Display control device, projection device, and non-transitory storage medium for vehicle speed limit notifications

• US 9,969,266 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2016
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2015
• 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: Mochizuki, Makoto, Emura, Koichi, Kobayashi, Shigeru, Matsumoto, Takenori
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Xiao
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elbinger, Steven
• Application Number:
  US15/183,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20170001522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1868 according to driving situations
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/695 Dial features
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/81 for controlling displays
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• 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 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

In a display control device, in accordance with speed limit information input from an input unit, a control unit senses change in a speed limit of a road where a vehicle travels and after that, in accordance with vehicle information input from the input unit, determines whether or not whether necessity to increase conspicuity of notification of the change in the speed limit. When it is determined that the necessity is high, a display unit is caused to switch display on a display medium from a first presentation image to a second presentation image that indicates a second speed limit by a first switching method. When it is determined that the necessity is not high, the display of the first presentation image is switched to the display of the second presentation image by a second switching method different from the first switching method.

Claims

1. A display control device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including a set of executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations including;

receiving vehicle information including at least one of information on a vehicle, intra-vehicle information, and extra-vehicle information, and receiving information on a speed limit of a road where the vehicle travels;

controlling generation of a predetermined image based on the vehicle information and the information on the speed limit, and outputting the predetermined image to a display medium,

the predetermined image representing a presentation image that indicates the speed limit when displayed on the display medium,

the predetermined image being generated as a first predetermined image representing a first presentation image that indicates a first speed limit;

detecting a change in the speed limit of the road where the vehicle travels from the first speed limit to a second speed limit lower than the first speed limit based on the information on the speed limit of the road;

after detecting the change in the speed limit, determining whether a necessity of providing a notification of the change in the speed limit on the display medium is in a first state or in a second state in accordance with the vehicle information; and

when the processor determines that the necessity of notification is in the first state, causing the display on the display medium to be switched, by a first switching method, from the first predetermined image to a second predetermined image representing a second presentation image that indicates the second speed limit, and, when the processor determines that the necessity of notification is the second state, causing the display on the display medium to be switched, by a second switching method, different from the first switching method, from the first predetermined image to the second predetermined image,

wherein

the first switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that a luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to a first luminance or a second luminance larger than the first luminance during a first predetermined time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium, by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance,

when the luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to the first luminance, the second switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that the luminance gradually increases to the first luminance during a second time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance, where the first predetermined time exceeds 20 milliseconds, and the second time is longer than the first predetermined time, and

when the luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to the second luminance, the second switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that the luminance gradually increases to the second luminance during the second time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance, and the second time is longer than the first predetermined time.

2. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information that indicates a traveling speed of the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the second speed limit, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the first speed limit and higher than the second speed limit, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

3. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information that indicates acceleration of the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the vehicle decelerates, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the vehicle accelerates or when the vehicle travels at a constant speed, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

4. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information that indicates a relative speed to a preceding vehicle of the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the relative speed is negative, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the relative speed is positive, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

5. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information that indicates a wakefulness degree of an occupant of the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the wakefulness degree is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the wakefulness degree is smaller than the predetermined value, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

6. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information on a notification to an occupant of the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the information indicates that the notification to the occupant of the vehicle is present, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the information indicates that the notification to the occupant of the vehicle is not present, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

7. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information that indicates an age of an occupant of the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the age is lower than a predetermined value, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the age is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

8. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information that indicates a driving skill of an occupant of the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the driving skill is high, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the driving skill is low, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

9. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein

when the vehicle information includes information that indicates an attention attraction object present near the vehicle, the operations further include:

when the attention attraction object is present, determining that the necessity of notification is the second state; and

when the attention attraction object is not present, determining that the necessity of notification is the first state.

10. A projection device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including a set of executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations including;

receiving vehicle information including at least one of information on a vehicle, intra-vehicle information, and extra-vehicle information, and receiving information on a speed limit of a road where the vehicle travels;

generating a predetermined image based on the vehicle information and the information on the speed limit, and outputting the predetermined image to a display medium,

the predetermined image representing a presentation image that indicates the speed limit when displayed on the display medium,

the predetermined image being generated as a first predetermined image representing a first presentation image that indicates a first speed limit;

detecting a change in the speed limit of the road where the vehicle travels from the first speed limit to a second speed limit lower than the first speed limit based on the information on the speed limit of the road;

after detecting the change in the speed limit, determining whether a necessity of providing a notification of the change in the speed limit on the display medium is in a first state or in a second state in accordance with the vehicle information; and

when the processor determines that the necessity of notification is in the first state, causing the display on the display medium to be switched, by a first switching method, from the first predetermined image to a second predetermined image representing a second presentation image that indicates the second speed limit, and, when the processor determines the necessity of notification is in the second state, causing the display on the display medium to be switched, by a second switching method different from the first switching method, from the first predetermined image to the second predetermined image,

wherein

the first switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that a luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to a first luminance or a second luminance larger than the first luminance during a first predetermined time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium, by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance,

when the luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to the first luminance, the second switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that the luminance gradually increases to the first luminance during a second time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance, where the first predetermined time exceeds 20 milliseconds, and the second time is longer than the first predetermined time, and

when the luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to the second luminance, the second switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that the luminance gradually increases to the second luminance during the second time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance, and the second time is longer than the first predetermined time.

11. A non-transitory storage medium that stores a display control program executed in a display control device of a display system, the display system acquiring vehicle information including at least one of information on a vehicle, intra-vehicle information, and extra-vehicle information and further acquiring information on a speed limit of a road where the vehicle travels, the display system further generating a predetermined image based on the vehicle information and the information on the speed limit and outputting the predetermined image to a display medium, the predetermined image representing a presentation image that indicates the speed limit when displayed on the display medium, the display control program causing a computer of the display control device to execute a process comprising:

generating a first predetermined image representing a first presentation image that indicates a first speed limit;

detecting a change in the speed limit of the road where the vehicle travels from the first speed limit to a second speed limit lower than the first speed limit based on the information on the speed limit of the road;

after detecting the change in the speed limit, determining whether a necessity of providing a notification of the change in the speed limit on the display medium is in a first state or in a second state in accordance with the vehicle information; and

when the processor determines that the necessity of notification is in the first state, causing the display on the display medium to be switched, by a first switching method, from the first predetermined image to a second predetermined image representing a second presentation image that indicates the second speed limit, and, when the processor determines that the necessity of notification is the second state, causing the display on the display medium to be switched, by a second switching method different from the first switching method, from the first predetermined image to the second predetermined image,

wherein

the first switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that a luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to a first luminance or a second luminance larger than the first luminance during a first predetermined time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance,

when the luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to the first luminance, the second switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that the luminance gradually increases to the first luminance during a second time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance, where the first predetermined time exceeds 20 milliseconds, and the second time is longer than the first predetermined time, and

when the luminance of the second predetermined image gradually increases to the second luminance, the second switching method causes the second presentation image to be displayed on the display medium by generating the second predetermined image so that the luminance gradually increases to the second luminance during the second time after stopping the display of the first presentation image on the display medium by stopping the generation of the first predetermined image of the first luminance, and the second time is longer than the first predetermined time.