JP5207538B2 - Vehicle display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular display device that is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, a special vehicle, a ship, an aircraft, and the like and that can be used to display information related to a traveling state of the vehicle that is necessary for a driving operation.

  For example, for instrument panels for automobiles, warnings are generally displayed to display information necessary for operation such as vehicle speed, engine speed, water temperature, and remaining fuel, and to warn the occurrence of various abnormalities using lamps. It is equipped with the function.

  Further, in the vehicular display device integrally configured to realize various display functions of such an instrument panel, for example, a dial for displaying a vehicle speed is considered in consideration of driver visibility. In many cases, a warning display unit is installed in the display area (see Patent Document 1). However, since the space within the plane of such a dial is limited, it is necessary to consider the display position of the warning when the number (types) of information displayed as the warning is large.

  In recent years, there has been an increase in display devices for vehicles equipped with large liquid crystal displays, but warnings must be displayed so that the driver can recognize them preferentially over other displays. The fact is that the warning display function cannot be incorporated in the device itself, and it is difficult to secure a sufficient installation space for the warning display function.

For example, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, a transmission / reflection display panel is installed on the steering column as a sub-display, and the display content of the vehicle display device arranged at the position of the instrument panel is on the steering column. It is configured so that it can be seen from the driver through the transflective display panel.
JP 2008-128716 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-151681

  However, when the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 is adopted, the vehicle display device and the sub-display are independent of each other. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the entire display device and the cost of work associated with installation of the device are required. It is inevitable that will increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to facilitate securing of a sufficient space that can be used for displaying warnings and the like in a limited installation space, and an apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle display device capable of suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost and installation cost.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a vehicle display device according to the present invention is characterized by the following ( 1 ).
(1) A vehicle display device that is installed on a dashboard in front of a driver seated in a driver's seat of a vehicle and displays information related to the traveling state of the vehicle,
A main display section display surface of a main display section that displays meter information and a plurality of graphic information arranged below the main display section display surface in a display area within the housing of the vehicle display device A sub-display portion display surface of the sub-display portion ,
The plurality of sub display unit display surfaces protrude from the position of the main display unit display surface toward the driver's seat, and the amount of protrusion differs from each of the sub display unit display surfaces. The display surface greatly deviates downward, and a plurality of the sub-display unit display surfaces are arranged in a staircase shape ,
When the driver seated in the driver's seat looks at the sub display unit display surface, the plurality of sub display unit display surfaces are overlapped with the main display unit display surface. Without any gaps between the display surfaces of the sub-display units adjacent to each other.
The graphic information to be displayed on the sub display unit is controlled by a display control unit, and the display control unit determines the positional relationship of the sub display unit display surface when the driver views a plurality of the sub display unit display surfaces. Accordingly, the figure to be displayed is divided into a plurality of areas, each of the divided areas is assigned to the plurality of sub-display units, and displayed.
about.

According to the vehicular display device having the configuration (1), it is possible to effectively display a warning or the like using a space that has not been conventionally used. That is, there is a space having a depth as a case or the like in the peripheral portion of the main display portion including a dial such as a speedometer, but this space is deteriorated in visibility when viewed from the viewpoint of the driver, It has not been used in the past because of the effect of light reflection. However, the display with good visibility can be achieved by arranging the sub-display portion at this location . Visibility is improved by making the display surface of the sub display unit protrude from the display surface of the main display unit and approach the driver side. In addition, by integrally configuring the main display unit and the sub display unit, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and installation cost of the device.
In addition , since a plurality of sub-display surfaces are provided, more display space can be secured using the space in the depth direction as viewed from the driver . Since each sub display surface can be arranged so that the distance in the depth direction between each display surface and the driver becomes closer to the position of the dial, the degradation of visibility can be prevented.
In addition , since a single display surface can be formed by a plurality of adjacent sub display units, a larger display target can be displayed.
In addition , by combining the displays on the plurality of sub-display surfaces, a set of display information having a large display area as a whole can be provided to the driver, which is useful for improving visibility such as warnings.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily secure a sufficient space that can be used for displaying a warning or the like in a limited installation space, and increase the manufacturing cost and installation cost of the device. It becomes possible to suppress.

  Specific embodiments of the vehicle display device of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a main part of the vehicle display device according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 shows an appearance of the vehicle display device shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the front side, and FIG. 3 shows the vehicle shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows an operation example of the display control unit shown in FIG. 3. 5 shows a specific example of information used in the operation shown in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 to 8 show examples of display on the sub-display unit of the vehicle display device shown in FIG.

