VEHICULAR DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20130090843A1
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Funabashi, Junichiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,649,965 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

A vehicular display apparatus in a host vehicle is provided with a display output portion including a ring-shaped light-emitting area that represents presence of a different vehicle. A direction specification processor specifies a direction indicating presence of the different vehicle with reference to the host vehicle based on position information about the host vehicle and the different vehicle. A distance specification processor specifies a distance between the host vehicle and the different vehicle based on position information about the host vehicle and the different vehicle. A display control processor displays part of the light-emitting area so that the displayed part is positioned in a direction specified by the direction specification processor and has a length based on a distance specified by the distance specification processor.

Claims

1. A vehicular display apparatus in a host vehicle, the vehicular display apparatus comprising:

a display portion having a ring-shaped display area that represents presence of a different vehicle that is distant from the host vehicle;

a direction specification processor to specify a direction indicating presence of the different vehicle with reference to the host vehicle based on position information about the host vehicle and the different vehicle;

a distance specification processor to specify a distance between the different vehicle and the host vehicle based on the position information about the host vehicle and the different vehicle; and

a display control processor to display a displayed part of the ring-shaped display area, the displayed part being determined based on a direction specified by the direction specification processor, the displayed part having a length that is determined based on a distance specified by the distance specification processor.

2. The vehicular display apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

a risk rate specification processor to specify a risk rate for the different vehicle with reference to the host vehicle,

wherein the display control processor displays the ring-shaped display area in accordance with a display mode corresponding to the risk rate specified by the risk rate specification processor.

3. The vehicular display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the display control processor inactivates the ring-shaped display area in case of not receiving position information about the different vehicle and activates the ring-shaped display area in case of receiving position information about the different vehicle.

4. The vehicular display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a position information reception indicator to notify that position information about the different vehicle is received,

wherein the display control processor inactivates the position information reception indicator in case of not receiving position information about the different vehicle and activates the position information reception indicator in case of receiving position information about the different vehicle.

5. The vehicular display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the ring-shaped display area includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged light-emitting elements.

6. The vehicular display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the ring-shaped display area is circumferentially provided around a host vehicle mark indicating the host vehicle.

7. The vehicular display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the display portion is capable of displaying the ring-shaped display area on a display screen; and

the display control processor further displays at least one of an alarm message and an alarm icon at a position corresponding to the direction specified by the direction specification processor simultaneously when displaying the displayed part of the ring-shaped display area such that the displayed part is determined based on the direction specified by the direction specification processor and has the length that is determined based on the distance specified by the distance specification processor.