JP4911315B2 - Vehicle display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a display device for a vehicle including a display that displays an image indicating a vehicle state and a warning as necessary by transmitting light through a backlight.

As this type of vehicle display device, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 below, a liquid crystal panel (display device) comprising TFTs is provided, and the gradation of the color of an image (drawing) displayed on the liquid crystal panel is provided. It is known that the brightness of the display screen is adjusted by adjusting. In the vehicle display device described in Patent Document 1, the warning display is set to a constant bright gradation regardless of the brightness of the display screen, and the display other than the warning display is set to a dark gradation. Therefore, the visibility of the warning display is ensured.
JP 2007-91030 A

  However, in the vehicle display device described in Patent Document 1, the brightness of the screen of the liquid crystal panel is adjusted by the color gradation. For this reason, when the screen of the liquid crystal panel is darkened, there is a problem that the color gradation is reduced and the quality of the display image is lowered, that is, the merchantability is lowered. The brightness of the TFT screen is normally in the relationship of “TFT screen brightness” = “TFT transmittance” × “Backlight brightness”. For this reason, even if the color gradation is darkened and the TFT transmittance is lowered, the brightness of the TFT screen cannot be set to zero as long as the backlight brightness is kept constant. . Therefore, there is a disadvantage that, for example, black is transparent when the surroundings are dark.

  The subject of this invention is providing the display apparatus for vehicles which can ensure the quality of a display image and can also ensure the visibility of a warning display.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

In order to solve the above-described problems, a display device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a display that displays an image indicating a vehicle state and a warning as necessary by transmission of light through a backlight, and a backlight luminance of the backlight. Brightness adjusting means for manually adjusting, and control means for varying the backlight brightness in accordance with the manual adjustment of the brightness adjusting means. When displaying an image representing a warning, the control means is manually operated by the brightness adjusting means. It is assumed that the backlight brightness is set to the maximum brightness regardless of the adjusted backlight brightness.

  In this vehicle display device, the backlight luminance of the backlight is manually adjusted by the luminance adjusting means. When an image representing a warning is displayed on the display device, the backlight brightness is set to the maximum brightness regardless of the backlight brightness adjusted by the brightness adjusting means.

  For this reason, in normal times when an image representing a warning is not displayed on the display unit, the backlight luminance is varied according to manual adjustment by the luminance adjustment means, so that even when the display screen is darkened, the color gradation is The quality of the display image can be ensured. On the other hand, when the image representing the warning is displayed on the display, the backlight luminance is set to the maximum brightness regardless of the manual adjustment by the luminance adjusting means, so that the visibility of the image representing the warning is ensured. Can do.

In the vehicular display device according to the present invention, the control means uses the brightness adjusting means when it is determined that the warning image needs to be continuously displayed after the warning image is once displayed on the display. When manual adjustment is performed, the backlight luminance is varied according to the amount of adjustment, while when manual adjustment by the luminance adjustment means is not performed, the backlight luminance should be maintained at the maximum brightness. Features. In this case, for example, the maximum value of the brightness of the backlight luminance set when displaying the warning image may be configured to be set to a lower value at night than in the daytime .

  Once an image representing a warning is displayed on the display, it is considered that the user visually recognizes the image representing the warning. Therefore, even if the image representing the warning is darkened after that, if it is based on the user's will, it is considered that there is no possibility of causing a trouble with informing the user of the warning content. For this reason, after the image representing the warning is displayed once on the display device, the backlight luminance can be varied when manual adjustment is performed by the luminance adjustment switch so as to darken the image representing the warning. By doing so, the usability of the display can be improved.

  In implementing the present invention, the control means displays an image representing the vehicle state so that the brightness of the image representing the vehicle state is lower than the image representing the warning when the image representing the warning is displayed. It is preferable that the color gradation is changed.

  According to this, when the image representing the warning is displayed, the brightness of the image representing the vehicle state is lower than that of the image representing the warning, so that the visibility of the image representing the warning is further improved. be able to.

a. First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a vehicle display device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a first embodiment of a vehicle display device of the present invention. The vehicle display device includes a meter unit 10, a meter control unit 20 connected to the meter unit 10 via a graphic control unit 30, and an operation unit 40 connected to the meter control unit 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the meter unit 10 is configured by a display device including a liquid crystal panel 11 using a TFT and a backlight 12, for example. The liquid crystal panel 11 (display device) has, for example, a speedometer 11a, a tachometer 11b, a fuel remaining amount display meter 11c, a water temperature display meter 11d, an od / trip meter as images representing the vehicle state due to the transmission of light by the backlight 12. 11e, shift position 11f, and the like are displayed, and as necessary, images indicating warnings such as turn direction, rear light warning, engine check warning, seat belt warning, high beam warning, door warning, brake warning, exhaust sound warning, oil Various indicators 11g such as warning and charge warning are displayed.

