driver's perspective. In contrast, the information displayed in the second region A2 may be included in the steering wheel operation region X as viewed from the driver's perspective, as in the display portion D2a of FIG. 2A. This is because even if the driver cannot see information that is not used to control the vehicle's driving, driving operations are not affected.

The vehicle display device 1 according to the present invention suppresses the occurrence of flickering on the screen when changing the information display, and also suppresses deterioration of the visibility of the information display portion. Therefore, changes to the display on the vehicle display device 1 can be applied to both the information display portion displayed in the first area A1 and the information display portion displayed in the second area A2.

2B is a plan view showing another example of the display unit 11. The display unit in FIG. 2B is composed of a first display unit 11a and a second display unit 11b, both of which are installed in the instrument panel IP of the vehicle. The first display unit 11a and the second display unit 11b are different display units, and the second display unit 11b is installed on the passenger seat side of the first display unit 11a in the vehicle width direction. In FIG. 2B, the first display unit 11a is set in the first area A1, and the second display unit 11b is set in the second area A2. Therefore, the first display unit 11a displays information used for vehicle driving control, and the second display unit 11b displays information not used for vehicle driving control. In addition, the first display unit 11a and the second display unit 11b can be used as one display area to control the information to be displayed, and the first area A1 or the second area A2 may be set across the first display unit 11a and the second display unit 11b.

In the first area A1 in FIG. 2B, unlike the first area A1 in FIG. 2A, information used for vehicle driving control is displayed in three hatched areas D1b, D1c, and D1d. In the display area D1b, for example, the vehicle speed is displayed, and since the vehicle is driving at 40 km/h in FIG. 2B, "40" is displayed. In the display area D1c, for example, the engine speed is displayed in rpm. In the display area D1d, for example, icons indicating the parking brake operation state, gear position, turn signal operation state, headlight illumination state, windshield wiper operation state, autonomous driving support state, etc. are displayed.

As in the case of FIG. 2A, the portion of the first area A1 in FIG. 2B that is included in the steering wheel operation area X does not include the outer edges of the display areas D1b, D1c, and D1d. Also, in the first area A1 in FIG. 2B, information is displayed in three parts, D1b, D1c, and D1d, but the form of information display in the first area A1 is not particularly limited, and each piece of information may be displayed in multiple parts, or may be displayed together as one part, as in the first area A1 in FIG. 2A. Also, there may be a portion in the second area A2 where no information is displayed.

On the other hand, in the second area A2 in FIG. 2B, unlike the second area A2 in FIG. 2A, information that is not used for vehicle driving control is displayed in four hatched areas D2d, D2e, D2f, and D2g. In addition, since driving operation is not hindered even if the driver cannot see it, the display area D2d in FIG. 2B is displayed at a position where its outer edge is included in the steering wheel operation area X as seen by the driver, similar to the display area D2a in FIG. 2A. It is not necessary that the first area A1 corresponds to the first display unit 11a and the second area A2 corresponds to the second display unit 11b. A part of the first display unit 11a may be set as the first area A1, and the part of the first display unit 11a that is not included in the first area A1 and the second display unit 11b may be set as the second area A2.

Returning to FIG. 1, the touch operation unit 12 is a device for accepting an instruction input by the user's touch or a stylus pen and operating the vehicle display device 1 according to the accepted instruction, and may be provided together with the display unit 11 as a touch panel. The input to the touch operation unit 12 is detected, for example, from the movement of the user's finger or stylus pen in contact with the touch operation unit 12. For example, when a user touches the outer edge of the information display portion with one finger and moves the touched outer edge while keeping the finger in contact with the touch operation unit 12, an input for enlarging the display portion in the direction in which the outer edge is moved is detected. Also, when a user touches the display portion with two fingers and moves the two fingers in parallel, an input for moving the display portion in parallel along the finger movement direction is detected. Furthermore, when a user touches the display portion with three fingers and moves the three fingers in parallel, an input for moving the display portion in parallel in the finger movement direction and moving the display portion off the screen is detected. Note that the movements of the user's fingers and stylus pen are not limited to these, and inputs corresponding to all other movements are preset.

The touch operation unit 12 accepts inputs that change the display in the second area A2, but does not accept inputs that change the display in the first area A1. This is because if the driver could operate the display unit 11 by touching the area that overlaps with the steering wheel operation area X, there is a risk that the driver would not be able to concentrate on operating the steering wheel. In addition, if a user other than the driver could instruct a change to the display in the first area A1, there is a risk that the display of information used for driving control would be changed against the driver's intention, making it difficult for the driver to concentrate on driving.

The input unit 13 is a device for inputting operations to the display unit 11, and is provided, for example, on the steering wheel at a position where the driver can operate it with his/her fingers while gripping the steering wheel, and the number of input units is not particularly limited. FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of an input unit provided on a steering wheel, in which the first input unit 13a shown on the left side of FIG. 3 is provided on the left side of the steering wheel when the steering wheel is not rotated (i.e., the steering angle is 0°), and the second input unit 13b shown on the right side of FIG. 3 is provided on the right side of the steering wheel. The first input unit 13a and the second input unit 13b are provided at appropriate positions within a range that does not interfere with the driver's operation of the steering wheel. The first input unit 13a and the second input unit 13b are provided with switches SW1 to SW15 for inputting instructions to change the display of the display unit 11. The driver can display a menu screen on the display unit 11 by pressing the switch SW1 of the second input unit 13b. Switch SW2 is used to operate the menu screen (inputting up, down, left, right) and to input a decision, and to return to the previous screen, switch SW3 is pressed. Switch SW4 is a switch that activates a voice input function that uses voice recognition. In this way, input from the first input unit 13a and the second input unit 13b can also be made by voice.

The display of information used for driving control such as vehicle speed control, steering control, and stability control can be switched by pressing switch SW5 of the first input unit 13a. The autonomous driving support function is activated by pressing switch SW6 of the first input unit 13a, and adjusts the vehicle speed and following distance set by switch SW7. Specifically, the set vehicle speed during constant speed driving control can be changed by pressing switch SW8, and the following distance during following driving can be changed by pressing switch SW9. The lane change support function can be activated by pressing switch SW10. Furthermore, switches SW11 and SW12 of the first input unit 13a are switches for changing the song being played when the music player is activated, and switches SW13 and SW14 of the second input unit 13b are switches for changing the volume of the music being played. The switch SW15 of the second input section 13b is a switch for activating the telephone function, and only accepts input when certain conditions based on the laws and regulations of each country are met.

In this embodiment, since only the driver can input operations to the input unit 13, operations input from the input unit 13 are determined to have been approved by the driver. For example, an operation to display an image of the surroundings of the vehicle captured by an imaging device (not shown) on the entire display unit 11 can be restricted to only be accepted when input from the input unit 13, since this limits the display of information used for vehicle driving control.

Returning to FIG. 1, the control device 14 is a device for providing necessary information to the user in the vehicle and for switching the information provided to the user in response to user operations. User operations are input from the touch operation unit 12 and the input unit 13. Using the processor 15, the control device 14 realizes the function of providing necessary information to the user and the function of switching the information displayed in accordance with operations input by the user. The processor 15 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 152 in which a program is stored, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 151 which is an operating circuit for functioning as the control device 14 by executing the program stored in the ROM 152, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 153 which functions as an accessible storage device.

The program used in the control device 14 of this embodiment includes the control unit 2, which is a functional block for realizing the function of providing information to the user and the function of switching the information to be provided to the user in the control device 14. The control unit 2 has a function of controlling the display of information displayed on the display unit 11, and a function of switching the information displayed on the display unit 11 according to an operation input from at least one of the touch operation unit 12 and the input unit 13. The control unit 2 can directly control the display of all types of information displayed on the display unit 11. However, there are many types of information whose display is controlled by the vehicle display device 1, and if all of it is controlled only by the control unit 2, the calculation processing of the control unit 2 may become excessive. For this reason, the control unit 2 usually has multiple display units as slaves, and indirectly controls the display of information on the display unit 11 via the multiple display units.

The control unit 2 of this embodiment includes a first control unit 21, a second control unit 22, a third control unit 23, a fourth control unit 24, and a fifth control unit 25, and functions as a master device to control the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25. The first control unit 21 controls the display of information on the first layer L1, the second control unit 22 controls the display of information on the second layer L2, the third control unit 23 controls the display of information on the third layer L3, the fourth control unit 24 controls the display of information on the fourth layer L4, and the fifth control unit 25 controls the display of information on the fifth layer L5. A layer is a virtual surface for displaying information such as an image, and the type of information displayed on each layer is preset according to the importance of the information in the vehicle's driving control. The control unit 2 of this embodiment also includes an overlay unit 3 that overlays various pieces of information displayed on the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 to generate display information that is information to be displayed on the display unit 11, and a switching unit 4 that switches the information displayed on the display unit 11 in response to an operation input by the user. Each part is illustrated in FIG. 1 for convenience.

