JP2016055680A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device capable of an effective utilization of an entire screen of a liquid crystal panel while realizing depth feeling by combining the liquid crystal panel with a real object.SOLUTION: A display device D comprises: a liquid crystal panel 20 displaying an image G; a back-light 30 emitting light to the liquid crystal panel 20 from behind; a pointer 40 (real object) and a display object 50 (real object). Furthermore, the display device D also comprises: a reflector 20a reflecting display light for a virtual image V to be visually recognizable at a position overlapping with the liquid crystal panel 20, and the reflector 20a is formed by a front face of the liquid crystal panel 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device including a liquid crystal panel.

  Some conventional display devices change display content by moving an entity such as a pointer and pointing to a scale. On the other hand, the display devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 easily realize various changes in display contents by displaying on the liquid crystal panel an image imitating the entity.

  However, a liquid crystal panel has a physical limit in making a display image visually recognized three-dimensionally, and has a drawback in that it has a flat appearance as compared with a display device using an entity. With respect to this drawback, in the display devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a decoration ring as an entity is arranged on the front side in the viewing direction with respect to the liquid crystal panel. Since the decorative ring is visually recognized three-dimensionally, it is possible to give a sense of depth to the planar appearance of the liquid crystal panel. Therefore, the whole display device can be made to look three-dimensional by the combination of the liquid crystal panel and the decoration ring.

Japanese Patent No. 5180150 Japanese Patent No. 4787102

  However, if a decorative ring (substance) is placed on the front side of the liquid crystal panel as described above, a portion of the image on the liquid crystal panel is blocked by the entity and cannot be seen, so the entire display surface of the liquid crystal panel can be used effectively. Can not.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display device that can effectively use the entire display surface of the liquid crystal panel while combining the liquid crystal panel with an entity to give a sense of depth. It is to provide.

  The invention disclosed herein employs the following technical means to achieve the above object. Note that the reference numerals in parentheses described in the claims and in this section indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later, and do not limit the technical scope of the invention. .

  One of the disclosed inventions is arranged between a liquid crystal panel (20) for displaying an image (G), a backlight (30) for irradiating the liquid crystal panel with light from the back side, and the liquid crystal panel and the backlight. And an entity (40, 50) visually recognized through the liquid crystal panel, and a reflective surface (20a) for reflecting the virtual image display light and visually recognizing the virtual image (V) at a position overlapping the liquid crystal panel. The surface is formed by the surface of the liquid crystal panel.

  According to the present invention, since the entity is arranged between the liquid crystal panel and the backlight, it is possible to avoid that a part of the image by the liquid crystal panel is blocked by the entity and cannot be seen. Therefore, the entire display surface of the liquid crystal panel can be effectively used while providing a sense of depth by combining an entity with the liquid crystal panel.

  Furthermore, according to the said invention, since the virtual image can also be visually recognized in addition to a substance on the back side of the image displayed by a liquid crystal panel, the variation of the display mode by a display apparatus can be made abundant. In addition, since the reflective surface for displaying the virtual image is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal panel, it is unnecessary to provide the reflective surface separately from the liquid crystal panel, and the display device can be miniaturized.

It is a front view of the display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: The figure which shows the display content by an entity display mode. Sectional drawing of FIG. It is the perspective view of FIG. 2, Comprising: The figure which abbreviate | omitted the case and represented. The block diagram which shows the control object by the microcomputer of FIG. The figure which abbreviate | omitted illustration of layers other than an entity layer in the entity display mode which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which abbreviate | omitted illustration of layers other than a virtual image layer in the entity display mode which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which abbreviate | omitted illustration of layers other than an image layer in the entity display mode which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the state which switched and displayed the entity display mode of FIG. 1 to the entity non-display mode. Sectional drawing of the display apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of modes for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, portions corresponding to the matters described in the preceding embodiment may be denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description may be omitted. In each embodiment, when only a part of the configuration is described, the other configurations described above can be applied to other portions of the configuration.

