JP5713424B2 - Vehicle display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device that illuminates a liquid crystal element with different emission colors of light emitting diodes.

A head-up display device that displays various information such as vehicle speed display and warning in a driver's field of view is known as one of vehicle display devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
As shown in FIG. 8, the head-up display device 501 projects a virtual image from the display device 507 onto the projection area 505 of the windshield 503 of the vehicle, and is recognized through the windshield 503 from the driver's eyepoint 509. The vehicle foreground and the projected virtual image are superimposed and recognized.

  In the case where the liquid crystal element 511 is used for the display device 507 illustrated in FIG. 9, a backlight is necessary. As shown in FIG. 10, the display device 507 is provided in the housing 513 of the head-up display device 501, and the display light emitted from the backlight is deflected by the light deflection mirror 515, and is enlarged by the enlargement mirror 517. A virtual image is obtained by projecting onto the projection area 505.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the display device 507 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes 519 on the back surface of the liquid crystal element 511. The light emitting diodes 519 according to this example are arranged in the small chambers 523 of the housing 521, and each light emitting diode 519 backlights a corresponding portion of the liquid crystal element 511. The light emitting diode 519 is capable of emitting a plurality of colors, and the light emitting diode 519 is composed of light emitting diodes 519 of three primary colors of red, green, and blue, and any color is emitted in full color. As the light emitting diode 519 capable of emitting full color, a single color light emitting diode 519 in which red, green and blue chips are integrally incorporated in a molded lens and capable of emitting full color alone is optimally arranged to obtain a composite color. The type can be made.

JP-A-10-35324

  However, if the above-described red, green, and blue light emitting diodes 519 are integrally incorporated in a molded lens and a conventional backlight configuration in which any color can be emitted in full color independently, the cost increases. If an active matrix type liquid crystal element that produces a display color with a color filter, such as a TFT liquid crystal element, is used, it is not necessary to change the color or perform photosynthesis with a light source. However, the cost of the liquid crystal element itself increases. . In the case of an active matrix liquid crystal element, the transmittance is deteriorated, which is contrary to the increase in luminance of the backlight. If a high-intensity light source is used to solve this problem, the cost of the light source itself and the cost of the heat dissipating parts are increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle display device that enables multi-color display with an inexpensive configuration that does not use TFTs.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) a housing;
A first indicator and a second indicator provided in the housing;
An optical element that transmits display light irradiated on one surface from the first display and reflects display light irradiated on the other surface from the second display;
A magnifying mirror that magnifies and emits the transmitted display light and the reflected display light transmitted and reflected by the optical element;
A vehicle display device comprising:
The first display and the second display use simple matrix type liquid crystal elements,
The optical element is a wavelength selection mirror that separates display light emitted from the first display and the second display into blue, green, and red ,
At least one of the first indicator and the second indicator is provided to be movable in a direction along the optical axis;
The virtual image of the first display and the virtual image of the second display are arranged in the depth direction, and a sense of depth is further generated by creating a luminance difference between the first virtual image and the second virtual image. A display device for vehicles.

According to this vehicle display device, the display light emitted from the first display and the second display is divided into transmissive display light and reflective display light by, for example, a half mirror that is an optical element. The reflected display light is individually or light-mixed and incident on the magnifying mirror, thereby enabling multiple color display with an inexpensive configuration that does not use TFTs.
For example, when the second display is located farther from the optical element than the first display, the virtual image of the second display is formed farther from the virtual image of the first display as viewed from the driver. . When the second display is closer to the display light than the first display, the virtual image of the second display is formed closer to the driver than the virtual image of the first display. The As a result, it appears as if two virtual images exist before and after, and a sense of perspective is generated, and higher expressive power can be obtained.
And if you brighten a distant virtual image, you will feel far away, and if you brighten a nearby virtual image, you will feel close. If both are set to the same brightness, they can feel as if they are in the middle. Thereby, the perspective display effect can be further enhanced.

(2) The vehicle display device according to (1), wherein a light deflection mirror that deflects transmission display light and reflection display light from the optical element is provided between the optical element and the magnifying mirror. A display device for vehicles.

  According to this vehicle display device, the light deflection mirror is arranged on the light incident side of the magnifying mirror, so that the first display and the second display in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the display light irradiated on the magnifying mirror. When the vehicle display device is installed on the instrument panel of the vehicle, the installation space can be reduced.

