Vehicle

There is provided a vehicle including (i) a vehicle main body, (ii) an input device that receives a destination input operation, (iii) a first display that displays information on a route to a destination inputted by the input device, the first display being arranged in the vehicle main body, (iv) an acquisition device for acquiring location-related information based on a current location of the vehicle main body or a location of a goal point of the vehicle main body, and (v) a second display that displays the location-related information acquired by the acquisition device, the second display being arranged in the vehicle main body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-252265 filed on Dec. 27, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle.

Background Art

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2009-25224 discloses a technology of a car navigation device performing route guidance for a moving object, the device including a display panel on which plural symbols each having individual characteristic feature are displayed. In this technology, when any one of the plural displayed symbols is selected, the tourist information relating to the individual characteristic feature of the selected symbol is selected from a tourist facility database, and the thus selected tourist information is displayed on the display panel.

JP-A No. 2005-37246 discloses a technology in which, when a tourist site is selected from a list of tourist sites displayed on a car navigation system, video data sent from a digital camera at the tourist site is displayed.

The technology of JP-A No. 2009-25224, however, only displays tourist information relating to the individual characteristic feature of a selected symbol on the display panel. Further, in the technology disclosed in JP-A No. 2005-37246, merely a video of a selected tourist site is displayed.

In this manner, both of the technologies disclosed in these patent documents do nothing more than simply displaying tourist site information; therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of displaying, in a moving vehicle, useful information based on the location of the vehicle.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, in a moving vehicle, useful information based on the location of the vehicle is displayed.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle includes (i) a vehicle main body, (ii) an input device that receives a destination input operation, (iii) a first display that displays information on a route to a destination inputted by the input device, the first display being arranged in the vehicle main body, (iv) an acquisition device for acquiring location-related information based on a current location of the vehicle main body or a location of a goal point of the vehicle main body, and (v) a second display that displays the location-related information acquired by the acquisition device, the second display being arranged in the vehicle main body.

In the vehicle according to the first aspect, when a destination is inputted to the input device, information on a route to the destination can be displayed using the first display.

Further, in this vehicle, the acquisition device acquires location-related information. This location-related information is information based on the current location of the vehicle main body or the location of a goal point of the vehicle main body. The second display displays the location-related information acquired by the acquisition device.

In other words, in this vehicle, not only information on a route to a destination can be displayed on the first display, but also useful information based on the current location of the vehicle main body or the location of a goal point of the vehicle main body can be displayed as location-related information using the second display.

In a second aspect, the acquisition device according to the first aspect sets the destination inputted by the input device as the location of the goal point.

In the second aspect, by setting the destination as the location of the goal point using the acquisition device, location-related information of the destination can be displayed using the second display.

In a third aspect, the acquisition device according to the first or the second aspect acquires the location-related information from an external database.

In the third aspect, by acquiring the location-related information from an external database, for example, detailed or updated information in the external database can be displayed as the location-related information using the second display.

In a fourth aspect, in a state in which the vehicle main body is stopped, the acquisition device according to any one of the first to the third aspects takes information based on the stopped location as the location-related information.

In the fourth aspect, the information based on the stopped location of the vehicle main body can be displayed as the location-related information using the second display.

In a fifth aspect, the vehicle according to any one of the first to the fourth aspects includes a selection device that selects an attribute of an occupant of the vehicle main body, and the second display displays the location-related information based on the attribute selected by the selection device.

In the fifth aspect, the most appropriate location-related information can be displayed using the second display in accordance with an attribute of an occupant.

A sixth aspect of the present disclosure is a method for displaying information based on a location of a vehicle, the method including (i) receiving a destination input operation, (ii) displaying information on a route to the received destination at a first display disposed in the vehicle, (iii) acquiring location-related information based on a current location of the vehicle or a location of a goal point of the vehicle, and displaying the acquired location-related information at a second display disposed in the vehicle.

A seventh aspect of the present disclosure is a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute a process for displaying information based on a location of a vehicle, the process including (i) receiving a destination input operation, (ii) displaying information on a route to the received destination at a first display disposed in the vehicle, (iii) acquiring location-related information based on a current location of the vehicle or a location of a goal point of the vehicle, and (iv) displaying the acquired location-related information at a second display disposed in the vehicle.

