JP2005329836A - On-vehicle lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress useless illumination and to reduce power consumption in illumination of an on-vehicle electronic device. <P>SOLUTION: In the on-vehicle electronic device, an illumination section is controlled in interlock with a lighting control state of a light of a vehicle. The on-vehicle electronic device comprises an operation detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the operation of an operation portion of the on-vehicle electronic device, a time measuring means for measuring the non-operating state time of the operation portion with the operation detecting means, and a control means for turning off the illumination section when it is determined that the non-operating state time measured by the time measuring means exceeds a predetermined time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting device used in an in-vehicle electronic device.

The in-vehicle illumination device illuminates a display unit, an operation unit, and the like used for an audio device installed in a center console in a vehicle interior, for example, so that the display unit can be easily seen and buttons can be operated easily. is there. An in-vehicle audio device is supplied with an illumination (ILL) signal (an operation control signal for a small lamp, a headlamp, etc.) from the vehicle side, and lighting of the audio device is controlled to light in conjunction with the signal. As an in-vehicle illumination device, there is a prior art as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-247181.
JP 2000-247181 A

  Since the on-vehicle lighting device is controlled to be turned on in response to the ILL signal from the vehicle side, the lighting of the audio device or the like is turned on when the vehicle width lamp is turned on. In other words, when the ILL signal is ON, lighting is performed even when illumination is not required, such as when no button operation is performed, so that power is wasted and causes the vehicle battery to rise. Yes.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above problems, and makes it a subject to implement | achieve the vehicle-mounted illuminating device which suppressed useless power consumption.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an operation detection for detecting whether or not an operation unit of an in-vehicle electronic device is operated in an in-vehicle electronic device in which an illumination unit is controlled in conjunction with a lighting control state of a vehicle light. Means, a time measuring means for measuring the non-operation state time of the operation unit by the operation detection means, and the illumination unit when it is determined that the non-operation state time measured by the time measurement means exceeds a predetermined time. And a control means for turning off the light.

  Moreover, the said control means controls the said illumination part to a lighting state, if the said operation part is operated, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In addition, the control means includes operation control prohibiting means for prohibiting execution of operation control in response to the operation of the operation unit with respect to the operation of the operation unit performed when the illumination unit is turned off. It is characterized by.

  In addition, the illumination unit performs illumination of an operation unit or illumination of a display unit in the in-vehicle electronic device.

  Further, the control means controls turning on / off of the illumination unit even when the electronic device is in an operation stop state.

  The “illumination” of the illumination unit is replaced with “dimming”.

  According to the present invention, even when the vehicle light is in the night lighting state, when it is estimated that the user does not need it, the lighting is turned off, so that useless power consumption can be suppressed.

  Also, when the user feels necessary, it is automatically illuminated, so there is little loss of convenience.

  An in-vehicle illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The vehicle audio apparatus 10 reproduces music or the like in accordance with a user's operation. In this example, a CD player that reproduces music recorded on a CD is taken as an example for easy understanding of the explanation. Reference numeral 17 denotes a CD playback unit that reads a recording signal recorded on a CD and outputs an audio signal. An optical pickup that optically reads the recording signal of the CD, a drive mechanism that drives a disc, and a signal that is read by the optical pickup are decoded. And a signal processing unit for converting it into an analog audio signal. Reference numeral 18 denotes an amplifier that amplifies the audio signal output from the CD reproducing unit 17 and is configured by an amplifier circuit including a transistor and the like. Reference numeral 19 denotes a speaker that converts the audio signal amplified by the amplifier 18 into audio.

  A microcomputer 15 controls the operation of the vehicle audio device 10 and includes a CPU that performs arithmetic processing, a ROM and RAM for storing data, an interface for connection to an external device, and the like. The microcomputer 15 also controls the operations of the CD playback unit 17 and the amplifier 18, such as music selection, volume, and sound quality.

  Reference numeral 14 denotes an LCD for performing various displays, for example, information on a piece of music being played back, a sound volume setting value, and the like, and is a liquid crystal display device. Note that the LCD 14 is a reflection type, and when the surroundings are bright such as daytime, the display is visible regardless of the state of the backlight. Reference numeral 13 denotes an operation switch operated by the user to perform various operations, and includes a push button switch, a rotary operation type encoder, and the like.

  A front panel control microcomputer 16 performs various controls on the front panel of the vehicle audio device 10 such as display control of the LCD 14 and input processing of the operation switch 13, and communicates with the microcomputer 15 to perform auxiliary operations of the microcomputer 15. Do. This is because the control on the front panel is increasing due to the multi-function, and it is provided to reduce the load on the microcomputer 15 for the control and to reduce the wiring to the front panel.

  Reference numeral 11 denotes an operation unit LED composed of a light emitting diode for illuminating the operation switch 13, which is turned on / off or controlled in emission intensity by application voltage control by the microcomputer 15. Note that a light bulb may be used instead of the issuing diode. Reference numeral 12 denotes an LCD backlight 15 that performs background illumination of the LCD 14 and is constituted by a fluorescent lamp or an LED. The LCD backlight 15 is also turned on / off or the emission intensity is controlled by the computer 15 by controlling applied voltage.