  According to the vehicle display device of the present invention, it is possible to display multiple colors with an inexpensive configuration that does not use TFTs.

1 is a configuration diagram conceptually showing a vehicle display device according to the present invention. It is the display image variation figure which represented the example of the display color change which can be performed by multiple display using the display device for color change by (a)-(d). It is a block diagram of the display apparatus for vehicles which concerns on the modification from which the 2nd indicator became movable. (A) is a block diagram in which the moving means is a rack and pinion, and (b) is a block diagram in which the moving means is a rotating gear shaft. It is the schematic diagram which represented the difference of the virtual image position by a movement with (a) (b) (c). It is a block diagram which does not use an optical deflection mirror. It is a block diagram of the display apparatus for vehicles which made the 2nd display device movable in the structure which does not use a light deflection mirror. It is a key map of a head up display device. It is a perspective view of the display shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the indicator shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view schematically showing the display shown in FIG. 10.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing a vehicle display device according to the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the case where the vehicle display device is the head-up display device 11 will be described as an example, but the vehicle display device may be a display device such as a car navigation device. The head-up display device 11 is installed on the instrument panel below the windshield, or on the instrument panel, and projects display light onto the projection area of the windshield to form a virtual image of display information in the projection area. The foreground and virtual image of the vehicle are superimposed on the driver through the windshield from the driver's eye point.

  The head-up display device 11 is provided below the windshield of the vehicle. The head-up display device 11 includes a housing 13, two first display devices 15 and 17 provided in the housing 13, and a first display device 15. An optical element 19 that transmits the display light irradiated on one surface from the second display 17 and reflects the display light irradiated on the other surface from the second display device 17; a transmissive display light 21 transmitted and reflected by the optical element 19; And an magnifying mirror 25 that magnifies and emits the reflected display light 23. In the present embodiment, a light deflection mirror 27 is provided between the optical element 19 and the magnifying mirror 25. The first display unit 15 and the second display unit 17 use a backlight-equipped liquid crystal element that emits display light.

  The first display 15 and the second display 17 are not shown in the configuration, but a case, a light emitting diode mounted on the substrate, and a lens that condenses the light from the light emitting diode and efficiently directs it toward the diffusion plate. An array and a liquid crystal element are provided. When heat dissipation is required, a heat transfer sheet may be attached to the back of the substrate and a heat sink may be provided. Of these, the substrate, the light emitting diode, and the lens array constitute a backlight.

  As the liquid crystal elements of the first display 15 and the second display 17, simple matrix type liquid crystal elements are used. That is, it is a monochrome display, and an expensive liquid crystal element such as an active matrix type typified by a TFT liquid crystal element is not used. The display of the liquid crystal element is controlled by inputting an image signal to a liquid crystal driving circuit provided on the substrate. The substrate is provided with a light emitting diode drive circuit (not shown) for driving and controlling the light emitting diode. The liquid crystal drive circuit and the light emitting diode drive circuit are driven and controlled in synchronization by the display control device. Although it is easy to change the color in a display device having a color filter on the liquid crystal element side, such as a TFT liquid crystal element, the color filter transmittance is poor and a high-intensity light emitting diode is required. In addition, the TFT liquid crystal element has a problem such as high cost. On the other hand, according to the present configuration example, since the TFT liquid crystal element is not used and the simple matrix type is used, the member cost can be reduced.

  As the optical element 19, either a half mirror or a wavelength selection mirror (dichroic mirror) is used. In the half mirror, a metal thin film or a dielectric multilayer film is vapor-deposited on a glass plate so that transmitted light intensity and reflected light intensity are equal. The wavelength selection mirror has wavelength selectivity, and separates incident light into reflection and transmission for each wavelength. As a result, a specific color is reflected and extracted from visible light, and white light can be separated into blue, green, and red by transmitting light in other wavelength ranges.