According to the present disclosure, in a moving vehicle, useful information based on the location of the vehicle can be displayed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A vehicle102according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described in detail referring to the figures. The simple terms “front side” and “rear side” used herein mean the front side and the rear side along the vehicle anteroposterior direction, respectively, and, the terms “upper side” and “lower side” mean the upper side and the lower side along the vehicle vertical direction, respectively.

As illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle102includes a vehicle main body104, inside of which is a vehicle compartment106. A dashboard108is arranged on the front side of the vehicle compartment106, and a windshield112is arranged above the dashboard108.

A display panel116is arranged on the dashboard108. The display panel116is one example of the first display of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the display panel116is arranged at a central position in the vehicle widthwise direction on the dashboard108.

The display panel116also functions as an input panel which receives an input made by an occupant's touch operation. In other words, the display panel116doubles as an input device118(one example of the input device of the present disclosure). As the input device118, an input display (e.g., a touch panel) or various input switches (e.g., push buttons and slide switches) may be arranged separately from the display panel116. Further, for example, a microphone which receives a voice input from an occupant, or a sensor which detects a motion of an occupant (e.g., movement of an arm or a fingertip) can also be used as the input device118.

In this embodiment, one example of the contents to be inputted by the input device118is the place where the vehicle main body104is heading to (occupant's destination). In this case, by displaying information on a route to the destination on the display panel116, the display panel116is allowed to function as a part of a car navigation system. In other words, information that relates to a route to the destination and is useful for a car navigation system in assisting the travel and the driving operations of the vehicle is route information.

As described above, the display panel116is one example of the first display. The first display may also include, in addition to the display panel116, a speaker (not illustrated) which presents information by voice. When the first display includes a speaker, by configuring the first display to present the information on the route to the destination as a voice output from the speaker, the speaker also constitutes a part of the car navigation system.

As illustrated inFIG. 3, a projection member122is arranged inside the dashboard108. The projection member122is one example of the second display of the present disclosure.

The projection member122projects a projected image126at a prescribed position on the windshield112through a projection window124of the dashboard108. This projected image126is projected in such a manner to form a virtual image128further on the front side than the windshield112when viewed from an occupant PG. The occupant PG can visually recognize the projected image126in a superimposed manner with the sight outside the vehicle created by the light transmitting through the windshield112. In other words, the projection member122of this embodiment is a head-up display.

As illustrated inFIG. 4, a control device130is connected to the display panel116and the projection member122. The control device130includes a first output unit132and a second output unit134. The first output unit132and the second output unit134each output a prescribed image to the display panel116and the projection member122, respectively.

The control device130also includes a memory unit136and a control unit138. In the memory unit136, for example, a location-related information display program for executing the below-described “location-related information display process” has been stored in advance. Further, the input device118is connected to the control device130, and it is configured such that information inputted to the input device118is transmitted to the control device130.

FIG. 11shows a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the control unit138. The control unit138includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)202, a Read Only Memory (ROM)204, and a Random Access Memory (RAM)206. The control unit138is connected to the memory unit136. These components are connected in a mutual communication mariner via a bus208.

The CPU202is formed as a central processing unit so as to execute various programs and to control each portion. That is, the CPU202reads a program from the ROM204or the memory unit136and executes the program using the RAM206as a working area. The CPU202performs the control of each unit included in the vehicle main body104and various calculations in accordance with the program stored in the ROM204or the memory unit136.

The ROM204stores various programs and various data. Note that programs and data, or portions thereof, which are described to be stored in the memory unit136throughout the present disclosure, can be stored at the ROM204instead of the memory unit136. The RAM206stores the programs or the data temporarily as a working area.

For convenience of explanation, hereinafter, performing various functions of the vehicle main body104by the ROM204of the control unit138executing the location-related information display program stored in the memory unit136is described as that the control unit138controls the vehicle main body104.

To an I/O (Input/Output) port156of the control device130, in addition to the input device118, an actuator sensor140, a vehicle speed sensor142, a location receiving device144and a wireless communication device146are also connected. The control unit138, in accordance with the various information inputted to the control device130, processes image information to be outputted from each of the first output unit132and the second output unit134to the display panel116and the projection member122.