  The display device 50 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is a device that is mounted on an automobile as an instrument panel, and is installed in a dashboard located in front of a driver who sits on the driver's seat. As shown in FIG. 2, the display section inside the case 51 constituting the casing of the display device 50 is divided into a main display section 54 and a sub display section 55.

  The main display unit 54 is provided with a speedometer 52 and a tachometer 53. The sub display part 55 is arranged in the peripheral part below the main display part 54. The sub display unit 55 is provided with an information display unit 56 and warning display units 57 and 58. Further, the information display unit 56 has three independent display areas 56a, 56b, and 56c.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the display device 50 is installed on an automobile in a direction parallel to an axis (a direction indicated by an arrow Y) slightly inclined with respect to a vertical direction (up and down direction in the figure). A dial plate 52b of the speedometer 52 is fixed to the front side of the case 51 (in the direction of arrow D), and the surface of the dial plate 52b is arranged in parallel with the direction of arrow Y. A flat base wiring board 20 is fixed to the back side of the case 51 (opposite the arrow D direction). The pointer 52a is disposed on the dial plate 52b. The dial plate 52b forms the display surface of the main display unit 54.

  A look-up 41 and a hood 43 are arranged on the upper side of the display device 50, and a light-transmitting front glass 42 formed in a curved surface is arranged on the front side of the display device 50 (in the direction of arrow D). Yes. A driver is present at a position facing the display device 50 (in the direction of arrow D). In FIG. 1, the line of sight of the driver viewing the display device 50 is indicated by a dotted line.

  On the lower side of the dial 52b, three independent flat liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 are respectively installed at three positions having a step with respect to the position of the face of the dial 52b. The three liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 are arranged on the case 51 in a stepped manner. These liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 form the display surfaces of the plurality of sub display portions 55. Each surface of the liquid crystal display 11, 12, 13 is arranged in parallel with the display surface of the dial plate 52b. The liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 perform displays corresponding to the display areas 56a, 56b, and 56c shown in FIG.

  For the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 disposed on the lower side of the dial 52b, the inclination of each display surface is made larger than the direction of the surface of the dial 52b so as to be closer to the direction of the driver's viewpoint. However, if the inclination is increased, the possibility that extraneous light will be reflected on the surface of the liquid crystal display 11, 12, 13, etc. and reflected in the eyes of the driver increases, and the visibility may decrease. It is desirable to arrange the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 in parallel with the surface of the dial plate 52b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 are arranged in front of the visual line direction from the dial 52b. More specifically, the liquid crystal display 11 is arranged at a position protruding in the arrow D direction from the position of the surface of the dial 52b, and further a position slightly protruding in the arrow D direction from the position of the surface of the liquid crystal display 11. The liquid crystal display 12 is disposed on the liquid crystal display 12, and the liquid crystal display 13 is disposed at a position slightly protruding in the direction of arrow D from the position of the surface of the liquid crystal display 12. In addition, when the driver views the display device 50 from the line-of-sight direction, the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 are any one of the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 and the dial 52b with respect to the line-of-sight direction. The liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 and the dial 52b are arranged so as not to overlap each other with respect to the viewing direction.

  As for the position in the direction indicated by the arrow Y, the liquid crystal display 12 is arranged at a position slightly shifted downward (in the opposite direction to the arrow Y) from the liquid crystal display 11, and the liquid crystal display 13 is the liquid crystal display 12. It is arranged at a position shifted slightly downward. Therefore, the surface of the dial plate 52b, the surface of the liquid crystal display 11, the surface of the liquid crystal display 12, and the surface of the liquid crystal display 13 are stepped. Further, the three liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 are arranged at positions where the positions in the arrow Y direction slightly overlap each other. That is, the upper end of the liquid crystal display 12 is arranged at a position slightly shifted upward (in the direction of the arrow Y) from the lower end of the liquid crystal display 11, and the upper end of the liquid crystal display 13 is the lower end of the liquid crystal display 12. It is arranged at a position shifted slightly upward (arrow Y direction) from the part. Thus, by arranging the three liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 partially overlapping each other, it becomes possible to arrange a display portion having a relatively large display area in a narrow space.

