Patent Publication Number: US-2022234443-A1

Title: Automobile

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-009289 filed on Jan. 25, 2021, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to an automobile, and more specifically, to an automobile including a display device that can display an image of a traveling line in front of a driver. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Conventionally, as this kind of automobile, there has been proposed an automobile including a head-up display that displays an image on a windshield (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-248574, for example). This automobile displays a planned traveling line of wheels of the automobile on the windshield, and thereby can cause a driver to recognize the planned traveling line of the wheels easily and clearly. 
     SUMMARY 
     In this kind of automobile, it is possible that an image of a previously set ideal traveling line is displayed on the windshield at the time of traveling on a traveling road. However, a desired traveling line differs depending on the traveling road or driver&#39;s taste. Therefore, with only the previously set ideal traveling line, it is not possible to display an image of a traveling line depending on the traveling road or an image of a traveling line depending on driver&#39;s need. 
     An automobile in the present disclosure has a main object to display the image of the traveling line depending on the traveling road or driver&#39;s need. 
     The automobile in the present disclosure adopts the following means for achieving the above-described main object. 
     An automobile in the present disclosure is 
     an automobile including: 
     a traveling road information storage device that stores traveling road information; 
     a traveling position detection device that detects a traveling position of a vehicle; 
     a display device that displays an image in front of a driver; and 
     a control device that controls the display device such that the display device displays an image of a traveling line in front of the driver, based on the traveling position and the traveling road information, in which 
     the control device controls the display device such that the display device displays the image of the traveling line by switching among traveling lines corresponding to a plurality of traveling patterns. 
     In the automobile in the present disclosure, when the display device is controlled such that the display device displays the image of the traveling line in front of the driver based on the traveling position and the traveling road information, the display device is controlled such that the display device displays the image of the traveling line by switching among the traveling lines corresponding to the plurality of traveling patterns. It is possible to display the image of the traveling line depending on the traveling road or driver&#39;s need, by switching to the traveling pattern based on the traveling road or driver&#39;s need. 
     In the automobile in the present disclosure, the control device may control the display device such that the display device displays an image of a traveling line corresponding to a traveling pattern selected by a driver, the traveling pattern selected by the driver being included in the plurality of traveling patterns. Thereby, it is possible to display the image of the traveling line desired by the driver. 
     In the automobile in the present disclosure, the traveling road information may include information about a particular traveling road, the plurality of traveling patterns may include traveling patterns of a plurality of particular drivers when the plurality of particular drivers drive on the particular traveling road, and the control device may control the display device such that the display device displays an image of a traveling line corresponding to a traveling pattern of a particular driver selected by a driver, in traveling on the particular traveling road, the traveling pattern of the particular driver selected by the driver being included in the traveling patterns of the plurality of particular drivers. Thereby, in the traveling on the particular traveling road, it is possible to display the image of the traveling line corresponding to the traveling pattern of the particular driver selected by the driver. 
     In the automobile in the present disclosure, the traveling pattern may include at least one of a braking timing, a steering start timing and a gear shifting timing, and the control device may control the display device such that the display device displays an image of at least one of the braking timing, the steering start timing and the gear shifting timing together with the image of the traveling line. Thereby, it is possible to perform a braking operation, a steering operation or a gear shifting operation at the braking timing, the steering start timing or the gear shifting timing. 
     The automobile in the present disclosure may include an automatic driving device that performs automatic driving control, in which the automatic driving device performs the automatic driving control such that the vehicle travels along a displayed traveling line, when automatic driving is selected. Thereby, it is possible to travel along the traveling line corresponding to the selected traveling pattern by the automatic driving. 
     In the automobile in the present disclosure, the control device may permit the display of the image of the traveling line when the vehicle travels on a predetermined traveling road, and may prohibit the display of the image of the traveling line when the vehicle travels on a traveling road other than the predetermined traveling road. Thereby, it is possible to display the image of the traveling line, only on the predetermined traveling road. Examples of the predetermined traveling road include a traveling road isolated from general roads, as exemplified by a circuit, and a particular expressway. 