[Function of the control unit]
Next, the functions of each functional block shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the display unit 11, the touch operation unit 12, the input unit 13 including the first input unit 13a and the second input unit 13b, the control unit 14, the control unit 2, the superimposition unit 3, the switching unit 4, the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25, and the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 in the vehicle display device 1. In FIG. 4, the display unit 11 is connected to the control unit 14 and is controlled by the control unit 2 included in the control unit 14. The control unit 2 acquires display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 and outputs it to the display unit 11. As a result, the display information is displayed on the display unit 11, and necessary information is provided to the user through the display. In FIG. 4, the control unit 2 and the control unit 14 are connected by a dashed line to indicate that the control unit 2 is a functional block included in the control unit 14.

The touch operation unit 12, the first input unit 13a, and the second input unit 13b are connected to the control device 14, and an operation to change the display of the display unit 11 is input to the control device 14 from at least one of them. For example, when the display unit 11 and the touch operation unit 12 are both provided as a touch panel, when a user touches a button to close the window of an application displayed on the display unit 11 with a stylus pen, an operation to close the window of the application displayed on the display unit 11 is input to the control device 14. When a user presses the switch SW1 of the second input unit 13b provided on the steering wheel to display a menu screen on the display unit 11, an operation to display the menu screen on the display unit 11 is input to the control device 14. The user's operation input to the control device 14 is acquired by the control unit 2, and the control unit 2 that has acquired the operation causes the switching unit 4 to switch the display corresponding to the acquired operation.

The control unit 2 has a function to control at least the display of the information of the first layer L1, the display of the dummy background of the second layer L2, and the display of the information of the third layer L3, and also has a function to control the display of the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 and displayed on the display unit 11. In addition to the display of the information of the first layer L1, the display of the dummy background of the second layer L2, and the display of the information of the third layer L3, the control unit 2 may also have a function to control the display of the information of the fourth layer L2 and the display of the background of the fifth layer L5. In FIG. 4, the superimposition unit 3 is connected to the control unit 2, the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25 are connected to the superimposition unit 3, and the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 are connected to the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25, respectively. In this case, the control unit 2 controls the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25 via the superimposition unit 3 to control the display of the information of each layer. Note that the manner in which the control unit 2 controls the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 4, and the control unit 2 may be directly connected to the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25 without going through the superposition unit 3.

The first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 described above are each virtual surfaces that display information such as images, but the information displayed on each layer can be superimposed like a cel drawing. This superimposition is performed using the functions of the superimposition unit 3, and the superimposed information is output to the display unit 11 as display information via the control unit 2.

The overlay unit 3 has a function of overlaying information displayed on each of the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5, and can generate display information by at least overlaying the second layer L2 on the first layer L1 and the third layer L3 on the second layer L2. When generating display information, the overlay unit 3 can also overlay the fourth layer L4 on the third layer L3, and can insert the fifth layer L5 between the second layer L2 and the third layer L3, overlay the fifth layer L5 on the second layer L2, and overlay the third layer L3 on the fifth layer L5.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 of this embodiment are arranged in the order of the first layer L1 as the bottom layer, the second layer L2, the fifth layer L5, and the third layer L3, and the fourth layer L4 is the top layer. When the information of each layer is superimposed by the function of the superimposition unit 3, the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 is displayed in its entirety on the display unit 11. On the other hand, the information displayed on the third layer L3 is not displayed in the part where information is displayed on the fourth layer L4, but is displayed only in the part where information is not displayed on the fourth layer L4. In other words, among the information displayed on the third layer L3, the information displayed in the part where information is displayed on the fourth layer L4 is hidden by the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 and is not displayed on the display unit 11. Similarly, for the fifth layer L5, the third layer L3, and the first layer L1, in the part where information is displayed on the upper layer, the information displayed on the upper layer is displayed preferentially, and the part of the information displayed on the lower layer that is hidden by the information displayed on the upper layer is not displayed on the display unit 11.

5A and 5B are used as an example to explain the superimposition of layers by the superimposition unit 3. In this example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the left side of the fourth layer L4 displays an image of a button to be touched when inputting an operation to the touch operation unit 12, and a clock is displayed in the upper right, and the third layer L3 displays an image that serves as an icon for inputting an operation to the touch operation unit 12 when changing the display of the display unit 11, and an image in the shape of a compass that indicates the direction of the map information. In addition, nothing is displayed on the fifth layer L5 and the second layer L2, and the first layer L1 displays the map information. In this case, when the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 are superimposed by the function of the superimposition unit 3, the display information shown in FIG. 5B is generated and displayed on the display unit 11. In the display information shown in FIG. 5B, an image displayed on the third layer L3, which is a higher layer, and an image and a clock displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on top of the map information displayed on the first layer L1. That is, in the area where the icons on the third layer L3 and the images and clock on the fourth layer L4 are displayed, the map information is hidden and is not displayed on the display unit 11. Note that although there are five layers shown in FIG. 4, the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5, a layer for displaying information input from an external device not shown in FIG. 1 may be further provided.

<Layer display content>
Next, the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25 and the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 shown in FIG. 4 will be described. The first control unit 21 has a function of controlling the display of information displayed on the first layer L1. The information displayed on the first layer L1 is, for example, information whose content changes depending on the traveling position of the vehicle. Such information includes map information of a navigation device. The map information includes road information, facility information, and their attribute information, and the road information and road attribute information include information such as the width of the road, the curvature radius of the road, structures on the road shoulder, road traffic regulations (speed limit, whether lane change is possible), junctions and branching points of the road, and positions where the number of lanes increases and decreases. The map information may also be high-definition map information including two-dimensional position information and/or three-dimensional position information at each map coordinate, road/lane boundary information at each map coordinate, road attribute information, lane uphill/downhill information, lane identification information, and destination lane information.

The road/lane boundary information in the high-resolution map information is information that indicates the boundaries between the road on which the vehicle is traveling and other roads. The road on which the vehicle is traveling is the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the form of the road is not particularly limited. Boundaries exist on both the left and right sides of the direction of travel of the vehicle, and the form is not particularly limited. Boundaries include road markings and road structures, and road markings include lane boundaries and centerlines, and road structures include medians, guardrails, curbs, tunnels, and highway sidewalls.

The navigation device has a function to calculate the current position of the vehicle from radio waves received from satellites for the Global Positioning System (GPS) and signals received from beacons installed on the road. The first control unit 21 acquires the current position information of the vehicle calculated by this function of the navigation device, and displays map information around the current position of the vehicle based on the acquired current position information. In other words, the first control unit 21 continues to change the content of the map information to be displayed according to the changing traveling position of the vehicle. Generally, the amount of map information used in the navigation device of the vehicle is large, and a large computational load is placed on the first control unit 21 in order to continue changing the display of such a large amount of information in accordance with the traveling position of the vehicle.

Information whose content changes depending on the vehicle's traveling position includes image information of the vehicle's surroundings. Image information of the vehicle's surroundings is image data of the vehicle's surroundings acquired by an imaging device mounted on the vehicle, such as image data including objects around the vehicle acquired by a camera attached to the top of the vehicle's windshield or the top of the rear window. The image data may be a still image or a video. Objects include obstacles that may affect the traveling of the vehicle, such as automobiles (other vehicles) other than the vehicle, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians, as well as lane boundaries, center lines, road markings, medians, guardrails, curbs, side walls of highways, road signs, traffic lights, crosswalks, construction sites, accident sites, etc.

Furthermore, the image data of the surroundings of the vehicle includes image data acquired using a night vision device such as an infrared camera. Based on the image data acquired from the night vision device, the first control unit 21 can generate image information that highlights obstacles that are difficult to see with the naked eye when driving at night, and display the image information on the first layer L1 as so-called night vision. Furthermore, various information can be added to the image data of the surroundings of the vehicle using augmented reality (AR) technology. For example, the type and proximity of an obstacle detected from the image data can be added. Specifically, the proximity of each detected obstacle to the vehicle is calculated, and only obstacles that are close to the vehicle, that is, obstacles approaching the vehicle, are displayed surrounded in red.

Such image data of the surroundings of the vehicle is displayed on the display unit 11 when the vehicle is parking in a parking space, turning right or left at an intersection with poor visibility, or exiting a garage onto a road. In this case, to assist the driver in driving, the image information displayed on the display unit 11 needs to be updated in real time so that the vehicle can avoid obstacles, and real-time image processing requires a large amount of calculations from the first control unit 21.

