JP4640417B2 - Meter unit for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle meter unit.

JP 2004-182092 A

  Meters for displaying vehicle speed, engine speed, and the like are arranged in the cockpit for vehicles (particularly for automobiles). Such a meter is a classic analog machine pointer type meter, but as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a meter unit is configured by a display such as a liquid crystal panel, and a conventional analog machine is used here. Instead of the type meter, a color image (so-called soft meter) of a meter is displayed. In the case of such a meter unit, a camera image such as a night vision image (so-called night view image) using an infrared camera and a back monitor image, and an image window such as a map image of a car navigation device are also displayed on the display screen together with the soft meter. Has the advantage that it can be easily synthesized and displayed. Further, if the vehicle speed meter or tachometer is configured with a pointer-type meter, the vehicle speed and the engine speed can be directly read from the position of the pointer, which is advantageous for intuitively grasping the current meter indication value. On the other hand, the pointer-type meter is inferior to the digital meter that directly displays the indicated value as a number in terms of reading accuracy of the indicated value. However, in Patent Document 1, a digital meter is combined with the pointer-type meter to overcome the disadvantage. There are also ways to make up for it.

  By the way, when an image window such as an image or a map image is displayed on the display for meter display, the meter must be displayed in the blank area of the window. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, the first display mode in which the meter display is given priority and the image window is not displayed, the image window is displayed, and by omitting or reducing the display of some meters, There is disclosed an aspect in which a switch can be made between a second display mode in which a meter image is limitedly displayed in a blank area.

  In FIG. 5 of Patent Document 1, as a display form in the first display mode, a digital speedometer that displays a speed numerically at the center of a circular pointer-type analog speedometer arranged side by side and the same tachometer A configuration in which is arranged is disclosed. On the other hand, in FIG. 6, as a display form in the second display mode, an image window (auxiliary information output unit) of the car navigation device is arranged in the center of the screen, and a pointer type analog speedometer and tachometer are arranged in the margin areas on both sides The configuration is disclosed. However, this configuration has the following drawbacks when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode.

(1) The digital speedometer displayed in the center of the screen in the first display mode is erased by the image window (auxiliary information output unit) as soon as the second display mode is switched. However, the driver who was driving lost sight of the digital speedometer and may be confused.
(2) The pointer-type analog speedometer was displayed using a sufficient space near the center of the screen in the first display mode, but in the second display mode, the image window (auxiliary (Information output part) Displayed in the margin areas on both sides greatly changed. The driver who was driving while looking at the pointer-type analog speedometer changes its shape and position at the same time as switching to the second display mode, so it is recognized as a functionally equivalent pointer-type analog speedometer. It takes time to do so and may be confused.
(3) In order to solve (1), in FIG. 26 of Patent Document 1, the digital speedometer is continuously displayed at another position on the screen (specifically, on the lower left side of the screen) even in the second display mode. The structure to perform is disclosed. However, in this case as well, the digital speedometer disappears from the center of the screen in the second display mode, and it takes time to recognize that the display continues to be moved to the left edge of the screen. There's a problem. Furthermore, since the digital speedometer is displayed on the deformed pointer type analog speedometer, the digital speedometer is difficult to read.

  The problem of the present invention is that, even when the meter display layout changes greatly due to the switching of the meter display mode, the driver can easily grasp the correlation with the layout in the display mode before the switching. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular meter unit that can greatly reduce the confusion at the time of meter reading.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

In order to solve the above-described problems, the vehicle meter unit of the present invention includes:
As a first display mode on the screen of the display, a pointer-type analog having a pointer capable of moving the speed of the vehicle along a predetermined indication locus and a scale figure formed along the indication locus A digital speedometer that displays an image with a speedometer and digitally indicates a speed indication value of a pointer with a numerical image is displayed at the same time as the pointer-type analog speedometer at a first position unique to the first display mode. Meter display means;
As the second display mode on the screen of the display, the auxiliary information output unit specific to the second display mode, which was not displayed in the first display mode, is displayed in the first display mode while erasing the image of the pointer-type analog speedometer. In the first display mode, the digital speedometer is newly displayed across both the area occupied by the pointer-type analog speedometer and the area occupied by the digital speedometer in the first display mode. From the second meter display means for moving and displaying to the second position unique to the second display mode that does not overlap with the auxiliary information output unit,
Display mode switching means for switching the screen display state of the display between the first display mode and the second display mode;
When the display mode switching means switches from the first display mode to the second display mode, the display mode switching means completes the erasure of the pointer-type analog speedometer and then switches from the display state to the first position of the digital speedometer. Switching to the display state in two positions is performed.

