JP7661682B2 - Vehicle display control device, vehicle display control system, and vehicle display control method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a vehicle display control device, a vehicle display control system, and a vehicle display control method.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for generating an overhead view including a host vehicle icon and other vehicle icons corresponding to the actual relative positional relationship between the host vehicle and other vehicles in a vehicle equipped with an autonomous driving function, and displaying the view on a display screen provided in the vehicle cabin. Patent Document 1 discloses that the host vehicle icon is displayed in the center of the overhead view. Patent Document 1 also discloses that the overhead view is repeatedly generated.

JP 2017-166913 A

In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the vehicle icon is displayed in the center of the overhead view, so if the positional relationship between the vehicle and other vehicles changes, the position of the other vehicle icon in the overhead view will change. Showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is considered to be useful for making it easier for the user to recognize the actual positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles. However, each time the overhead view is repeatedly generated, the position of the other vehicle icon moves slightly, which may be annoying to the user.

One objective of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle display control device, a vehicle display control system, and a vehicle display control method that can more accurately indicate the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles as needed, while minimizing the inconvenience to the user.

The above object is achieved by a combination of features recited in the independent claims, and the subclaims define further advantageous embodiments of the disclosure. The reference characters in parentheses in the claims indicate a correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described below as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

In order to achieve the above object, a first vehicle display control device of the present disclosure includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) used in a vehicle and acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and vehicles surrounding the vehicle, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display unit (90) used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship with images of at least the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, wherein the display control unit reduces the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and the display control unit displays the overhead view including an image simulating an actual lane, and even at a timing when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles is not updated, if the lane at which the image of the surrounding vehicles is displayed in the overhead view is curved, the display control unit displays the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view tilted along the direction in which the lane is curved.
In order to achieve the above object, a second vehicle display control device of the present disclosure is used in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, and includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and vehicles surrounding the vehicle, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display (90) used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship with images of at least the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, and the display control unit reduces the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with predetermined conditions related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and includes an autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit (113) that acquires an autonomous driving-related state, which is a state related to the autonomous driving of the vehicle, and the display control unit (105b) reduces the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with the autonomous driving-related state acquired by the autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit.
In order to achieve the above object, a third display control device for a vehicle of the present disclosure includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) used in a vehicle and acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and vehicles surrounding the vehicle, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to cause a display device (90) used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle to display an overhead view showing the positional relationship with an image of at least the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, the display control unit reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, the display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles, and displays the overhead view including an image showing lanes, the positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the lanes, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that displays an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles , the display control unit reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, the display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles, and displays the overhead view including an image showing lanes, the positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the lanes, The display control unit includes a lane change identification unit (103) that identifies that a lane change will be performed, and a deviation identification unit (104) that identifies a deviation of the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the center of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling, and for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and for which the lane change identification unit has identified that a lane change will be performed, or for a surrounding vehicle whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is equal to or more than a threshold value, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the traveling lane in the overhead view at a position according to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, while for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and for which the deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is less than the threshold value, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the traveling lane in the central position of the traveling lane of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view.
In order to achieve the above object, a fourth display control device for a vehicle according to the present disclosure includes a positional relationship acquisition unit (111) used in a vehicle and acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle, and a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship with an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as seen from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, and the display control unit controls the display of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view according to a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle, and is provided with a surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit (112) that acquires values related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control unit (105a) changes the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit, and the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle as the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control unit decreases the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a first vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle, and includes a positional relationship acquisition process executed by at least one processor for acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and a vehicle's surrounding vehicles, and a display control process for displaying, on a display (90) used in the cabin of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles and at least the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition process, in which the display control process reduces the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and the display control process displays the overhead view including an image simulating an actual lane, and in the display control process, even at a timing when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles is not updated, if the lane at which the image of the surrounding vehicles is displayed in the overhead view is curved, the orientation of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is tilted along the direction in which the lane is curved.
In order to achieve the above object, a second vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, and includes a positional relationship acquisition process executed by at least one processor, for acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and vehicles surrounding the vehicle, and a display control process for displaying, on a display (90) used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles and at least the surrounding vehicles, viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, the overhead view showing the positional relationship with images of the vehicle and at least the surrounding vehicles, the display control process reducing the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view depending on predetermined conditions related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and including an autonomous driving-related state acquisition process for acquiring an autonomous driving-related state, which is a state related to the autonomous driving of the vehicle, and the display control process reducing the update frequency of the display position of the images of the surrounding vehicles depending on the autonomous driving-related state acquired in the autonomous driving-related state acquisition process.
In order to achieve the above object, a third vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle, and includes: a positional relationship acquisition step executed by at least one processor, for acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and a vehicle's surrounding vehicles; and a display control step for displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles and an image of at least the surrounding vehicles, as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step; in the display control step, a frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles ; in the display control step, the update frequency can be changed for each surrounding vehicle; and an image showing lanes is also included in the overhead view and displayed ; and in the positional relationship acquisition step, a positional relationship between the surrounding vehicles with respect to the lanes is also acquired. The display control step includes a lane change identification step of identifying that a nearby vehicle is about to change lanes, and a deviation identification step of identifying a deviation of the lateral position of the nearby vehicle with respect to the center of the lane in which the nearby vehicle is traveling. In the display control step, for a nearby vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and whose lane change is identified in the lane change identification step as being changed, or whose deviation identified in the deviation identification step is equal to or greater than a threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the nearby vehicle, the lateral position of the nearby vehicle with respect to the traveling lane is displayed in a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the nearby vehicle with respect to the lane acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step, on the overhead view. On the other hand, for a nearby vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and whose deviation identified in the deviation identification step is less than the threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the nearby vehicle, the lateral position of the nearby vehicle with respect to the traveling lane is displayed in the center of the traveling lane of the nearby vehicle on the overhead view.
In order to achieve the above object, a fourth vehicle display control method of the present disclosure is a vehicle display control method used in a vehicle, and includes a positional relationship acquisition step executed by at least one processor for acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and a vehicle's surrounding vehicles, and a display control step for displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The display control process reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control process is capable of changing the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle, and includes a surrounding behavior related value acquisition process for acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control process changes the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition process, and the surrounding behavior related value acquisition process acquires at least the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle as the value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, and the display control process reduces the update frequency for each surrounding vehicle in accordance with a decrease in the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition process.

According to the above configuration, since an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is displayed, it is possible to show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles in an overhead view. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle may change from time to time. However, depending on the conditions related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, there may be cases where it is less necessary to accurately show the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle. In response to this, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced according to a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, so that it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the small movement of the display position for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles that does not need to be shown accurately. As a result, it is possible to more accurately show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as necessary, while making it less annoying for the user.

To achieve the above object, the vehicle display control system disclosed herein includes a display device (90) that is used in a vehicle and is used within the vehicle's cabin, and the above-mentioned vehicle display control device (10, 10a, 10b).

By including the above-mentioned vehicle display control device, this makes it possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles as needed, while minimizing the inconvenience to the user.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle system 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an HCU 10. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of an update frequency of the display position of a nearby vehicle according to the distance of the nearby vehicle from the host vehicle. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of an update frequency of the display position of a nearby vehicle according to the distance of the nearby vehicle from the host vehicle. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a deviation of an actual lateral position of a nearby vehicle OVa from the center of a driving lane; FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a deviation of an actual lateral position of a nearby vehicle OVa from the center of a driving lane; FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a display position update-related process in the HCU 10. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an HCU 10a. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a display position update-related process in the HCU 10a. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an HCU 10b. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a display position update-related process in the HCU 10b. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bird's-eye view display.

Several embodiments for disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For ease of explanation, parts in several embodiments that have the same functions as parts shown in the drawings used in the previous explanations may be given the same reference numerals and their explanations may be omitted. For parts given the same reference numerals, the explanations in other embodiments may be referred to.