The information displayed on the first layer L1 may be information that changes according to the vehicle's driving state. Examples of information that changes according to the vehicle's driving state include the vehicle's driving speed and acceleration, engine RPM, and angular velocity of the vehicle. In particular, a speed limit is set for the vehicle's driving speed for each road on which the vehicle is traveling, and in order to ensure that the vehicle's driving speed does not exceed the speed limit, the first control unit 21 needs to obtain detection results from a detection device such as a vehicle speed sensor at a high frequency and display the driving speed in real time. In addition, in order to keep the engine RPM within a range that maximizes engine efficiency, it is preferable that the first control unit 21 also obtains detection results for the engine RPM from a detection device at a high frequency and displays them in real time.

When controlling the display of information displayed on the first layer L1, the first control unit 21 can change the display portion of the information displayed on the first layer L1. For example, the display portion of the information displayed on the first layer L1 can be enlarged or reduced, and the transmittance of the display portion can be changed. The first control unit 21 can also change at least one of the hue, brightness, and saturation of the information displayed on the first layer L1 according to the environment around the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle is traveling in a dark place or at night, the brightness of the displayed map information can be reduced. The first control unit 21 can also change the background color of the map information to a low-brightness color such as black or dark blue, and conversely, can change the background color of the map information to a high-brightness color such as white.

For example, as shown in Figs. 6A to 6C, the first control unit 21 can change the content of the information displayed on the first layer L1 and the size of the display portion of the information. In Fig. 6A, only map information is displayed on the first layer L1, and in Fig. 6B, map information is displayed on the left side, and an image of the area ahead of the vehicle is displayed on the right side. Also, in Fig. 6C, an image of the surroundings when the vehicle is viewed from above is displayed on the left side, and an image of the area ahead of the vehicle is displayed on the right side. The first control unit 21 can switch the display of the first layer L1 to any one of the display forms shown in Figs. 6A, 6B, and 6C in accordance with an operation input from at least one of the touch operation unit 12 and the input unit 13.

The control unit 2 of this embodiment can change the map information displayed during the day and the map information displayed at night via the first control unit 21. Daytime refers to the time from sunrise to sunset, for example, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. In contrast, nighttime refers to the time from sunset to sunrise the next morning, for example, 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. These times change depending on the season and the position (latitude) of the vehicle. An example of map information displayed during the day is shown in FIG. 7A, and an example of map information displayed at night is shown in FIG. 7B. In the map information shown in FIG. 7A, the background color is a high-brightness color (white, light gray, etc.), and the shape of the road and information on facilities such as police stations and factories are written in low-brightness colors (black, navy blue, etc.). In contrast, in the map information shown in FIG. 7B, the background color is a low-brightness color (black, navy blue, dark gray, etc.), and the shape of the road and information on facilities such as police stations and factories are written in high-brightness colors (white, yellow, light gray, etc.). If map information with a bright background color as shown in FIG. 7A is displayed at night when it is dark around the user after sunset, the contrast between the map information and the user's surroundings will cause flickering on the screen and reduce the visibility of the displayed information. By changing the map information displayed at night to one with a darker background color than during the day, as shown in FIG. 7B, the occurrence of screen flickering can be suppressed and the visibility of the displayed information can be improved.

Returning to FIG. 4, the second control unit 22 has a function of controlling the display of information displayed on the second layer L2. A dummy background is displayed on the second layer L2. The dummy background is a background used to switch, in the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3, between a state in which the user cannot see the information displayed on the first layer L1 (hereinafter also referred to as the "first state") and a state in which the user can see the information displayed on the first layer L1 (hereinafter also referred to as the "second state") in response to a user's operation. When switching between the first state and the second state, the transmittance of the dummy background is changed. The relationship between the transmittance of the dummy background and switching between the first state and the second state will be described using FIGS. 8A and 8B.

Figure 8A shows a case where an opaque dummy background is displayed on the second layer L2 in Figure 5A. Opaque means, for example, a transmittance in the range of 0 to 5%. In this case, when the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 are superimposed by the function of the superimposing unit 3, the display information shown in Figure 8B is generated and displayed on the display unit 11. In the display information shown in Figure 8B, the map information displayed on the first layer L1 is hidden by the dummy background displayed on the second layer L2 and is not displayed on the display unit 11. In other words, the state shown in Figure 8B is the first state. And when a transparent dummy background is displayed on the second layer L2, that is, as shown in Figure 5A, the map information is displayed on the display unit 11. This state is the second state. Here, transparent means, for example, a transmittance in the range of 95 to 100%. In this way, by changing the transmittance of the dummy background displayed on the second layer L2, it is possible to control whether or not the information displayed on the first layer L1 is displayed on the display unit 11 without performing a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed on the first layer L1. In other words, the display of the first layer L1 can be partially controlled using the second control unit 22, without using the first control unit 21, which has a large computational processing load.

The color of the dummy background is preferably a low-brightness color, such as black or dark blue, in order to suppress the occurrence of screen flickering. The rate at which the second control unit 22 changes the transmittance of the dummy background can be set to a predetermined value within a range that can suppress the occurrence of screen flickering, and is set to a value that changes the transmittance to the state after switching by the time the performance processing performed in at least one of the third layer L3 and the fifth layer L5 is completed, for example.

Returning to FIG. 4, the third control unit 23 has a function of controlling the display of information displayed on the third layer L3. On the third layer, information other than the information displayed on the first layer L1 is displayed. The information displayed on the third layer is not particularly limited, but for example, information as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B is displayed. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing information mainly displayed on the third layer L3 in the first state. In the first state, map information or image information of the surroundings of the vehicle is not displayed on the display unit 11, so the information displayed on the third layer L3 is information that is not used for driving control of the vehicle. For example, the information Y1 displayed on the left side of the third layer L3 indicates an application that plays music, and the information Y2 displayed to the right of the information Y1 indicates an application that displays the power consumption of the vehicle. In addition, the information Y3 and Y4 displayed on the right side of the third layer L3 are buttons for starting an application that controls the drive recorder, a button for connecting to user support, and a button for starting artificial intelligence (AI) that supports the user by voice input. In addition to the information shown in FIG. 9A, the third layer L3 also displays information for controlling video playback, web browser information, and information showing the vehicle's current position and the weather around the destination.

On the other hand, FIG. 9B is a diagram showing information displayed mainly on the third layer L3 in the second state. In the second state, map information or image information of the surroundings of the vehicle is displayed on the display unit 11, so the information displayed on the third layer L3 is information used for driving control of the vehicle. Information Y5 displayed at the bottom of the third layer L3 in FIG. 9A is an image that serves as an icon for inputting an operation to the touch operation unit 12. The icons are, from the left, an icon for returning the screen, an icon for setting the display of map information to the surroundings of the current position of the vehicle, an icon for searching for charging facilities for electric vehicles, an icon for displaying a destination that has been set in advance, an icon for starting a hands-free telephone function, an icon for starting a music playback function, and an icon for opening a menu screen for changing the display settings of the display unit 11. Information Y6 displayed on the left side of the third layer L3 is an image representing a compass needle, and indicates the direction in the displayed map information. Information Y7 displayed in the center of the third layer L3 is an image for changing the scale of the displayed map information, and when the upper icon is touched, the scale of the displayed map becomes larger and a wide-area map is displayed. In contrast, when the lower icon is touched, the scale of the displayed map becomes smaller, and a more detailed map is displayed. Information Y8 displayed on the right side of the third layer L3 is information for driving along the route set by the navigation device. For example, the distance to the next intersection, information on turning right or left at the next intersection, etc. are notified to the user using letters, symbols, icons, etc.

When controlling the display of the information displayed on the third layer L3, the third control unit 23 can change the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3. For example, the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3 can be enlarged or reduced, and the transmittance of the display portion can be changed. In this case, the size and transmittance of the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3 can be appropriately set within a range in which the visibility of the display portion of the information is ensured. Furthermore, the third control unit 23 can change at least one of the hue, brightness, and saturation of the information displayed on the third layer L3 according to the environment around the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle is traveling in a dark place or at night, the brightness of the displayed information can be reduced. As another example, the third control unit 23 can change the background color of the information displayed on the third layer L3 to a low-brightness color such as black or dark blue, and conversely, the background color of the map information can be changed to a high-brightness color such as white.

Returning to FIG. 4, the fourth control unit 24 has a function of controlling the display of information displayed on the fourth layer L4. As with the third layer L3, the fourth layer L4 displays information other than the information displayed on the first layer L1. Here, the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 may be the same as the information displayed on the third layer L3, or may be different. However, unlike the third layer L3, when the switching unit 4 switches between the first state and the second state, no performance processing is performed on the display portion of the information displayed on the fourth layer L4. Therefore, information that is displayed in both the first state and the second state is displayed on the fourth layer L4. In addition, the fourth control unit 24 can control the display of the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 in the same way as the third control unit 23 controls the display of the information displayed on the third layer L3. Note that the fourth control unit 24 and the fourth layer L4 are not essential components and can be provided as necessary.