Next, the lighting control state of the vehicle audio device 10 will be described.
[When ILL control signal ILC is off]
When the ILL control signal ILC is off, that is, when the vehicle light is off, the operation unit LED 11 and the LCD backlight 15 are off. The operation of the operation switch 13 is also accepted, and the vehicle audio device 10 performs an operation according to the user's operation.
[ILL control signal ILC on-operation within a predetermined time Ta]
When the ILL control signal ILC is on, that is, when the vehicle light is on and the predetermined time Ta has not elapsed since some operation, the operation unit LED 11 and the LCD backlight 15 are on. The operation of the operation switch 13 is also accepted, and the vehicle audio device 10 performs an operation according to the user's operation.
[ILL control signal ILC on-no operation within predetermined time Ta]
When the ILL control signal ILC is on, that is, when the vehicle light is on and a predetermined time Ta has elapsed since some operation, the operation unit LED 11 and the LCD backlight 15 are off (or may be in the current state). . Further, the operation of the operation switch 13 is invalidated, and the vehicle audio device 10 does not perform an operation according to the user's operation even if the user's operation is performed. However, when there is an operation by the user, the operation unit LED 11 and the LCD backlight 15 are turned on and the operation switch 13 is also accepted, and if there is a next operation by the user, the vehicle audio device 10 Performs actions according to the operation.

  Next, a procedure for performing the illumination control operation of the in-vehicle illumination device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing illumination control processing executed by the microcomputer. This process is repeatedly executed while the accessory power supply of the automobile is ON.

  In step S11, it is determined whether or not the ILL control signal ILC from the vehicle side is in an ON state. If it is in an ON state, the process proceeds to step S15, and if it is NO, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, the light is turned off, that is, the illumination of the operation unit LED 11 and the LCD backlight 12 is turned off, and the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the operation corresponding to the operation of the operation switch 13 is enabled, that is, the operation of the operation switch 13 is set to an effective state, and the process proceeds to step S14. In step S14, the timer (for measuring the duration of the no-operation state) is reset, and the process ends.

  In step S15, it is determined whether or not the measured time of the timer, that is, the duration T of the no-operation state exceeds a predetermined time Ta, and if it exceeds the predetermined time Ta, the process proceeds to step S16 and exceeds it. If not, the process proceeds to step S22. In step S22, the illumination is turned on, that is, the illumination of the operation unit LED11 and the LCD backlight 12 is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, the operation corresponding operation of the operation switch 13 is made possible and the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, it is determined whether or not the operation switch 13 has been operated. If there is no operation, the process ends. If there is an operation, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the timer T is reset and the process is terminated.

  In step S16, the illumination is turned off, that is, the illumination of the operation unit LED11 and the LCD backlight 12 is turned off, and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the operation corresponding operation of the operation switch 13 is prohibited (the operation control is not executed even when the operation switch 13 is turned on), and the process proceeds to step S18.

  In step S18, it is determined whether or not the operation switch 13 has been operated. If there is no operation, the process ends. If there is an operation, the process proceeds to step S19. In step S19, the illumination is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, the operation corresponding operation of the operation switch 13 is made possible, and the process proceeds to step S21. In step S21, the timer is reset and the process ends.

  In this process, the illumination is controlled to be turned off in step S16. However, an example in which the illumination is not turned off but dimming control is possible, and the same effect can be obtained.

  In addition, the operation presence / absence determination of the operation switch 13 is intended for all types of operation switches (arbitrary), but can be limited to a certain type of switch.

  In addition, an illumination unit that illuminates the vicinity of the insertion / extraction port of the data storage medium such as a CD as a lighting control target can be made easy to perform the insertion / extraction operation of the data storage medium.

  In the above-described in-vehicle lighting device 10, lighting control is always performed (when the accessory switch of the automobile is ON), but there is a method of controlling only when the power of the audio device is ON.

  As described above, in the in-vehicle lighting device 10, when the operation unit LED 11 and the LCD backlight 12 are lit by the ILL signal from the vehicle side, when the operation switch 13 is not operated for a long time, By restricting turning off, current consumption can be reduced and fuel consumption can be improved. In addition, since the lighting is controlled to be turned on by operating the operation switch 13, it is turned on when necessary, and the deterioration of operability can be suppressed.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted illuminating device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the illumination control process which the microcomputer 15 performs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle-mounted illuminating device 11 ... Operation part LED11
12 ... LCD backlight 13 ... Operating switch 14 ... LCD
15 ... Microcomputer 16 ... Front panel control microcomputer

Claims (6)

In the in-vehicle electronic device in which the illumination unit is controlled in conjunction with the lighting control state of the vehicle light,
Operation detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of operation of the operation unit of the in-vehicle electronic device;
A time measuring means for measuring a no-operation state time of the operation section by the operation detecting means;
An in-vehicle lighting device comprising: a control unit that turns off the lighting unit when it is determined that the non-operation state time measured by the time measuring unit exceeds a predetermined time. The in-vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein when the operation unit is operated, the control unit controls the lighting unit to be in a lighting state. The control means includes operation control prohibiting means for prohibiting execution of the operation control for the operation of the operation unit with respect to the operation of the operation unit performed when the illumination unit is turned off. The in-vehicle illumination device according to claim 1 or 2. The in-vehicle illumination device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the illumination unit performs illumination of an operation unit or illumination of a display unit in the in-vehicle electronic device. The in-vehicle illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls turning on / off of the illumination unit even when the electronic device is in an operation stop state. The in-vehicle lighting device according to claim 1, wherein “lighting out” of the lighting unit is replaced with “dimming”.