(Embodiment 1)
<General configuration of vehicle system 1>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. A vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving (hereinafter, an automatic driving vehicle). As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle system 1 includes a human machine interface control unit (HCU) 10, a communication module 20, a locator 30, a map database (hereinafter, a map DB) 40, a vehicle state sensor 50, a surrounding monitoring sensor 60, a vehicle control ECU 70, an automatic driving ECU 80, and a display 90. This vehicle system 1 corresponds to a vehicle display control system. A vehicle using the vehicle system 1 is not necessarily limited to an automobile, but the following description will be given taking an example of use in an automobile.

There can be multiple levels of automation for an autonomous vehicle (hereafter referred to as automation level), as defined by the SAE, for example. Automation levels are classified into levels 0 to 5, for example, as follows:

Level 0 is a level where the driver performs all driving tasks without system intervention. The driving task may be referred to as a dynamic driving task. Driving tasks include, for example, steering, acceleration/deceleration, and surrounding monitoring. Level 0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. Level 1 is a level where the system assists with either steering or acceleration/deceleration. Level 1 corresponds to so-called driving assistance. Level 2 is a level where the system assists with both steering and acceleration/deceleration. Level 2 corresponds to so-called partial driving automation. Levels 1 and 2 are also considered to be part of autonomous driving.

For example, autonomous driving at levels 1 and 2 is autonomous driving in which the driver has a duty to monitor safe driving (hereinafter simply referred to as the duty to monitor). The duty to monitor includes visual monitoring of the surroundings. Autonomous driving at levels 1 and 2 can be said to be autonomous driving in which a second task is not permitted. A second task is an action other than driving that is permitted for the driver, and is a specific action that has been specified in advance. A second task can also be said to be a secondary activity, other activity, etc. A second task must not prevent the driver from responding to a request from the autonomous driving system to take over driving operations. As an example, actions such as watching content such as videos, operating a smartphone, reading, and eating are considered as second tasks.

Level 3 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in specific locations such as highways, and the driver takes over driving operations in an emergency. At level 3, the driver is required to be able to respond quickly when the system requests a handover. Level 3 corresponds to so-called conditional driving automation. Level 4 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks except under certain circumstances such as roads that it cannot handle and extreme environments. Level 4 corresponds to so-called high driving automation. Level 5 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in any environment. Level 5 corresponds to so-called full driving automation.

For example, autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 is autonomous driving where the driver has no monitoring obligation. In other words, autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 is autonomous driving where a second task is permitted. The autonomous driving vehicle in embodiment 1 may be an autonomous driving vehicle in which the automation level cannot be switched, or may be an autonomous driving vehicle where the automation level can be switched. The automation level may be configured to be switchable only between some of levels 0 to 5.

The communication module 20 transmits and receives information to and from other vehicles via wireless communication. In other words, it performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The communication module 20 may transmit and receive information to and from roadside devices installed on the roadside via wireless communication. In other words, it may perform road-to-vehicle communication. When performing road-to-vehicle communication, the communication module 20 may receive information about surrounding vehicles transmitted from surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via the roadside device. The communication module 20 may also transmit and receive information to and from a center outside the vehicle via wireless communication. In other words, it may perform wide-area communication. When performing wide-area communication, the communication module 20 may receive information about surrounding vehicles transmitted from surrounding vehicles of the vehicle via the center.

The locator 30 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from multiple positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. The locator 30 sequentially determines the vehicle position (hereinafter, the vehicle position) and traveling direction of the vehicle equipped with the locator 30 by combining the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver with the measurement results of the inertial sensor. The vehicle position is represented, for example, by latitude and longitude coordinates. Note that the vehicle position may also be determined using the travel distance calculated from the signal sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle.

The map DB 40 is a non-volatile memory that stores map data such as link data, node data, road shapes, and structures. The map data may be a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures. When a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures is used as the map data, the locator 30 may be configured not to use a GNSS receiver. For example, the locator 30 may be configured to determine the vehicle position using this three-dimensional map and the detection results of a perimeter monitoring sensor 60 such as a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging/Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that detects the point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures or a perimeter monitoring camera. The three-dimensional map may be generated based on captured images by REM (Road Experience Management).

The communication module 20 may receive map data distributed from an external server, for example, via wide area communication, and store the data in the map DB 40. In this case, the map DB 40 may be a volatile memory, and the communication module 20 may be configured to sequentially acquire map data for an area corresponding to the vehicle position.

The vehicle condition sensor 50 is a group of sensors for detecting various conditions of the vehicle. The vehicle condition sensor 50 includes a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed, a steering sensor for detecting the steering angle, and the like. The vehicle condition sensor 50 outputs the detected sensing information to an in-vehicle LAN. The sensing information detected by the vehicle condition sensor 50 may be configured to be output to the in-vehicle LAN via an ECU installed in the vehicle.

The perimeter monitoring sensor 60 monitors the environment around the vehicle. As an example, the perimeter monitoring sensor 60 detects obstacles around the vehicle, such as moving objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles, and stationary objects such as objects that have fallen on the road. In addition, the perimeter monitoring sensor 60 detects road markings around the vehicle, such as lane markings. The perimeter monitoring sensor 60 is, for example, a perimeter monitoring camera that captures an image of a predetermined range around the vehicle, a millimeter wave radar that transmits a search wave to a predetermined range around the vehicle, a sonar, a LIDAR, or other sensor. The perimeter monitoring camera sequentially outputs the captured images as sensing information to the automatic driving ECU 80. The sonar, millimeter wave radar, LIDAR, or other sensor that transmits a search wave sequentially outputs the scan result based on the received signal obtained when receiving a reflected wave reflected by an obstacle to the automatic driving ECU 80 as sensing information. The sensing information detected by the perimeter monitoring sensor 60 may be configured to be output to the in-vehicle LAN via the automatic driving ECU 80.

The vehicle control ECU 70 is an electronic control device that controls the driving of the vehicle. Driving control includes acceleration/deceleration control and/or steering control. The vehicle control ECU 70 includes a steering ECU that controls steering, a power unit control ECU that controls acceleration/deceleration, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU 70 controls driving by outputting control signals to each driving control device installed in the vehicle, such as an electronically controlled throttle, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor.

The autonomous driving ECU 80 includes, for example, a processor, memory, I/O, and a bus connecting these, and executes control programs stored in the memory to perform processes related to autonomous driving. The memory referred to here is a non-transitory tangible storage medium that non-temporarily stores computer-readable programs and data. The non-transitory tangible storage medium is realized by a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk, etc.

The autonomous driving ECU 80 includes a first autonomous driving ECU 81 and a second autonomous driving ECU 82. In the following explanation, the first autonomous driving ECU 81 and the second autonomous driving ECU 82 are each assumed to include a processor, memory, I/O, and a bus connecting these. Note that a common processor may be configured to perform the functions of the first autonomous driving ECU 81 and the second autonomous driving ECU 82 using virtualization technology.

The first automatic driving ECU 81 is responsible for the automatic driving function of the level 2 or lower mentioned above. In other words, the first automatic driving ECU 81 enables automatic driving with a monitoring obligation to be performed. For example, the first automatic driving ECU 81 can execute at least one of longitudinal control and lateral control of the host vehicle. The longitudinal direction is the direction that coincides with the front-to-rear direction of the host vehicle. The lateral direction is the direction that coincides with the width direction of the host vehicle. The first automatic driving ECU 81 executes acceleration/deceleration control of the host vehicle as longitudinal control. The first automatic driving ECU 81 executes steering control of the host vehicle as lateral control. The first automatic driving ECU 81 includes a first environment recognition unit, an ACC control unit, an LTA control unit, and the like as functional blocks.

The first environment recognition unit recognizes the driving environment around the vehicle based on sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 60 and information on the surrounding vehicles of the vehicle received by the communication module 20. As an example, the first environment recognition unit recognizes the detailed position of the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle lane) from information such as the dividing lines on the left and right sides of the vehicle's lane. In addition, the first environment recognition unit may also recognize the positions of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, the direction of travel of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speeds of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, the speeds of the surrounding vehicles, and the accelerations of the surrounding vehicles.