The fifth control unit 25 has a function of controlling the display of information displayed on the fifth layer L5. The fifth layer L5 displays a background in which some parts are brighter than other parts. By creating a difference in brightness within one background image, it is possible to realize an effect in which a spotlight is shone on a part of the display information displayed on the display unit 11. The fifth control unit 25 can appropriately set the brightness of the background depending on which part of the display information is to realize the effect of being shone on by a spotlight. For example, as in the image shown in FIG. 10A, if the brightness is set to be highest at the center of the lower part and to decrease radially from there, the display information can have an effect of being shone on by a spotlight on the center of the lower part. Also, if it is desired to achieve an effect of being shone on the upper right corner of the display information, a gradation is applied in which the brightness is highest at the upper right corner and the brightness decreases radially from there, as in the image shown in FIG. 10B.

The color of the background displayed on the fifth layer L5 is preferably a low-brightness color, such as black or dark blue, to achieve a spotlight-like effect. In addition, when controlling the display of information displayed on the fifth layer L5, the fifth control unit 25 can change the transmittance of the background displayed on the fifth layer L5. Specifically, in the first state, the transmittance of the background displayed on the fifth layer L5 is set to, for example, 0% so that the information displayed on the first layer L1 is not displayed on the display unit 11. In contrast, in the second state, the transmittance of the background displayed on the fifth layer L5 is set to, for example, 100% so that the information displayed on the first layer L1 is displayed on the display unit 11. Note that the fifth control unit 25 and the fifth layer L5 are not essential components and can be provided as necessary.

So far, the first control unit 21 to the fifth control unit 25 and the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5 have been described, but as shown in Figure 4, it is not necessary to provide a control unit for each of the first layer L1 to the fifth layer L5, and one control unit may control the display of multiple layers. For example, without providing the fourth control unit 24 and the fifth control unit 25, the first control unit 21 may control the display of information on the first layer L1, the second control unit 22 may control the display of information on the second layer L2 and the fifth layer L5, and the third control unit 23 may control the display of information on the third layer L3 and the fourth layer L4. Alternatively, instead of providing the third control unit 23, the fourth control unit 24, and the fifth control unit 25, the first control unit 21 may control the display of information on the first layer L1 and the second control unit 22 may control the display of information on the second layer L2 to the fifth layer L5, or the first control unit 21 may control the display of information on the first layer L1 and the second layer L2 and the second control unit 22 may control the display of information on the third layer L3 to the fifth layer L5. In this way, by having one control unit control the display of multiple layers, the computational load of each control unit can be optimized and an increase in the number of control units can be suppressed.

<Switching states>
Next, the switching between the first state and the second state by the switching unit 4 will be described. The switching unit 4 has a function of switching between the first state (a state in which the dummy background is opaque and the user cannot see the information displayed on the first layer L1 in the display information) and the second state (a state in which the dummy background is transparent and the user can see the information displayed on the first layer L1 in the display information) in response to a user's operation. The information displayed on the first layer L1 in this embodiment includes map information in particular. As shown in FIG. 4, the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 are connected to the switching unit 4. The switching unit 4 controls the display of the information on the first layer L1 to the third layer L3 and the fifth layer L5 via the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 while performing the display switching process, and performs the display switching process.

The fourth control unit 24 is not connected to the switching unit 4. This is because, as described above, the information displayed on the fourth layer controlled by the fourth control unit 24 is not changed in the display switching process executed by the switching unit 4.

When the switching unit 4 acquires from the control unit 2 an operation input from at least one of the touch operation unit 12, the first input unit 13a, and the second input unit 13b, the switching unit 4 executes a display switching process. In the display switching process, the switching unit 4 executes a performance process on the display portion of the displayed information. For example, the switching unit 4 executes a performance process including at least one of movement, reduction, enlargement, and change in transparency on the display portion of the displayed information. Specific performance processes are described below.

The switching unit 4 changes the transparency of the dummy background displayed on the second layer L2 to that of the state after switching between the first state and the second state. That is, when switching from the first state to the second state, the transparency of the dummy background is changed, for example, from 0% to 100%, and when switching from the second state to the first state, the transparency of the dummy background is changed, for example, from 100% to 0%. The rate at which the transparency is changed can be set to an appropriate value within a range in which the occurrence of screen flicker can be suppressed. In addition, the transparency may be changed so as to be synchronized with the execution of a performance process by the switching unit 4 on the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3, as described below.

In addition, during switching between the first state and the second state, the switching unit 4 executes a performance process on at least one of the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3 in the first state and the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3 in the second state. The performance process refers to changing the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3, and specifically, is a performance process that includes at least one of movement, reduction, enlargement, and change in transparency for the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3. In this way, by executing a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3, it is possible to execute a performance that increases user satisfaction while suppressing the occurrence of flickering on the screen and change the display of the information, without executing a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed on the first layer L1. In addition, an increase in the computational load of the first control unit 21 can be suppressed.

An example of the performance process executed by the function of the switching unit 4 is shown in Figs. 11A to 11C. Figs. 11A to 11C show how the display portion of the information Y1 changes when a performance process for changing the transparency of the display portion of the information Y1 displayed on the third layer L3 is executed. In Fig. 11A, it is assumed that the information Y1 is displayed on the third layer L3 in the first state. When the performance process is executed by the switching unit 4 in the state of Fig. 11A, the transparency of the display portion of the information Y1 gradually increases from a state in which the transparency is 0 to 5% (Fig. 11A), passes through a state in which the transparency is 30 to 60% (Fig. 11B), and finally becomes a state in which the transparency is 100% as shown in Fig. 11C. This provides a performance effect in which the display portion of the information Y1 fades out from the third layer L3. Conversely, to obtain a performance effect in which the display portion of the information Y1 fades in to the third layer L3, information Y1a with a high transparency as shown in Fig. 11B is displayed at the position where the information Y1 is displayed, and then the transparency is reduced. The transparency of the display portion of the information Y1a is, for example, about 30 to 60%. Then, when the effect processing by the switching unit 4 is completed, the information Y1 is displayed on the third layer L3, as shown in FIG. 11A. The rate at which the transparency is changed can be set appropriately within a range in which the user can recognize the effect of fading in and out on the display portion of the information.

Figures 12A to 12C are diagrams showing another example of the performance process executed by the function of the switching unit 4. Figures 12A to 12C show how the display portion of the information Y5 displayed on the third layer L3 changes when a performance process is executed in which the display portion is moved from the lower right of the third layer L3 while decreasing the transparency of the display portion. In Figure 12A, it is assumed that the state is in the middle of switching from the first state to the second state, and nothing is displayed on the third layer L3. In this case, when the performance process is executed by the switching unit 4, the display portion of the information Y5 is translated from the lower right position of the third layer L3 in the direction of the arrow Z shown in Figure 12B to a place where no information is displayed on the third layer L3. During the translation, the transparency of the display portion of the information Y5 gradually decreases. The transparency of the information Y5a in Figure 12B is, for example, 30 to 60%. Then, the display portion of the information Y5 is stopped at the position of Figure 12C, and its transparency is set to, for example, 0 to 5%. This creates the effect of making the display portion of information Y5 appear from the bottom right position of the third layer L3.

On the other hand, to obtain a performance effect in which the display portion of the information Y5 disappears toward the lower right of the third layer L3, the above-mentioned performance processing is executed in the reverse order. In this case, for example, starting from the state of FIG. 12C, a performance processing is executed in which the transparency of the display portion of the information Y5 displayed at the bottom of the third layer L3 is increased. Then, as the transparency increases, the display portion of the information Y5 moves in a parallel movement toward the lower right. FIG. 12B shows the information Y5a while the performance processing is being executed. The transparency of the information Y5a shown in FIG. 12B is increased compared to the display portion of the information Y5 shown in FIG. 12C, and it moves in a parallel movement in the opposite direction to the direction of the arrow Z from the position where the information Y5 in FIG. 12C was displayed. When the performance processing by the switching unit 4 is completed, the display portion of the information Y5 is no longer displayed on the third layer L3, as shown in FIG. 12A.