  The optical element 19 combines display light from the first display 15 and the second display 17, but the multiplexing efficiency changes due to a relative position change with the first display 15 and the second display 17. . For example, if the phase of the first display 15 and the optical element 19 are shifted, the P-polarized light becomes S-polarized light, and the originally planned multiplexing may not be performed. Further, if the phases of the first display 15 and the second display 17 are shifted, the emission direction may be shifted, and it may be impossible to multiplex them. In such a case, by making the optical element 19 and the first indicator 15 and the second indicator 17 into an integral configuration, a change in the multiplexing efficiency is suppressed, and stable illumination light with respect to the light amount and the light amount distribution can be obtained. Can be obtained.

  In the head-up display device 11 according to the present embodiment, an optical deflection mirror 27 that optically deflects the transmissive display light 21 and the reflective display light 23 from the optical element 19 is provided between the optical element 19 and the magnifying mirror 25. Yes. Thus, by arranging the light deflection mirror 27 on the light incident side of the magnifying mirror 25, the first display 15 and the second display in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis 29 of the display light irradiated on the magnifying mirror 25. When the head-up display device 11 is installed on, for example, an instrument panel of a vehicle, the installation space can be reduced.

Next, the operation of the head-up display device 11 having the above configuration will be described.
FIGS. 2A to 2D are display image variation diagrams showing examples of display color change that can be performed by multiple display using a color change display.
In the head-up display device 11, the display light emitted from the first display 15 and the second display 17 is divided into the transmissive display light 21 and the reflective display light 23 by the optical element 19. The display light 23 is incident on the magnifying mirror 25 individually or after being light-mixed. Different display images can be displayed by variously changing the light mixing pattern at this time.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the first display 15 displays the first image in a small circle green, and the second display 17 displays the entire image in red. When synthesized, the first image of the first display 15 is displayed in a small amber color during red display. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the first display 15 displays the first image in a small circle green, and the second display 17 displays the same second image as the first image in a small circle red. When synthesized, a small circle amber color is displayed. As shown in FIG. 2C, the first display 15 displays the first image in a small green circle, and the second display 17 displays a second image larger than the first image in a red triangle. When synthesized, the first image of the first display 15 is displayed in a small amber color in the red image of the second image. As shown in FIG. 2D, the first image is displayed in small green on the first display 15 and the second image is displayed in red on the second display 17 so as not to overlap the first image. When synthesized, the first image and the second image become independent display images. In addition, a part of the first image and the second image can be overlapped, or blue, yellow other than green and red can be used.

  As described above, if the first display unit 15 and the second display unit 17 have a segment or dot display function in addition to the color change function, multiple display is possible.

  As a result, multiple color display is possible with an inexpensive configuration that does not use TFTs.

Next, a modification of the head-up display device having the above configuration will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a display device for a vehicle according to a modification in which the second indicator 17 is movable. FIG. 4A is a block diagram in which the moving means 31 is a rack and pinion 33. FIG. 3B is a moving means. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram in which reference numeral 31 denotes a rotary gear shaft 35, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing differences in virtual image positions due to movement as (a), (b), and (c).
The head-up display device 11 </ b> A may be provided such that at least one of the first display 15 and the second display 17 is movable in a direction along the optical axis 29. In the present modification, the second indicator 17 is moved in the direction along the optical axis 29 as indicated by the broken line in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, in the configuration in which the rack and pinion 33 is used as the moving means 31, the second indicator 17 fixed to the rack 41 through the pinion 39 is linearly moved by driving the pinion motor 37. . On the contrary, the rack 41 may be fixed to the housing 13 and the pinion motor 37 may be fixed to the second display unit 17. The moving distance can be adjusted by the forward / reverse rotation of the pinion motor 37 and the rotation amount. When the rotary gear shaft 35 is used, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the gear shaft 45 is rotated by the drive motor 43, the fixing nut 47 that meshes with the gear shaft 45 moves on the gear shaft. The second indicator 17 to which the fixing nut 47 is fixed can be moved. The moving distance can be adjusted by the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 43 and the rotation amount.

  In the configuration in which either the first display 15 or the second display 17 is movable, for example, when the second display 17 is located farther from the optical element 19 than the first display 15, the first display From the 15 virtual images, the virtual image of the second display unit 17 is formed farther as viewed from the driver. Further, when the second display 17 is closer to the display light than the first display 15, the virtual image of the second display 17 is closer to the driver from the virtual image of the first display 15. Is imaged. As a result, it appears as if two virtual images exist before and after, and a sense of perspective is generated, and higher expressive power can be obtained.

