JP2009090827A - Display device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device for a vehicle capable of easily visually recognizing the display of a meter unit from outside of the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The display device for the vehicle capable of displaying a vehicular state which is mounted on the vehicle is provided with a display part, a driving part and a hood. The display part has a vehicular state display area for displaying the vehicular state. The driving part moves the display part between a travelling time position in which a display surface of the display part points a driving seat direction and a parking time position in which the display surface points an upper direction. The hood is provided at a position for covering the display part and has an opening part at a position confronting the display surface of the vehicular state display area when the display part is in the parting time position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device, and more particularly to a vehicle display device that is mounted on a vehicle and displays a vehicle state of the vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a tilt type steering handle device that can adjust an angle of a steering handle with respect to a driver. Such a steering handle device can adjust the position of the steering handle in accordance with the physique of the driver, thereby improving the operability when driving the vehicle.

On the other hand, a steering handle device for the purpose of smooth getting on and off, not for adjusting the driving posture, is also considered (for example, Patent Document 1). In the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the steering handle is tilted up, the meter unit is stowed inside a hood provided above the meter unit, so that an empty space is secured above the steering handle. Thereby, the amount of tilt-up (the amount of flip-up) of the steering handle is increased, and the boarding / exiting performance is improved.
JP 2004-155265 A

  Here, the information displayed on the meter unit (for example, travel distance and various warning displays) may be confirmed from outside the vehicle even after the user gets off the vehicle. However, in the said patent document 1, since the meter unit was stowed inside the hood, the display of the meter unit could not be visually recognized from the outside of the vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular display device that can easily recognize vehicle information from outside the vehicle after getting off.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features. 1st invention is a display apparatus for vehicles which can display information on vehicles. The vehicle display device includes a display unit, a hood, and a drive unit. The display unit displays the state of the vehicle. The hood covers the display. The drive unit moves the display unit. The display surface of the display unit has a vehicle state display area for displaying the state of the vehicle. The hood has an opening at a position facing the display surface of the display unit when the display unit is moved.

  In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the drive unit includes a motor. The vehicle display device further includes a control unit that controls the motor and the display unit.

  In a third aspect based on the second aspect, the control unit determines whether or not the vehicle is parked based on the vehicle information input to the control unit, and determines that the vehicle is parked. To move the display unit from the traveling position to the parking position.

  In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the vehicle information input to the control unit includes information indicating the state of the ignition switch. The control unit determines that the vehicle is parked when the ignition switch is turned off, and moves the display unit from the traveling position to the parking position by the driving unit.

  In a fifth aspect based on the first aspect, the drive unit moves the display unit from the traveling position to the parking position in conjunction with a steering column installed in the vehicle.

  According to 1st invention, after a display part moves, the display surface of a display part can be easily visually recognized from the exterior through the opening part of hood. Furthermore, since the display unit can be visually recognized from outside the vehicle, it is not necessary to install a dedicated device.

  According to the second invention, the drive of the motor and the movement of the display unit can be controlled by the control unit.

  According to the third invention, the control unit determines whether or not the vehicle is parked based on the input vehicle information and moves the display unit, so the user needs to determine and move the display unit. Disappears.

  According to the fourth aspect, since the control unit makes a determination based on the state of the ignition switch, it is not necessary for the user to make a determination and move the display unit.

  According to the fifth aspect, since the display unit can be moved as the tilted steering column is tilted up, the amount of tilting up of the steering column is increased, and smooth getting on and off from the driver's seat is maintained. can do.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in front of a driver's seat of an automobile equipped with a vehicle display device of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a steering column 10, a steering handle 11, a driver seat display unit 12, an instrument panel 13, a hood 14 and the like are provided in front of the driver seat. The driver's seat display unit 12 is provided in the instrument panel 13 and is installed at a position that can be viewed by a user seated on the driver's seat. The hood 14 is provided at a position so as to cover the upper part of the driver seat display unit 12, and prevents the driver seat display unit 12 from being exposed to direct sunlight. The hood 14 is provided with an opening 15. Details of the opening 15 will be described later.

  FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the driver seat display unit 12. The driver seat display unit 12 is a device that displays various kinds of information that is meaningful to the user of the vehicle. The driver seat display unit 12 corresponds to the display unit described in the claims. The driver seat display unit 12 has a display surface 20 on which a speedometer indicating the traveling speed of the vehicle, a tachometer indicating the engine speed, and characters or various images based on the vehicle information are displayed. A vehicle state display area 21 for displaying is provided. The vehicle state displayed in the vehicle state display area 21 differs between when the vehicle is running and when it is parked. Hereinafter, the vehicle state displayed in the vehicle state display area 21 during traveling is referred to as a driving mode display, and the vehicle state displayed in the vehicle state display area 21 during parking is referred to as a parking mode display. The vehicle state display area 21 is composed of a display medium such as a liquid crystal display, for example, and displays characters and images indicating the vehicle state. Further, the vehicle state display area 21 is not limited to a liquid crystal display, and may be configured by other display media such as an organic EL display and a light emitting diode (LED).

  Next, components of the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the vehicle display device includes a control unit 16 and a drive unit 17 in addition to the driver seat display unit 12 having the vehicle state display area 21 as described above.

  The control unit 16 controls a plurality of devices included in a vehicle on which the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment is mounted, and is configured by a general computer system or the like. In addition, only the process which controls the vehicle state display area 21 and the drive part 17 among the processes which the control part 16 performs here is mainly demonstrated here. The said control part 16 acquires the vehicle information by which the display apparatus for vehicles is mounted, and controls based on the acquired information. The vehicle information is, for example, information on ON / OFF of an ignition switch.

  The drive unit 17 is for moving the driver seat display unit 12. Further, the drive unit 17 may be a motor or the like provided in the driver seat display unit 12 itself, or may be a mechanism that is indirectly driven by a force applied from the outside as will be described later. It should be noted that the former specific mechanism can be realized by adopting a known technique, and thus illustration and detailed description thereof are omitted. As a result, the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 can move the driver seat display unit 12 between the traveling position facing the driver seat and the parking position facing upward.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment. In the example of the operation described with reference to FIG. 4, the case where the drive unit 17 is a motor or the like provided in the driver seat display unit 12 will be described.

  The processing of each step in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is performed by the control unit 16 executing a predetermined program. Further, the processing of each step shown in FIG. 4 is performed by turning on the power of the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment (for example, the user gets on the vehicle on which the vehicle display device is mounted, and turns on the ignition switch). ) To start. Further, the process ends when an end condition described later is satisfied.

  In FIG. 4, first, in step S <b> 401, the control unit 16 acquires vehicle information of a vehicle on which the vehicle display device is mounted. And the control part 16 displays the character or image displayed on a display medium of the vehicle state display area 21 by a driving mode display based on the acquired vehicle information (step S402).

  Here, the contents displayed in the operation mode display will be described. In the driving mode display, characters or various images useful for the user are displayed in the vehicle state display area 21 when the user is driving the vehicle. The content is not particularly limited as long as it is useful information for the user, but as an example of the operation mode display, there is information such as a cruising range, average fuel consumption, and warning (seat belt wearing) as shown in FIG. Thereby, the user can know the state and warning of the vehicle that are required during driving.

  In step S403, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the ignition switch is turned off based on the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle on which the vehicle display device is mounted. If the determination result is negative (NO), the processing from step S401 to step S402 is executed again. That is, the processes in steps S401 to S402 are repeatedly executed until the ignition switch is turned off. Thereby, information useful for the user can be shown until the ignition switch is turned off, that is, during the driving of the vehicle. On the other hand, if the determination result is affirmative (YES), the process proceeds to the next step S404.