In the effect processing shown in Figs. 12A to 12C, the display portion of the information Y5 is translated, but the movement is not limited to translation and may be rotation or a combination of rotation and translation. The display portion of the information Y5 may be enlarged or reduced while being moved. In the effect processing shown in Figs. 12A to 12C, when obtaining an effect in which the display portion of the information Y5 appears from the lower right position of the third layer L3, the effect is emphasized by first displaying a reduced version of the information Y5 and gradually increasing the size of the display portion of the information Y5 as it moves to the position shown in Fig. 12C. In contrast, when obtaining an effect in which the display portion of the information Y5 disappears toward the lower right of the third layer L3, the effect is emphasized by reducing the display portion of the information Y5 while moving in the parallel direction shown in Fig. 12B.

The switching unit 4 also executes a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3 in the state before the switching, and executes a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer in the state after the user cannot see the display portion of the information to be displayed in the state after the switching. For example, when switching from the first state to the second state, the performance process shown in Figs. 11A to 11C is executed, and after the display portion of the information Y1 fades out from the display unit 11, the performance process shown in Figs. 12A to 12C is executed to display the information Y5 on the third layer L3. Conversely, when switching from the second state to the first state, the performance process shown in Figs. 12A to 12C is executed to fade out the display portion of the information Y5 from the third layer L3, and then the performance process shown in Figs. 11A to 11C is executed to fade in the display portion of the information Y1 on the third layer L3.

When switching from a first state in which the user cannot see map information displayed on the first layer L1 to a second state in which the user can see the map information, the switching unit 4 of this embodiment displays a part of the information displayed in the second state before the other parts of the information displayed in the second state. The information displayed in the second state is not particularly limited, and may be any of the information displayed on the first layer L1 to the third layer L3 and the fifth layer L5. The information displayed in the second state will be described below with reference to Figures 13A to 13C.

Figure 13A is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on each layer in the second state. In the second state, as shown in Figure 13A, for example, on the left side of the fourth layer L4, images of buttons to be touched when inputting operations to the touch operation unit 12 are displayed, and on the top right, a clock is displayed. On the third layer L3, images that serve as icons for inputting operations to the touch operation unit 12 when changing the display on the display unit 11, an image in the shape of a compass showing the direction of map information, an image that serves as an icon showing the vehicle's traveling position, an image showing charging equipment for electric vehicles, and the like are displayed. Also, nothing is displayed on the fifth layer L5 and the second layer L2, and map information is displayed on the first layer L1.

The information displayed on the third layer L3 in FIG. 13A will be further described with reference to FIG. 13B. On the third layer L3 shown in FIG. 13B, information Y5 is displayed at the bottom center, which is an icon for inputting operations to the touch operation unit 12. The functions corresponding to each icon are similar to the information Y5 shown in FIG. 9B, so their explanation will be omitted. On the left side of the third layer L3, information Y6 is displayed, which is an image representing a magnetic compass and indicates the direction in the displayed map information. On the right side of the third layer L3, information Y7 is displayed, which is an image for changing the scale of the displayed map information. Touching the icon above the information Y7 increases the scale of the displayed map, and touching the icon below decreases the scale of the displayed map.

At the top left of the third layer L3, information Y8a is displayed, which is information on the traveling direction of the vehicle to travel along the route set by the navigation device. While the information Y8 on the right or left turn up to the next intersection is displayed on the third layer L3 shown in FIG. 9B, the information Y8a shown in FIG. 13B displays detailed lane information at the next intersection. On the left side of the information Y8a, a right-facing arrow is displayed, which indicates that the vehicle needs to turn right at the next intersection to travel along the route set by the navigation device. The right side of the information Y8a is divided into two parts, and the upper part displays the distance to the next intersection and the position information of the next intersection in text. Four arrow icons are displayed at the bottom right of the information Y8a. This indicates the lane information of the next intersection. In the case of the information Y8a shown in FIG. 13B, it indicates that there are four lanes at the next intersection, the left lane is a lane for left turns only, the second lane from the left can be driven straight, and the two lanes on the right are lanes for right turns only. As shown by the icon on the left side of information Y8a, in order to travel along the set route, it is necessary to turn right at the next intersection, so in FIG. 13B, the two icons on the right side indicating the right-turn-only lane are highlighted with thick lines to encourage the driver to enter the right-turn-only lane.

At the bottom center of the third layer L3, information Y9 is displayed as an icon for indicating the vehicle's running position in the map information. The information Y9 shown in FIG. 13B indicates the running position and running direction of the vehicle by an image shaped like an arrowhead. The center part of the image shown in the information Y9 indicates the current position of the vehicle, and the direction in which the tip of the arrowhead points indicates the running direction of the vehicle. In the case of FIG. 13B, the vehicle is running at the center position of the displayed information Y9, and the running direction is a northwest direction (the direction toward the upper left in FIG. 13B). The information Y9 may be moved and rotated according to the running position and running direction of the vehicle. Alternatively, the map information may be moved and rotated according to the running position and running direction of the vehicle without moving or rotating the information Y9. In addition, although an image shaped like an arrowhead is used in FIG. 13B, the image serving as the icon is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a circular or rectangular image, and for example, a square or triangular image may be used as the icon.

To the left of information Y9, information Y10 is displayed, which indicates the driving route set by the navigation device. The driving route shown in FIG. 13B is the route traveled from the current position indicated by information Y9 to the position of the power supply facility indicated by information Y11b. In FIG. 13B, the driving route is indicated by an arrow, but the display form of the driving route is not limited to this. For example, the portion of the road in the map information that corresponds to the driving route may be displayed with a highly saturated color (red, orange, green, etc.). In this case, a highly saturated colored line that corresponds to the shape of the road is displayed on the third layer L3.

In addition, FIG. 13B displays information Y11a to Y11c, which are icons indicating charging equipment used mainly by electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs). Such location information of charging equipment may be stored in advance in ROM 152 of processor 15, or may be acquired from an external server by connecting control device 14 to the server using a function of control unit 2. In addition, while FIG. 13B shows three charging equipment with the same icon, the icon may be changed depending on the specifications of the charging equipment. For example, an icon different from the icon shown in FIG. 13B may be used for charging equipment capable of rapid charging, charging equipment capable of charging multiple vehicles at the same time, etc.

When the layers on which the information shown in FIG. 13A is displayed are superimposed by the function of the superimposing unit 3, the display information shown in FIG. 13C is generated and displayed on the display unit 11. When switching between the first state and the second state, the switching unit 4 of this embodiment displays at least one of the display information shown in FIG. 13C, which includes information Y6 indicating the direction in the map information, information Y8a which is information on the direction of travel for the vehicle to travel along the set route, information Y9 indicating the vehicle's travel position, information Y10 indicating the set travel route, and information Y11a to Y11c indicating the charging equipment, before other parts. In this way, by displaying the information used for travel control before other information, large changes in the difference in brightness and saturation on the display unit 11 are suppressed. As a result, the occurrence of flickering on the screen is suppressed, and the visibility of the information display portion is improved.

When switching from the first state to the second state, the switching unit 4 displays a portion of the map information displayed on the first layer L1 before other portions of the map information. For example, in FIG. 13C, at least one of the following is displayed before other portions of the map information: map information around information Y6 indicating the direction, map information around information Y8a indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle, map information around information Y9 indicating the traveling position of the vehicle, map information around information Y10 indicating the set traveling route, and map information around information Y11a to Y11c indicating the charging facilities. This allows information used in particular for driving control to be displayed first, and the information used for driving control can be presented to the user accurately.

The time to display the above-mentioned information and the surrounding map information can be set appropriately within a range that suppresses flickering on the screen and suppresses deterioration of visibility of the displayed portion of the information. For example, in the display information, at least one of the information Y6, Y8a, Y9, Y10, and Y11a to Y11c is displayed 0.5 to 5 seconds before the other information. As another example, the surrounding map information of at least one of the information Y6, Y8a, Y9, Y10, and Y11a to Y11c is displayed 0.5 to 5.0 seconds before the other portions of the map information. In addition, when performing a performance process at the time of switching, the time required to perform the performance process at night may be set longer than the time required to perform the performance process during the day. This is because the surroundings of the user are dark at night, and changes in brightness and saturation have a large effect on the visibility of the displayed portion of the information.

Figures 14A to 14C are diagrams showing an example of a rendering process executed by the function of the switching unit 4 on the display portion of the information displayed in the second state when switching from the first state to the second state. Figures 14A to 14C show display information generated by the superimposing unit 3. In the example shown in Figures 14A to 14C, during switching from the first state to the second state, all information displayed on the third layer L3 in the first state is no longer displayed, nothing is displayed on the fifth layer L5, and the dummy background of the second layer L2 starts from an opaque state. From this state, as shown in Figures 14A to 14C, the transparency of the dummy background of the second layer L2 is reduced, and rendering processes are executed on the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3 in the second state and the map information displayed on the first layer L1. For the sake of explanation, the color of the dummy background of the second layer L2 is white.