  In the above configuration, the image of the pointer-type analog speedometer is deleted along with the switching to the second display mode, and the auxiliary information output unit is newly displayed on the screen. Accordingly, in the first display mode, the digital speedometer that has been displayed so as to occupy at least a part of the display area of the auxiliary information output unit is placed outside the auxiliary information output unit in the second display mode. The display continues so as not to overlap (that is, to have an exclusive positional relationship). That is, in the second display mode, the image of the pointer-type analog speedometer is deleted, and only the digital speedometer remains as the current vehicle speed display means. Therefore, after shifting to the second display mode, the redundant vehicle speed display means is redundant. The current vehicle speed can be immediately grasped by the digital speedometer without being disturbed by the pointer type analog speedometer. In addition, since the display position is changed to the second position where the digital speedometer does not overlap the auxiliary information output unit, the visibility of the digital speedometer is further improved, and the position (first display) in the first display mode is improved. Despite the absence of a digital speedometer from one position, it can greatly reduce the driver's feeling of confusion.

  From the viewpoint of promptly grasping the display position of the digital speedometer after shifting to the second display mode, the display size of the numeric image indicating the speed indication value of the digital speedometer is set to the first display mode and the second display. It is desirable to set the same for each mode. In this case, it is better to set the display font of the numerical image indicating the speed instruction value of the digital speedometer in the first display mode and the second display mode.

  In this case, the display mode switching means switches the digital speedometer from the display state at the first position to the display state at the second position when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode. It is possible to switch directly without going through a display state at an intermediate position between the two positions. In this configuration, since the display state at the intermediate position is not passed, the display position changing process related to the digital speedometer can be simplified, but the digital speedometer is used when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode. It appears that it has moved instantaneously from the first position to the second position. However, since the movement destination is an external area where the pointer-type analog speedometer of the auxiliary information output unit is absent, even if the display position is instantaneously changed in this way, it is unlikely that the digital speedometer is lost.

  When the meter display mode switching means switches from the first display mode to the second display mode, after the erasing of the pointer type analog speedometer is completed, the display state at the first position of the digital speedometer is changed to the second position. The display state can be switched to. According to this aspect, the display speed of the digital speedometer is changed after the pointer-type analog speedometer, which becomes a visual confusion factor of the digital speedometer when the meter display mode is switched, is completely lost. Problems are less likely to occur.

  Further, the meter display mode switching means, when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode, after the switching from the display state of the digital speedometer to the first position to the display state to the second position is completed. It can be configured to perform display control for causing the auxiliary information output unit to appear. The auxiliary information output unit also causes visual complication of the digital speedometer when the meter display mode is switched. According to the above aspect, the auxiliary information output unit appears after the change of the display position of the digital speedometer is completed. Therefore, the problem of losing sight of the digital speedometer is less likely to occur.

  When switching from the first display mode to the second display mode, the meter display mode switching means displays a moving image for gradually erasing the display state of the pointer type analog speedometer as a mode transition animation, and then the display state in the second display mode. Can be configured. The pointer-type analog speedometer is displayed only in the first display mode, and in addition, the area in which the auxiliary information output unit is to be displayed in the second display mode occupies as a “first customer”. Therefore, when suddenly switching from the first display mode to the second display mode, the pointer-type analog speedometer suddenly disappears, and instead, the auxiliary information output unit suddenly appears in the area occupied by the pointer-type analog speedometer. Therefore, the sense of image discontinuity or the loss of the pointer-type analog speedometer displayed so far is very large. Therefore, immediately after switching to the second display mode, the driver cannot immediately recognize the fact that the pointer-type analog speedometer has disappeared, and may unknowingly search for the pointer-type analog speedometer. There is a lot of confusion. However, according to the above configuration, when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode, a moving image that gradually erases the display state of the pointer type analog speedometer is displayed as a mode transition animation, so the pointer type analog speedometer disappears. This animation makes it possible to impress the driver psychologically strongly, and as a result, allows the driver to quickly recognize that the pointer-type analog speedometer is absent in the second display mode. Can reduce confusion.

