Display apparatus for vehicle and display method of display apparatus for vehicle

• US 10,378,916 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2016
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Funabiki, Makoto, Obayashi, Keiichiro, Koyama, Takayoshi, Imamura, Jun, Shibata, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Abby Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US15/216,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20160327402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: 701431, 701 1, 701301, 701426, 701428, 701437, 701438, 701455, 701532, 701533, 701 2, 701 37, 701 49, 701408, 340436, 340988, 340990, 3409951, 345589, 359599, 359630, 359633, 280735, 180271
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/166 Navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/23 Head-up displays [HUD] optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/90 Calibration of instruments, e.g. setting initial or reference parameters; Testing of instruments, e.g. detecting malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/02 related to ambient conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/365 Guidance using head up displays or projectors, e.g. virtual vehicles or arrows projected on the windscreen or on the road itself
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/08 Details of timing specific for flat panels, other than clock recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/10 Automotive applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/377 for mixing or overlaying two or more graphic patterns G09G5/02, G09G5/397 take precedence

Abstract

A peripheral information obtaining unit, a road information obtaining unit, and a communication unit which are included in a driving environment obtaining unit obtain information indicating a current state of a drive environment. A driver information obtaining unit and a vehicle information obtaining unit which are included in a driving state obtaining unit obtain information indicating a driving state of a current driver. A display controller controls at least one of a display position and a display timing of a guidance sign to be displayed on a display unit, based on at least one of the pieces of information which are output from the driving environment obtaining unit, the driving state obtaining unit, and a route guiding unit.

Claims

1. A display apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

a route guiding unit which generates route information for providing guidance on a route to a destination;

a display unit which displays a guidance sign to be superimposed on a driver'"'"'s front view, the guidance sign indicating a route from a traveling position of the vehicle to a guide point; and

a display controller which determines a display timing of the guidance sign, depending on the route information and depending on a display area of the display unit on the driver'"'"'s front view and driving state information, and which causes the display unit to display the guidance sign at the determined display timing at a reference position of a viewpoint of the driver,

wherein when the reference position and a normal display timing satisfy a predetermined condition in which the driver would notice the guidance sign late, the display controller causes the guidance sign to be displayed earlier than the normal display timing, and

the predetermined condition is when a height of the viewpoint of the driver is higher than the reference position of the viewpoint of the driver.

2. A display method of a display apparatus for a vehicle, the display apparatus including:

a route guiding unit which generates route information for providing guidance on a route to a destination; and

a display unit which displays a guidance sign to be superimposed on a driver'"'"'s front view, the guidance sign indicating a route from a traveling position of the vehicle to a guide point, the display method comprising;

determining a display timing of the guidance sign, depending on the route information and depending on a display area of the display unit on the driver'"'"'s front view and driving state information;

causing the display unit to display the guidance sign at the determined display timing at a reference position of a viewpoint of the driver; and

causing the guidance sign to be displayed earlier than a normal display timing, when the reference position and the normal display timing satisfy a predetermined condition in which the driver would notice the guidance sign late,

wherein the predetermined condition is when a height of the viewpoint of the driver is higher than the reference position of the viewpoint of the driver.

3. A display apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

a route guiding unit which generates route information for providing guidance on a route to a destination;

a display unit which displays a guidance sign to be superimposed on a driver'"'"'s front view, the guidance sign indicating a route from a traveling position of the vehicle to a guide point; and

a display controller which determines a display timing of the guidance sign, depending on the route information and depending on a display area of the display unit on the driver'"'"'s front view and driving state information, and which causes the display unit to display the guidance sign at the determined display timing a reference position of a viewpoint of the driver,

wherein when the reference position and a normal display timing satisfy a predetermined condition in which the driver would notice the guidance sign late, the display controller causes the guidance sign to be displayed earlier than the normal display timing, and

the predetermined condition is when a height of viewpoint of the driver is lower than the reference position of the viewpoint of the driver.