     In the automobile in the present disclosure, the control device may control the display device such that the display device displays an image of a traveling line corresponding to a traveling pattern for a road condition, the traveling pattern for the road condition being included in the plurality of traveling patterns. Thereby, it is possible to display the image of the traveling line corresponding to the traveling pattern for the road condition. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote like elements, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of an automobile  20  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as blocks mainly including an electronic control unit  50 ; 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing an exemplary traveling line display process that is executed by the electronic control unit  50 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram showing an exemplary state in which the display of an image (hologram) of a traveling line corresponding to a recommended traveling pattern is performed on a general road. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Next, a mode for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with use of an embodiment. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of an automobile  20  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as blocks mainly including an electronic control unit  50 . As illustrated, the automobile  20  according to the embodiment is configured as an automobile that travels using dynamic power from a drive device  62  such as a motor or an engine. 
     In addition to the drive device  62 , the automobile  20  according to the embodiment includes an ignition switch  22 , a global positioning system (global positioning satellite, GPS)  24 , a forward camera  26 , a cabin camera  28 , a vehicle speed sensor  30 , an acceleration sensor  32 , a raindrop sensor  34 , a millimeter-wave radar  36 , an accelerator sensor  38 , a brake sensor  40 , a mode switching switch  42 , a display switching switch  44 , the electronic control unit  50 , a drive actuator  60 , a brake actuator  64 , a brake device  66 , a steering actuator  68 , a steering device  70 , a holographic optical device  72 , a windshield  74 , a traveling state indicator  76 , a meter  78 , a navigation system  80 , a data communication module (DCM)  86 , a traveling line information storage device  90 , and the like. 
     The GPS  24  is a device that detects the position of a vehicle based on signals sent from a plurality of GPS satellites. The forward camera  26  is a camera that is attached to an upper portion at a front center in an occupant cabin and that is disposed so as to photograph a forward view through the windshield  74 . The cabin camera  28  is a camera that is attached to an upper portion at the front center in the occupant cabin and that is disposed so as to photograph the interior of the occupant cabin. The vehicle speed sensor  30  detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle based on a wheel speed or the like. For example, the acceleration sensor  32  detects the acceleration of the vehicle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and detects the acceleration of the vehicle in the right-left direction (lateral direction) of the vehicle. The raindrop sensor  34  is a sensor that detects a raindrop on the windshield. The millimeter-wave radar  36  detects the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed between the own vehicle and a forward vehicle, and detects the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed between the own vehicle and a rearward vehicle. 
     The accelerator sensor  38  detects an accelerator operation amount or the like corresponding to the amount of stepping of an accelerator pedal by a driver. The brake sensor  40  detects a brake position or the like as the amount of stepping of a brake pedal by the driver. The mode switching switch  42  is a switch that is disposed near a steering wheel at a driver&#39;s seat and that is used for switching between a manual driving mode and an automatic driving mode. The display switching switch  44  is a switch for switching between display and non-display of an image (hologram) of a traveling line corresponding to a selected traveling pattern in front of the driver. 
     The drive device  62  includes a motor, an engine or the like for traveling, and is driven and controlled by the drive actuator  60 . 
     The electronic control unit  50  is configured as a microcomputer mainly including a CPU, which is not illustrated, and in addition to the CPU, includes a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, an input port, an output port, a communication port and the like. Depending on the traveling mode from the mode switching switch  42 , the electronic control unit  50  sets a required torque to be output from the drive device to a drive shaft to which drive wheels are joined, a required braking force to be output from the brake device, and the like, based on the accelerator operation amount from the accelerator sensor  38 , the brake position from the brake sensor  40 , and the like. 
     In the manual driving mode, the electronic control unit  50  sets the required torque and the required braking force, based on the accelerator operation amount from the accelerator sensor  38 , the brake position from the brake sensor  40  and the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor  30 . Then, the electronic control unit  50  sends the set required torque to the drive actuator  60 , and sends the set required braking force to the brake actuator  64 . In the automatic driving mode, the electronic control unit  50  sets a target traveling state of the vehicle based on map information from the navigation system  80 , road information obtained from a road information management center  100 , peripheral information obtained from the millimeter-wave radar  36 , the forward camera  26  and the like, and other information, and sets the required torque, the required braking force, a target steering position and the like, such that the set target traveling state is obtained. Then, the electronic control unit  50  sends the set required torque to the drive actuator  60 , sends the set required braking force to the brake actuator  64 , and sends the target steering position to the steering actuator  68 . 
     The drive actuator  60  drives and controls the drive device  62  such that the required torque set by the electronic control unit  50  is output from the drive device  62  to the drive shaft. 