(First embodiment)
A display device D shown in FIG. 1 is a vehicle display device assembled to an instrument panel of a vehicle. The display device D displays changes in various physical quantities representing the state of the vehicle, such as the traveling speed of the vehicle and the remaining power of the vehicle-mounted battery, and displays that effect when various abnormalities occur. Is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the display device D mainly includes a case 10, a liquid crystal panel 20, a backlight 30, a pointer 40, an electric motor 40m, a display object 50, a circuit board 60, a virtual image display unit 70, and the like. ing. The case 10 is made of a resin having a light shielding property, and accommodates and holds the liquid crystal panel 20, the backlight 30, the circuit board 60, the virtual image display unit 70, and the like. The case 10 is provided with a cover (not shown) that covers the internal contents from the front side. This cover is made of a resin having translucency.

  The liquid crystal panel 20 is a TFT liquid crystal panel configured to include a liquid crystal layer in which liquid crystal is held, a pair of electrodes disposed on both sides of the liquid crystal layer, a color filter substrate, and a pair of polarizing films. The electrode is a matrix electrode in which a row electrode and a column electrode are combined. The electrode is composed of a transparent electrode provided for each pixel, and a voltage applied to the electrode is controlled by a thin film transistor. The color filter substrate has a red filter, a green filter, and a blue filter, and each filter is arranged for each pixel (each electrode). In addition, a thin film transistor (TFT) (not shown) that turns on and off each pixel is provided. The polarizing film is a filter that transmits light that vibrates in a predetermined direction and restricts the vibration direction of the light to a predetermined direction. The pair of polarizing films are arranged so that the vibration direction is shifted by 90 degrees.

  The backlight 30 includes a light guide plate 31, a reflection plate 32, a diffusion plate 33, and a light source 34 (see FIG. 3). The light source 34 employs a light emitting diode to emit white light, and a plurality of light sources 34 are arranged at positions facing the side surfaces of the light guide plate 31. The light emitted from the light source 34 enters the light guide plate 31 from the side surface, travels through the light guide plate 31 while being reflected by the reflection plate 32, and exits from the front side of the light guide plate 31 (right side in FIG. 2). The light emitted from the light guide plate 31 is transmitted while being diffusely reflected by the diffusion plate 33. As a result, the entire diffuser plate 33 emits surface light, and light that is uniform and less uneven than the entire surface of the liquid crystal panel 20 is emitted from the backlight 30 to the liquid crystal panel 20.

  The reflection plate 32 is disposed in close contact with the back side of the light guide plate 31 (left side in FIG. 2), whereas the diffusion plate 33 is disposed with a predetermined gap on the front side of the light guide plate 31. . It is not necessary to leave this gap. In addition, the liquid crystal panel 20 is arranged with a predetermined gap 40 a on the front side of the diffusion plate 33. In the gap 40a, a pointer 40 that is a movable entity and a display object 50 that is a non-movable entity are disposed. Further, the backlight 30 is arranged in parallel to the direction (viewing direction) indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG. 2, whereas the liquid crystal panel 20 has a predetermined angle (for example, 45 degrees) with respect to the viewing direction. It is arranged at an angle.

  The pointer 40 has a pointer portion 41 and a boss portion 42. The pointer part 41 and the boss part 42 are integrally formed of a resin having translucency. A rotation shaft 41 m is fixed to the boss portion 42. The rotation shaft 41m is inserted and disposed in through holes 31a, 32a, and 33a formed in the light guide plate 31, the reflection plate 32, and the diffusion plate 33, and is rotated by the electric motor 40m. The electric motor 40m is attached to the circuit board 60. The rotational position of the pointer 40 is controlled by the microcomputer (microcomputer 61) mounted on the circuit board 60 controlling the driving of the electric motor 40m. The microcomputer 61 includes a central processing unit, a memory, and the like, and executes various types of arithmetic processing according to a program stored in advance.