  In this case, the meter display mode switching means uses, as a mode transition animation, a moving image that is erased while gradually reducing the pointer-type analog speedometer toward the convergence point defined in the display area of the auxiliary information output unit in the second display mode. It can be displayed. When the pointer-type analog speedometer disappears while being reduced from the original display size, it is possible to more effectively reduce the sense of image discontinuity associated with display mode switching. In addition, the display control means may be configured to display a moving image to be erased while fading out the pointer-type analog speedometer as a mode transition animation, which is effective in reducing the sense of image disconnection (both may be combined). . Similarly, a configuration in which a moving image to be erased in a sweep mode from one end side to the other end side is displayed as a mode transition animation on the screen along a predetermined erasing direction on the screen. Is also possible.

  The auxiliary information output unit may be an image display window that forms a camera video display unit or a car navigation screen display unit. Such an image display window has a relatively large area, and the display position change distance of the digital speedometer when the display mode is switched increases, but it is effective to lose the digital speedometer by erasing the analog speedometer. Can be reduced. In this case, when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode, the meter display mode switching means displays a moving image that gradually causes the image display window to appear as a mode transition animation, and then sets the display state in the second display mode. be able to. By causing the image display window of a large area to gradually appear by the mode transition animation, it is possible to reduce the uncomfortable feeling that the image display window suddenly appears due to the display mode switching.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1A shows a screen display example in a first display mode of the vehicle meter unit of the present invention in a bitmap image, and FIG. 1B schematically shows this. The vehicle meter unit 1 is arranged to face a driver's seat of an automobile (vehicle), and is configured to collectively display a plurality of meter images on the display 210 in a form in which the meter images are gathered in a predetermined layout. . As shown in FIG. 2, the display 210 is a well-known display having a color liquid crystal panel 108 backlight module 309. Specifically, the meter image includes a gear position meter 503, speedometers 504A and 504D, a pointer type analog power meter 501, a total fuel consumption meter 506, a fuel remaining amount meter 507, and a water temperature meter 509 that indicate the total output and regeneration state of the hybrid vehicle. Is displayed.

  The speedometers 504A and 504D include a pointer type analog speedometer 504A having a pointer 502 movable along an arc-shaped instruction locus, and a scale board figure 40 formed along the instruction locus, and a screen SCR. A digital speedometer 504D that digitally indicates the instruction value of the pointer 502 numerically in a region including the rotation center O of the pointer 502 inside the instruction locus. In addition, an ornamental inverted shadow image 50M obtained by inverting the number 50 is displayed below the number 50 displayed on the digital speedometer 504D.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the vehicle meter unit 1.
The main part of the configuration is a meter ECU 200 that performs main control of meter display. The main part of the meter ECU 200 includes a microcomputer in which a CPU 281, a ROM 282, a RAM 283, a drawing LSI, and an input / output unit 280 are connected via an internal bus. The ROM 282 has meter drawing software, graphic data necessary for drawing each of the meters 503, 504A, 504D, 501, 506, 507, and 509, and font data of numbers (number 50) for displaying speed on the digital speedometer 504D. Is stored. The display image data of the decorative inverted shadow image 50M is created using this font data.

  The meter ECU 200 is network-connected to another ECU such as the body system ECU 300 via the serial communication bus 127 via the communication interface 126, and also functions as an operation state parameter acquisition unit. That is, the body system ECU 300 is connected to a sensor group for acquiring basic operation state information to be displayed on the meter. Specifically, a vehicle speed sensor 301, a vehicle output detection unit 302, a coolant temperature sensor 303, a fuel remaining amount sensor 304, an average fuel consumption calculation unit 305, a gear position detection unit 306, and the like.

  The meter ECU 200 acquires the detection information from the sensor groups 301 to 307 via the communication bus 127, and indicates the indicated value on a master image (for example, stored in the ROM 282) of each corresponding meter. And drawing data for each meter (hereinafter referred to as meter drawing data). Specifically, in FIG. 2, the detection value of the gear position detection unit 306 is the gear position meter 503, the detection value of the vehicle speed sensor 301 is the speedometer 504A, 504D, and the detection value of the vehicle output detection unit 302 is the pointer type analog. In the output meter 501, the fuel consumption calculation value of 4 of the average fuel consumption calculation unit 305 is in the average fuel consumption meter 506, the detection value of the fuel remaining amount sensor 304 is in the fuel remaining amount meter 507, and the detection value of the water temperature sensor 303 is in the water temperature meter 509. Each is reflected. The drawing LSI 106 receives the above drawing data, synthesizes an image on the graphic memory 107, and outputs it to the liquid crystal panel 108 (in cooperation with the meter ECU 200 executing the meter drawing software, the first meter display means, the second meter display And the display mode switching means (display control means) are realized).