To the control device130, the actuator sensor140, which detects the on-off state of the actuator of the vehicle, and the vehicle speed sensor142, which detects the vehicle speed, are connected. The term “actuator” refers to a mechanism in the case of a vehicle having the mechanism such as an engine, or a motor in the case of a vehicle having the motor such as an electric motor such as a motor. Further, in the case of an automobile having both a mechanism and a motor, the term “actuator” refers to both of them, and the actuator is judged to be in an off state when the mechanism and the motor are both off.

The location receiving device144receives current location information of the vehicle102from, for example, a global positioning system (GPS). The wireless communication device146, for example, wirelessly communicates with an external server via an interne connection or the like to transmit and receive information. The wireless communication device146of this embodiment is capable of acquiring location-related information based on the location of the vehicle102and is one example of the acquisition device of the present disclosure.

The “location” in the “location-related information” includes both the destination inputted from the input device118and the current location of the vehicle main body104.

The “location-related information” is unique information associated with the “location” according to the “location” of the vehicle main body104. The “location-related information” includes, for example, weather information according to the “location” of the vehicle main body104(e.g., weather, temperature, and weather advisory/warning), road conditions (e.g., traffic congestion/jam conditions, construction/lane restriction information), and neighboring facility information (e.g., holidays, business hours, special events, congestion status, parking area conditions, and bargain sale information for the case of a commercial facility). These information can be acquired from an external server by the wireless communication device146. The wireless communication device146is one example of the acquisition device of the present disclosure.

The “location-related information” further includes, for example, colors, marks and characters that are set in accordance with the “location”, as well as quiz-format information and guide-format information that are presented to the occupant PG. The “quiz-format information” refers to information presented to the occupant PG in the form of problems and their correct answers. The “guide-format information” refers to information in the form sequentially guiding the surrounding situation, notable tourist spots and the like in accordance with changes in the location of the moving vehicle main body104. The guide-format information may be included in the quiz-format information or, conversely, the quiz-format information may be included in the guide-format information. These information can be acquired from an external server; however, they may also be installed in the memory unit136inside the control device130in advance. In this case, the control device130itself is one example of the acquisition device. The control unit138of the control device130reads out a prescribed program stored in the memory unit136and executes the control of the acquisition device of the present disclosure.

Next, a method of displaying the “location-related information” based on the “location” of the vehicle102in the vehicle102of this embodiment will be described. In the vehicle102of this embodiment, the control unit138of the control device130reads out a prescribed program stored in the memory unit136and, in accordance with the flow illustrated inFIG. 5, executes a “location-related information display process” for displaying a prescribed display content using the display panel116and the projection member122. In the execution of this “location-related information display process”, as illustrated inFIG. 6, the control device130displays a selection screen P1, which asks whether or not to display the location-related information regarding the destination, on the display panel116. Then, if it is judged that an input for not displaying the location-related information has been made, the “location-related information display process” is not executed. In other words, the “location-related information display process” is executed when it is judged that an input for displaying the location-related information has been made.

For the execution of the “location-related information display process”, the following descriptions assume that the destination of the vehicle102has already been inputted. However, if the destination of the vehicle102has not been inputted, the control device displays a screen for inputting the destination and, after the destination is input, executes the “location-related information display process”.

In the step S12, as illustrated inFIG. 7, the control device130displays an input screen P2regarding the attribute of an occupant(s) PG on the display panel116to acquire the attribute of the occupant(s) PG. When there are plural occupants PG, the term “attribute of occupants” used herein refers to the relationship of the plural occupants PG. InFIG. 7, those relationships that are considered as representative examples of the “attribute of occupants” are listed; however, the “attribute of occupants” to be displayed on the display panel116is not restricted to such relationships. When there is only a single occupant, for example, “not specify” may be selected, or any one of other attributes may be selected. The attribute input screen P2is one example of the selection device according to the present disclosure. The control unit138of the control device130reads out a prescribed program stored in the memory unit136and executes the control of the selection device of the present disclosure.

In the step S14, the control device130acquires location information of the vehicle main body104from the location receiving device144. In cases where the display panel116constitutes a car navigation system, the location information can also be used for the car navigation system.