  The liquid crystal panel 20 has a flexible wiring board 21, and a terminal 21 a formed at the tip of the flexible wiring board 21 is connected to the circuit board 60. An image signal output from the circuit board 60 to the liquid crystal panel 20 is transmitted to the electrodes of the liquid crystal panel 20 via the flexible wiring board 21. In short, the content of the image G displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 is controlled by the microcomputer 61.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the virtual image display unit 70 includes a virtual image backlight having a light guide plate 71, a reflection plate 72, and a diffusion plate 73, and a virtual image liquid crystal panel 74. The virtual image display unit 70 is arranged on the front side of the liquid crystal panel 20 in a direction parallel to the viewing direction. In other words, the angle θ1 formed by the liquid crystal panel 20 and the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 is 45 degrees, and the angle θ2 formed by the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 and the backlight 30 is 90 degrees (see FIG. 3).

  The virtual image display unit 70 is accommodated and fixed in the accommodating part 11 located in the upper part of the case 10 (refer FIG. 2). Further, the accommodating portion 11 is formed with a blindfold portion 11a that covers the virtual image display unit 70 from the front side. The virtual image display unit 70 is covered with the blindfold 11a and arranged so as not to be visually recognized.

  The circuit board 60 acquires various types of information from the electronic control device provided outside the display device D among the electronic control devices mounted on the vehicle, and the display contents of the liquid crystal panel 20 and the virtual image display unit 70 based on the acquired information. And the rotational position of the pointer 40 is controlled. Specific examples of the information include information representing changes in various physical quantities representing the state of the vehicle, such as the traveling speed of the vehicle and the remaining power of the in-vehicle battery, and information indicating that various abnormalities have occurred.

  When the light source 34 of the backlight 30 is turned on, the liquid crystal panel 20 is irradiated with light from the back side. Specifically, light emitted from the front surface (light emitting surface 33 b) of the diffusion plate 33 passes through the liquid crystal panel 20 and is emitted to the front side of the display device D through the cover. Thereby, the liquid crystal panel 20 is transmitted and illuminated, and the image G displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 is visually recognized by the user. Specifically, according to the voltage applied to the electrode arranged for each pixel of the liquid crystal panel 20, the light transmittance (light transmittance) for the corresponding pixel changes.

  For example, if the applied voltage is controlled so that the transmittance is maximized for all of the electrodes corresponding to the red filter, the green filter, and the blue filter, the luminance of light transmitted through each filter is maximized. As a result, the corresponding pixel is visually recognized as white. That is, it is visually recognized by the luminescent color of the diffusion plate 33. On the other hand, if the applied voltage is controlled so that the transmittance is minimized for all the electrodes corresponding to each filter, the luminance of the light transmitted through each filter is minimized. As a result, the corresponding pixel is visually recognized as black.

  Of the display area of the liquid crystal panel 20, an area (transparent pixel area) whose transmittance is controlled to be high as described above is an object located on the back side of the area, that is, the pointer 40, the display object 50, or the diffusion plate 33. However, the liquid crystal panel 20 can be seen through. In other words, of the light emitted from the backlight 30 (white light), the light that is reflected by the pointer 40 or the display object 50 and is directed to the liquid crystal panel 20 is transmitted through the light-transmitting pixel region and transmitted to the user. Will be visually recognized.

  On the other hand, in the display area of the liquid crystal panel 20, an area located on the back side of the area that is controlled to have a lower transmittance than the translucent pixel area cannot be visually recognized. In other words, the light that is reflected by the entity and travels toward the liquid crystal panel 20 is not visually recognized by the user because it does not pass through the opaque pixel region. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the portion of the display area of the liquid crystal panel 20 that faces the rotation range of the pointer 40 and the display object 50 is set as a translucent pixel area, and the other areas are non-transparent pixel areas. Is set to

  As the transmittance is increased, the degree to which the reflected light from the entity is transmitted through the liquid crystal panel 20 increases, and the entity is clearly visible. On the other hand, the lower the transmittance, the smaller the degree that the reflected light from the entity is transmitted through the liquid crystal panel 20, and the entity is visually recognized in a blurred manner.