  Hereinafter, the design features of the first display mode will be supplemented slightly. First, as shown in FIG. 12, with respect to the horizontal reference line HK along the lower edge of the display area of the numeral 50 in FIGS. 1A and 1B on the screen of the display 210, the horizontal reference line in the depth direction of the screen SCR. When the virtual projection plane HP including HK is set and the virtual illumination light VL is projected from the upper side in front of the screen SCR on which the user viewpoint UI exists, the virtual illumination light VL of the number 50 is set. The ornamental inverted shadow image 50M is displayed in 3D in a form simulating a reflected projection image on the virtual projection plane HP (see also FIG. 1B). The decorative inverted shadow image 50M of this form is a reflection projection image by illumination light from the upper front side of the screen SCR, when the numeral 50 is regarded as an object in the upright form on the screen SCR, as if the object 50 It is expressed as if the water surface (or mirror surface) exists, and an exhilarating and spacious space can be produced on the limited display screen SCR of the meter.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the decorative inverted shadow image 50M simulating a reflection projection image is a gradation image in which the brightness gradually decreases toward the lower side of the numeral 50 on the virtual projection plane HP. It is displayed. As a result, the brightness of the decorative inverted shadow image 50M decreases toward the front side of the screen SCR where the amount of reflected reflected light decreases, and the reality as a reflected projection image is enhanced. Further, behind the meter image on the screen SCR, a decorative surface image DP along the virtual projection plane HP is displayed in a form that causes a focus in the depth direction of the screen SCR by perspective. By actively displaying such a decorative surface image DP, the presence of the virtual projection surface HP at a position corresponding to the decorative surface image DP can be made more apparent, and the decorative inverted shadow image 50M can be displayed to the user. It is possible to make it more intuitive as a reflection projection image. The decorative surface image DP is displayed as a gradation image in which the brightness gradually decreases as the distance from the meter image on the virtual projection plane HP is further away from the meter image or from the center of the screen SCR in the horizontal direction. It is possible to produce a sense of perspective more realistically when it is assumed that the light source LS of the virtual illumination light VL is present on the upper side. In FIG. 1B, a large number of decorative stripes that converge toward the focal point in the depth direction of the screen are formed on the decorative surface image DP, and the decorative surface image DP disappears before the focal point due to a decrease in brightness (fade out). ) Designed to enhance the 3D depth.

  An outline of the flow of meter operation processing related to, for example, the speedometers 504A and 504D by the meter drawing software is as follows. First, when the engine is started, the detection value of the vehicle speed acquired from the body system ECU 300 is acquired, and meter operation processing corresponding to the acquired vehicle speed is performed. This processing routine is repeatedly executed until the engine is stopped. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1B, the pointer 502 of the analog speedometer 504A is drawn so as to move to the scale position corresponding to the acquired vehicle speed, and the numerical value indicating the vehicle speed is converted to the font data described above. Used to display on the digital speedometer 504D. Along with the repetition of the above processing routine, the drawing position of the pointer 502 and the display value of the digital speedometer 504D change in accordance with the fluctuation of the acquired engine speed.

  Next, FIG. 2 shows a screen display example in the second display mode as a bitmap image, and the layout is clearly different from the first display mode of FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 2, the mutual switching between the first display mode and the second display mode is a display mode connected to the meter ECU 200 (or another ECU connected via the communication bus 127). Every time the changeover switch 290 is operated once, the operation is repeated alternately. The display mode changeover switch 290 is provided at a position where the driver can easily operate in the vehicle compartment, such as a steering wheel or a center console.

  As is clear when FIG. 2 is compared with FIG. 1A, the digital speedometer 504D, the average fuel consumption meter 506, the gear position meter 503, the fuel remaining amount meter 507, and the water temperature meter 509 are displayed in the first display mode. It is a functional part. On the other hand, the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A and the pointer-type analog output meter 501 are first unique image function components that are displayed only in the first display mode of FIG. 1A.