  When viewing the display surfaces of the three liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 from the front side (in the direction of arrow D), since these surfaces partially overlap, all the areas of the liquid crystal displays 11, 12 are covered. I can't see it. However, the actual driver's line-of-sight direction often sees the display surfaces of the three liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 from slightly above the arrow D direction. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, when viewed from a direction inclined by an angle θ1 with respect to the axis of the arrow D, any one of the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 intersects the line-of-sight direction. In other words, since the display surfaces of the liquid crystal display devices 11, 12, and 13 do not overlap, it is possible to see all the display surfaces of the liquid crystal display devices 11, 12, and 13. Further, when viewed from a direction inclined by a certain angle θ1 with respect to the axis of the arrow D, the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 are arranged so that no gap is formed on the display surfaces of the adjacent liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 to be described later. As described above, the display surfaces of the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 can be formed as one display surface. As a result, a larger display target can be displayed by the sub display unit 55.

  The liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 are each a transmissive display, and it is necessary to illuminate from the back side so that the display contents can be easily seen. Therefore, a sub wiring board 17 on which a light source (for example, a light emitting diode) is mounted is provided at a position on the back surface facing the liquid crystal display 11, and a sub wiring on which a light source is mounted on a position on the back surface facing the liquid crystal display 12. A plate 18 is provided, and a sub-wiring board 19 on which a light source is mounted is provided at a position on the back side facing the liquid crystal display 13. In addition, diffusion plates 14, 15, and 16 are provided on the back surfaces of the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13, respectively, so that illumination light is uniformly irradiated.

  In addition, the space between the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 is partitioned by a light-shielding partition so that the illumination light and display light do not interfere with each other. For example, the partition wall 31 that connects the lower end side of the dial 52b and the upper end side of the liquid crystal display 11, the partition wall 32 that connects the lower end side of the liquid crystal display 11 and the upper end side of the liquid crystal display 12, or the liquid crystal display A partition wall 33 that connects the lower end side of 12 and the upper end side of the liquid crystal display 13 is provided.

  Further, the directions of the partition walls 31, 32, and 33 are inclined by a predetermined angle θ2 with respect to the direction of the axis indicated by the arrow D, respectively. This angle θ2 is set larger than the inclination angle θ1 in a predetermined direction (viewpoint direction) expected to be seen by the driver. Therefore, when the driver looks at the display surface of the liquid crystal display 12, it is possible to prevent a part of the display content from being blocked by the partition wall 33. Similarly, the driver can view the display surface of the liquid crystal display 11. When viewed, it is possible to prevent a part of the display content from being blocked by the partition wall 32.

  The electric circuit of the liquid crystal display 13 shown in FIG. 1, the electric circuit of the sub wiring board 19, the electric circuit of the liquid crystal display 12, the electric circuit of the sub wiring board 18, the electric circuit of the liquid crystal display 11, and the sub wiring board 17 The electric circuit is connected to the electric circuit on the base wiring board 20 via a predetermined flexible cable. An electric circuit for controlling the display of the information display unit 56 is provided on the base wiring board 20.

  When the display device 50 is viewed from the driver side, the display device 50 can be seen in front of the driver as shown in FIG. 2, so that the driver can view the sub display unit 55 disposed below the main display unit 54. You can also see the display contents. The display content of the liquid crystal display 11 is displayed in the display area 56a, the display content of the liquid crystal display 12 is displayed in the display area 56b, and the display content of the liquid crystal display 13 is displayed in the display area 56c. With respect to the display contents 56, the driver can view the display contents of the liquid crystal display 11, the display contents of the liquid crystal display 12, and the display contents of the liquid crystal display 13 in a vertically combined state.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of an electric circuit for controlling the display of the sub display unit 55 of the display device 50 shown in FIGS. The display control unit 100, the memory 110, and the drivers 121 and 122 shown in FIG. 3 are provided on the base wiring board 20 shown in FIG. The light sources 21, 22, and 23 shown in FIG. 3 are provided on the sub-wiring boards 17, 18, and 19 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13 are connected to the display control unit 100 via a driver 121. The light sources 21, 22, and 23 are connected to the display control unit 100 via the driver 122. The display control unit 100 is a control element such as a microprocessor, and displays the display contents of the liquid crystal displays 1112 and 13 and the light sources 21, 22, and 23 according to the contents of a predetermined program and the situation at that time. Control.

  Various information related to display control is input from an external device to the input of the display control unit 100. For example, an event signal indicating that some abnormality requiring a warning has occurred, an event signal for instructing display updating, an event signal for instructing display scrolling, and various measurements that can be used as display targets Values (vehicle speed, engine speed, water temperature, outside air temperature, in-vehicle temperature, fuel consumption, inter-vehicle distance, etc.) are input to the display control unit 100 from the outside.