Next, in the step S16, the control device130acquires “location-related information” based on the “destination” of the vehicle main body104, the “attribute” of the occupants, the “location information” of the vehicle main body104and the like. Here, a case where “Amusement park A” is set as the “destination” and “Family (with children)” is set as the “attribute” of the occupants will be described as an example.

In this case, the control device130, for example, accesses the home page (external server) of the amusement park A via the wireless communication device146and sets a display P4of a home page content (seeFIG. 9) as a piece of the “location-related information”. When the home page of the amusement park A contains a page for children, since the “attribute of occupants” is “Family (with children)”, the page for children may be added as a piece of the “location-related information”. Further, the control device130may also acquire parking area congestion information of the amusement park A from the website of the amusement park A (or from other external server) and add this information as a display P5of the “location-related information” (seeFIG. 10). Moreover, the control device130may also acquire information on the weather at the address of the amusement park A from the website of the amusement park A (or from other external server) and add this information to the “location-related information”. Particularly, if the parking area congestion information, the surrounding area weather information and the like are designed to be updated at certain time intervals, the occupants PG can obtain real-time information, which is highly convenient.

In a case in which plural pieces of information have been obtained as the “location-related information” as described above, the control device130displays, on the display panel116as illustrated inFIG. 8, a selection screen P3regarding which of the plural pieces of information should be selected. In the example illustrated inFIG. 8, plural pieces of information can be selected, and a button for instructing to end the selection is provided.

After the completion of the selection, the control device130proceeds to the step S18. In the step S18, the control device130projects one or more pieces of the thus selected information as a projected image126from the projection member122to the windshield112. In a case in which plural pieces of information have been selected, they may be sequentially projected over time, or may be projected next to each other by dividing the projection area. In any case, the projected image126is projected to an area that does not affect the operations of the vehicle102.

Next, in the step S20, the control device130detects whether or not the vehicle main body104is stopped based on the information detected by the vehicle speed sensor142. When it is judged that the vehicle main body104is not stopped, since the vehicle main body104is believed to be travelling to the destination, the control device130returns back to the step S18and continues to display the location-related information regarding the destination.

When the vehicle main body104is judged to be stopped, the control device130proceeds to the step S22. In the step S22, the control device130judges whether or not the vehicle main body104has arrived at the “destination”. In other words, the control device130judges whether or not the current location of the vehicle main body104matches the “destination”. When the vehicle main body104is judged to have arrived at the “destination” in the step S22, the control device130proceeds to the step S24.

In the step S24, the control device130judges whether or not the actuator has been turned off. When the actuator is judged to be off, since the vehicle main body104has come to stop arriving at the destination and the actuator has been turned off, the “location-related information display process” is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is judged that the actuator is not off, since the vehicle main body104is in a state where it has arrived at the destination but the actuator has not been turned off, it is presumed that, for example, the vehicle will be parked in the parking area of the destination and/or an occupant(s) other than the driver will get off the vehicle. Therefore, the control device130returns back to the step S18and continues to project and display the location-related information regarding the destination from the projection member122. For example, when the location-related information regarding the destination contains the congestion status of the parking area, it is convenient to display the congestion status of the parking area as the location-related information regarding the destination since this makes parking easy. Further, display of the internal map of the destination is also convenient since this makes it easy for the occupant(s) who have already left the vehicle to move on foot.

When the control device130judges in the step S22that the vehicle main body104has not arrived at the “destination”, the vehicle main body104is believed to be stopped or parked at a place other than the destination (e.g., a rest area, a parking area, a Michi-no-Eki, or a parking space of a commercial facility). In this case, the control device130proceeds to the step S26.

In the step S26, the control device130acquires the “location-related information” regarding the current location of the vehicle main body104. As the “location-related information” in the step S26, for example, the names of notable tourist spots, commercial facilities and the like around the current location of the vehicle main body104are acquired nom the map database of the car navigation system. Then, based on the thus acquired names, information acquired from an external server or the like is set as the “location-related information” in the same manner as in the case of acquiring the “location-related information” of the “destination”.

Thereafter, in the step S28, the control device130projects and displays the “location-related information” regarding the current location of the vehicle main body104as the projected image126from the projection member122to the windshield112.