  Furthermore, in the second display mode of FIG. 2, the image display window 510 is displayed large in the center of the screen. This image display window 510 is a night view video (infrared night vision image) outside the vehicle photographed by a well-known night view camera (infrared camera) connected to the body system ECU 300 in FIG. 3, or via the communication bus 127. A guide image or the like by a map from the connected car navigation device 308 is displayed (in the drawing, it is represented by a mode of displaying a night view video, but is not limited to this). The image display window 510 constitutes a second unique image functional component that is displayed only in the second display mode.

  Next, as is apparent from the comparison between FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, among the image meters forming the common image functional parts, three of the digital speedometer 504D, the average fuel consumption meter 506, and the gear position meter 503 are The display position in the first display mode shown in 1A is set so as to overlap the display area of the second unique image functional component in the second display mode, that is, the display scheduled area of the image display window 510 in FIG. Specifically, the gear position meter 503 entirely overlaps the area of the image display window 510, and the average fuel consumption meter 506 and the digital speedometer 504D partially overlap). The display positions of the three image meters 504D, 506, and 503 in the second display mode are set exclusively outside the display area of the image display window 510 that is the second unique image functional component. Specifically, the digital speedometer 504D is allocated to the right margin area of the image display window 510, and the average fuel consumption meter 506 and the gear position meter 503 are also allocated to the left margin area.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the second display mode, the image display window 510 is arranged at the center of the screen of the display 210 with the pointer type analog speedometer 504 </ b> A (which forms the first unique image functional component) and the pointer type. The display position and size are set so as to overlap with both of the analog output meters 501. The pointer type analog speedometer 504A and the pointer type analog output meter 501 are not displayed in the second display mode of FIG. That is, it is erased when switching to the second display mode.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows an image processing sequence at the time of switching from the first display mode of FIG. 1A to the second display mode of FIG. As shown in state 1, both the digital speedometer 504 and the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A are displayed in the first display mode. However, as shown in state 2, the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A and the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A are displayed. Speedometer 504A is deleted. In FIG. 4, the image state in which the pointer-type analog speedometer 504 </ b> A in the first display mode is displayed is changed by one frame so that the image state can be directly switched to the erased image state shown in state 2 without going through the intermediate state. The image is controlled in such a way.

  Then, as shown in state 3, the digital speedometer 504D does not overlap with the image display window 510 (auxiliary information output unit) from the unique first position P1 that is the display position in the first display mode. The image display window 510 moves to a unique second position P2, which is a display position in the second display mode, set in a blank area formed on either the left or right side (here, the right side) of the image display window 510. When switching from the first display mode to the second display mode, the digital speedometer 504D changes the first position P1 and the second position P2 from the display state to the first position P1 to the display state to the second position P2. Is switched directly without going through the display state to the intermediate position. That is, the digital speedometer 504D performs image control in such a manner as to transition from the first position P1 to the second position P2 in one frame. In addition, in the numeric image indicating the speed instruction value of the digital speedometer 504D, both the typeface and the display size are set to be the same in the first display mode and the second display mode.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the numerical image indicating the speed instruction value of the digital speedometer 504D is set to the same display size only in the first display mode and the second display mode, and the font is set to the first display mode and the first display mode. It is also possible to display differently in the two display modes. FIG. 11 shows an example in which the numeric image is a standard typeface in the first display mode and is bold (bold face: top) or italic (italic) in the second display mode. In addition, in the first display mode and the second display mode, the display state around the digital speedometer 504D also changes greatly due to the deletion of the pointer type analog speedometer 504A. However, the visual dimension may appear different due to the optical illusion. Therefore, for the fine adjustment, the display size of the numerical image can be slightly different between the first display mode and the second display mode. Furthermore, in the second display mode in which the speed display is only the digital speedometer 504D, it is possible to dare to set the display size of the numerical image larger than in the first display mode for emphasis.

  When erasing the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A, the digital speedometer 504 is held at the first position P1 (see state 3) which is the display position in the first display mode until the erasure is completed. At this time, as shown in the state 2, the digital speedometer 504 displays the display state of the first position P1 for a certain time (for example, from 0.1 to 1 second) after the erasing of the pointer type analog speedometer 504A is completed. After being held, as shown in state 3, it can be moved to the second position P2. On the other hand, from the display state in the first display mode of state 1, both state 2 is skipped and both the erasing of the needle type analog speedometer 504A and the movement of the digital speedometer 504 to the second position P2 are performed as shown in state 3. It is also possible to make a transition to an image state in which one is completed in one frame.