  In short, by controlling the transmittance of the liquid crystal panel 20, an entity display mode (see FIG. 1) that makes an entity visible, and an entity non-display mode that makes part or all of the entity invisible ( (See FIG. 8). In the example of the entity non-display mode shown in FIG. 8, the portion of the display area of the liquid crystal panel 20 that faces the display object 50 is set as a translucent pixel area, and the other areas are set as non-transparent pixel areas. Has been. Therefore, although the pointer 40 is not visible, the display object 50 is visible.

  When the backlight light source 75 (see FIG. 4) of the virtual image display unit 70 is turned on, light is irradiated from the back side to the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74, and the irradiated light is transmitted through the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 and displayed. It becomes light. Specifically, similarly to the liquid crystal panel 20, display light is generated by adjusting the light transmittance to the corresponding pixel in accordance with the voltage applied to the electrode arranged for each pixel of the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74. . This display light is reflected by the reflecting surface 20a of the liquid crystal panel 20 to the viewer side. Thereby, the display light emitted from the virtual image display unit 70 is visually recognized as the virtual image V on the back side (back side) of the liquid crystal panel 20. Then, the entity is visually recognized on the further back side of the virtual image V, and the light emitting surface 33b of the diffusion plate 33 is visually recognized on the further back side of the entity.

  In other words, the four layers of the diffusion plate 33 layer, the entity layer (see FIG. 5), the virtual image V layer (see FIG. 6), and the image G layer (see FIG. 7) are visually recognized. The focal lengths of the layers are different, and the layers are visually recognized at different positions in the viewing direction, so that a sense of depth is given to the display of the display device D.

  As described above, the liquid crystal panel 20 is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74, and the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 is inclined 90 degrees with respect to the backlight 30. Therefore, the surface of the image G displayed by the liquid crystal panel 20 is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the backlight 30. On the other hand, the surface of the virtual image V by the display light of the virtual image display unit 70 is parallel to the backlight 30. The image G displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 is corrected for distortion in accordance with the inclination of the reflecting surface 20a. For example, among the characters and symbols included in the image G, the longer the distance from the viewer, the larger the display, thereby suppressing the portion from being viewed smaller than the other portions. Suppresses the distortion of the symbol.

  The surface of the liquid crystal panel 20 on the viewer side is coated with a material having a reflectance higher than a predetermined value. Thereby, the surface of the liquid crystal panel 20 functions as a reflective surface 20a that projects a virtual image.

  The display content in the entity display mode shown in FIG. 1 is based on a composite image in which the layers shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are combined. That is, the virtual image V by the display light of the virtual image display unit 70 includes a scale image G11, a numerical image G12, and a shadow image G13 pointed to by the pointer 40. By controlling the rotational position of the pointer 40 according to the vehicle speed and the engine speed, the vehicle speed and the engine speed are displayed by a combination of the pointer 40 and the scale image G11.

  The shadow image G13 is an image that represents an afterimage of the pointer in a manner that makes a radar image, and is an image that imitates a shadow that extends from the pointer portion 41 to the opposite side in the rotation direction. Therefore, the display position of the shadow image G13 also changes according to the rotation position of the pointer 40. Note that the length of the shadow image G13 in the rotation direction is set longer as the rotation speed of the pointer 40 is higher.

  Further, the virtual image V includes a map background image G20, a map image G23 displayed with the map background image G20 as a background, and a bar image G21 displayed over the display object 50. The bar image G21 is an image displayed in a length corresponding to the travel distance from the travel start position of the host vehicle registered in the navigation device. The planned travel distance from the travel start position to the planned arrival position is set to the length of the display object 50, and the length (travel distance) corresponding to the length of the display object 50 (scheduled travel distance) is a bar. This corresponds to the length of the image G21.

