IMAGE CONTROL APPARATUS AND DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20190308641A1
• Filed: 07/11/2017
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nippon Seiki Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nippon Seiki Company Limited
• Inventors: SATO, Takumi
• Application Number:
  US16/315,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20190308641A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/166 Navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/175 Autonomous driving
• 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: B60R 16/02 electric constitutive elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0141 characterised by the informative content of the display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0181 Adaptation to the pilot/driver
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0179 Display position adjusting means not related to the information to be displayed
• 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 5/36 characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory

Abstract

A display apparatus is mounted in a vehicle controlled under driving modes including an autonomous driving mode. The display apparatus has a control means causing a display means to display, in response to receipt of a driving mode switching instruction, a progress image showing the progress to completion of switching of the driving mode by increases in an index amount. The control means increases the index amount of the progress image along a forward direction if the driving mode that would follow the switch is one in which there will be more operations under automatic control in the vehicle in comparison to before the switch. The control means increases the index amount of the progress image along the reverse direction if the driving mode that would follow the switch is one in which there will be less operations under automatic control in the vehicle in comparison to before the switch.

Claims

1. An image control apparatus adapted to be mounted in a conveyance that can be controlled in a plurality of driving modes including an autonomous driving mode, the image control apparatus comprising:

a display control means configured to, in response to receipt of a driving mode switching instruction, control a display means to display a progress image indicating a progress to completion of the driving mode switching with an increase of an index amount, wherein in a case where the number of targets for automatic control in the conveyance increases after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, the display control means allows the index amount in the progress image to increase in a predetermined forward direction, and

in a case where the number of targets for automatic control in the conveyance decreases after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, the display control means allows the index amount in the progress image to increase in an opposite direction of the forward direction.

2. The image control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in response to receipt of the switching instruction, the display control means displays an indication image, which indicates a driving mode after the driving mode switching, at a position eccentrically located in the forward direction or in the opposite direction in a display area of the display means.

3. The image control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in response to receipt of the switching instruction, the display control means controls the display means to display a suggestion image suggesting to a driver a preparation for a driving mode after the driving mode switching.

4. The image control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in a case where the number of targets for automatic control in the conveyance decreases after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, the display control means displays the suggestion image.

5. The image control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the suggestion image includes an equipment image of the conveyance and a body image moving toward the equipment image.

6. The image control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means controls the display means to display a route guide image in accordance with types of the plurality of driving modes,

in a case where the number of targets for automatic control in the conveyance increases after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, the route guide image is displayed in a schematic manner in a driving mode after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, and

in a case where the number of targets for automatic control in the conveyance decreases after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, the route guide image is displayed in a detailed manner in a driving mode after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching.

8. A display apparatus, comprising:

the display means and the image control apparatus according to claim 1, the display apparatus being configured to emit a display light from the display means to a translucent member and display an image by the display light forward of the translucent member.

7. An image control apparatus adapted to be mounted in a conveyance that can be controlled in a plurality of driving modes including an autonomous driving mode, the image control apparatus comprising:

a display control means configured to, in response to receipt of a driving mode switching instruction, control a display means to display a progress image indicating a progress to completion of the driving mode switching with a decrease of an index amount, wherein in a case where the number of targets for automatic control in the conveyance increases after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, the display control means allows the index amount in the progress image to decrease in a predetermined forward direction, and

in a case where the number of targets for automatic control in the conveyance decreases after the driving mode switching compared to before the driving mode switching, the display control means allows the index amount in the progress image to decrease in an opposite direction of the forward direction.