In the step S30, it is judged whether or not the vehicle main body104has started to move again. This judgement may be made based on the speed of the vehicle main body104, or using the location information of the vehicle main body104that is received by the location receiving device144.

When it is judged that the vehicle main body has not started to move again, since it is assumed that vehicle main body is still stopped, the control device130returns back to the step S28and continues to display the location-related information regarding the current location. On the other hand, when it is judged that the vehicle main body has started to move again, it is believed that the vehicle main body104is again travelling to the destination. In this case, the control device130returns back to the step S18and displays the location-related information regarding the destination.

As seen from the above descriptions, in this embodiment, since the “location-related information” associated with the “destination” is displayed by the projection member122on the windshield112, the occupants PG can obtain useful information.

Further, as described above, in a state where the vehicle main body104is stopped and has not arrived at the destination, the location-related information relating to the current location of the vehicle main body104can also be displayed. Therefore, as compared to a configuration in which the location-related information regarding the current location is not displayed, the above-described embodiment attains superior convenience.

It is noted here, however, that such a configuration of not displaying the location-related information regarding the current location is not excluded. In other words, even if a vehicle does not display the location-related information regarding the current location, as long as the vehicle is capable of displaying the location-related information regarding the destination, the vehicle is more convenient than a vehicle that is configured not to display the location-related information regarding the destination.

As the location-related information regarding the current location, when the vehicle main body104is travelling, the location of the traveling vehicle main body104may be taken as the current location to acquire the location-related information. In this case, since the location of the vehicle main body104changes as the vehicle main body104travels, for example, an estimated location, which is the location at which the vehicle main body104is estimated to be after a prescribed time, may be regarded as the current location.

The location-related information may also be acquired from an internal database that has been stored in advance in the memory unit of the control device130, instead of from an external database, or using an external database in combination. Acquisition of the location-related information from an external database is likely to provide more detailed information as compared to a case of acquiring the location-related information from an internal database. Further, as the location-related information, it is also possible to acquire information that has been updated in an external database. When an internal database of the control device130is used for the acquisition, the location-related information can be acquired, for example, even if an external database is not accessible.

In the above, a configuration that has the projection member122functioning as a head mount display was described as an example of the second display. The second display may take any configuration as long as it is capable of displaying the location-related information and may be, for example, the same panel as the display panel116. Alternatively, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which plural self-luminous light sources are arranged as picture elements on an interior member of the vehicle compartment106(e.g., a door panel, roof panel, or a center console) and images are displayed using the plural light sources. Further, a configuration in which images are projected from a projection member and displayed on an interior member of the vehicle compartment106may be adopted as well. In this case, the arrangement position of the projection member may be in the dashboard as in the case illustrated inFIG. 3, or on the above-described interior member. For example, by projecting the scenery (landscape image or starry sky image) or the like of the destination on substantially the entire surface of the interior of the vehicle compartment, it is possible to convert the inside of the vehicle compartment into a space that gives a realistic feeling of being at the destination.

In the above, the vehicle102which includes the projection member122as an example of the display that displays the “location-related information” was described; however, the second display may take, for example, a configuration which includes the same display panel as the display panel116. Further, the second display may also take a configuration which has only one display panel116, or a configuration in which the display screen of the display panel116is divided into two sections such that one of the sections is used as a display screen of a car navigation system while the other section is used as a screen for displaying, the “location-related information”. In this configuration, the display panel116functions as both the first display and the second display.

Further, the location-related information display processing performed by the CPU202reading the program in the embodiment described above may be performed various processors other than a CPU. In this case, an example of the processor includes a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), the circuit configuration of which can be changed after manufacturing the device, such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and a specific electric circuit formed as a processor having a circuit configuration specifically designed for performing specific processing such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Further, the location-related information display processing may be performed by one of the various processors, or a combination of two or more of similar processors or different processors (for example, a combination of a plurality of the FPGAs, a combination of the CPU and the FPGA, or the like). Further, a hardware configuration of the various processors is specifically formed as an electric circuit combining circuit elements such as semiconductor element.

Further, in the embodiments described above, the location-related information display program is stored in the memory unit136or the ROM204, however it is not limited to this. The program may be provided by a storage medium such as a Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM), and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory in which the program is stored. Further, the program may be downloaded from an external device through a network.