     The brake actuator  64  controls the brake device  66  such that the brake device  66  applies the required braking force set by the electronic control unit  50  to the vehicle. 
     The steering actuator  68  drives and controls the steering device  70  such that the steering position of the steering device  70  becomes the target steering position set by the electronic control unit  50 . 
     The holographic optical device  72  is configured as an augmented reality (AR) device that displays various holograms on the windshield  74 , and is built in a dashboard of the vehicle. 
     The data communication module (DCM)  86  sends information about the own vehicle to the road information management center  100 , and receives road traffic information from the road information management center  100 . Examples of the information about the own vehicle include the position, vehicle speed, traveling power and traveling mode of the own vehicle. Examples of the road traffic information include information relevant to a current or future congestion, information relevant to a current average vehicle speed or a predicted value of a future average vehicle speed in a section on a traveling route, information relevant to traffic regulation, information relevant to weather, information relevant to a road surface state, and information relevant to a map. The DCM  86  communicates with the road information management center  100  at a predetermined interval (for example, a 30-second interval, a 1-minute interval or a 2-minute interval). 
     The navigation system  80  is a system that guides the own vehicle to a set destination, and includes a map information database  82  and a display unit  84 . In the map information database  82 , the road pavement state of a road, the width of a road, the number of lanes, the width of a sidewalk, a direction in which the vehicle can travel, a legal speed limit and the like are stored for each section, as the map information. The navigation system  80  communicates with the road information management center  100  through the data communication module (DCM)  86 . When the destination is set, the navigation system  80  sets a route based on information about the destination, information about a current place (a current position of the own vehicle) acquired by the GPS  24 , and information stored in the map information database  82 . Then, the navigation system  80  communicates with the road information management center  100  at a predetermined time interval (for example, a 3-minute interval or a 5-minute interval), to acquire the road traffic information, and performs route guidance based on the road traffic information. 
     The traveling line information storage device  90  is a storage device that stores information necessary to display holograms (images) of traveling lines corresponding to various traveling patterns on the windshield  74  using the holographic optical device  72 , and includes a circuit information database  92  and a traveling pattern database  94 . In the circuit information database  92 , information (forms of courses, states of traveling roads, widths of traveling roads, positions on the map, and the like) about circuits located in various places are stored. The traveling pattern database  94  includes traveling patterns (particular-driver traveling patterns) of a plurality of particular drivers such as famous F1 drivers and rally drivers, an advanced-driver traveling pattern, an intermediate-driver traveling pattern, a beginning-driver traveling pattern, a recommended traveling pattern, and the like. The particular-driver traveling pattern includes a traveling line for a particular driver in each circuit, a driver&#39;s sight point, a braking start point, a steering start point, a gear shifting point, and the like. Further, the particular-driver traveling pattern includes a traveling line, a driver&#39;s sight point, a braking start point, a steering start point, a gear shifting point and the like at the time the fastest lap time of a particular driver in each circuit. In the advanced-driver traveling pattern, the intermediate-driver traveling pattern or the beginning-driver traveling pattern, for example, a traveling line at a corner is set so as to be a traveling line of out-in-out, a traveling line of out-in-in or a traveling line of in-in-in. In the recommended traveling pattern, an ideal traveling line that is likely to be the safest traveling is set. 
     Next, a behavior of the automobile  20  configured as described above, particularly, a behavior for displaying the traveling line will be described.  FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing an exemplary traveling line display process that is executed by the electronic control unit  50 . The traveling line display process is executed when the display switching switch  44  is switched to the display of the traveling line. 
     When the traveling line display process is executed, first, the electronic control unit  50  requests selection of whether the traveling road is a circuit (step S 100 ). This request can be performed, for example, by displaying icons of “circuit” and “general road” on the display unit  84  of the navigation system  80  and causing the driver to touch one of the icons. 