The direction of travel of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized, for example, from the time-series changes in the positions of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle itself. The direction of travel of the surrounding vehicles may also be referred to as the orientation of the surrounding vehicles. The speed of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized, for example, from the vehicle speed of the vehicle itself and the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles. If the speed of the surrounding vehicles can be received by the communication module 20 as information about the surrounding vehicles, the speed of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized from the received information. The acceleration of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized, for example, as the longitudinal acceleration and the lateral acceleration. The longitudinal acceleration may be recognized, for example, based on the change per unit time in the speed of the surrounding vehicles. The lateral acceleration may be recognized, for example, based on the change per unit time in the position of the surrounding vehicles. If the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles can be received by the communication module 20 as information about the surrounding vehicles, the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized from the received information.

The first environment recognition unit may also recognize the illumination state of the blinker lamps of the surrounding vehicles. The illumination state of the blinker lamps of the surrounding vehicles may be recognized, for example, by image recognition processing of captured images of the surrounding vehicles. The first environment recognition unit may be configured in the same manner as the second environment recognition unit described below.

The ACC control unit executes ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) control to realize constant speed driving of the host vehicle at a target speed or driving to follow a preceding vehicle. The ACC control unit may execute ACC control using the positions and speeds of vehicles around the host vehicle recognized by the first environment recognition unit. The ACC control unit may execute ACC control by causing the vehicle control ECU 70 to perform acceleration/deceleration control. The LTA control unit executes LTA (Lane Tracing Assist) control to keep the host vehicle traveling within the lane. The LTA control unit may execute LTA control using the detailed position of the host vehicle in the driving lane recognized by the first environment recognition unit. The LTA control unit may execute LTA control by causing the vehicle control ECU 70 to perform steering control. Note that ACC control is an example of longitudinal control. LTA control is an example of lateral control.

The first autonomous driving ECU 81 realizes level 2 autonomous driving by executing both ACC control and LTA control. The first autonomous driving ECU 81 may realize level 1 autonomous driving by executing either ACC control or LTA control.

On the other hand, the second autonomous driving ECU 82 is responsible for the autonomous driving function of level 3 or higher described above. In other words, the second autonomous driving ECU 82 enables autonomous driving without the obligation to monitor. The second autonomous driving ECU 82 includes, as functional blocks, a second environment recognition unit, a behavior determination unit, a trajectory generation unit, and the like.

The second environment recognition unit recognizes the driving environment around the vehicle based on the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 60, the vehicle position acquired from the locator 30, the map data acquired from the map DB 40, and the information of other vehicles acquired by the communication module 20. As an example, the second environment recognition unit uses these pieces of information to generate a virtual space that reproduces the actual driving environment. Note that the second environment recognition unit may also recognize the positions of surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, the direction of travel of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, the speed of the surrounding vehicles, the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles, and the like, as in the first environment recognition unit. The second environment recognition unit may be configured to use the recognition results of the first environment recognition unit. The second environment recognition unit may also recognize the detailed positions of surrounding vehicles in each lane based on, for example, information such as the left and right dividing lines of the vehicle's lane and the surrounding lanes, and the positions of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle.

The second environment recognition unit distinguishes between manual driving areas (hereinafter, MD areas) in the area in which the vehicle is traveling. The second environment recognition unit distinguishes between automatic driving areas (hereinafter, AD areas) in the area in which the vehicle is traveling. The second environment recognition unit distinguishes between ST sections in the AD areas. The second environment recognition unit distinguishes between non-ST sections in the AD areas.

An MD area is an area where automated driving is prohibited. In other words, an MD area is an area where the driver is required to perform all longitudinal control, lateral control, and surrounding monitoring of the vehicle. For example, an MD area may be a general road.

An AD area is an area where automated driving is permitted. In other words, an AD area is an area where the vehicle can take over one or more of longitudinal control, lateral control, and perimeter monitoring. For example, an AD area may be a highway or a road for motor vehicles.

AD areas are divided into non-ST sections where automated driving of level 2 or lower is possible, and ST sections where automated driving of level 3 or higher is possible. In this embodiment, there is no separate division between non-ST sections where automated driving of level 1 is permitted and non-ST sections where automated driving of level 2 is permitted. ST sections may be, for example, driving sections where congestion occurs (hereinafter, congested sections). Furthermore, ST sections may be, for example, driving sections where high-precision maps have been developed. Non-ST sections may be sections that do not fall under the category of ST sections.

The behavior determination unit determines the behavior planned for the vehicle (hereinafter, future behavior) based on the recognition result of the driving environment by the second environment recognition unit. The behavior determination unit determines the future behavior for driving the vehicle by autonomous driving. The behavior determination unit may determine the type of behavior that the vehicle should take to arrive at the destination as the future behavior. Examples of this type include going straight, turning right, turning left, changing lanes, etc.

In addition, when the behavior determination unit determines that it is necessary to transfer driving control to the driver (i.e., a driving handover), it generates a driving handover request and provides it to the HCU 10. One example of a case in which it is necessary to transfer driving control to the driver is when the vehicle moves from an AD area to an MD area. Other examples include a case in which a problem occurs in the second environment recognition unit's recognition of the driving environment due to sensor loss, communication failure, etc.

The trajectory generation unit generates a driving trajectory for the vehicle in a section where autonomous driving can be performed, based on the results of the recognition of the driving environment by the second environment recognition unit and the future actions determined by the action determination unit. The driving trajectory includes, for example, a target position of the vehicle according to the progress and a target speed at each target position. The trajectory generation unit sequentially provides the generated driving trajectory to the vehicle control ECU 70 as a control command to be followed by the vehicle in autonomous driving.

The autonomous driving system including the autonomous driving ECU 80 described above enables the host vehicle to perform autonomous driving at level 2 or below and level 3 or above. For example, the autonomous driving ECU 80 may be configured to switch the automation level of the host vehicle's autonomous driving as necessary. As an example, when the host vehicle moves from an ST section to a non-ST section of an AD area, autonomous driving may be switched from level 3 or above to level 2 or below. The autonomous driving ECU 80 may be configured to generate a surrounding monitoring request and provide it to the HCU 10 when switching from autonomous driving without a monitoring obligation to autonomous driving with a monitoring obligation.

The display unit 90 is a display device provided in the vehicle. The display unit 90 is provided so that the display surface faces the interior of the vehicle. For example, the display unit 90 is provided so that the display surface is located in front of the driver's seat of the vehicle. Various displays such as a liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescence display, and a head-up display (hereinafter, HUD) can be used as the display unit 90.

The HCU 10 is mainly composed of a computer equipped with a processor, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, I/O, and a bus connecting these, and is connected to the display 90 and the in-vehicle LAN. The HCU 10 controls the display on the display 90 by executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory. This HCU 10 corresponds to a vehicle display control device. The configuration of the HCU 10 with regard to controlling the display on the display 90 will be described in detail below.

<General configuration of HCU 10>
Next, the schematic configuration of the HCU 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the HCU 10 includes an information acquisition unit 101, a distance identification unit 102, a lane change identification unit 103, a deviation identification unit 104, and a display control unit 105 as functional blocks for controlling the display on the display device 90. The execution of the processing of each functional block of the HCU 10 by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle display control method. Note that some or all of the functions executed by the HCU 10 may be configured as hardware using one or more ICs or the like. Also, some or all of the functional blocks included in the HCU 10 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware members.

The information acquisition unit 101 acquires information input from outside the HCU 10. The information acquisition unit 101 acquires the recognition result of the driving environment recognized by, for example, the autonomous driving ECU 80. The information acquisition unit 101 includes a positional relationship acquisition unit 111 as a sub-functional block. The positional relationship acquisition unit 111 acquires the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles. The processing in the positional relationship acquisition unit 111 corresponds to a positional relationship acquisition process. The positional relationship acquisition unit 111 may acquire, for example, the position of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80 as the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles relative to the lanes. The positional relationship acquisition unit 111 may acquire, for example, the detailed positions of the surrounding vehicles in each lane recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80 as the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles relative to the lanes.

