Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2068189B1/en
Timestamp: 2019-05-19 12:02:12
Document Index: 85061995

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 13', 'art 14', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 13', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 14', 'art 11', 'art 13', 'art 14']

EP2068189B1 - Head-up display device for vehicle - Google Patents
EP2068189B1
EP2068189B1 EP20080253871 EP08253871A EP2068189B1 EP 2068189 B1 EP2068189 B1 EP 2068189B1 EP 20080253871 EP20080253871 EP 20080253871 EP 08253871 A EP08253871 A EP 08253871A EP 2068189 B1 EP2068189 B1 EP 2068189B1
EP20080253871
EP2068189A2 (en
EP2068189A3 (en
2007-12-04 Priority to JP2007313390A priority Critical patent/JP4480755B2/en
2009-06-10 Publication of EP2068189A2 publication Critical patent/EP2068189A2/en
2010-02-10 Publication of EP2068189A3 publication Critical patent/EP2068189A3/en
2014-01-22 Publication of EP2068189B1 publication Critical patent/EP2068189B1/en
A conventional head-up display device for vehicles is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open publication No. 2001 - 357498 . This conventional head-up display device includes an obstacle detecting means for detecting an obstacle in front of a driver, a regard point detecting means for detecting a point of regard of the driver, a projector for projecting a virtual display image representing various information to a driver, and a display changing means for changing the information represented by the virtual display image according to the movement of the point of regard and also for changing a size of a display area according to a vehicle running environment and a driver's skill.
On the other hand, WO 03/005102 A1 discloses a head-up display system that detects various information including an eye position and an eye gaze direction of a driver and provides an alarm display image, such as a pedestrian, at an appropriate position by moving the alarm display image according to the gaze direction of the driver. The eye gaze direction is detected by using a device such as a video camera, a radar sensor, a rider sensor, a distance imaging device, a flight time sensor, a night vision sensor, an infrared ray sensor or two-dimensional/three-dimensional image forming sensor in a passenger and then by using its image analysis software. This system, however, has a problem in that it is expensive to provide, and further due to it relying upon a heavy processing load on a microcomputer.
The present invention seeks to provide a head-up display device, for a vehicle, which overcomes any of the foregoing drawbacks and/or can help a driver recognize a display image representing information produced by a head-up display device earlier when the driver operates an on-vehicle device.
The features of the present invention that are known from WO 03/005102 A1 have been placed in the preamble of claim 1 appended hereto.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a head-up display device as defined in claim 1.
The head-up display device of the invention can help a driver recognize a display image representing information produced by the head-up display device earlier when the driver looks away from a usual forward visual range to operate an on-vehicle device.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 3, the center console 31 further has switches 22 of the on-vehicle devices 15 such as the audio device, the navigation device and the air-conditioner device. One of the on-vehicle devices 15 includes an angle adjustment switch 19 for adjusting angles of the left door mirror 17 and the right door mirror 18, and with a left-right shift switch 20 thereof as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to an audio operation switch, a navigation operation switch and an air-conditioner operation switch and others.
The control part 13, the output part 14 and the mirror 6 correspond to the display position shifting means of the present invention.
Incidentally, the obstacle detection sensor 16 and the obstacle judgment part 11 correspond to an obstacle detecting means of the present invention. The obstacle detection sensor 16 and the obstacle judgment part 11 also correspond to an obstacle detection means and an obstacle judgment means of the present invention, respectively.
When the control part 13 receives the operation judgment signal SG4 from the operation judgment part 12, it determines the position of the display area, such as the display area E1, E2 or E3, according to which on-vehicle devices 15 is operated. The control part 13 also judges, based on the operation detection signal SG3, whether or not the operation of the operation-detected on-vehicle device 15 requires more than a first predetermined time. The first time is set to remove unnecessary display of the display area, instantaneous or very short time for the operation. The control part 13 outputs a display area shift signal SG5 to the output part 14.
Like the left and right door mirrors 17 and 18, portions/parts, of the on-vehicle devices 15 at operation, the driver 9 watches during the operation are usually not switches the driver operates, but most of the portions/parts are monitors or objects the driver 9 wants to change. For, example, the portion/part corresponds to the monitor screen 21 of an audio device, a navigation device, an air conditioner device and/or others, although the monitor 21 may be far apart from or near the devices 15 and the switches 22 thereof.
When the driver turns away his or her head from the usual visual range S to operate one of the on-vehicle devices 15, the display controller 10 executes a display area shifting control by using a flowchart shown in FIG. 4.
Therefore, the position of the display area can be shifted according to the operation of the on-vehicle device 15 being operated, which can help the driver recognize the display image representing the information produced by the head-up display device earlier when the driver operates the on-vehicle device, than in other head-up systems.
At the step S22, the obstacle judgment part 11 judges whether or not the obstacle is recognized in front of the motor vehicle 2, based on the obstacle detection signal SG1 outputted from the obstacle detection sensor 16. If its judgment is YES, the flow goes to stepS23, while if it is NO, the flow goes to the step S21. Note that, even if it is NO, the control part 13 may control the output part 14 so that the alarm display P can be seen in the usual visual range S by the driver.
While there have been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein.
The embodiments of present invention have been described purely by way of example and various additions, modifications and/or omissions are possible and will be apparent without departing from the scope of the invention.