  The image G displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 includes a decorative ring image G10, an overall background image G30, a scale image G22, a guide image G24, and a guide character image G25 described below. The decorative ring image G10 is a ring-shaped image surrounding the pointer 40, and decorates the display content of the pointer image G14. The scale image G11 and the numeric image G12 are displayed at positions overlapping the decorative ring image G10. The overall background image G30 is a black image representing the background of the decorative ring image G10 and the map background image G20.

  The scale image G22 is an image representing a scale serving as an index of the length of the bar image G21, and is displayed at a position overlapping the map background image G20. The guide image G24 is an image representing an arrow indicating the position and direction of turning right and left, and is displayed at a position overlapping the map image G23. The guide character image G25 is an image representing characters supplementarily explaining the guide image G24, and is displayed at a position overlapping the map background image G20.

  In the entity non-display mode shown in FIG. 8, while the display object 50 is displayed among the entities, the pointer 40 is not displayed. Then, a vehicle speed image G41 representing the vehicle speed as a number and a remaining power image G42 representing the remaining amount of power stored in the in-vehicle battery are displayed instead of the pointer 40. The vehicle speed image G41 and the remaining power image G42 are images included in the virtual image V. In the entire background image G30 shown in FIG. 1, the region of the rotation range of the pointer 40 is set as a light-transmitting pixel region to form a high transmittance image. On the other hand, in the entire background image G40 shown in FIG. 8, the region of the rotation range of the pointer 40 is set as a non-transparent pixel region to form an image with low transmittance. Thereby, when switching from the entity display mode to the entity non-display mode, the display content is switched so that the pointer 40 is not visually recognized.

  Note that the area of the portion facing the display object 50 is set as a translucent pixel area in any mode of the overall background images G30 and G40 in any mode, thereby forming an image with high transmittance. Therefore, the display contents 50 are visible in any mode. In addition, the diffusion plate 33 is visually recognized in a region where the pointer 40 does not exist in the translucent pixel region. If the transmittance of this region is 100%, the diffusion plate 33 in this case is visually recognized as surface emitting with the color of the light source 34. That is, the pointer 40 is visually recognized with the diffusion plate 33 as a background.

  The drive circuits 63 and 65 shown in FIG. 4 are mounted on the circuit board 60 and drive the above-described thin film transistors included in the liquid crystal panel 20 and the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 in accordance with a command signal output from the microcomputer 61. Control. The power supply circuit 64 is mounted on the circuit board 60 and controls the amount of power supplied to the light sources 34 and 75 according to a command signal output from the microcomputer 61. Specifically, on / off of power supply to the light sources 34 and 75 is controlled.

  A control device 600 is configured by a microcomputer 61, a memory 62, an input processing circuit, an output processing circuit, and the like mounted on the circuit board 60. The control device 600 controls display images of the liquid crystal panel 20 and the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 by controlling the drive circuits 63 and 65, and controls on / off of the light sources 34 and 75 by controlling the power supply circuit 64. It can be said that. Furthermore, the control device 600 controls the rotational position of the pointer 40 by controlling the electric motor 40m.

  The memory 62 stores image data representing various images displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 and the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74. The microcomputer 61 also functions as switching means 61a that switches the display mode according to the state of the vehicle. For example, when the ignition switch (IGSW 601) is turned on, the power supply to the light sources 34 and 75 is turned on, and the liquid crystal panel 20 is controlled to have low transmittance so that the pointer 40 and the display object 50 are not visually recognized. And the effect image for a start is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20, maintaining the display of the low transmittance. Even when the IGSW 601 is turned off, the liquid crystal panel 20 is controlled to have low transmittance so that the pointer 40 and the display object 50 are not visually recognized. The effect image for termination is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 while maintaining the low transmittance display, and then the power supply to the light sources 34 and 75 is turned off.