  The backlight 12 is composed of, for example, a cold cathode tube or a light emitting diode. The backlight brightness of the backlight 12 changes as the applied voltage is increased or decreased according to the operation of the operation unit 40. The backlight brightness of the backlight 12 is automatically switched between day and night according to on / off of a light control switch (not shown) and the amount of solar radiation detected by a solar radiation sensor (for example, daytime). The backlight brightness at night is set to be halved with respect to the backlight brightness).

  Returning to FIG. 1, the meter control unit 20 includes a meter ECU 21, a ROM 22, and a RAM 23 whose main components are a microcomputer. The meter ECU 21 (control means) repeatedly executes an image display program (not shown) stored in the ROM 22 when the ignition switch is turned on, and controls the graphic control unit 30 according to the execution. In this case, the meter ECU 21 acquires various data from, for example, various control devices 50 connected via the in-vehicle LAN, and creates images 11a to 11f representing the vehicle state and an image 11g representing a warning based on the various data. Is given to the graphic control unit 30. The various data includes, for example, vehicle speed, engine speed, fuel remaining amount, engine water temperature, travel distance, shift position position, light control switch on / off, turn switch on / off, and the like. Further, the meter ECU 21 repeatedly executes the backlight luminance control program of FIG. 3, and controls the backlight luminance of the backlight 12 according to the execution.

  The ROM 22 is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, for example, and represents a vehicle state in addition to an image display program and a backlight luminance control program for executing various processes performed by the meter ECU 21. Data representing various polygons corresponding to the images 11a to 11g and data (texel data) representing texture corresponding to each polygon are stored. Specifically, the ROM 22 stores vertex coordinate values, vertex color values RGB (each value is expressed by a numerical value of, for example, 0 to 63), luminance value, texture, texel coordinate value, and the like of each polygon. .

  A work memory is formed in the RAM 23, and the image display program and the brightness value setting program operate with the work memory as a work area.

  The graphic control unit 30 includes a graphic controller 31 and a video memory 32. The graphic controller 31 is composed of, for example, an IC, and synthesizes the polygon read from the ROM 22 of the meter control unit 20 into the video memory 32 and the texture corresponding to the polygon in response to a control command from the meter ECU 21. The composite image data is written into the video memory 32, converted into a display signal for drawing, and drawn on the liquid crystal panel 11 of the meter unit 10.

  The video memory 32 is constituted by, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory, and reads necessary polygons and textures from the ROM 22 of the meter control unit 20 in accordance with a control command from the meter ECU 21.

  The operation unit 40 is disposed, for example, in the vicinity of the meter unit 10 and includes a luminance adjustment switch 41. The luminance adjustment switch 41 (luminance adjustment means) is, for example, a knob type switch, and the backlight luminance of the backlight 12 is adjusted to the user's favorite brightness by a user's rotation operation. Specifically, if the brightness adjustment switch 41 is rotated clockwise, the backlight brightness is continuously increased (brighter), and if rotated counterclockwise, the backlight brightness is continuously decreased (darker). ). The brightness adjustment switch 41 is not limited to a knob type, and various mechanical switches such as a push button type, a joystick type, and a jog dial type may be used. It may be used.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. The meter ECU 21 repeatedly executes the backlight luminance control program shown in FIG. 3 when the ignition switch is turned on.

  The backlight luminance control program is started in step S10, and in step S11, it is determined whether a warning display is necessary, that is, whether it is necessary to display an image 11g indicating a warning on the liquid crystal panel 11. To do. If the warning display is not necessary, “No” is determined in step S11, and the backlight luminance is controlled in accordance with the user's preferred brightness, that is, the adjustment amount of the luminance adjustment switch 41 in step S12. In the initial state, the backlight brightness is set to the maximum brightness during the day and night. Therefore, if the brightness adjustment switch 41 is not manually adjusted, the backlight brightness is 100% in the daytime (A1 area in FIG. 4), and the backlight brightness is 50% in the nighttime (A2 area in FIG. 4). Control the backlight brightness. Thus, the images 11a to 11f representing the vehicle state are drawn on the liquid crystal panel 11 with the maximum brightness.

  When the warning display is not required and the brightness adjustment switch 41 is manually adjusted and the user's preferred brightness is set to 10%, for example, the backlight brightness becomes 10% in the daytime (B1 area in FIG. 4). The backlight luminance is controlled so that the backlight luminance is 5% at night (B2 area in FIG. 4). As a result, the images 11 a to 11 f representing the vehicle state are drawn on the liquid crystal panel 11 with the brightness corresponding to the adjustment amount of the luminance adjustment switch 41. The same applies when the brightness adjustment switch 41 is manually adjusted so that the user's preferred brightness is a value other than 10%.

  On the other hand, if a warning display is required, “Yes” is determined in step S11, and the initial set value (maximum value) is determined in step S13 regardless of the user's preferred brightness adjusted by the brightness adjustment switch 41. The backlight luminance is controlled so that the backlight luminance is 100% in the daytime (C1 region in FIG. 4) and 50% in the nighttime (C2 region in FIG. 4). As a result, the images 11a to 11f representing the vehicle state and the image 11g representing the warning are all drawn on the liquid crystal panel 11 with the maximum brightness.