  The memory 110 is a storage circuit capable of writing and reading data, and is controlled by the display control unit 100. For example, information shown in FIG. 5 can be held on the memory 110 as information used for display control.

  The graphic information list shown in FIG. 5 includes a plurality of areas A1, A2, A3 (this area A1, A2, A3 is a liquid crystal display) for each of a plurality of display items such as “warning display mark” and “inter-vehicle distance display information”. Display information (D1 to D3, D4 to D6,...: Predetermined fixed information) associated with each of the display units 11, 12, and 13).

  Further, the display candidate list shown in FIG. 5 includes display data including numerical values and information indicating the display order for each of a plurality of display target items such as average vehicle speed, fuel consumption, outside temperature, inside temperature, cooling water temperature, and inter-vehicle distance. Holding. The contents of the display candidate list are sequentially updated to the latest information.

An operation example of the display control unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
When a signal representing the occurrence of some event related to display is input from the outside to the display control unit 100, the processing of the display control unit 100 proceeds from step S11 to step S12. In step S12, it is identified whether or not the event of the input signal is associated with “warning display”. For example, an event of “warning display” occurs when the occurrence of some failure is detected. When an event signal associated with “warning display” is input, the process proceeds from step S12 to step S13.

  In step S13, the display control unit 100 accesses the memory 110, and acquires the division information D1, D2, and D3 of the “warning display mark” corresponding to the current event from the graphic information list shown in FIG.

  In step S14, the display control unit 100 displays the information D1 acquired in step S13 on the sub display surface A1, in step S15, displays the information D2 acquired in step S13 on the sub display surface A2, and the information D3 acquired in step S13. Is displayed on the sub-display surface A3. Here, the sub display surface A1 corresponds to the display surface of the liquid crystal display 11, the sub display surface A2 corresponds to the display surface of the liquid crystal display 12, and the sub display surface A3 corresponds to the display surface of the liquid crystal display 13. .

  In other words, the “warning display mark” indicates a plurality of areas A1 according to the positional relationship of the liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 when the plurality of liquid crystal displays 11, 12, 13 are viewed from the line-of-sight direction in advance. , A2, and A3 are registered as information D1, D2, and D3. Then, information D1, D2, and D3 prepared in advance as display contents of the “warning display mark” are displayed on the assigned liquid crystal displays 11, 12, and 13, respectively. Thereby, for example, the information display unit 56 can display as shown in FIG. In the display example shown in FIG. 6, in order to display display information of a large “warning display mark” composed of a pattern in which an exclamation mark symbol is included inside a triangular figure, three upper and lower display areas 56a, 56b, The display contents of 56c are combined and displayed as a set of information. That is, the contents of the information D1 are displayed in the display area 56a, the contents of the information D2 are displayed in the display area 56b, and the contents of the information D3 are displayed in the display area 56c.

  Similarly, when the display regarding the warning of the inter-vehicle distance is performed, the display as illustrated in FIG. 7 can be performed by using the contents of the graphic information list illustrated in FIG. In the display example shown in FIG. 7, a graphic (D4) corresponding to the vehicle ahead is displayed in the display area 56a so that the display is the same as when viewed from the driver's viewpoint. A graphic (D5) representing distance measurement is displayed, and a graphic (D6) representing the host vehicle is displayed in the display area 56c in a size taking the distance into consideration.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the positions of the liquid crystal displays 13, 12, and 11 corresponding to the display areas 56c, 56b, and 56a and the distances between the driver and the driver who see them are shown as “distance of the liquid crystal display 13”, “ Since the distance between the liquid crystal display 12 and the distance between the liquid crystal display 11 increases in this order, when the display as shown in FIG. 7 is performed, the sense of distance felt by the driver and the liquid crystal displays 13 and 12 are displayed. , 11 coincides with each other, and a display that is easy for the driver to understand is realized.

  On the other hand, when an event for instructing “display scroll” is input to the display control unit 100, the process proceeds from step S12 to step S17 shown in FIG. In step S18, the display control unit 100 updates the display order of each data in the display candidate list.

  For example, in the example of the display candidate list shown in FIG. 5, the display order of each item of average vehicle speed, fuel consumption, outside temperature, inside temperature, cooling water temperature, and inter-vehicle distance is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. However, with the occurrence of the “display scroll” event, these display orders are shifted one by one, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively.