  In the period until the IGSW 601 is turned off after the display of the display effect image for the start, the pointer 40 is normally pointed to the physical quantity based on the physical quantity detected by the sensor 602 such as the vehicle speed and the engine speed. Control the rotational position. Then, the liquid crystal panel 20 is displayed in the entity display mode shown in FIG. When an event that satisfies a predetermined condition occurs, such as when the remaining power of the in-vehicle battery is less than a predetermined value or when the user requests switching of the display, the entity display mode is exemplified in FIG. Switch to entity hidden mode.

  An example in which an entity non-display mode that does not allow the user to visually recognize the pointer 40 is required is a case where attention is paid to an image displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20. Specifically, there are cases where attention is paid to the remaining power image G42 shown in FIG. 1, an opening image displayed when the display device D is activated, an ending image displayed when the operation of the display device D ends, and the like.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the pointer 40 and the display object 50 as the entity are arranged between the liquid crystal panel 20 and the backlight 30. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the problem that “a part of the image by the liquid crystal panel 20 is obstructed by the pointer and becomes invisible” which occurs when an entity is arranged on the front side of the liquid crystal panel 20. Accordingly, the entire display area of the liquid crystal panel 20 can be used effectively while combining the entity with the liquid crystal panel 20 to give the display device D a sense of depth.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the virtual image V is also visually recognized in addition to the entity on the back side of the image G displayed by the liquid crystal panel 20, variations in the display mode by the display device D can be increased. . For example, when an image is combined with the pointer 40 to form a composite image, the image can be formed by a combination of the image G by the liquid crystal panel 20 and the virtual image V by the virtual image display unit 70, and the combination pattern is rich.

  Moreover, since the reflection surface 20a for displaying the virtual image V is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal panel 20, it is not necessary to provide a reflection surface separately from the liquid crystal panel 20, and the display device D can be reduced in size. Can do.

  Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the reflecting surface 20a is inclined with respect to the line-of-sight direction to the entity. Therefore, the virtual image display unit 70 can be easily arranged at a position that is not visually recognized by the viewer. The image G displayed on the liquid crystal panel 20 is corrected for distortion in accordance with the inclination of the reflecting surface 20a. Therefore, although the liquid crystal panel 20 is tilted as described above, images representing characters and symbols in the image layer shown in FIG. 7, for example, the induced character image G25 and the induced image G24 become distorted images. This can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, the virtual image V according to the present embodiment includes a portion displayed at a position where the virtual image V is visually recognized overlapping with the entity. Therefore, it is possible to make an illusion that the entity itself is the display content of the virtual image V. For example, the entity itself is illusioned as if it were the color or pattern of the virtual image V overlapping the entity. In the present embodiment, the bar image G21 is displayed at a position overlapping the display object 50. Therefore, a part of the display object 50 is illusioned as if it is a color and a pattern by the bar image G21, the bar image G21 can be expressed in three dimensions, and the display by the display device D can be displayed in three dimensions.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, predetermined information is notified by a composite image visually recognized by a combination of an entity or an image G and a virtual image V. For example, the scale image G11, the number image G12, and the shadow image G13 by the liquid crystal panel 20, the decoration ring image G10 by the virtual image V, and the pointer 40 that is an entity are combined to form a composite image of the vehicle speedometer and the tachometer. ing. Therefore, the vehicle speedometer, tachometer, etc. can be made to look deep.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the focal length of the virtual image V is set between the image G and the entity. Therefore, the virtual image V is visually recognized on the back side of the image G by the liquid crystal panel 20, the entity is visually recognized on the back side of the virtual image V, and the diffusion plate 33 is further visually recognized on the back side of the entity. Therefore, at least four layers can be displayed, and the appearance with depth can be improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the transmittance of the area (transparent pixel area) where the pointer 40 is located on the back side of the liquid crystal panel 20 is set higher than that of the other area (opaque pixel area). Yes. Therefore, the pointer 40 is easily visually recognized through the transparent pixel region. On the other hand, in the non-transparent pixel region, an object (diffusion plate 33) existing on the back side of the liquid crystal panel 20 becomes difficult to be visually recognized. Therefore, the pointer 40 visually recognized through the light-transmitting pixel region becomes conspicuous, and it is promoted that a line of sight is attracted to the pointer 40. That is, the attractiveness to the pointer 40 can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the transmittance of the transparent pixel region is increased to such an extent that the entity (the pointer 40) can be visually recognized, and the entity display mode (see FIG. 1) is not visible. There is provided switching means 61a for switching to the entity non-display mode to be lowered (see FIG. 8). Therefore, by switching the display of the liquid crystal panel 20, it is possible to easily realize a display in which an entity appears or disappears.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the focal length of the virtual image V is set at a position between the entity and the liquid crystal panel 20. Therefore, when the viewer looks at the object in focus, the virtual image V displayed superimposed on the object appears to be blurred, and the appearance with a dull floating feeling can be achieved. In contrast, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the focal length of the virtual image V is made to coincide with the focal lengths of the pointer 40 and the display object 50 that are actual objects. Therefore, when the viewer looks at the object in focus, the virtual image V displayed superimposed on the object is also clearly visible. Therefore, it is possible to promote the illusion that the color or pattern of the virtual image V superimposed on the entity is the color or pattern of the entity itself.