  More specifically, when the distances between the first display 15, the second display 17 and the optical element 19 shown in FIG. 3 are equal, as shown in FIG. The second virtual image V2 is formed at the same position. When the second indicator 17 is at the position B in FIG. 3, the second virtual image V2 of the second indicator 17 is operated from the first virtual image V1 of the first indicator 15 as shown in FIG. It forms an image far away from the person. When the second display 17 is at the position C in FIG. 3, the second virtual image of the second display 17 is formed closer to the first virtual image of the first display 15 as viewed from the driver.

  In this way, by moving the position of the first display 15 or the second display 17, the display is provided in a three-dimensional manner or continuously moved to the positions of FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c). Thus, the driver can be prompted (appeal) to see the display, and the driver can be alerted.

  The so-called depth information method in stereoscopic display displays all the three-dimensional coordinate information in the reproduction space. The depth Z coordinate is added to the two-dimensional information represented by the X coordinate and the Y coordinate. Is low. On the other hand, according to the present configuration, by changing the focus, it is possible to easily add the image information in the depth direction with a very small amount of information and obtain a perspective display.

  In this case, a sense of depth can be further generated by providing a luminance difference between the first virtual image and the second virtual image. Although not shown, the distance between the first display 15 and the second display 17 from the optical element 19 is changed, and the virtual image of the first display 15 and the virtual image of the second display 17 are arranged in the depth direction. State. And if you brighten a distant virtual image, you will feel far away, and if you brighten a nearby virtual image, you will feel close. If both are set to the same brightness, they can feel as if they are in the middle. Thereby, the perspective display effect can be further enhanced.

Next, another modified example of the head-up display device having the above configuration will be described.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram in which the light deflection mirror 27 is not used, and FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle display device in which the second display unit 17 is movable in a configuration in which the light deflection mirror 27 is not used.
In this modification, the optical deflection mirror 27 is omitted, and the optical element 19 is used instead of the optical deflection mirror 27. That is, the head-up display device 11 </ b> B causes the display light from the first display unit 15 to be incident on the magnifying mirror 25 as the reflected display light 23 by the optical element 19. On the other hand, the second indicator 17 is provided on the opposite side of the magnifying mirror 25 with the optical element 19 in between. Display light from the second display unit 17 is incident on the magnifying mirror 25 as transmissive display light 21 transmitted through the optical element 19.
Also in such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 7, the head-up display device 11 </ b> C makes the second display device 17 movable in the direction along the optical axis 29 by the same moving means 31 described above. be able to. In the illustrated example, the second display 17 is movable, but the first display 15 may be movably provided.

  According to the head-up display devices 11B and 11C according to this modification, the light deflection mirror 27 can be omitted, and the member cost can be reduced. Further, since the distance between the magnifying mirror 25 and the second display device 17 is ensured in the depth direction of the instrument panel, the distance between the first display device 15 and the optical element 19 can be shortened, and it is difficult to ensure a large installation area. It can also be installed on the instrument panel.

  Therefore, according to the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to display multiple colors with an inexpensive configuration that does not use TFTs.

11, 11A, 11B, 11C Head-up display device (vehicle display device)
13 Housing 15 First display 17 Second display 19 Optical element 21 Transmitted display light 23 Reflected display light 25 Magnifying mirror 27 Light deflecting mirror 29 Optical axis

Claims (2)

A housing,
A first indicator and a second indicator provided in the housing;
An optical element that transmits display light irradiated on one surface from the first display and reflects display light irradiated on the other surface from the second display;
A magnifying mirror that magnifies and emits the transmitted display light and the reflected display light transmitted and reflected by the optical element;
A vehicle display device comprising:
The first display and the second display use simple matrix type liquid crystal elements,
The optical element is a wavelength selection mirror that separates display light emitted from the first display and the second display into blue, green, and red ,
At least one of the first indicator and the second indicator is provided to be movable in a direction along the optical axis;
Arranging the virtual image of the first display and the virtual image of the second display in the depth direction, and creating a difference in brightness between the first virtual image and the second virtual image, thereby creating a sense of depth. A display device for vehicles. The vehicle display device according to claim 1,
A vehicular display device comprising a light deflection mirror for deflecting transmitted display light and reflected display light from the optical element between the optical element and the magnifying mirror.