  In step S19, the data of the item with the first display order in the display candidate list is extracted and displayed on the liquid crystal display 11 corresponding to the sub display surface A1. Similarly, in the next step S20, the data of the item having the second display order in the display candidate list is extracted and displayed on the liquid crystal display 12 corresponding to the sub display surface A2, and in step S21, the display candidate list is displayed. Among them, the data of the third item in the display order is taken out and displayed on the liquid crystal display 13 corresponding to the sub display surface A3.

  Thereby, for example, a display as shown in FIG. 8 is realized. In the display example shown in FIG. 8, information on the average vehicle speed is displayed on the display area 56a corresponding to the display on the liquid crystal display 11, and information on the fuel consumption is displayed on the display area 56b corresponding to the display on the liquid crystal display 12. Information on the temperature outside the vehicle is displayed in a display area 56c corresponding to the display of the liquid crystal display 13. Further, for example, a display scroll event occurs when the driver operates a predetermined button or the like, or by a signal generated periodically, and step S18 is executed each time, so that each item in the display candidate list is displayed. The display order is changed, and these display positions are switched. For example, when the display order of “average vehicle speed” and “fuel consumption” is switched to 2 and 3, respectively, the display of “fuel consumption” moves from the display area 56b to the display area 56c, and the display of “average vehicle speed” changes from the display area 56a. The display area 56b is moved to and information other than the “average vehicle speed” is displayed in the display area 56a. That is, the display content of the information display unit 56 can be scrolled sequentially.

  For the warning display sections 57 and 58 shown in FIG. 2, a predetermined mark or the like is printed on a display surface made of a transparent or colored light-transmitting material (for example, resin), By turning on and off the light source (lamp etc.) arranged on the back side to control the illumination light, each warning display can be switched on / off.

  As described above, the display device for a vehicle according to the present invention can be used for an instrument panel of an automobile, for example, and effectively uses a relatively narrow space such as a lower end portion of a case to have a relatively large area. A display space can be secured. In addition, by providing a step between the main display section (54) and the sub display section (55), or by configuring the sub display section in a staircase shape, it is possible to improve visibility and enlarge the display area. become. Moreover, since the main display part and the sub display part are comprised integrally, the increase in the manufacturing cost of an apparatus and the cost accompanying installation can be suppressed. Furthermore, it is possible to display a large size as shown in FIG. 6 by combining the display on a plurality of display surfaces, and it is also possible to display with a sense of distance as shown in FIG.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the principal part of the display apparatus for vehicles in embodiment. It is the external view which looked at the display apparatus for vehicles shown in Drawing 1 from the front side. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the principal part regarding the display apparatus electric circuit for vehicles shown in FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a display control unit illustrated in FIG. 3. It is a schematic diagram which shows the specific example of the information used in the operation | movement shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the example of a display in the display apparatus for vehicles shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the example of a display in the display apparatus for vehicles shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the example of a display in the display apparatus for vehicles shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

11-13 Liquid crystal display 14-16 Diffusion plate 17-19 Sub-wiring board 20 Base wiring board 21-23 Light source 31-33 Partition wall 41 Turn 42 Front glass 43 Hood 50 Display device 51 Case 52 Speedometer 52a Pointer 52b Dial 53 Tachometer 54 Main display section 55 Sub display section 56 Information display section 56a, 56b, 56c Display area 57, 58 Warning display section 100 Display control section 110 Memory 121, 122 Driver

Claims (1)

A display device for a vehicle, which is installed on a dashboard in front of a driver seated in a driver's seat of a vehicle and displays information related to the traveling state of the vehicle,
A main display section display surface of a main display section that displays meter information and a plurality of graphic information arranged below the main display section display surface in a display area within the housing of the vehicle display device A sub-display portion display surface of the sub-display portion ,
The plurality of sub display unit display surfaces protrude from the position of the main display unit display surface toward the driver's seat, and the amount of protrusion differs from each of the sub display unit display surfaces. The display surface greatly deviates downward, and a plurality of the sub-display unit display surfaces are arranged in a staircase shape ,
When the driver seated in the driver's seat looks at the sub display unit display surface, the plurality of sub display unit display surfaces are overlapped with the main display unit display surface. Without any gaps between the display surfaces of the sub-display units adjacent to each other.
The graphic information to be displayed on the sub display unit is controlled by a display control unit, and the display control unit determines the positional relationship of the sub display unit display surface when the driver views a plurality of the sub display unit display surfaces. Accordingly, the figure to be displayed is divided into a plurality of areas, each of the divided areas is assigned to the plurality of sub-display units, and displayed.
A display device for a vehicle.

Images