JP2018100855A - Instrument for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an instrument for a vehicle which can perform high display output of visibility even if variation in measured value happens suddenly.SOLUTION: The instrument for a vehicle comprises a display part 1 which displays indicated value in bar graph manner by a color image, an illumination part 2 which is provided on sides of both ends of the display part 1 and brightly illuminates by a plurality of illumination colors, and a control part which inputs vehicle information from an external equipment and calculates the measured value based upon the vehicle information and determines displayed value and an illumination color on the basis of the measured value and drives and controls the display part 1 and the illumination part 2, respectively.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle instrument, and is particularly suitable for displaying vehicle information as an image using a bar display.

  In the fuel meter displayed on the instrument panel of the vehicle, for example, rectangular display segments using LED, LCD or VFD (fluorescent display tube) are arranged in a line vertically or horizontally, and as the remaining amount of fuel decreases, There is a bar graph type that sequentially reduces the number of display segments that are lit.

  In such a bar graph type display form (also referred to as digital step display), the number of display segments that are lit is changed based on the measured value (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-106789 A

  However, according to the above-described instrument device, when a bar graph type display is performed as a part of a display screen accompanied with a color or high-definition drawing process, the drawing process takes time. In addition, when a value close to an actual measurement value is displayed in order to improve the display responsiveness, there is a problem that visibility is hindered due to delay or flicker, especially when the measurement value fluctuates greatly.

  In addition, when the display change is moderated so that the user can easily see the display, the display responsiveness of the measurement value is impaired, so that the improvement is made to achieve both visibility and responsiveness. It was necessary.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular instrument capable of performing display output with high visibility even when the measurement value fluctuates rapidly, paying attention to such a problem.

The vehicle instrument of the present invention is
A display unit for displaying a display value as a bar graph using a color image;
Illumination units that are provided at both ends of the display unit and shine in a plurality of illumination colors;
Vehicle information from an in-vehicle device is input, a measurement value is calculated based on the vehicle information, the display value and the illumination color are determined based on the measurement value, and the display unit and the illumination unit are And a control unit for driving and controlling each of them.

In addition, the control unit displays the display value on the display unit using a different display color for each section of the bar graph display, and the illumination unit is displayed with a different illumination color for each range of the measurement value. Let it illuminate
The illumination unit is prepared so as to be able to express a color similar to the display color.

  The control unit may determine the display value by a calculation process including a delay process based on the measurement value.

  Further, the control unit determines the illumination color and drives and controls the illumination unit at a cycle shorter than the display update cycle of the display unit.

  The present invention can perform display output with high visibility even when the measurement value fluctuates rapidly.

The figure which shows the example of a display of the meter for vehicles by embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure by embodiment same as the above. The flowchart which shows the control procedure of the control part by embodiment same as the above.

  Hereinafter, as an embodiment of a vehicle instrument according to the present invention, an example applied to a vehicle instrument mounted for an automobile or motorcycle will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a vehicle meter A according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an electric circuit configuration of the vehicle meter A according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle meter A includes a display unit 1, an illumination unit 2, a control unit 3, a drawing operation circuit 4, a storage unit 5, and the like. It is mounted on the same circuit board accommodated in.

  The display unit 1 is a TFT-type transmissive liquid crystal panel, and is installed on the instrument panel in front of the driver's seat so that the display surface faces the driver side of the vehicle. The display unit 1 is a dot matrix type having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, and realizes image display by driving each pixel. Here, each pixel of the display unit 1 is composed of three sub-pixels provided with red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters, respectively. Display is possible. The display unit 1 is transmissively illuminated by a backlight (not shown) and outputs a display image.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the display unit 1 includes a bar display image 11, an indicator image 12, a time measurement value (lap time), and the like that includes a plurality of pixels and displays the engine speed as a vehicle graph in a bar graph. An information image 13 indicated by a numerical value can be displayed and can function as a composite instrument. The background of the images 11, 12, and 13 and the housing 6 are black. In addition, a display screen for displaying various setting screens and other vehicle information is prepared and can be displayed and output by switching the screen.

  The illumination unit 2 is provided as a pair on both sides of the display unit 1, and includes a light source 21 provided separately from the backlight of the display unit 1 and a transmissive display unit 22.

  The light source 21 can be switched on / off under the control of the control unit 3 and is provided with different illumination colors. In this case, a light emitting diode that emits white, yellow, and red illumination colors can be applied as the light source 21 of the illumination unit 2, and is provided on the back side of the transmissive display unit 22.