  In step S404, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the vehicle is parked based on the vehicle information. Here, the vehicle information as an element for determining whether or not the vehicle is parked is obtained by an operation performed by the user on an input device installed in the vehicle. For example, a user operates a car security device installed in the vehicle to park the vehicle, sets a shift position of an automatic transmission to a P (parking) range, or activates a parking brake. It is. Thereby, the control part 16 can know that the said vehicle parks. If the determination result is affirmative (YES), the process proceeds to the next step S405. On the other hand, when the determination result is negative (NO), the process according to the flowchart is terminated. Note that the power source of the vehicle display device (more specifically, the power source of the control unit 16 and the driver seat display unit 12) is cut off after power is supplied for a predetermined time after the ignition switch is turned off. The

  In step S <b> 405, the control unit 16 moves the driver seat display unit 12 using the drive unit 17 so that the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 faces the opening 15. Here, the structure around the driver seat display unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a structure around the driver seat display unit 12. As indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5, the drive unit 17 moves the driver seat display unit 12 so that the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 faces the opening 15 provided in the hood 14. This makes it possible to visually recognize the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 from the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram when the user visually recognizes the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 from outside the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 6, the user can visually recognize the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 through the opening 15 from the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 6 even after getting off the driver's seat. The opening 15 is provided on the upper portion of the hood 14 with a predetermined area. In order to prevent dust from entering from the opening 15, it is preferably closed with a transparent or translucent synthetic resin or glass. Furthermore, in order to reduce the amount of external light entering from the opening 15, these synthetic resins and glass are preferably dark.

  Next, in step S406, the control unit 16 acquires vehicle information. And the control part 16 displays the character or image displayed by parking mode display on the display medium of the vehicle state display area 21 based on the acquired vehicle information (step S407), and complete | finishes the process by the said flowchart. Note that the power source of the vehicle display device (more specifically, the power source of the control unit 16 and the driver seat display unit 12) is the content displayed by the user in the vehicle state display area 21 for a while after getting off. It is shut off after power is supplied for a predetermined time so that it can be seen.

  Here, the contents displayed in the parking mode display will be described. In the parking mode display, characters or various images useful for the user when the vehicle is parked are displayed in the vehicle state display area 21. The content is not particularly limited as long as it is useful information for the user. For example, information such as “parking OK! Car security operation”, “parking NG! Front passenger seat window open!” Is displayed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user can easily visually recognize the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 from the outside through the opening 15 provided in the hood 14. In addition, since information useful to the user is displayed in the vehicle state display area 21 in the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12, is the window closed after the user gets off, for example? Has car security been activated? When it becomes necessary to check the vehicle, it can be easily confirmed from outside the vehicle without getting on the vehicle again. Thereby, it is excellent also in crime prevention property and a user can park a vehicle in comfort.

  Note that, according to the present embodiment, in the scene where the vehicle is traveling, the display surface 20 of the driver seat display unit 12 is installed at a position where the user can sit on the driver seat and see the vehicle. Sometimes, the driver's seat display unit 12 can be easily seen from outside the vehicle. As described above, since the existing display device is used, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to install a dedicated display device for displaying the vehicle state at a position visible from the outside of the vehicle.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the user parks the vehicle after the user performs some operation after turning off the ignition switch of the vehicle on which the vehicle display device is mounted. It was judged. However, in another embodiment, the control unit 16 detects that the ignition switch has been turned off or that the door has been opened and closed while the vehicle is stopped, and determines that the user gets off the vehicle, thereby determining the vehicle. May be determined to be parked and the driver's seat display unit 12 may be moved to display the parking mode. Specifically, in the process shown in FIG. 4, after the determination result in step S403 is affirmed, the process in step S404 may be omitted and the process from step S405 may be executed.