The distance determination unit 102 determines the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles for each surrounding vehicle. The distance determination unit 102 may determine the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles from the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111. The distance determination unit 102 may determine the straight-line distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. In this case, the distance determination unit 102 may determine the straight-line distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles by calculating the straight-line distance between the position coordinates of the host vehicle and the position coordinates of the surrounding vehicles. The distance determination unit 102 may also determine the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles in the forward/rearward direction of the host vehicle as the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

The lane change identification unit 103 identifies that a nearby vehicle is about to change lanes. As an example, the lane change identification unit 103 may identify that a nearby vehicle that has recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80 that its blinker lamp is on is about to change lanes. Alternatively, the lane change identification unit 103 may identify that a nearby vehicle whose lateral acceleration recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80 is equal to or greater than a threshold is about to change lanes. The threshold here may be a value that distinguishes whether or not the lateral acceleration is such that a lane change is estimated to occur.

The deviation identification unit 104 identifies the deviation of the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from the center of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling. As an example, the deviation identification unit 104 may use the detailed positions of the surrounding vehicles in each lane recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80 to identify the deviation of the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from the center of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling. The lateral position can also be rephrased as the position in the road width direction.

The display control unit 105 controls the display on the display 90. The processing in the display control unit 105 corresponds to a display control process. The display control unit 105 uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111 to display on the display 90 an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as seen from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle. This virtual viewpoint may be directly above the vehicle, or may be a position shifted from directly above the vehicle. For example, the overhead view may be seen from a virtual viewpoint above and behind the vehicle. In this embodiment, the overhead view may include an image showing the dividing lines between the vehicle lane and the surrounding lanes, and an image showing the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. In addition, if the vehicle position is fixed in the overhead view, the overhead view may not include an image of the vehicle (hereinafter, the vehicle image). For example, in an overhead view showing only the situation ahead of the vehicle, the front end of the vehicle is located at the bottom of the overhead view, and only an image of the vehicle (hereinafter, a surrounding vehicle image) is shown. Note that in the following explanation, an example will be given of the overhead view including an image showing the dividing line between the vehicle's lane and the surrounding lanes.

The display control unit 105 fixes the display position of the vehicle image in the overhead view. The display control unit 105 also fixes the orientation of the vehicle image in the overhead view. Therefore, only the surrounding vehicle image among the vehicle image and the surrounding vehicle image is updated in the display position and orientation in the overhead view. The orientation of the vehicle image indicates the orientation of the vehicle shown in the image. As an example, the display control unit 105 may display an overhead view that imitates the actual positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles by converting the coordinates indicating the position of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle into coordinates in the overhead view. The image showing the dividing line between the vehicle lane and the surrounding lanes may be an image that does not imitate the actual curvature of the dividing line, or may be an image that imitates the actual curvature of the dividing line. In order to more accurately show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, it is preferable that the image showing the dividing line between the vehicle lane and the surrounding lanes is an image that imitates the actual curvature of the dividing line.

Here, an example of displaying an overhead view will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows an example of displaying an overhead view from a virtual viewpoint above and behind the vehicle. Sc in FIG. 3 shows the display screen of the display device 90. HVI in FIG. 3 shows the vehicle image. OVIa, OVIb, and OVIc in FIG. 3 show surrounding vehicle images. The surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIa will be referred to as the surrounding vehicle OVa hereinafter. The surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIb will be referred to as the surrounding vehicle OVb hereinafter. The surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIc will be referred to as the surrounding vehicle OVc hereinafter. The surrounding vehicle OVa is located in the vehicle's own lane. The surrounding vehicles OVb and OVc are located in the surrounding lanes. The distance from the vehicle to the vehicle is assumed to be longer in the order of the surrounding vehicle OVa, the surrounding vehicle OVb, and the surrounding vehicle OVc. The overhead view displays an image HVI of the vehicle itself, an image OVIa of the surrounding vehicles OVIb, and an image OVIc of the surrounding vehicles OVIc, which mimic the actual positional relationship between the vehicle itself and the surrounding vehicles OVa, OVb, and OVc. The overhead view also displays an image PLI showing the dividing lines between the vehicle's lane and the surrounding lanes.

The display control unit 105 also updates the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view. The display control unit is capable of updating the display position of the surrounding vehicle image for each surrounding vehicle. The display control unit 105 may periodically update the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view. The display control unit 105 may be capable of changing the period (hereinafter, update frequency) for updating the display position of the surrounding vehicle image for each surrounding vehicle. As an example, the default update frequency may be the same as the frequency at which the positional relationship acquisition unit 111 periodically acquires the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. The display control unit 105 may also be configured to periodically update the display orientation of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view.

The display control unit 105 may reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view for each surrounding vehicle as the distance identified by the distance identification unit 102 becomes farther. Here, reducing the update frequency refers to reducing the update frequency in at least two stages. For example, the update frequency may be configured to be lower than the default update frequency.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 4, the display control unit 105 may gradually lower the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the distance increases. The vertical axis of FIG. 4 indicates the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image. The horizontal axis of FIG. 4 indicates the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle. In the example of FIG. 4, an example is shown in which the update frequency is changed to two levels, "low" and "high", depending on whether the distance is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH. Here, the update frequency "high" may be configured to correspond to the default update frequency. Note that the example of FIG. 4 is not limited to this, and the update frequency may be changed to three or more levels by setting the threshold value TH to 2 or more. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the display control unit 105 may linearly lower the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the distance increases. Note that the vertical axis of FIG. 5 indicates the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image. The horizontal axis of FIG. 5 indicates the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle.

When updating the display position of a surrounding vehicle whose display position update frequency according to the distance specified by the distance specification unit 102 is equal to or less than a specified value and whose deviation specified by the deviation specification unit 104 is less than a threshold value, the display control unit 105 preferably displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle relative to the driving lane in the center of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle in the bird's-eye view. The specified value referred to here is a distance at which the update frequency, which exists in at least two stages, is switched, and may be arbitrarily set. As an example, the update frequency has two stages, "high" and "low", as described above, and the specified value is the frequency "low", and the following explanation will be continued. In addition, the deviation threshold value may be an arbitrarily set value, and may be, for example, a value that distinguishes whether or not the target surrounding vehicle crosses the lane marking. Hereinafter, the deviation threshold value will be referred to as the deviation threshold value.

According to the above configuration, when the deviation of the actual lateral position HD from the center of the driving lane is small as shown in FIG. 6, the surrounding vehicle image OVIa is displayed in the center of the driving lane in the schematic diagram as shown in FIG. 7. The dashed line in FIG. 6 indicates the center of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle OVa. HD in FIG. 6 indicates the deviation of the actual lateral position of the surrounding vehicle OVa from the center of the driving lane. When the deviation of the actual lateral position from the center of the driving lane is small, even if the surrounding vehicle image is displayed in the center of the driving lane in the schematic diagram, the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles does not change significantly. Therefore, by reducing the frequency of updating the display position, it is possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles while suppressing the annoyance of small changes in the display position.

On the other hand, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency of the display position according to the distance identified by the distance identification unit 102 is equal to or less than the above-mentioned specified value and whose lane change identification unit 103 has identified that the vehicle will change lanes, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, it is preferable for the display control unit 105 to display the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position that conforms to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111.

With this, surrounding vehicles that are changing lanes are displayed in a position in the schematic diagram that corresponds to their actual positional relationship. Because surrounding vehicles that are changing lanes are relatively likely to affect the driving of the vehicle, it is considered that there is a high need to show their positional relationship to the vehicle more accurately. In contrast, with the above configuration, it is possible to more accurately show the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles that are changing lanes, while reducing the frequency of updating the display position to reduce the annoyance of small changes in the display position.