  As is apparent from the above description, in the first embodiment, the backlight brightness of the backlight 12 is manually adjusted by the brightness adjustment switch 41. When the image 11g representing the warning is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 11 (“Yes” in step S11), the backlight is adjusted regardless of the backlight luminance adjusted by the luminance adjustment switch 41 by executing the processing of step S13. The light brightness is set to the maximum brightness.

  As a result, in the normal time when the image 11g representing the warning is not displayed on the liquid crystal panel 11, the backlight luminance is changed according to the manual adjustment by the luminance adjustment switch 41. Therefore, even when the screen of the liquid crystal panel 11 is darkened Therefore, the display image quality can be ensured. On the other hand, when the image 11g representing the warning is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 11, the backlight luminance is set to the maximum brightness regardless of the manual adjustment by the luminance adjustment switch 41, and thus the visibility of the image 11g representing the warning is set. Can be secured.

b. Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the backlight luminance control program shown in FIG. 3 is executed by the meter ECU 21. However, instead of the backlight luminance control program shown in FIG. 3, for example, the backlight shown in FIG. The brightness control program may be executed. In the backlight luminance control program of FIG. 5, the same processes as those of the backlight luminance control program of FIG.

  The backlight luminance control program in FIG. 5 starts to be executed in step S100. When the warning display is not necessary (“No” in step S11), the backlight flag BF is set to “0” in step S101, and the backlight is set according to the user's preferred brightness by executing the process in step S12. Light brightness is controlled.

  On the other hand, a warning display is required (“Yes” in step S11), and the initial setting value (maximum brightness) is obtained regardless of the user's preferred brightness adjusted by the brightness adjustment switch 41 by executing the process of step S13. ), The backlight flag BF is set to “1” in step S103. The backlight flag BF is set to “0” in the initial state.

  Once the processing of step S13 is executed, even if a state requiring a warning display continues (both “Yes” in steps S11 and S102), according to the manual adjustment by the luminance adjustment switch 41 (step In step S104, “Yes”), the backlight luminance is varied by executing the processing in step S12.

  If the image 11g representing the warning is displayed once on the liquid crystal panel 11, it is considered that the user visually recognizes the image 11g representing the warning. Therefore, when manual adjustment is performed by the luminance adjustment switch 41 so as to darken the image 11g representing the warning after that, it is possible to change the backlight luminance so that the meter unit 10 is easy to use. Can be improved.

c. Third Embodiment In the first embodiment, the process of step S13 in the backlight luminance control program of FIG. 3 is executed. In the second embodiment, the process of step S13 in the backlight luminance control program of FIG. 5 is executed. The backlight brightness is controlled so as to be the initial setting value (maximum brightness) by execution, but instead of the processing of each step S13, for example, the initial setting value (maximum brightness) is obtained. As described above, the backlight luminance is controlled as described above, and image processing for changing the color gradation of the images 11a to 11f representing the vehicle state is performed so that the luminance of the images 11a to 11f representing the vehicle state is lowered. Good.

  According to the third embodiment, when the image 11g representing the warning is displayed, the brightness of the images 11a to 11f representing the vehicle state is lower than that of the image 11g representing the warning. The visibility of 11 g can be further improved.

The block diagram which shows the display apparatus for vehicles which concerns on the 1st-3rd embodiment of this invention. The front view of the meter part of FIG. The flowchart which shows the backlight brightness control program which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention and is performed by meter ECU of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating execution processing of the backlight luminance control program of FIG. 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, using a relationship between user preference brightness, necessity of warning display, and backlight luminance. The flowchart which shows the backlight brightness control program which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention and is performed by meter ECU of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Meter section 11 Liquid crystal panel (display)
11a to 11f Image representing vehicle state 11g Image representing warning 12 Backlight 20 Meter control unit 21 Meter ECU (control means)
30 graphic control unit 40 operation unit 41 brightness adjustment switch (brightness adjustment means)
50 Control equipment

Claims (3)

A display that displays an image representing the vehicle state and, if necessary, a warning by the transmission of light through the backlight;
Brightness adjusting means for manually adjusting the backlight brightness of the backlight;
Control means for varying the backlight brightness according to manual adjustment of the brightness adjusting means,
The control means, when displaying a warning image representing the warning, sets the backlight brightness to the maximum brightness regardless of the backlight brightness manually adjusted by the brightness adjustment means ,
In the case where it is determined that the warning image needs to be continuously displayed after the warning image is once displayed on the display unit, the control unit adjusts the amount of adjustment when the luminance adjustment unit performs manual adjustment. According to the vehicle display device, the backlight luminance is varied, and when the manual adjustment by the luminance adjusting means is not performed, the backlight luminance is maintained at the maximum brightness . The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the maximum value of the brightness of the backlight luminance that is set when the warning image is displayed is set to a lower value at night than at daytime.   When the image representing the warning is displayed, the control means adjusts the color gradation of the image representing the vehicle state so that the luminance of the image representing the vehicle state is lower than that of the image representing the warning. The display device for vehicles according to claim 1 or 2 to change.

Images