  The transmissive display unit 22 is provided on the line in the vertical direction along the casing 6 and transmits each illumination light by the light source 21 provided to face the back side, so that a desired illumination color is transmitted to the driver side. Can output. The transmissive display unit 22 is provided with a red section 22r, a yellow section 22y, and a white section 22w from the top, and light sources 21r, 21y, and 21w for each color are prepared on the back side. In addition, by providing the illumination unit 2 on both sides (both ends) of the display unit 1, the display position of the bar display image 11 and the display change condition between them are relatively easily grasped and the structure is highly visible.

  The control unit 3 can be applied with a microcomputer, and is connected to an external device (on-vehicle device) C such as an ECU (electronic control unit) C1 or various sensor units C2, and inputs information from the external device C. Thereby, the calculation process which determines and controls the output mode of the display part 1 or the illumination part 2 is performed. In this case, the vehicle instrument A and the external device C communicate with each other by wired connection to the in-vehicle network. However, wireless communication using radio waves may be used, or the display unit 1 may be connected by communication with a device outside the vehicle. It may be reflected in the display content of.

  The control unit 3 includes an arithmetic circuit (CPU) 31 that performs the arithmetic processing based on the information and a predetermined program, and a drawing arithmetic circuit 4 that drives and controls the display unit 1 based on the calculation result by the arithmetic circuit 31. The input / output interface 32 for inputting the information and outputting a control signal from the arithmetic circuit 31 to the light source 21 and the drawing arithmetic circuit 4, a predetermined program for arithmetic processing, a parameter, a data table, And a storage unit 5 for storing calculation results and the like.

  The drawing arithmetic circuit 4 generates image data to be displayed on the display unit 1 using the control signal from the arithmetic circuit 31 and the image data for drawing stored in the storage unit 5 or another prepared storage medium. The circuit outputs a drive signal to the display unit 1, and a graphic chip (GPU) can be applied. The drawing arithmetic circuit 4 may be incorporated in the arithmetic circuit 31 as a drawing processing function.

  The storage unit 5 can be a RAM or a ROM including a non-volatile memory for storing predetermined program data, and stores the above-described various data. The storage unit 5 may be built in a microcomputer or provided separately.

  In FIG. 1, a bar display image 11 of the display unit 1 shows a display of the engine speed of the vehicle, and the engine speed can be expressed according to the amount of paint in a display area partitioned in advance. For example, the display value can be confirmed by comparing and interpreting the boundary position of the presence / absence of filling and an index such as a scale or a numerical value. In this case, the display area of the bar display image 11 is divided into three areas at 6250 RPM and 8000 RPM as boundaries. From 0 to 6250 RPM is displayed in white, 6250 to 8000 RPM is displayed in caution in yellow, and a value greater than 8000 RPM is displayed in warning in red.

  This display color is set to be similar to the illumination color of the illumination unit 2. In addition, the classification based on the display color has an effect that the driver can grasp the state greatly without paying attention to the bar display image 11. The method of this classification is tuning of the vehicle specification and its driving performance, and the intention of the driver. Depending on the situation, it may be possible to change the setting using a separate setting screen.

  Next, the processing procedure of the control unit 3 relating to the display of the bar display image 11 indicating the engine speed and the illumination unit 2 in the vehicle instrument A according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control part 3 inputs the detection information of engine speed among the vehicle information which the external apparatus C emits (step S1), and determines a measured value from this detection information (step S2). In this case, data indicating a measurement value (a numerical value of the engine speed) is input as detection information, and the measurement value is determined based on the data. Note that, for example, a pulse signal composed of a rectangular wave emitted from the sensor unit C2 may be input as detection information, and a measurement value may be calculated and determined from the period of the pulse signal.

  Next, the control unit 3 compares which range the measurement value corresponds to, and drives and controls the light source 21 so that the illumination color corresponding to the predetermined range is emitted from the illumination unit 2 ( Step S3). At this time, similarly to the relationship between the rotation speed section of the bar display image 11 and the display color, the control section 3 illuminates the section 22w of the transmissive display section 22 in white when the measured value is in a range less than 6250 RPM. When the range is less than 8000 RPM, the sections 22w and 22y are illuminated with white and yellow, respectively, and when the range is 8000 RPM and higher, the sections 22w, 22y and 22r are illuminated with white, yellow and red, respectively. Drive control for turning on / off 21w, 21y, and 21r is performed. The relationship between each range of measurement values and the illumination color is set in advance, and the association is stored in the storage unit 5 as table data.

  In addition to the processing in step S3, the control unit 3 calculates a display value displayed on the bar display image 11 of the display unit 1 based on the measurement value determined in step S2 (step S4). . At this time, for example, when the display is suddenly changed every display update cycle of the display unit 1, the control unit 3 may cause display flickering or inability to visually recognize itself, so by performing smoothing processing and delay processing, The display change is made slow so that the display value indicated by the bar display image 11 can be easily read and compared.