In addition, for a surrounding vehicle whose display position update frequency according to the distance identified by the distance identification unit 102 is equal to or less than the above-mentioned specified value and whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit 104 is equal to or greater than the deviation threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, it is preferable for the display control unit 105 to display the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position according to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111.

According to the above configuration, when the actual lateral position of the vehicle HV is significantly offset from the center of the lane as shown in FIG. 8, the surrounding vehicle image OVIa is displayed in a position in the schematic diagram according to the actual positional relationship between the vehicle HV and the surrounding vehicle OVa as shown in FIG. 9. A surrounding vehicle whose actual lateral position is significantly offset from the center of the lane is relatively likely to affect the traveling of the vehicle, and therefore it is considered necessary to display a more accurate positional relationship with respect to the vehicle. In contrast, according to the above configuration, it is possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles for surrounding vehicles that are relatively likely to affect the traveling of the vehicle by reducing the frequency of updating the display position, while suppressing the annoyance of small changes in the display position.

If the display orientation of the surrounding vehicle images in the overhead view is also periodically updated, the display orientation may be updated in conjunction with the display position update.

<Display position update related processing in HCU 10>
Here, an example of the flow of processing related to updating the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the HCU 10 (hereinafter, display position update related processing) will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 10. The flowchart of FIG. 10 may be configured to start when a switch (hereinafter, power switch) for starting the internal combustion engine or motor generator of the vehicle is turned on and the above-mentioned bird's-eye view is displayed. In addition, in the case of a configuration in which the function for displaying the surrounding vehicle image can be switched on and off, the flow may be configured to start when the power switch is turned on while the function for displaying the surrounding vehicle image is on. In addition, the flow may be configured to start when the function for displaying the surrounding vehicle image is switched from off to on while the power switch is on. In the example of FIG. 10, a case in which the update frequency is two levels, "high" and "low", will be described as an example.

The overhead view displayed on the display 90 includes an image of the vehicle itself, images of surrounding vehicles, and an image showing the dividing lines between the vehicle itself and surrounding lanes. The surrounding vehicle images included in the overhead view may be limited to those of surrounding vehicles within a certain distance as determined by the distance determination unit 102. The "certain" referred to here is a value greater than the threshold value TH described above and may be any value that can be set. The display position of the surrounding vehicle images is updated by the display control unit 105 at an update frequency set for each surrounding vehicle using the positional relationship between the vehicle itself and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111. The update frequency-related processing may be performed for each surrounding vehicle that is the subject of the display of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view.

In step S1, the distance determination unit 102 determines the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle. In step S2, if the distance determined in S1 is equal to or greater than the threshold TH (YES in S2), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the distance determined in S1 is less than the threshold TH (NO in S2), the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the display control unit 105 maintains the update frequency setting for the display position of the surrounding vehicle image at the default "high" and proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, in step S4, the display control unit 105 lowers the update frequency setting for the display position of the surrounding vehicle image from the default "high" to "low."

In step S5, if the lane change identification unit 103 identifies that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes (YES in S5), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the lane change identification unit 103 does not identify that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes (NO in S5), the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S6, when the display control unit 105 updates the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, for example, it sets the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle relative to the driving lane in the overhead view to be displayed at a position according to the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle relative to the driving lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit 111, and proceeds to step S9.

In step S7, if the deviation identified by the deviation identification unit 104 is equal to or greater than the deviation threshold (YES in S7), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the deviation identified by the deviation identification unit 104 is less than the deviation threshold (NO in S7), the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, when the display control unit 105 updates the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, for example, the display control unit 105 sets the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle relative to the driving lane in the overhead view to be displayed in the center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle, and the process proceeds to step S9.

In step S9, if it is time to end the display position update related processing (YES in S9), the display position update related processing is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the display position update related processing (NO in S9), the process returns to S1 and is repeated. Examples of timing to end the display position update related processing include when the power switch is turned off, when the function for displaying surrounding vehicle images is turned off, etc.

In addition, if there are three or more update frequencies, a threshold value that divides the three or more update frequencies into high and low frequencies may be used instead of the threshold value TH.

Summary of First Embodiment
According to the configuration of the first embodiment, since an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is displayed, it is possible to show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles in an overhead view. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle may change from time to time. However, the surrounding vehicles close to the vehicle have a large influence on the vehicle, so it is highly necessary to show the display position accurately, while the surrounding vehicles far from the vehicle have a small influence on the vehicle, so it is less necessary to show the display position accurately. In contrast, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced as the distance from the vehicle to the surrounding vehicles increases, so that it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the display position moving in small increments for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles that does not need to be shown accurately. As a result, it is possible to make the user feel less annoyed while showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles more accurately as necessary.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view is changed according to the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view may be changed according to a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as the second embodiment). An example of the second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the second embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 includes an HCU 10a instead of the HCU 10.

<General configuration of HCU 10a>
Next, the schematic configuration of the HCU 10a will be described with reference to Fig. 11. As shown in Fig. 11, the HCU 10a includes an information acquisition unit 101a, a distance identification unit 102, a lane change identification unit 103, a deviation identification unit 104, and a display control unit 105a as functional blocks for controlling the display on the display device 90. The HCU 10a is similar to the HCU 10 of the first embodiment, except that the HCU 10a includes the information acquisition unit 101a and the display control unit 105a instead of the information acquisition unit 101 and the display control unit 105. This HCU 10a corresponds to a vehicle display control device. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the HCU 10a by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle display control method.

The information acquisition unit 101a includes a behavior-related value acquisition unit 112. This behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 corresponds to a surrounding behavior-related value acquisition unit. The information acquisition unit 101a is similar to the information acquisition unit 101 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the behavior-related value acquisition unit 112. The behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 acquires values related to the behavior of surrounding vehicles (hereinafter, behavior-related values). Examples of behavior-related values include the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles with respect to the vehicle itself, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles. The behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 may be configured to acquire behavior-related values recognized by the autonomous driving ECU 80.

The display control unit 105a is similar to the display control unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that the display control unit 105a changes the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view in accordance with the behavior-related value acquired by the behavior-related value acquisition unit 112, instead of the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle. The processing in this display control unit 105a corresponds to the display control process.

It is preferable that the display control unit 105a reduces the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view for each surrounding vehicle as the vehicle speed slows. Here, reducing the update frequency refers to reducing the update frequency in at least two stages. For example, the update frequency may be reduced below the default update frequency. The same applies to subsequent descriptions of reducing the update frequency. The display control unit 105a may gradually reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the vehicle speed slows. Furthermore, the display control unit 105a may linearly reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the vehicle speed slows.

When the speed of the surrounding vehicles is slow, the surrounding vehicles do not make large movements. Therefore, compared to when the surrounding vehicles make large movements frequently, the impact on the vehicle is small and there is little need to accurately indicate the display position. In contrast, with the above configuration, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced as the speed of the surrounding vehicles slows, so that it is possible to reduce the annoyance caused by small movements of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles, which does not need to be displayed accurately. In addition, particularly when the surrounding vehicles are in a traffic jam, the surrounding vehicles make less large movements. Therefore, the display control unit 105a may be configured to reduce the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view when the surrounding vehicles are traveling at a speed equal to or lower than the speed estimated to be in a traffic jam, compared to when the surrounding vehicles are traveling at a speed higher than the speed estimated to be in a traffic jam.

It is preferable that the display control unit 105a reduces the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the host vehicle decreases for each surrounding vehicle. The display control unit 105a may gradually reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the host vehicle decreases. The display control unit 105a may also linearly reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the host vehicle decreases.

When the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles to the host vehicle is low, the surrounding vehicles do not move much relative to the host vehicle. Therefore, compared to when the surrounding vehicles move a lot relative to the host vehicle, the impact on the host vehicle is small and there is less need to accurately indicate the display position. In contrast, with the above configuration, the frequency of updates to the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced as the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles to the host vehicle decreases, so it is possible to reduce the annoyance of small movements of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles, which does not need to be displayed accurately.