  Next, an image display window 510 is displayed as shown in state 4 of FIG. It should be noted that transition from one state in which the image display window 510 is not displayed to state 4 in which the entire image display window 510 is displayed is changed in one frame so as to be directly switched here. Alternatively, the state 2 and the state 3 may be skipped from the display state in the first display mode of the state 1 to make a transition to the display state of the state 4 in one frame.

  Next, as the display mode of the display 210 is switched from the first display mode of FIG. 1A to the second display mode of FIG. 2, it is also possible to display and output a mode transition animation by executing the meter drawing software. This mode transition animation is a moving image in which the display state of the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A and the pointer-type analog output meter 501 forming the first unique image functional component in FIG. 1A is gradually shifted toward the erased state shown in FIG. including.

  Specifically, a convergence point for image reduction is conceptually set at an intermediate position in the adjacent direction between the left and right pointer-type analog output meters 501 and the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A. The analog speedometer 504A is a moving image process that fades out while being gradually reduced toward the convergence point and is erased. FIG. 5 schematically shows this process. At this time, afterimage processing is performed on the image meters 501 and 504A on each frame, and as described above, a 3D background image (in the depth direction of the screen using gradation by the virtual light source LS (FIG. 13) and perspective) ( In the virtual projection plane HP), a novel display effect is achieved such that the image meters 501 and 504A fly away in the distance indicated by the vanishing point. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the image meters 501 and 504A (first unique image functional parts) may be erased while fading out, or as shown in FIG. It is also possible to erase in a sweep form from one end side to the other end side along the direction (the direction from the lower edge of the screen toward the upper edge in FIG. 6).

  At this time, the digital speedometer 504 holds the pointer-type analog speedometer 504A at the first position P1 (see state 3), which is the display position in the first display mode, until the moving image for gradually erasing is completed. Display control is possible. In this case, the digital speedometer 504 may hold the display state of the first position for a certain period of time after the moving image is completed and then move to the second position. Thus, since the user can strongly recognize that the mode is being switched, it may be moved to the second position immediately after the moving image is completed, or the second position of the digital speedometer 504 may be displayed during the moving image display period. You may make it move to.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a moving image process may be performed in which the image display window 510 gradually appears on the screen. FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the image display window 510 is a moving image that appears so as to gradually rise every time a frame is followed from the lower side of the screen (state 31 → state 32 → state 4). FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which the image display window 510 is a moving image that fades in (state 341 → state 342 → state 4).

  At this time, it is desirable that the movement of the digital speedometer 504 to the second position P2 is completed before the moving image that causes the image display window 510 to gradually appear on the screen is started. On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, in the case where the image display window 510 appears so as to gradually rise every time a frame is followed on the screen, it does not overlap with the digital speedometer 504 at the first position P1. For the above, the display state of the digital speedometer 504 at the first position P1 may be maintained even after the start of the moving image. Further, the display period of the erased moving picture of the pointer type analog speedometer 504A and the display period of the appearing moving picture of the image display window 510 may overlap at least partially. It is possible to overlap the end side partial period and the start side part period of the appearance moving image of the image display window 510, and to display these two moving images in an overlapping manner.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of display processing of the mode transition animation. When switching of the display mode is detected in S1, the indication value of each image meter at the time when the mode switching is detected is captured in S2. . Then, the instruction state of each of the image meters 503, 504A, 504D, 501, 506, 507, and 509 in the first display mode is fixed to generate the frame 1 (starting frame: FIG. 8), and the image display window 510 A frame 16 (end frame: FIG. 11) in which is embedded is generated. In S4, each of the image meters 503, 504A, 501, 506, 507, 509 and the image display window 510 is composed of bitmap data (indicating a display state other than the pointer) for each intermediate frame (frame 2 to frame 15). The animation data (FIG. 3) is read out. In S5, a pointer image is pasted into the image meters 504A, 501, 506, 507, and 509 having the pointer in the intermediate frame bitmap data at the positions indicated by the captured instruction values. For the digital speedometer 504D, a numeric font indicating the captured speed value is read from the font data in FIG. 1 and pasted at a predetermined position on each frame. If the intermediate frame is completed in this way, it is reproduced as a mode transition animation in S6. During the reproduction period, the display state of each of the image meters 503, 504A, 504D, 501, 506, 507, and 509 is fixed to the captured instruction value. If the end frame 16 is reached in S7, the process proceeds to S8, where the acquisition of the instruction value of each image meter is resumed and the display operation in the second display mode is started.