First, as shown in FIG. 14A, the switching unit 4 fades in information indicating the direction, information indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle, information indicating the traveling position of the vehicle, information indicating the set traveling route, and information indicating the charging facility onto the third layer L3. In other words, it executes a performance process that gradually reduces the transparency of the displayed portions of this information. The time required to execute this performance process is, for example, 0.5 to 5 seconds. Here, the performance process is not executed for information such as a clock displayed on the fourth layer L4.

Next, after the fade-in effect processing is completed for part of the information displayed on the third layer L3, all of the information such as icons displayed on the third layer L3 is displayed as shown in FIG. 14B. At this time, it is not necessary to execute the fade-in effect processing for the display part of the information other than the information shown in FIG. 14A. In addition, the information displayed on the third layer L3 is displayed, and the transparency of the dummy background on the second layer L2 is increased. Then, of the map information displayed on the first layer L1, only the map information around the vehicle near the center of FIG. 14B is displayed. The fade-in effect processing that takes 0.5 to 5 seconds may also be executed when displaying the map information shown in FIG. 14B. This makes it possible to generate display information that displays only the information displayed on the third layer L3 and the map information around the vehicle as shown in FIG. 14B.

After the rendering process for the map information shown in FIG. 14B is completed, the transparency of the dummy background of the second layer L2 is set to 95-100% (transparent state). This causes the remaining map information to be displayed on the display unit 11. Finally, the display information shown in FIG. 14C is displayed on the display unit 11, completing the switching from the first state to the second state by the switching unit 4. Note that in displaying the map information shown in FIG. 14C, it is not necessary to perform rendering processes such as fade-in, and the entire map information may be quickly displayed by making the dummy background of the second layer L2 transparent.

So far, each functional block included in the control device 14 has been described, but it is not necessary for a single control device 14 to have all of the functional blocks, and some of the above-mentioned functional blocks may be provided in other equipment included in the vehicle display device 1, or in another information processing device not shown. In addition, it is not necessary for all of the processing of each functional block to be executed in a single device, and the function of each functional block may be realized across multiple devices connected in a state in which data can be exchanged. For example, in the vehicle display device 1 of FIG. 1, some of the processing executed in the superimposition unit 3 may be executed in the display unit 11, and the remaining processing may be executed in the superimposition unit 3. In this case, some of the processing for realizing the function of the superimposition unit 3 is performed using the CPU, ROM, and RAM of the display unit 11.

[Processing in Vehicle Display Device]
The procedure for processing information by the control device 14 will be described with reference to Figures 15A to 15E. Figures 15A to 15E are examples of flowcharts showing information processing in the vehicle display device 1 of this embodiment. The processing described below is executed by the processor 15 of the control device 14 when switching the display from the first state to the second state.

In the following description, in the first state before the routines shown in Figs. 15A to 15E are executed, the information shown in Fig. 16A is displayed on each layer. That is, in the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. The third layer L3 displays the information displayed in the first state, and the fifth layer L5 displays a background in which the brightness of some parts is set higher than the brightness of the other parts. The second layer L2 displays a transparent dummy background (i.e., nothing is displayed), and the first layer L1 displays map information. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposing unit 3 is the information shown in Fig. 16B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information displayed on the third layer L3 and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on top of the background displayed on the fifth layer L5. The map information displayed on the first layer L1 is in the shadow of the background displayed on the fifth layer L5 and cannot be seen by the user.

First, in step S1 of FIG. 15A, the control unit 2 functions to acquire a user operation input from at least one of the touch operation unit 12 and the input unit 13, and in the subsequent step S2, it is determined whether the acquired operation is an operation to switch the first state to the second state. If the acquired operation is not an operation to switch the first state to the second state, execution of the routine is stopped and processing by the control device 14 ends. On the other hand, if the acquired operation is an operation to switch the first state to the second state, the process proceeds to step S3, where the control unit 2 functions as a master device to instruct the switching unit 4 to start switching from the first state to the second state.

In step S4, the switching unit 4 receives an instruction to start switching from the first state to the second state. In the following step S5, the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, issues an instruction to the second control unit 22 to make the dummy background of the second layer L2 opaque. In step S6, the second control unit 22, using its function of controlling the display of information on the second layer L2, changes the transmittance of the dummy background of the second layer L2, for example, from 100% (transparent state) to 0% (opaque state).

In step S6, information such as that shown in FIG. 17A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, information to be displayed in the first state is displayed, and on the fifth layer L5, a background in which the brightness of some parts is set higher than the brightness of the other parts is displayed. On the second layer L2, an opaque dummy background is displayed. Also, on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 17B. That is, the display information displayed on the display unit 11 is the same as that shown in FIG. 16B.

Returning to FIG. 15A, in step S7, the second control unit 22, using its function of controlling the display of information on the second layer L2, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the opacification of the dummy background has been completed. In step S8, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the second control unit 22 and confirms that the dummy background has become opaque. In the following step S9, the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, requests the control unit 2 to instruct it to continue the display switching process. Note that step S8 is not a required step and can be provided as necessary.

Proceeding to FIG. 15B, the control unit 2, which has been requested by the switching unit 4 to instruct to continue the display switching process, checks whether each control unit can control the display of information in the layers by the function of the control unit 2 as a master device. Specifically, in step S10a, the control unit 2 checks whether the first control unit 21 can control the display of information on the first layer L1. In the following step S10b, the control unit 2 checks whether the second control unit 22 can control the display of information on the second layer L2. In the following step S10c, the control unit 2 checks whether the third control unit 23 can control the display of information on the third layer L3. In the following step S10d, the control unit 2 checks whether the fifth control unit 25 can control the display of information on the fifth layer L5. Steps S10a to S10d may be executed sequentially as shown in FIG. 15B, or may be executed at the same timing (for example, simultaneously).

Each control unit that has confirmed the control state of the information display outputs the control state of the layer information display to the control unit 2 by the function of controlling the control of the display of the information of the layer. Specifically, in step S11a, the first control unit 21 outputs the control state of the information display of the first layer L1. In the following step S11b, the second control unit 22 outputs the control state of the information display of the second layer L2. In the following step S11c, the third control unit 23 outputs the control state of the information display of the third layer L3. In the following step S11d, the fifth control unit 25 outputs the control state of the information display of the fifth layer L5. Note that the order in which steps S11a to S11d are executed is not limited to that shown in FIG. 15B, and the order in which each step is processed may be changed, or multiple steps may be executed at the same timing (for example, simultaneously). In the following step S12, the control unit 2 acquires the outputs of the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 by the function as a master device.

Proceeding to FIG. 15C, in step S13, the control unit 2, by functioning as a master device, checks whether all of the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 are in a state in which they can appropriately control the display of the layer information, based on the acquired output. If any of the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 is in a state in which it cannot appropriately control the display of the layer information, the process returns to steps S10a to S10d, and the control state is checked again. Alternatively, the execution of the routine may be stopped, and the processing by the control device 14 may be terminated. On the other hand, if all of the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 are in a state in which they can appropriately control the display of the layer information, the process proceeds to step S14, and the control unit 2 instructs the switching unit 4 to continue the display switching process.

In step S15, the switching unit 4 receives an instruction from the control unit 2 to continue switching from the first state to the second state. In the following step S21, the switching unit 4 instructs the fifth control unit 25 to make the background transparent using the function of switching between the first state and the second state. Having received the instruction to make the background transparent, the fifth control unit 25 increases the transparency of the background in step S22 using the function of controlling the display of information on the fifth layer L5.

In step S22, information such as that shown in FIG. 18A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, information displayed in the first state is displayed. On the fifth layer L5, a transparent background (with a transmittance of, for example, 100%) is displayed, which is the same as a state in which no information is displayed. On the second layer L2, an opaque dummy background is displayed. Also, on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 18B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information displayed on the third layer L3 and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on top of the dummy background displayed on the second layer L2.

Returning to FIG. 15C, in step S23, the fifth control unit 25, using its function of controlling the display of information on the fifth layer L5, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the background has been made transparent. In step S24, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the fifth control unit 25 and confirms that the background has been made transparent. Note that step S24 is not a required step and can be provided as necessary.

Moving on to FIG. 15D, in step S25, the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, instructs the third control unit 23 to execute a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed in the first state. In step S26, the third control unit 23, having acquired the instruction to execute the performance process, executes a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed in the first state using its function of controlling the display of information on the third layer L3.

In step S26, information such as that shown in FIG. 19A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, a performance process is executed in which an image fades out on the upper right of the third layer L3 in the display portion of the information displayed in the first state. On the fifth layer L5, nothing is displayed, or a background with a transparency of 100% is displayed. On the second layer L2, an opaque dummy background is displayed. Also, on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 19B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information of the third layer L3 on which the performance process is being executed and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on the dummy background displayed on the fifth layer L2.