  By the way, when the user gets into the driver's seat or gets out of the driver's seat, the steering column 10 or the steering handle 11 may interfere with the user's legs, and it may be difficult to maintain smooth getting on and off. Therefore, conventionally, a steering handle device has been considered in which the steering handle tilts up when the user gets on and off. When the vehicle display device of this embodiment is applied to a vehicle equipped with such a steering device, the position of the driver's seat display unit 12 is the parking position during parking, that is, the display surface of the driver's seat display unit 12 is a hood. 14, the empty space between the steering column 10 and the driver seat display unit 12 is widened, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the amount of tilt-up of the steering column 10 can be increased by that amount, and it becomes easier to get on and off. In this case, the control unit 16 controls the steering column 10 so that the steering column 10 tilts up simultaneously with or after the driver seat display unit 12 moves to the parking position.

  When the driver seat display unit 12 is moved in conjunction with the tilt-up of the steering column 10, the driver seat display unit 12 and the steering column 10 may be driven by separate motors, or the steering column 10 The driver seat display unit 12 may be moved mechanically in conjunction with the tilt up. A specific example of a mechanism for carrying out the latter is shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 8 is an enlarged view around the steering column 10, and FIG. 9 is a view showing a state where the steering column is tilted up. As shown in FIG. 8, when the steering column 10 is tilted up, the protrusion 80 provided on the steering column 10 pushes up the movable bar 81. Then, the pinion gear provided in the movable bar 81 and the rack gear provided in the rotary bar 82 mesh with each other, the movable bar 81 is pushed upward, and the rotary bar 82 rotates. Further, the rack gear provided on the rotation bar 82 and the pinion gear provided on the meter rotation bar 83 mesh with each other, and the rotation bar 82 rotates. The meter rotation bar 83 moves, and the driver seat display unit 12 moves in conjunction with the steering column 10. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the driver's seat display unit 12 can be moved simultaneously with tilting up the steering column 10. Further, according to this, it is not necessary to install a dedicated motor for moving the driver seat display unit 12.

  The aspect described in the above embodiment is merely a specific example, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is possible to employ any configuration within a range where the effects of the present application are achieved.

  The vehicle display device of the present invention can be suitably used for a display device mounted on a vehicle.

The figure which shows the mode in front of the driver's seat of the motor vehicle equipped with the display apparatus for vehicles The figure which shows one specific example of a driver's seat display part The block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus for vehicles which concerns on embodiment. The flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the display apparatus for vehicles which concerns on embodiment. The figure which shows the structure around the display part 12 for driver's seats The figure when visually recognizing the display surface 20 of the driver's seat display unit 12 from outside the vehicle Sectional drawing which follows the VII-VII line of FIG. Enlarged view around the steering column 10 The figure which shows the state which the steering column 10 tilted up

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Steering column 11 Steering handle 12 Driver's seat display part 13 Instrument panel 14 Hood 15 Opening part 16 Control part 17 Drive part 20 Display surface 21 Vehicle state display area 80 Protrusion 81 Movable bar 82 Rotation bar 83 Meter movable bar

Claims (5)

A vehicle display device mounted on a vehicle and capable of displaying a vehicle state,
A display unit for displaying the vehicle state;
A hood provided at a position covering the display unit;
A drive unit that moves the display unit between a traveling position in which the display surface of the display unit faces the driver's seat and a parking position in the upward direction;
The display surface of the display unit has a vehicle state display area for displaying a vehicle state,
The said hood has an opening part in the position which opposes the display surface of the said vehicle state display area when the said display part exists in the said parking position, The display apparatus for vehicles characterized by the above-mentioned. The drive unit includes a motor,
The vehicle display device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls the motor and the display unit.   The control unit determines whether or not the vehicle is parked based on vehicle information input to the control unit. When the control unit determines that the vehicle is parked, the drive unit moves the display unit from the travel position. The vehicle display device according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle display device is moved to the parking position. The vehicle information input to the control unit includes information indicating the state of the ignition switch,
The control unit determines that the vehicle is parked when an ignition switch is turned off, and moves the display unit from the travel position to the park position by the drive unit. Item 4. The vehicle display device according to Item 3.   The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit moves the display unit from the traveling position to the parking position in conjunction with a steering column installed in the vehicle.

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