  For example, it is possible to make an illusion that the color and pattern of the bar image G21 displayed on the display object 50 is the color and pattern of the display object 50 itself. Further, by superimposing the virtual image V on the pointer 40, it is possible to make an illusion that the color or pattern of the virtual image V is the color or pattern of the pointer 40 itself. Moreover, by changing the virtual image V, an illusion can be made as if the display object 50 and the pointer 40 have changed.

  The distance L1 from the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 to the reflecting surface 20a and the distance L2 from the reflecting surface 20a to the virtual image V coincide with each other. Therefore, the focal length of the virtual image V can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the virtual image liquid crystal panel 74 and adjusting the distance L1. The surface on the liquid crystal panel 20 side of the pointer 40 and the surface on the liquid crystal panel 20 side of the display object 50 are arranged at the same position in the viewing direction. For this reason, the focal length of the virtual image V coincides with both the display object 50 and the pointer 40.

  Here, when the focal lengths are different as shown in FIG. 2 contrary to the present embodiment, when the viewer focuses on the virtual image V, the entity appears to be blurred, and when the viewer focuses on the entity, the virtual image V appears. It will appear blurry. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the focal length of the virtual image V is matched with the focal length of the entity. Therefore, since both the virtual image V and the entity can be viewed at the same time, the effect of the first embodiment in that the entity itself is illusioned as if it is the display content of the virtual image V. Can be promoted.

  For example, the entity itself is illusioned as if it were the color or pattern of the virtual image V overlapping the entity. Specifically, by displaying the virtual image V over the pointer 40, the pointer 40 itself can be illusioned as if it were the color and pattern of the virtual image V. Then, by changing the display content of the virtual image V, it is possible to make an illusion as if the pointer 40 itself has changed.

  Similarly, since the bar image G21 included in the virtual image V is displayed so as to overlap the display object 50, it is possible to make an illusion that the pointer 40 itself is the color and pattern of the bar image G21. Then, by changing the display content of the bar image G21, an illusion can be made as if the pointer 40 itself has changed.

(Other embodiments)
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as illustrated below. Not only combinations of parts that clearly show that combinations are possible in each embodiment, but also combinations of the embodiments even if they are not explicitly stated unless there is a problem with the combination. Is also possible.

  In the first embodiment, the rotating shaft 41m for rotating the pointer 40 and the electric motor 40m are fixed at predetermined positions. On the other hand, you may comprise the rotating shaft 41m and the electric motor 40m so that a movement with the pointer 40 is possible.