Returning to FIG. 15D, in step S27, the third control unit 23, using its function of controlling the display of information on the third layer L3, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the execution of the rendering process for the display portion of the information displayed in the first state has been completed, in other words, that the display portion of the information displayed in the first state is no longer displayed on the display unit 11. In step S28, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the third control unit 23 and confirms that the execution of the rendering process for the background has been completed. Note that step S28 is not a required step and can be provided as necessary.

In the next step S29, the switching unit 4, using the function of switching between the first state and the second state, instructs the third control unit 23 to execute a rendering process on the display portion of the information displayed in the second state. In step S30, the third control unit 23, which has acquired the instruction to execute the rendering process, executes a rendering process on the display portion of the information displayed in the second state using the function of controlling the display of the information of the third layer L3. In addition, in step S31, the switching unit 4, using the function of switching between the first state and the second state, issues an instruction to the second control unit 22 to make the dummy background of the second layer L2 transparent. In step S30, the second control unit 22, using the function of controlling the display of the information of the second layer L2, changes the transmittance of the dummy background of the second layer L2, for example, from 0% (opaque state) to 100% (opaque state).

In step S30, information shown in FIG. 20A, for example, is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, a performance process is executed in which an image fades in from the lower right of the third layer L3 for the display portion of the information displayed in the second state. Here, the performance process for the display portion of the information on the third layer L3 is a performance process in which some information, such as the display position of the vehicle, fades in first, as shown in FIGS. 14A to 14C. On the fifth layer L5, nothing is displayed, or a background with a transparency of 100% is displayed. On the second layer L2, an opaque dummy background is displayed. Also, on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 20B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information on the third layer L3 for which the performance process is being executed and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on the dummy background displayed on the fifth layer L2.

In addition, in step S32, information such as that shown in FIG. 21A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, information to be displayed in the second state is displayed. On the fifth layer L5, nothing is displayed, and on the second layer L2, a dummy background on which a performance process in which the transparency is gradually decreased is displayed. On the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 21B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information on the third layer L3 and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on top of the dummy background displayed on the second layer L2, whose transparency has changed.

Proceed to FIG. 15E. In step S33, the third control unit 23, using its function of controlling the display of information on the third layer L3, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the execution of the rendering process for the display portion of the information displayed in the second state has been completed. In step S34, the switching unit 4 acquires the output of the third control unit 23, and confirms that the execution of the rendering process for the display portion of the information displayed on the third layer L3 in the second state has been completed. In the following step S35, the second control unit 22, using its function of controlling the display of information on the second layer L2, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the transparency of the dummy background on the second layer L2 has been completed. In step S36, the switching unit 4 acquires the output of the second control unit 22, and confirms that the transparency of the dummy background has been completed.

In step S36, information such as that shown in FIG. 22A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, an image that serves as an icon for changing the display on the display unit 11 is displayed. Furthermore, nothing is displayed on the fifth layer L5 and the second layer L2, and map information is displayed on the first layer L1. The display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 22B. That is, the display unit 11 is in a state where the user can view the map information, and the information displayed on the third layer L3 and the fourth layer L4 is displayed on top of the map information. At this stage, the state has switched from the first state to the second state.

Returning to FIG. 15E, in step S61, the switching unit 4 uses the function of switching between the first state and the second state to output to the control unit 2 that the display switching process has been completed. Then, in step S62, the control unit 2 acquires the output of the switching unit 4 and confirms that the display switching process has been completed. Thereafter, the processing by the control device 14 ends.

Between step S32 in FIG. 15D and step S33 in FIG. 15E, a step may be added in which the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, instructs the first control unit 21 to execute a performance process on the display portion of the map information. In this case, the first control unit 21, using its function of controlling the display of information on the first layer L1, executes a performance process that first displays only the portion of the map information surrounding an icon indicating the vehicle's traveling position, which is displayed on the third layer L3. When the execution of the performance process is completed, the first control unit 21, using its function of controlling the display of information on the first layer L1, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the execution of the performance process on the display portion of the map information has been completed. This step is provided between steps S35 and S36 in FIG. 15E.

Next, the procedure when the control device 14 processes information will be described with reference to Figures 23A to 23E. Figures 23A to 23E are another example of a flowchart showing information processing in the vehicle display device 1 of this embodiment. The processing described below is executed when the display is switched from the second state to the first state in the processor 15 of the control device 14. Note that in the flowcharts shown in Figures 23A to 23E, steps that perform the same processing as in the flowcharts shown in Figures 15A to 15E are given the same numbers as in the flowcharts shown in Figures 15A to 15E.

In the following description, in the second state before the routines shown in Figs. 23A to 23E are executed, the information shown in Fig. 24A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a button for touch operation is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, an image that serves as an icon for changing the display on the display unit 11 is displayed. Furthermore, nothing is displayed on the fifth layer L5 and the second layer L2, and map information is displayed on the first layer L1. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in Fig. 24B. That is, the display unit 11 is in a state where the user can view map information, and the information displayed on the third layer L3 and the fourth layer L4 is displayed on top of the map information.

First, in step S1 of FIG. 23A, the function of the control unit 2 acquires a user operation input from at least one of the touch operation unit 12 and the input unit 13, and in the subsequent step S2a, it is determined whether the acquired operation is an operation to switch the second state to the first state. If the acquired operation is not an operation to switch the second state to the first state, execution of the routine is stopped and processing by the control device 14 ends. On the other hand, if the acquired operation is an operation to switch the second state to the first state, the process proceeds to step S3a, and the function of the control unit 2 as a master device instructs the switching unit 4 to start switching from the second state to the first state.

In step S4a, the switching unit 4 receives an instruction to start switching from the second state to the first state. In the following step S5, the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, issues an instruction to the second control unit 22 to make the dummy background of the second layer L2 opaque. In step S6, the second control unit 22, using its function of controlling the display of information on the second layer L2, changes the transmittance of the dummy background of the second layer L2, for example, from 100% (transparent state) to 0% (opaque state).

In step S6, information such as that shown in FIG. 25A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, an image serving as an icon for changing the display on the display unit 11 is displayed. On the fifth layer L5, nothing is displayed, and on the second layer L2, an opaque dummy background is displayed. Also, on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 25B. That is, on the display unit 11, the map information is hidden by the dummy background, and the user cannot see it. Note that the information displayed on the third layer L3 and the fourth layer L4 is displayed on top of the dummy background.

Returning to FIG. 23A, in step S7, the second control unit 22, using its function of controlling the display of information on the second layer L2, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the opacification of the dummy background has been completed. In step S8, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the second control unit 22 and confirms that the dummy background has become opaque. In the following step S9, the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, requests the control unit 2 to instruct it to continue the display switching process. Note that step S8 is not a required step and can be provided as necessary.

Proceed to FIG. 23B and execute steps S10a to S10d, steps S11a to S11d, and step S12. These steps are the same as the steps shown in FIG. 15B above, so a description of them will be omitted here.

Proceeding to FIG. 23C, in step S13, the control unit 2, by functioning as a master device, checks whether all of the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 are in a state in which they can appropriately control the display of the layer information, based on the acquired output. If any of the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 is in a state in which it cannot appropriately control the display of the layer information, the process returns to steps S10a to S10d, and the control state is checked again. Alternatively, the execution of the routine may be stopped, and the processing by the control device 14 may be terminated. On the other hand, if all of the first control unit 21 to the third control unit 23 and the fifth control unit 25 are in a state in which they can appropriately control the display of the layer information, the process proceeds to step S14a, and the control unit 2 instructs the switching unit 4 to continue the display switching process.

In step S15a, the switching unit 4 acquires an instruction from the control unit 2 to continue switching from the second state to the first state. In the following step S41, the switching unit 4, using the function of switching between the first state and the second state, instructs the third control unit 23 to execute a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed in the second state. In step S22, the third control unit 23, which has acquired the instruction to execute the performance process, executes a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed in the second state using the function of controlling the display of the information on the third layer L3.

In step 42, information such as that shown in FIG. 26A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, a rendering process is executed on an image serving as an icon for changing the display on the display unit 11, causing the image to disappear at the bottom right of the third layer L3. Nothing is displayed on the fifth layer L5, and an opaque dummy background is displayed on the second layer L2. Also, map information is displayed on the first layer L1. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 26B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information on the third layer L3 on which the rendering process is being executed and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on the dummy background.

Returning to FIG. 23C, in step S43, the third control unit 23, using the function of controlling the display of information on the third layer L3, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the execution of the performance process has been completed. In step S44, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the third control unit 23 and confirms that the execution of the performance process has been completed. Note that step S44 is not a required step and can be provided as necessary.