The display control unit 105a may reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases for each surrounding vehicle. The display control unit 105a may gradually reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases. The display control unit 105a may also linearly reduce the update frequency of the display position of the surrounding vehicle image in the overhead view as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases.

When the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle is small, the surrounding vehicle moves less. Therefore, compared to when the surrounding vehicle moves a lot, the impact on the vehicle itself is small, and there is less need to accurately indicate the display position. In contrast, with the above configuration, the frequency of updates to the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view is reduced as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle decreases, so that it is possible to reduce the annoyance of small movements of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, which does not need to be displayed accurately.

<Display Position Update Related Processing in HCU 10a>
Here, an example of the flow of display position update-related processing in the HCU 10a will be described using the flowchart in Fig. 12. The flowchart in Fig. 12 may be configured to start in the same manner as the flowchart in Fig. 10. In the example in Fig. 12, an example will be described in which the update frequency has two levels, "high" and "low." The update frequency "high" may be set as the default update frequency.

In step S21, the behavior-related value acquisition unit 112 acquires behavior-related values. Examples of behavior-related values include the speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the vehicle itself, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle. In step S22, if the speed of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is less than the vehicle speed threshold value (hereinafter, the vehicle speed threshold value) that divides the update frequency into "high" and "low" (YES in S22), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if the speed of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is equal to or greater than the vehicle speed threshold value (NO in S22), the process proceeds to step S23.

In step S23, if the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the vehicle identified in S21 is less than the relative speed threshold value (hereinafter, the relative speed threshold value) that divides the update frequency into "high" and "low" (YES in S23), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the vehicle identified in S21 is equal to or greater than the relative speed threshold value (NO in S23), the process proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, if the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is less than the acceleration threshold value (hereinafter, the acceleration threshold value) that divides the update frequency into "high" and "low" (YES in S24), the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, if the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle identified in S21 is equal to or greater than the acceleration threshold value (NO in S24), the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S25, the display control unit 105a maintains the update frequency setting for the display position of the surrounding vehicle image at the default "high" and proceeds to step S31. On the other hand, in step S26, the display control unit 105a lowers the update frequency setting for the display position of the surrounding vehicle image from the default "high" to "low."

The processing in steps S27 to S30 is performed in the same manner as the processing in steps S5 to S8. In step S31, if it is time to end the display position update related processing (YES in S31), the display position update related processing is ended. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the display position update related processing (NO in S31), the processing returns to S21 and is repeated.

When the update frequency has three or more stages, thresholds that divide the three or more update frequencies into high and low frequencies may be used as the vehicle speed threshold, relative speed threshold, and acceleration threshold.

Summary of Second Embodiment
According to the configuration of the second embodiment, since an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is displayed, it is possible to show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles in an overhead view. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle relative to the vehicle may change from time to time. However, as described above, depending on the values related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicles, such as the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles, there may be cases where it is less necessary to accurately show the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle. In contrast, the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced according to the values related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicles, such as the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicles. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the display position moving in small increments for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicles that is less necessary to be shown accurately. As a result, it is possible to more accurately show the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as necessary, while making it less likely for the user to feel annoyed.

In the second embodiment, the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the own vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle are used as values related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, a configuration may be used in which only some of the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the own vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle are used. Furthermore, a configuration may be used in which values related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle that change the need to recognize the exact position of the surrounding vehicle are used other than the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicle to the own vehicle, and the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first and second embodiments, the case where the HCU 10, 10a is used in an autonomous vehicle has been described as an example, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the HCU 10, 10a may be used in a vehicle that does not have an autonomous driving function. However, in an autonomous vehicle, the requirement to display the positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles in an overhead view during autonomous driving is considered to be higher than in a vehicle that does not have an autonomous driving function. Therefore, it is preferable that the HCU 10, 10a be used in an autonomous vehicle. In particular, it is preferable that the HCU 10, 10a be used during autonomous driving in an autonomous vehicle.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view is changed according to the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the frequency of updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view may be changed according to the state of the autonomous driving of the vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as the fourth embodiment). An example of the fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vehicle system 1 of the fourth embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1 of the first embodiment, except that the vehicle system 1 includes an HCU 10b instead of the HCU 10.

In this embodiment, autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 is autonomous driving in which the driver has no monitoring obligation. In other words, autonomous driving at levels 3 to 5 can be said to be autonomous driving in which a second task is permitted. In this embodiment, the presence or absence of a monitoring obligation is switched by switching between an automation level of level 3 or higher and an automation level of level 2 or lower. Therefore, when switching from an automation level of level 3 or higher to an automation level of level 2 or lower, the driver is required to monitor safe driving. On the other hand, a configuration may be adopted in which a handover to the driver is required when switching from an automation level of level 2 or higher to an automation level of level 1 or lower. Also, a configuration may be adopted in which a handover to the driver is required when switching from an automation level of level 3 or higher to an automation level of level 2 or lower.

The autonomous vehicle of this embodiment is capable of switching between automation levels. The automation level may be configured to be switchable only between some of the levels 0 to 5. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which an autonomous vehicle can switch between autonomous driving at automation level 3 and autonomous driving at automation level 2 or lower or manual driving. For example, autonomous driving at automation level 3 may be permitted only during traffic jams.

<General configuration of HCU 10b>
Next, the schematic configuration of the HCU 10b will be described with reference to Fig. 13. As shown in Fig. 13, the HCU 10b includes an information acquisition unit 101b, a distance identification unit 102, a lane change identification unit 103, a deviation identification unit 104, and a display control unit 105b as functional blocks for controlling the display on the display device 90. The HCU 10b is similar to the HCU 10 of the first embodiment, except that the HCU 10b includes an information acquisition unit 101b and a display control unit 105b instead of the information acquisition unit 101 and the display control unit 105. This HCU 10b corresponds to a vehicle display control device. Also, the execution of the processing of each functional block of the HCU 10b by a computer corresponds to the execution of a vehicle display control method.

The information acquisition unit 101b includes an automatic driving related acquisition unit 113. This automatic driving related acquisition unit 113 corresponds to an automatic driving related state acquisition unit. The information acquisition unit 101b is similar to the information acquisition unit 101 of the first embodiment, except that it includes the automatic driving related acquisition unit 113. The automatic driving related acquisition unit 113 acquires a state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle (hereinafter, an automatic driving related state). Examples of the automatic driving related state include whether or not the driver of the vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, whether or not there is a request to take over driving, and whether or not there is a request to monitor the surroundings. The request to take over driving and the request to monitor the surroundings are requests from the system on the vehicle side to the driver. The automatic driving related acquisition unit 113 may be configured to acquire these automatic driving related states from the action determination unit of the automatic driving ECU 80.

The display control unit 105b is similar to the display control unit 105 of the first embodiment, except that it changes the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view in accordance with the autonomous driving-related state acquired by the autonomous driving-related acquisition unit 113, instead of the distance of the surrounding vehicle from the vehicle. The processing in this display control unit 105b corresponds to the display control process.

The display control unit 105b reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle according to the autonomous driving related state acquired by the autonomous driving related acquisition unit 113. When the autonomous driving related state acquired by the autonomous driving related acquisition unit 113 is a state in which the driver has no obligation to monitor the surroundings and there is no request to switch driving or to monitor the surroundings, it is preferable that the display control unit 105b reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle compared to a state in which the driver has an obligation to monitor the surroundings or there is a request to switch driving or a request to monitor the surroundings.