  Note that the process of pasting the pointer image in S5 on each intermediate frame may be omitted. In this case, the pointers are erased from the image meters 504A, 501, 506, 507, and 509 having the pointers for a moment.

  The switching from the first display mode to the second display mode has been described above, but when switching from the second display mode to the first display mode, a mode transition animation that follows the reverse order may be displayed. In view of the situation in which the first display mode is the normal setting state and the driver is familiar with the layout and the like, the mode transition animation can be configured not to be displayed.

The front view which shows the example of a screen display in the 1st display mode of the meter unit for vehicles of this invention. FIG. 1B is a front view schematically showing FIG. 1A. The front view which shows the example of a screen display in the 2nd display mode of the meter unit for vehicles of this invention. The block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the meter unit for vehicles of FIG. 1B. The schematic diagram which shows the transition sequence from 1st display mode to 2nd display mode. The schematic diagram which shows the 1st example of the mode transition animation which concerns on erasure | elimination of a pointer type | formula analog speedometer. The flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement process flow of a mode transition animation. The schematic diagram which shows the 2nd example of the mode transition animation which concerns on erasure | elimination of a pointer type | formula analog speedometer. The schematic diagram which similarly shows a 3rd example. The schematic diagram which shows the 1st example of the mode transition animation which concerns on appearance of an image display window. The schematic diagram which similarly shows a 2nd example. The figure which shows the example of a typeface change of the numerical image of a digital speedometer accompanying display mode switching. The conceptual diagram of the inverted inverted shadow image for decoration.

Explanation of symbols

1 vehicle meter unit 200 drawing ECU (first meter display means, second meter display means, mode switching means)
210 Display (first meter display means, second meter display means)
504A Pointer type analog speedometer 504D Digital speedometer 510 Image display window (auxiliary information output unit)

Claims (8)

As a first display mode on the screen of the display, a pointer-type analog having a pointer capable of moving the speed of the vehicle along a predetermined indication locus and a scale figure formed along the indication locus A digital speedometer that displays an image with a speedometer and digitally indicates a speed indication value of the pointer with a numerical image is displayed simultaneously with the pointer-type analog speedometer at a first position unique to the first display mode. First meter display means;
As a second display mode on the screen of the display, the auxiliary information output unit specific to the second display mode, which was not displayed in the first display mode, is displayed while the image of the pointer-type analog speedometer is deleted. A new display is provided that spans both the area occupied by the pointer-type analog speedometer in one display mode and the area occupied by the digital speedometer in the first display mode. A second meter display means for displaying a meter by moving the meter from the first position to a second position unique to the second display mode that does not overlap with the auxiliary information output unit;
Display mode switching means for switching a screen display state of the display between the first display mode and the second display mode;
And when the display mode switching means switches from the first display mode to the second display mode, the first position of the digital speedometer after the erasure of the pointer-type analog speedometer is completed. Switching from the display state to the display state to the second position is performed.   The vehicle meter unit according to claim 1, wherein display dimensions of a numeric image indicating the speed instruction value of the digital speedometer are set to be the same in the first display mode and the second display mode.   3. The vehicle meter according to claim 1, wherein a display font of a numerical image indicating the speed instruction value of the digital speedometer is set to be the same in the first display mode and the second display mode. unit. The display mode switching means switches the digital speedometer from the display state at the first position to the display state at the second position when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode. The vehicular meter unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vehicular meter unit is directly switched without passing through a display state at an intermediate position between the position and the second position. The display mode switching means completes switching from the display state of the digital speedometer to the first position to the display state of the second position when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode. vehicular meter unit according to any one of claims 1 to claim 4 to perform display control to cause the appearance of the auxiliary information output unit from. When the display mode switching means switches from the first display mode to the second display mode, the display mode switching means displays a moving image for gradually erasing the display state of the pointer-type analog speedometer as a mode transition animation, and then the second display The vehicle meter unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the vehicle meter unit is in a display state according to a mode. The vehicle meter unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the auxiliary information output unit is an image display window forming a camera video display unit or a car navigation screen display unit. The display mode switching means displays a moving image that gradually causes the image display window to appear as a mode transition animation when switching from the first display mode to the second display mode, and then displays the display state according to the second display mode. The vehicle meter unit according to claim 7 .