A head-up display device (1) adapted for a vehicle, the device comprising:
a light source (4) for projecting light;
a display unit (5) for producing display virtual images (8, P, P1, P2) including an alarm display image (P, P1);
a mirror (6) for reflecting the light, the light representing the alarm display image (P, P1) so that, in use in a vehicle, a driver (9) can see the alarm display image (P, P1) in a display area (E1, E2, E3, E) that is set on one of a front windshield (7) and a combiner, in front of the driver (9); and
an obstacle detecting means (11, 16) for judging existence of an obstacle (B) to be avoided to output an obstacle judgment signal (SG2) when the obstacle detecting means detects the obstacle (B);
the head-up display device (1) being characterized in that it comprises
a visual-line shift detecting means (12) provided to judge a visual-line shift of the driver based on an operation detection signal (SG3) outputted from at least one on-vehicle device (15), it being configured to judge by outputting an operation judgment signal (SG4) when that at least one on-vehicle device (15) is operated; and
a display position shifting means (13, 14, 6) provided to shift positions of the display area (E1, E2, E3, E) based on the operation judgment signal (SG4) and the obstacle judgment signal (SG2) when the visual-line shift detecting means (12) detects the visual-line shift and the obstacle detecting means (11, 16) detects the obstacle (B).
The head-up display device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the visual-line shift detecting means (12) is configured to judge whether there has been a visual-line shift of the driver (9) based on an operation detection signal (SG1) outputted from the on-vehicle device (15), when operated, and on whether more than a first predetermined time of an operation of the on-vehicle device (15) has occurred.
The head-up display device (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the display position shifting means (13, 14, 6) is configured to have a timer that starts to count time when the visual-line shift detecting means (12) judges a visual-line shift of the driver (9) to have occurred, and wherein the display unit (5) is configured to cease a production of the alarm display image (P, P1) when the timer counts up a second predetermined time.
The head-up display device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display position shifting means (13, 14, 6) is configured to shift positions of the display area (E1, E2, E3, E) when the visual-line shift detecting means (12) detects a visual-line shift from a driver's usual forward visual range (S), the usual forward visual range (S) being the area which a driver mostly watches while the driver drives without the visual-line shift detecting means receiving an operation detection signal (SG3) from the on-vehicle device (15), the shift being so that the alarm display image (P, P1), when in use on a vehicle, is on a line between the driver's usual forward visual range (S) and a position of the on-vehicle device (15) judged to be being operated.
The head-up display device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the obstacle detecting means comprises an obstacle detection sensor (16) for detecting an obstacle (B) located in front of a vehicle (2) so as to output an obstacle detection signal (SG1) and an obstacle judgment part (11) for judging the obstacle (B) based on the obstacle detection signal (SG1) so as to output the obstacle judgment signal (SG2), wherein the display unit (5) is configured to produce the alarm display image (P, P1, P2) in the display area (E1, E2, E3, E), when in use on a vehicle, when the obstacle detecting means (16, 11) detects existence of the obstacle (B).
The head-up display device (1) according to claim 5, wherein, when in use in a vehicle, the position of the display area is determined according to one or both of a steering angle and a vehicle speed.
The head-up display device according to any preceding claim, further comprising one of a front windshield (7) and a combiner, for locating in front of the driver (9) when in use in a vehicle.
The head-up display device according to any preceding claim, installed within a vehicle.
The head-up display device (1) according to claim 8, wherein one of the on-vehicle devices (15) is located in a center console (31).
The head-up display device (1) according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein one of the on-vehicle devices (15) is a left or a right door mirror (17, 18), and the visual-line shift detecting means (12) is configured to detect an operation for adjusting an angle of the door mirror (17, 18).
A vehicle comprising a head-up display device according to any preceding claim.
A motor vehicle comprising the head-up display device according to any of claims 1 to 10.
EP20080253871 2007-12-04 2008-12-03 Head-up display device for vehicle Active EP2068189B1 (en)
JP2007313390A JP4480755B2 (en) 2007-12-04 2007-12-04 Head-up display device for a vehicle
EP2068189A2 EP2068189A2 (en) 2009-06-10
EP2068189A3 EP2068189A3 (en) 2010-02-10
EP2068189B1 true EP2068189B1 (en) 2014-01-22
EP20080253871 Active EP2068189B1 (en) 2007-12-04 2008-12-03 Head-up display device for vehicle
JP5467527B2 (en) * 2010-09-06 2014-04-09 株式会社デンソー Vehicle-mounted device control unit
JP6394940B2 (en) * 2014-05-23 2018-09-26 日本精機株式会社 Display system for a vehicle
JP6304272B2 (en) * 2016-02-04 2018-04-04 トヨタ自動車株式会社 Alerting system for a vehicle
DE102017100880A1 (en) 2017-01-18 2018-07-19 Visteon Global Technologies, Inc. Display device and method for displaying in a vehicle
JP4867463B2 (en) * 2006-05-09 2012-02-01 株式会社デンソー Driving support system
2007-12-04 JP JP2007313390A patent/JP4480755B2/en active Active
2008-12-03 EP EP20080253871 patent/EP2068189B1/en active Active
2008-12-03 US US12/327,134 patent/US8035493B2/en active Active
US20090140845A1 (en) 2009-06-04
JP4994040B2 (en) 2012-08-08 Method and system for supporting a course control
Inventor name: HIOKI, SHINJIRO
Ref document number: 602008030053