     When “circuit” is selected in step S 100 , the driver selects a circuit for traveling, from the circuits stored in the circuit information database  92  of the traveling line information storage device  90  (step S 110 ), and selects a particular driver (step S 120 ). In the selection of the circuit, an appropriate circuit may be selected based on the position information about the own vehicle and the map information from the map information database  82  of the navigation system  80 , or a list of the circuits stored in the circuit information database  92  of the traveling line information storage device  90  may be displayed such that the selection is performed by the driver. The selection of the particular driver can be performed by displaying a list of the particular drivers for the selected circuit stored in the circuit information database  92  and causing the driver to perform the selection. When the particular driver is selected in this way, the traveling pattern of the particular driver for the selected circuit is set from the traveling patterns of the particular drivers for the circuits stored in the traveling pattern database  94  of the traveling line information storage device  90  (step S 140 ), and the display of the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the set traveling pattern is started (step S 150 ). 
     On the other hand, when “general road” is selected in step S 100 , a driver level is selected (step S 130 ). The selection of the driver level can be performed, for example, by displaying “advanced driver”, “intermediate driver”, “beginning driver” and “recommended driver” and causing the driver to perform the selection. When the driver level is selected, the traveling pattern for the selected driver level is set (step S 140 ), and the display of the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the set traveling pattern is started (step S 150 ). The traveling pattern is set to the advanced-driver traveling pattern when “advanced driver” is selected, is set to the intermediate-driver traveling pattern when “intermediate driver” is selected, is set to the beginning-driver traveling pattern when “beginning driver” is selected, and is set to the recommended traveling pattern when “recommended driver” is selected. 
     After the display of the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the traveling pattern is started, a process described below is repeatedly executed until the display switching switch  44  is switched to the non-display of the traveling line. 
     In the repetitive process, first, the position information about the own vehicle is acquired by the GPS  24  and the like (step S 160 ), and the traveling road information is acquired based on the position information about the own vehicle (step S 170 ). In the case where the traveling road is a circuit, the traveling road information includes the course information (the form of the course, the state of the traveling road, the width of the traveling road, and the like) about the position of the own vehicle in the course of the selected circuit in the circuit information database  92 . In the case where the traveling road is a general road, the traveling road information includes the map information (the road pavement state of the road, the width of the road, the number of lanes, the width of the sidewalk, the direction in which the vehicle can travel, the legal speed limit and the like in each section) about the position of the own vehicle in the map information database  82  of the navigation system  80 . 
     Subsequently, the position of the driver&#39;s eyes is specified by analyzing the image photographed by the cabin camera  28  (step S 180 ), and the traveling road image from the forward camera  26  is acquired (step S 190 ). Next, the position of the own vehicle on the traveling road in the traveling road image is calculated by analyzing the traveling road image (step S 200 ), and the display position of the traveling line corresponding to the traveling pattern is calculated based on the position of the own vehicle in the traveling road image and the position of the driver&#39;s eyes (step S 210 ). Then, the holographic optical device  72  is controlled such that the image (hologram) of a traveling line  110  is displayed at the calculated display position on the windshield  74  by the holographic optical device  72  (step S 220 ). Further, images (holograms) of points such as a sight point  112 , a braking start point  114 , a steering start point  116  and a gear shifting point  118  are displayed (step S 230 ). It is determined whether the display of the traveling line is switched to the non-display by the display switching switch  44  and the display is ended (step S 240 ). In the case where the display is continued, the process returns to step S 160 , and in the case where the display is ended, the traveling line display process is ended. 
       FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram showing an exemplary state in which the display of the image (hologram) of a traveling line corresponding to a recommended traveling pattern is performed on a general road. In  FIG. 3 , the image (hologram) of the traveling line  110  is displayed on a road (thick solid lines and a thick broken line as a center line) that can be visually recognized through the windshield  74 . In addition, the image (hologram) of the sight point  112  at a left back position, the image (hologram) of the braking start point  114  indicated by a mark that is constituted by “B” surrounded by a square, the image (hologram) of the steering start point  116  indicated by a mark that is constituted by “H” surrounded by a square and an arrow indicating a rotation direction, and the image (hologram) of the gear shifting point  118  indicated by a mark that is constituted by “S” surrounded by a square are displayed. The driver drives the vehicle along the displayed traveling line, and thereby can travel along the traveling line corresponding to the desired traveling pattern. 
     When the display switching switch  44  is switched to the display of the traveling line in a state where the automatic driving mode is selected by the mode switching switch  42 , the steering device  70  is controlled such that the vehicle travels along the traveling line corresponding to the selected traveling pattern. On this occasion, in the case where the traveling road is a general road and where there is a leading vehicle, the vehicle speed may be set to a vehicle speed that is within the legal speed limit and that allows the vehicle to follow the leading vehicle, and in the case where the traveling road is a general road and where there is no leading vehicle, the vehicle speed may be set to a vehicle speed that is within the legal speed limit and that depends on the road situation. In the case of a circuit, the vehicle speed may be set to a vehicle speed at which the vehicle can safely travel. 