  In the first embodiment, the scale image G11, the numeric image G12, the map background image G20, the bar image G21, and the map image G23 are displayed as the virtual image V, but may be displayed as the image G of the liquid crystal panel 20. In the first embodiment, the decorative ring image G10, the scale image G22, the guide image G24, the guide character image G25, and the entire background image G30 are displayed as the image G of the liquid crystal panel 20, but are displayed as a virtual image V. You may let them. Instead of the decoration ring image G <b> 10, a decoration ring as an entity may be disposed between the backlight 30 and the liquid crystal panel 20. The pointer 40 that is an entity is abolished and may be represented by the image G or the virtual image V, or the display object 50 may be abolished and represented by the image G or the virtual image V.

  In addition to the backlight 30, a light source that illuminates the pointer 40 or the display object 50 may be provided. It is desirable that the boundary between the translucent pixel area and the opaque pixel area described above is a gradation display image in which the luminance gradually changes.

  The decorative ring image G10 is not limited to the ring shape, and may be, for example, an arc shape extending in the rotation direction of the pointer 40. The overall background image G30 is not limited to black, and may be a different color as long as the transmittance is lower than that of the light-transmitting pixel region and low enough to prevent the entity from being visually recognized.

  In the first embodiment, the entire movable range of the pointer 40 is set in the translucent pixel area. On the other hand, a portion where the pointer 40 is present in the entire movable range is set as a light-transmitting pixel region, and a portion where the pointer 40 is not present even in the movable range is set as a non-transparent pixel region. It may be rate.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the surface of the liquid crystal panel 20 is subjected to a gloss treatment so that the surface of the liquid crystal panel 20 itself has a high reflectivity to form the reflective surface 20a. On the other hand, a reflective surface 20 a may be formed by attaching a sheet having a higher reflectance than the surface of the liquid crystal panel 20 to the surface of the liquid crystal panel 20.

  In the entity display mode, the display device D can be visually recognized in the following manner. That is, the degree of sharpness (the degree of blurring) of the pointer 40 can be controlled in accordance with the degree of transmittance of the liquid crystal panel 20, so that the degree of visibility of the pointer 40 can be adjusted by adjusting the transmittance. Good. Further, the image G of the liquid crystal panel 20 and the pointer 40 may be overlapped for visual recognition.

  In each embodiment, the liquid crystal panel 20 is a full color type, but may be a monochrome type. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a matrix type having row electrodes and column electrodes but also to a segment liquid crystal panel that has segment electrodes of a predetermined shape and displays an image by corresponding pixels.

  In each of the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to the display device D assembled to the instrument panel of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to the application, for example, an electronic mirror mounted on the vehicle. May be applied. The electronic mirror is attached to a front windshield or door trim and displays an image imitating an image reflected on the mirror, and displays an image behind the vehicle. Further, the present invention is not limited to a display device mounted on a vehicle, and may be, for example, a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine or a throttle, or a display device mounted on a home appliance.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Liquid crystal panel, 20a ... Reflecting surface, 30 ... Backlight, 40 ... Pointer (substance), D ... Display apparatus, G ... Image, V ... Virtual image.

Claims (5)

A liquid crystal panel (20) for displaying an image (G);
A backlight (30) for irradiating the liquid crystal panel with light from the back side;
An entity (40, 50) disposed between the liquid crystal panel and the backlight and visually recognized through the liquid crystal panel;
A reflective surface (20a) that reflects display light for a virtual image and visually recognizes the virtual image (V) at a position overlapping the liquid crystal panel;
With
The display device, wherein the reflection surface is formed by a surface of the liquid crystal panel.   The display device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection surface is inclined with respect to a line-of-sight direction toward the entity.   3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual image includes a portion that is displayed at a position where the virtual image is visually recognized in an overlapping manner.   4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a focal length of the virtual image coincides with a focal length of the entity.   The display device according to claim 1, wherein predetermined information is notified by a composite image visually recognized by a combination of the entity or the image and the virtual image.

Images