When the driver of the vehicle has a duty to monitor the surroundings, there is a high need to accurately indicate the display positions of the images of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, compared to when the driver of the vehicle does not have a duty to monitor the surroundings. On the other hand, when the driver of the vehicle does not have a duty to monitor the surroundings, there is a low need to accurately indicate the display positions of the images of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle. Also, when the system on the vehicle side requests the driver to take over driving or to monitor the surroundings, there is a high need for the driver to immediately grasp the surrounding situation. In response to this, according to the above configuration, when there is a low need to accurately indicate the display positions of the images of the surrounding vehicles relative to the vehicle, the frequency of updating the display positions of the images of the surrounding vehicles in the overhead view is reduced. Therefore, when there is a low need to accurately indicate, it is possible to reduce the frequency of updating the display positions of the images of the surrounding vehicles, thereby reducing the annoyance caused by small movements of the display positions.

<Display position update related processing in HCU 10b>
Here, an example of the flow of display position update-related processing in the HCU 10b will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 14. The flowchart in Fig. 14 may be configured to start in the same manner as the flowchart in Fig. 10. In the example in Fig. 14, the update frequency has two levels, "high" and "low." The update frequency "high" may be set as the default update frequency.

In step S41, the autonomous driving related acquisition unit 113 acquires autonomous driving related states. Examples of autonomous driving related states include whether the driver of the vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, whether there is a request to switch drivers, and whether there is a request to monitor the surroundings. In step S42, if the autonomous driving related state acquired in S41 is a state in which the driver of the vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings (YES in S42), the process proceeds to step S44. On the other hand, if the autonomous driving related state acquired in S41 is a state in which the driver of the vehicle does not have an obligation to monitor the surroundings (NO in S42), the process proceeds to step S43.

In step S43, if the autonomous driving-related state acquired in S41 indicates that there is a request to take over driving or to monitor the surroundings (YES in S43), the process proceeds to step S44. On the other hand, if the autonomous driving-related state acquired in S41 indicates that there is no request to take over driving or to monitor the surroundings (NO in S43), the process proceeds to step S45.

In step S44, the display control unit 105b maintains the update frequency setting for the display position of the surrounding vehicle image at the default "high" and proceeds to step S50. On the other hand, in step S45, the display control unit 105b lowers the update frequency setting for the display position of the surrounding vehicle image from the default "high" to "low."

The processing in steps S46 to S49 is performed in the same manner as the processing in steps S5 to S8. In step S50, if it is time to end the display position update related processing (YES in S50), the display position update related processing is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the display position update related processing (NO in S50), the processing returns to S41 and is repeated.

Summary of Fourth Embodiment
According to the configuration of the fourth embodiment, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is also displayed, so that the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles can be displayed in an overhead view. The display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle relative to the vehicle can change from time to time. However, as described above, depending on the state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle, such as the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring obligation of the driver of the vehicle, the presence or absence of the driving change request, and the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring request, there may be cases where it is less necessary to accurately display the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle relative to the vehicle. In contrast, the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view is reduced according to the automatic driving related state of the vehicle, such as the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring obligation of the driver of the vehicle, the presence or absence of the driving change request, and the presence or absence of the surrounding monitoring request, so that it is possible to suppress the annoyance caused by the display position moving in small increments for the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle that is less necessary to be displayed accurately. As a result, it is possible to more accurately display the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as necessary, while making it less likely for the user to feel annoyed.

In the fourth embodiment, the case where the driver of the vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, the driver has a request to take over driving, and the driver has a request to monitor the surroundings is used as an example of the autonomous driving-related state of the vehicle, but this is not necessarily limited to this. If the autonomous driving-related state is one in which the need to recognize the exact position of surrounding vehicles changes, the autonomous driving-related state other than the driver of the vehicle has an obligation to monitor the surroundings, the driver has a request to take over driving, and the driver has a request to monitor the surroundings may be used.

For example, a hands-on/hands-off state may also be used as an autonomous driving-related state. The hands-on state is a state in which the driver is holding the steering wheel with his/her hands. The hands-off state is a state in which the driver is not holding the steering wheel with his/her hands. The hands-on/hands-off state may be detected by a sensor provided on the steering wheel. Alternatively, the hands-on/hands-off state may be detected by image recognition of an image captured of the driver.

In the hands-on state, the display control unit 105b preferably reduces the update frequency compared to the hands-off state. This is because in the hands-on state, the driver's line of sight should be directed toward the front of the vehicle rather than the display surface of the display 90, and there is less need to accurately indicate the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle relative to the vehicle than in the hands-off state. For example, in the case where the driver does not have a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is no request for a driver changeover or a surrounding monitoring request, and in the hands-on state, the driver does not have a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is no request for a driver changeover or a surrounding monitoring request, and the update frequency may be reduced compared to the hands-off state. On the other hand, the display control unit 105b may be configured to increase the update frequency compared to the hands-on state when the driver has a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is a driver changeover request or a surrounding monitoring request, and in the hands-off state, the driver has a surrounding monitoring obligation and there is a driver changeover request or a surrounding monitoring request.

(Embodiment 5)
The display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to include an image simulating an actual lane in the overhead view. The image simulating an actual lane is an image simulating the presence or absence of a curve in the actual lane. For example, an image simulating the degree of curvature of the curve may be used. In this case, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to tilt the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view in accordance with the direction in which the lane is curved, even at a timing when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated, when the lane at the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view is curved (hereinafter, referred to as embodiment 5).

In the fifth embodiment, the information acquisition units 101, 101a, and 101b may acquire information including the degree of curvature of each lane. Then, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may use the degree of curvature of each lane acquired by the information acquisition units 101, 101a, and 101b to display the surrounding vehicle image OVIa with the orientation tilted along the direction in which the lane of the surrounding vehicle shown in the surrounding vehicle image OVIa curves, as shown in FIG. 15. This makes it possible to reduce the discrepancy between the orientation of the lane curve displayed in the overhead view and the orientation of the surrounding vehicle image. This makes it possible to prevent the user from having difficulty in grasping the positional relationship between the vehicle itself and the surrounding vehicles.

The above-mentioned processing in the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to narrow down the images of surrounding vehicles whose display position update frequency is equal to or less than the above-mentioned specified value. This is because a decrease in the display position update frequency tends to increase the deviation between the direction of the lane curve displayed in the overhead view and the direction of the surrounding vehicle images.

(Embodiment 6)
In addition, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to indicate that a specific driving technique is being performed by changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image when the surrounding vehicle image is engaged in a specific driving technique.

For example, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to indicate that a vehicle is meandering by changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image of the vehicle that is meandering. Whether or not the surrounding vehicle is meandering may be determined by the HCUs 10, 10a, and 10b based on, for example, the change in the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle sequentially identified by the deviation identification unit 104. Examples of changes in the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image that indicate meandering include blinking and changing the display color. In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, an icon (see MM in FIG. 16) that gives the impression of meandering may be superimposed. This makes it easier for the user to recognize the meandering of the surrounding vehicle, which is difficult to recognize only from the display position of the surrounding vehicle image that is sequentially updated.

The above-mentioned processing in the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to narrow down the images of surrounding vehicles whose display position update frequency is equal to or less than the above-mentioned specified value, for example. This is because the lower update frequency of the display position makes it easier for the user to recognize the meandering of surrounding vehicles, which is particularly difficult to recognize from only the display position of the sequentially updated surrounding vehicle images. This makes it easier for the user to recognize sudden deceleration of surrounding vehicles, which may be difficult to recognize from only the display position of the sequentially updated surrounding vehicle images.

In addition, the display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to indicate that a vehicle is suddenly decelerating by changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image of the vehicle that is suddenly decelerating. Examples of changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image to indicate that a vehicle is suddenly decelerating include changing the display color and superimposing an icon that gives the impression of a vehicle suddenly decelerating.

The display control units 105, 105a, and 105b may be configured to indicate that the hazard lights are on by changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image of the surrounding vehicle with its hazard lights on. Whether or not the surrounding vehicle has its hazard lights on may be determined by the HCUs 10, 10a, and 10b from the recognition result of the driving environment in the automatic driving ECU 80. In this case, the automatic driving ECU 80 may be configured to recognize the lighting state of the hazard lights of the surrounding vehicles as the driving environment by image recognition or the like. Examples of changing the display mode of the surrounding vehicle image to indicate that the hazard lights are on include superimposing an icon that gives the impression that the hazard lights are on. This makes it easier for the user to recognize the lighting of the hazard lights of the surrounding vehicles, which is difficult to recognize just from the display position of the surrounding vehicle image that is updated sequentially.

Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The technical scope of the present disclosure also includes embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments. The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer that constitutes a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated hardware logic circuit. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers that are configured by combining a processor that executes a computer program with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transient tangible recording medium as instructions executed by the computer.

1 Vehicle system (vehicle display control system), 10, 10a, 10b HCU (vehicle display control device), 90 Display, 101 Information acquisition unit, 102 Distance determination unit, 103 Lane change determination unit, 104 Deviation determination unit, 105, 105a, 105b Display control unit, 111 Positional relationship acquisition unit, 112 Behavior-related value acquisition unit (surrounding behavior-related value acquisition unit), 113 Autonomous driving-related acquisition unit (autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit)

Claims (18)

Used in vehicles,
A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle;
the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle,
The display control unit displays the overhead view including an image simulating an actual lane,
The display control unit is a vehicle display control device that, even when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated, if the lane at which the image of the surrounding vehicle is displayed in the overhead view is curved, displays the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view at a tilted angle along the direction in which the lane is curved. In claim 1 ,
A vehicle display control device used in autonomously driven vehicles. In claim 2 ,
An automatic driving related state acquisition unit (113) that acquires an automatic driving related state which is a state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle,
The display control unit (105b) is a vehicle display control device that reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle depending on the autonomous driving related state acquired by the autonomous driving related state acquisition unit. Used in autonomous vehicles,
A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle;
the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle ,
An automatic driving related state acquisition unit (113) that acquires an automatic driving related state which is a state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle,
The display control unit (105b) is a vehicle display control device that reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle depending on the autonomous driving related state acquired by the autonomous driving related state acquisition unit . In claim 3 or 4 ,
The autonomous driving related state acquisition unit acquires, as the autonomous driving related state, at least the presence or absence of a surrounding monitoring obligation of the driver of the vehicle, and the presence or absence of a driving change request which is a request for the transfer of driving control from the vehicle side system to the driver, or a surrounding monitoring request which is a request from the vehicle side system to the driver to monitor the surroundings,
The display control unit of the vehicle display control device reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle when the autonomous driving-related state acquired by the autonomous driving-related state acquisition unit is a state in which the driver has no obligation to monitor the surroundings and there is no request to take over driving and no request to monitor the surroundings, compared to when the driver has an obligation to monitor the surroundings or there is a request to take over driving or a request to monitor the surroundings. In any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The display control unit is a vehicle display control device capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles. In claim 6,
the display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles, and displays the overhead view including an image showing lanes;
The positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires a positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane,
A lane change identification unit (103) that identifies that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes;
a deviation identification unit (104) that identifies a deviation of a lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from a center of a lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling,
The display control unit, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose lane change identification unit has identified that the surrounding vehicle will change lanes, or the deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value.On the other hand, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, the display control unit displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is less than a threshold value, in a center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle. Used in vehicles,
A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle;
the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle ,
the display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles, and displays the overhead view including an image showing lanes;
The positional relationship acquisition unit also acquires a positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane,
A lane change identification unit (103) that identifies that the surrounding vehicle is changing lanes;
a deviation identification unit (104) that identifies a deviation of a lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from a center of a lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling,
The display control unit, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose lane change identification unit has identified that the surrounding vehicle will change lanes, or the deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value.On the other hand, when updating the display position of an image of a surrounding vehicle, the display control unit displays the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit, for the surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is below a specified value and whose deviation identified by the deviation identification unit is less than a threshold value, in a center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle. In any one of claims 6 to 8 ,
The display control unit (105) is a vehicle display control device that reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles as the distance from the vehicle increases. In any one of claims 6 to 8 ,
A surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit (112) for acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle,
The display control unit (105a) changes the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit. Used in vehicles,
A positional relationship acquisition unit (111) that acquires a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control unit (105, 105a, 105b) that uses the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired by the positional relationship acquisition unit to display, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle;
the display control unit reduces a frequency of updating a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle ,
The display control unit is capable of changing the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles,
A surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit (112) for acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle,
The display control unit (105a) changes the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit;
The surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least an acceleration of the surrounding vehicle as a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle,
The display control unit reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in response to a decrease in absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit . In claim 10 or 11 ,
The surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least a vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle as a value related to a behavior of the surrounding vehicle,
The display control unit reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles in response to a decrease in the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicles acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit. In any one of claims 10 to 12 ,
The surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit acquires at least a relative speed of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the vehicle as a value related to a behavior of the surrounding vehicle,
The display control unit reduces the update frequency for each of the surrounding vehicles as the relative speed acquired by the surrounding behavior related value acquisition unit decreases. Used in vehicles,
A display (90) for use in a passenger compartment of the vehicle;
A vehicle display control system including the vehicle display control device (10, 10a, 10b) according to any one of claims 1 to 13 . A vehicle display control method for use in a vehicle, comprising:
Executed by at least one processor,
a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step;
the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle,
In the display control step, an image simulating an actual traffic lane is also included in the overhead view and displayed ,
The display control method for a vehicle includes a display control process for displaying the image of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view at a tilted angle in accordance with the direction in which the lane is curved, even when the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle is not updated. A vehicle display control method for use in an autonomously driven vehicle, comprising:
Executed by at least one processor,
a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step;
the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle ,
An automatic driving related state acquisition step of acquiring an automatic driving related state which is a state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle,
In the display control step, the vehicle display control method reduces the update frequency of the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle depending on the autonomous driving-related state acquired in the autonomous driving-related state acquisition step . A vehicle display control method for use in a vehicle, comprising:
Executed by at least one processor,
a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step;
the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle ,
In the display control step, the update frequency can be changed for each of the surrounding vehicles, and an image showing lanes is also included in the overhead view and displayed .
In the positional relationship acquisition step, a positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane is also acquired,
a lane change identification process for identifying that the surrounding vehicle is about to change lanes;
a deviation identifying step of identifying a deviation of a lateral position of the surrounding vehicle from a center of a lane in which the surrounding vehicle is traveling,
In the display control step, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and for which a lane change has been identified in the lane change identification step as being performed, or for a surrounding vehicle whose deviation identified in the deviation identification step is equal to or greater than a threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane is displayed in the overhead view at a position in accordance with the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the lane acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step, while, for a surrounding vehicle whose update frequency is equal to or less than a specified value and for which the deviation identified in the deviation identification step is less than a threshold, when updating the display position of the image of the surrounding vehicle, the lateral position of the surrounding vehicle with respect to the driving lane is displayed in a center position of the driving lane of the surrounding vehicle in the overhead view. A vehicle display control method for use in a vehicle, comprising:
Executed by at least one processor,
a positional relationship acquisition step of acquiring a positional relationship between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles of the vehicle;
a display control step of displaying, on a display device (90) used in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, an overhead view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles using an image of at least the surrounding vehicles among the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles viewed from a virtual viewpoint above the vehicle, using the positional relationship between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles acquired in the positional relationship acquisition step;
the display control step reduces an update frequency of a display position of an image of the surrounding vehicle on the overhead view in accordance with a predetermined condition related to at least one of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle ,
In the display control step, the update frequency can be changed for each of the surrounding vehicles,
a surrounding behavior related value acquisition step of acquiring a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle;
In the display control step, the update frequency is changed for each of the surrounding vehicles in accordance with a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition step;
In the surrounding behavior related value acquisition step, at least an acceleration of the surrounding vehicle is acquired as a value related to the behavior of the surrounding vehicle,
In the display control step, the update frequency is reduced for each of the surrounding vehicles as the absolute value of the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle acquired in the surrounding behavior related value acquisition step becomes smaller .

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