Proceeding to FIG. 23D, in step S45, the switching unit 4 instructs the fifth control unit 25 to display the background using the function of switching between the first state and the second state. Having acquired the instruction to display the background, the fifth control unit 25 starts displaying the background using the function of controlling the display of information on the fifth layer L5 in step S46. Also, in step S47, the switching unit 4 instructs the third control unit 23 to execute a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed in the first state using the function of switching between the first state and the second state. Having acquired the instruction to execute the performance process, the third control unit 23 executes a performance process on the display portion of the information displayed in the first state using the function of controlling the display of information on the third layer L3 in step S48.

In step S48, information such as that shown in FIG. 27A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, a performance process is executed in which an image fades in from the upper right of the third layer L3 on the display portion of the information displayed in the first state. On the fifth layer L5, a background on which a performance process is executed in which the transparency is gradually decreased is displayed. On the second layer L2, an opaque dummy background is displayed. Also, on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 27B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information on the third layer L3 on which the performance process is executed and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on the background displayed on the fifth layer L5, whose transparency is changing.

Returning to FIG. 23D, in step S49, the fifth control unit 25, using its function of controlling the display of information on the fifth layer L5, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the execution of the presentation process for the background has been completed and the background has been displayed. In step S50, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the fifth control unit 25 and confirms that the execution of the presentation process for the background has been completed. In addition, in step S51, the third control unit 23, using its function of controlling the display of information on the third layer L3, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the execution of the presentation process for the display portion of the information displayed in the first state has been completed. In step S52, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the third control unit 23 and confirms that the execution of the presentation process for the background has been completed.

In step S52, information shown in FIG. 28A, for example, is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, information displayed in the first state is displayed. On the fifth layer L5, a background in which the brightness of a part is set higher than the brightness of the other parts is displayed. On the second layer L2, an opaque dummy background is displayed. Also, on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposing unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 28B. That is, on the display unit 11, the information displayed on the third layer L3 and the information displayed on the fourth layer L4 are displayed on top of the background displayed on the fifth layer L5. The dummy background displayed on the second layer L2 and the map information displayed on the first layer L1 are in a state in which they cannot be seen by the user.

Returning to FIG. 23D, steps S50 and S52 are not required steps and can be provided as necessary. Also, steps S45 and S47 can be executed at the same time (for example, simultaneously).

Moving on to FIG. 23E, in step S53, the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, issues an instruction to the second control unit 22 to make the dummy background of the second layer L2 transparent. In step S54, the second control unit 22, using its function of controlling the display of information on the second layer L2, changes the transmittance of the dummy background of the second layer L2, for example, from 0% (opaque state) to 100% (transparent state).

In step S54, information such as that shown in FIG. 29A is displayed on each layer. That is, on the fourth layer L4, an image of a touch button is displayed on the left side, and a clock is displayed on the upper right. On the third layer L3, information to be displayed in the first state is displayed, and on the fifth layer L5, a background in which the brightness of some parts is set higher than the brightness of the other parts is displayed. On the second layer L2, a transparent dummy background is displayed (i.e., the same as when nothing is displayed), and on the first layer L1, map information is displayed. In this case, the display information generated by the superimposition unit 3 is the information shown in FIG. 29B. That is, the same display image as that of FIG. 28B is displayed on the display unit 11.

Returning to FIG. 23E, in step S55, the second control unit 22, using its function of controlling the display of information on the second layer L2, outputs to the switching unit 4 that the dummy background has been made transparent. In step S56, the switching unit 4 obtains the output of the second control unit 22 and confirms that the dummy background has become transparent. In the following step S61, the switching unit 4, using its function of switching between the first state and the second state, outputs to the control unit 2 that the display switching process has been completed. Then, in step S62, the control unit 2 obtains the output of the switching unit 4 and confirms that the display switching process has been completed. Thereafter, the processing by the control device 14 ends. Note that step S56 is not a required step and can be provided as necessary.

[Embodiments of the invention]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the display device for a vehicle includes a switching unit 4 that switches between a first state in which the user cannot see map information and a second state in which the user can see map information in response to a user's operation, the switching unit 4 executes a performance process on a display portion of information to be displayed when switching between the first state and the second state, and the switching unit 4 displays a part of information displayed in the second state before the other part of information displayed in the second state when switching from the first state to the second state. This makes it possible to suppress a large change in the brightness difference, saturation difference, etc. of the displayed screen. As a result, the occurrence of flickering on the screen is suppressed, and the deterioration of visibility of the display portion of information is suppressed.

The vehicle display device of this embodiment further includes a control unit 2 that controls the display of information, and the control unit 2 changes the map information displayed at night to one with a darker background than the map information displayed during the day, and the switching unit 4 sets the time required for the performance processing to be longer when performing the performance processing at night than when performing the performance processing during the day. This prevents the contrast between the map information and the user's surrounding environment from causing flickering on the screen and reducing the visibility of the information display portion.

In addition, according to the vehicle display device of this embodiment, when switching from the first state to the second state, the switching unit 4 displays a part of the map information before other parts of the map information. This allows information used in particular for driving control to be displayed first, making it possible to accurately present information used for driving control to the user.

In addition, according to the vehicle display device of this embodiment, part of the map information is at least one of an icon indicating the vehicle's driving position, a map of the surroundings of the vehicle, a set driving route, and the traveling direction of the vehicle when driving along the driving route. This allows information used for driving control to be displayed before other information, improving the visibility of the displayed information.

In addition, according to the vehicle display device of this embodiment, the switching unit 4 executes a performance process that includes at least one of movement, reduction, enlargement, and change in transparency for the display portion of the displayed information. This makes it possible to execute a performance that increases user satisfaction.

In addition, according to the vehicle display method of this embodiment, in the vehicle display method using the processor 15 for display, the processor 15 switches between a first state in which the user cannot see map information and a second state in which the user can see map information in response to a user's operation, executes a performance process on the display portion of the displayed information when switching between the first state and the second state, and when switching from the first state to the second state, displays a part of the information displayed in the second state before the other part of the information displayed in the second state. This makes it possible to suppress large changes in the brightness difference, saturation difference, etc. of the displayed screen. As a result, the occurrence of flickering on the screen is suppressed, and the deterioration of visibility of the displayed portion of the information is suppressed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 vehicle display device 11 display unit 11a first display unit 11b second display unit 12 touch operation unit 13 input unit 13a first input unit 13b second input unit 14 control device 15 processor 151 CPU
152...ROM
153...RAM
2...Control unit 21...First control unit 22...Second control unit 23...Third control unit 24...Fourth control unit 25...Fifth control unit 3...Overlapping unit 4...Switching unit A1...First area A2...Second area B...Boundaries D1a, D1b, D1c, D1d...Display portion (first area)
D2a, D2b, D2c, D2d, D2e, D2f, D2g...Display portion (second area)
IP...instrument panel L1...first layer L2...second layer L3...third layer L4...fourth layer L5...fifth layer SW1 to SW15...switch X...steering wheel operation area Y1, Y1a, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y5a, Y6, Y7, Y8, Y8a, Y9, Y10, Y11a, Y11b, Y11c...information Z...movement direction

Claims (6)

a switching unit that switches between a first state in which the user cannot view map information and a second state in which the user can view map information in response to a user operation,
the switching unit, when switching between the first state and the second state, executes a rendering process on a display portion of the information to be displayed;
The vehicle display device, when switching from the first state to the second state, causes a part of the information to be displayed in the second state to be displayed before another part of the information to be displayed in the second state. A control unit for controlling the display of information,
The control unit changes the map information displayed at night to a background that is darker than the background of the map information displayed during the day,
The display device for a vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the switching unit sets a time required for the rendering process to be longer when the rendering process is executed at night than when the rendering process is executed during the day. The vehicle display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the switching unit, when switching from the first state to the second state, displays a portion of the map information before other portions of the map information. The vehicle display device according to claim 3, wherein the part of the map information is at least one of an icon indicating the vehicle's driving position, a map of the surroundings of the vehicle, a set driving route, and the traveling direction of the vehicle when driving along the driving route. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the switching unit executes a performance process including at least one of movement, reduction, enlargement, and change in transparency for the display portion of the displayed information. A display method for a vehicle using a processor, comprising:
The processor,
switching between a first state in which the user cannot view map information and a second state in which the user can view map information in response to a user operation;
When switching between the first state and the second state, a rendering process is executed on a display portion of the information to be displayed;
A display method for a vehicle, when switching from the first state to the second state, displaying a portion of information displayed in the second state before another portion of information displayed in the second state.

Images