     In the automobile  20  according to the embodiment described above, the driver selects a desired traveling pattern from a plurality of traveling patterns, and the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the selected traveling pattern is displayed on the windshield  74 . Thereby, it is possible to display the image (hologram) of the traveling line depending on the traveling road or driver&#39;s need. 
     In the automobile  20  according to the embodiment, in the case where the traveling road is a circuit, the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the selected particular-driver traveling pattern is displayed. In the case where the traveling road is not a circuit (the traveling road is a general road), one of the advanced-driver traveling pattern, the intermediate-driver traveling pattern, the beginning-driver traveling pattern and the recommended traveling pattern is selected, and the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the selected traveling pattern is displayed. However, the display of the image (hologram) of the traveling line may be prohibited in the case where the traveling road is not a circuit (the traveling road is a general road), while the display of the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the selected particular-driver traveling pattern is permitted in the case where he traveling road is a circuit, similarly to the embodiment. On this occasion, in the case where the traveling road is an expressway, the display of the image (hologram) of the traveling line may be permitted, even when the traveling road is not a circuit. 
     In the automobile  20  according to the embodiment, the driver selects a desired traveling pattern from a plurality of traveling patterns, and the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the selected traveling pattern is displayed. In addition to this, the traveling pattern may be selected depending on the state of the traveling road, and the image (hologram) of the traveling line corresponding to the selected traveling pattern may be displayed. The state of the traveling road includes a state of whether the traveling road is a paved road or an unpaved road, a state of whether the road surface is wet, a state of whether the road surface is covered by snow, a state of whether the road surface is frozen, and the like. On this occasion, in the case where the traveling road is a paved road and where the road surface is not wet, the selection of one of the advanced-driver traveling pattern, the intermediate-driver traveling pattern, the beginning-driver traveling pattern and the recommended traveling pattern may be permitted similarly to the embodiment. In the case where the traveling road is an unpaved road, a traveling pattern for unpaved roads may be selected. In the case where the road surface is wet, a traveling pattern for rain may be selected. In the case where the road surface is covered by snow, a traveling pattern for snowy roads may be selected. In the case where the road surface is frozen, a traveling pattern for frozen roads may be selected. 
     In the automobile  20  according to the embodiment, when the display switching switch  44  is switched to the display of the traveling line in the state where the automatic driving mode is selected, the steering device  70  is controlled such that the vehicle travels along the traveling line corresponding to the selected traveling pattern. However, when the automatic driving mode is selected, the image (hologram) of the traveling line is allowed not to be displayed. 
     In the automobile  20  according to the embodiment, the images (holograms) of the sight point  112 , the braking start point  114 , the steering start point  116  and the gear shifting point  118  are displayed in addition to the image (hologram) of the traveling line  110 . However, some of the images (holograms) of the sight point  112 , the braking start point  114 , the steering start point  116  and the gear shifting point  118  may be displayed, an image (hologram) of a point or the like other than the points may be displayed, or the images (holograms) of the points are allowed not to be displayed. 
     The correspondence relation between principal elements of the embodiment and principal elements of the disclosure described in SUMMARY will be described. In the embodiment, the traveling line information storage device  90  and the navigation system  80  correspond to the “traveling road information storage device”, the GPS  24  corresponds to the “traveling position detection device” the holographic optical device  72  and the windshield  74  correspond to the “display device”, and the electronic control unit  50  corresponds to the “control device”. 
     The correspondence relation between principal elements of the embodiment and principal elements of the disclosure described in SUMMARY does not limit the elements of the disclosure described in SUMMARY, because the embodiment is an example for specifically describing a mode for carrying out the disclosure described in SUMMARY. That is, the disclosure described in SUMMARY should be interpreted based on the description in SUMMARY, and the embodiment is just a specific example of the disclosure described in SUMMARY. 
     A mode for carrying out the present disclosure has been described above with use of the embodiment. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment at all. Naturally, the present disclosure can be carried out as various modes, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. 
     The present disclosure can be used in an automobile manufacturing industry and the like.