  Based on the display value calculated in step S4, the control unit 3 uses the drawing arithmetic circuit 4 to generate an image, and drives and controls the display unit 1 so that a desired bar display image 11 is displayed. (Step S5).

  By repeating the processes from steps S1 to S5, the outputs of the display unit 1 and the light source 21 (illumination unit 2) can be controlled based on the measured value of the engine speed. At this time, the control unit 3 is a case where the display update period of the display unit 1 is larger than the calculation period of the measurement value by the image drawing process, the response of the liquid crystal element, and the delay process for obtaining the visibility as described above. In addition, it is possible to determine the engine speed state (normal / caution / alarm) with better responsiveness than the bar display image 11 using the light sources 21w, 21y, and 21r.

  Although the control unit 3 has been shown to determine the illumination color for the measurement value based on the table data in the storage unit 5, it can also be determined by a predetermined comparison calculation process. In addition, the control unit 3 updates the stored data in the storage unit 3 to thereby change the threshold value (boundary) of the range for determining the display classification of the bar display image 11 based on the display value and the illumination color based on the measurement value. It is also conceivable that the value can be changed by an operation by the driver (user) using a separate setting screen.

  Such a vehicle meter A includes a display unit 1 that displays a display value as a bar graph using a color image, an illumination unit 2 that is provided on both ends of the display unit 1 and shines in a plurality of illumination colors, and an external device C. Vehicle information is input, a measured value is calculated based on the vehicle information, the display value and the illumination color are determined based on the measured value, and the display unit and the illumination unit are driven and controlled respectively. And a control unit 3.

  Accordingly, a vehicle that displays predetermined vehicle information (in this case, the engine speed) on the display unit 1 with high visibility as a bar display image 11 by an image, and operates the illumination unit 2 with quick responsiveness based on measurement values. Meter A.

  In addition, the control unit displays the display value on the display unit using a different display color for each section of the bar graph display, and the illumination unit is displayed with a different illumination color for each range of the measurement value. The illumination unit is prepared so as to express a color similar to the display color. That is, by making the display color partitioned into the bar display image 11 and the illumination color by the light source 21 similar, the output content by the illumination unit 2 can be easily transmitted intuitively, and the measurement value fluctuates rapidly. Even if it exists, display output with high visibility can be performed.

  Further, the control unit 3 determines the display value by an arithmetic process including a delay process based on the measurement value, thereby improving the visibility of the bar display image 11 that needs to be compared with an index such as a scale. it can. In addition, since display responsiveness can be interpolated by the illumination part 2, from the bar display image 11, the display output which attached importance to the visibility is attained.

  Further, the control unit 3 determines the illumination color and drives and controls the illumination unit 2 in a cycle shorter than the display update cycle of the display unit 1. In other words, the illumination color is determined in a cycle shorter than the display update cycle based on the frame frequency of the display unit 1 and prepared so as to be able to switch on / off the light source 21 made of a light emitting diode so that illumination with high responsiveness can be achieved. The vehicle instrument A having the portion 2 is obtained. Further, in this case, the illumination unit 2 can change the illumination area in the vertical direction in accordance with the measurement value, and can change the display following a sudden change in the engine speed. .

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. .

  The present invention relates to a vehicular instrument device, and is suitable, for example, as a vehicular instrument mounted on a moving body including an automobile, a motorcycle, an agricultural machine, or a construction machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display part 11 Bar display image 2 Illumination part 21 Light source 21w, 21y, 21r Light source 22 Transmission display part 3 Control part 31 Calculation circuit 4 Drawing calculation circuit 5 Memory | storage part A Instrument for vehicles C Vehicle-mounted apparatus C1 Electronic control unit C2 Sensor unit

Claims (4)

A display unit for displaying a display value as a bar graph using a color image;
Illumination units that are provided at both ends of the display unit and shine in a plurality of illumination colors;
Vehicle information from an in-vehicle device is input, a measurement value is calculated based on the vehicle information, the display value and the illumination color are determined based on the measurement value, and the display unit and the illumination unit are A vehicle instrument comprising: a control unit that controls driving of each. The control unit causes the display unit to display the display value using a display color different for each section of the bar graph display, and causes the illumination unit to illuminate with a different illumination color for each range of the measurement value. ,
The vehicle instrument according to claim 1, wherein the illumination unit is prepared so as to be able to express a color similar to the display color.   The vehicular instrument according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the display value by an arithmetic process including a delay process based on the measurement value.   The vehicular instrument according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the illumination color and drives and controls the illumination unit at a cycle shorter than a display update cycle of the display unit.

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