JP6856320B2 - Display device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a display device installed on an instrument panel or the like of an automobile.

In front of the driver's seat of an automobile, an instrument panel equipped with instruments such as running speed and engine speed is installed. In recent years, not only the instruments but also various information related to driving, for example, navigation information, is installed on the instrument panel. In-vehicle display devices that display failure information of sensors and sensors are used.

In such an in-vehicle display device, if other information is displayed on the same screen as the instruments, the driver who is traveling without looking at the display screen may overlook the information. For highly important information such as failure information and danger information during driving, it is desirable to turn on a light source such as an LED only when necessary to warn the driver.

Therefore, conventionally, a concave groove is provided in the dashboard located near the lower end of the windshield, and a light source such as an LED arranged in the concave groove is turned on to reflect the light of the light source on the windshield to the driver. An in-vehicle display device that is designed to be recognized has been proposed.

Further, as another conventional technique, as described in Patent Document 1, a light source having an L-shaped cross section is arranged around the liquid crystal display panel, and the tip of the light source is the outer periphery of the liquid crystal display panel. The light of the light source is transmitted to the light guide by bending it to the front position of the portion, forming a prism-shaped refraction and reflection surface at the bending tip, and lighting a light source such as an LED arranged on the rear end surface of the light guide. An in-vehicle display device has been proposed in which light is emitted from a prism-shaped refraction-reflecting surface in a state where the light emission intensity is increased.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-123406

However, in the former conventional technology of reflecting the light of the light source on the windshield to make the driver recognize it, even if the dashboard is provided with a concave groove that serves as a storage space for the light source so that the driver cannot directly see it. Since the upper opening of the concave groove can be seen from the outside of the vehicle through the windshield, there is a problem that the design is deteriorated and foreign matter such as dust is likely to accumulate in the concave groove.

On the other hand, in the latter conventional technique described in Patent Document 1, the light guide body arranged in the lateral peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel can be made to emit light to alert the driver, but the tip of the light guide body Since the side is bent to the front position of the outer peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel to form the light emitting portion, there is a problem that the entire display device becomes large in both the in-plane direction and the depth direction depending on the arrangement space of the light guide body. ..

The present invention has been made in view of such an actual situation of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display device capable of intuitively notifying a user of information without enlarging the entire device. is there.

In order to achieve the above object, the display device of the present invention has a first display element for displaying an image and a second display element arranged in parallel with a predetermined space in front of the first display element. If, through a holder for holding a peripheral portion of the first and second display element, a light guide having an inner wall surface facing the space is disposed on the inner wall of the holder, the inside of the light guide It is provided with a light source that radiates light toward the space, and is characterized in that the image of the second display element is superimposed and displayed in front of the image of the first display element.

In the display device configured in this way, not only a three-dimensional display can be obtained by displaying the images of the first display element and the second display element in an overlapping manner, but also between the first and second display elements. Since the space required for the light emitting body (light guide body and light source) can be effectively used as the arrangement space, the information can be intuitively notified to the user without increasing the size of the entire device. In this case, a transmissive type or transmittance control type liquid crystal module or an organic / inorganic EL can be used as the second display element.

According to the display device of the present invention, information can be intuitively notified to the user without increasing the size of the entire device.

It is a front view of the instrument panel to which the display device of this invention is applied. It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the display device which concerns on 1st Embodiment example from the side. It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the display device which concerns on 1st Embodiment example from above. It is an exploded perspective view of the display device which concerns on 1st Embodiment example. It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the display device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment example from the side. It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the display device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment example from above. It is an exploded perspective view of the display device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment Example. It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the display device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment example from the side. It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the display device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment example from above. It is an exploded perspective view of the display device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment Example.

Explaining the embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, as shown in FIG. 1, a display device 1 is incorporated in an instrument panel installed in front of the driver's seat in the vehicle interior, and the display device 1 incorporates the display device 1. A traveling speedometer (speedometer) 2 and a rotation speedometer (tachometer) 3 are displayed. Although not shown, the display device 1 can display various information related to the position of the shift lever and running, for example, information for warning the operating state of the side brake. The traveling speedometer 2 is composed of a scale 2a indicating a traveling speed and a pointer 2b, and the rotation speedometer 3 is composed of a scale 3a indicating a rotation speed and a pointer 3b. As will be described later, the scales 2a and 3a and the pointers 2b and 3b are displayed by superimposing the images of the first liquid crystal display element and the second liquid crystal display element arranged in multiple layers. ..

2 to 4 schematically show a display device according to an example of the first embodiment of the present invention, in which the display device has a housing-shaped holder 10 that opens the front surface and the innermost side of the holder 10. The backlight 11 arranged in the above, the first liquid crystal cell 12 arranged so as to be overlapped in front of the backlight 11, and the first liquid crystal cell 12 arranged in parallel with a predetermined space S in front of the first liquid crystal cell 12. A second liquid crystal cell 13, a light source 14 arranged on the inner wall of the holder 10 facing the space S, a light source 15 composed of an LED or the like arranged on the lower end side of the light guide 14, and the front surface of the holder 10. It is configured to include a front plate 16 fixed to the surface.

The backlight 11 is laminated and integrated on the back surface of the first liquid crystal cell 12, and the backlight 11 and the first liquid crystal cell 12 constitute a liquid crystal module which is a first display element. The first liquid crystal cell 12 has a display area 12a and a non-display area 12b, and a wiring pattern (not shown) is laid out in the non-display area 12b. The second liquid crystal cell 13 is a second display element, and the second liquid crystal cell 13 also has a display area 13a and a non-display area 13b, and a wiring pattern (not shown) is routed to the non-display area 13b. .. The non-display areas 12b and 13b of the first and second liquid crystal cells 12 and 13 are supported by the holder 10, and the respective display areas 12a and 13a face each other in parallel via the space S.

The light guide body 14 is formed of a transparent material such as acrylic resin in a gate-holding shape (inverted concave shape), and is supported by a holder 10 so that its inner surface side faces the space S. The light source 15 is mounted on a substrate (not shown) and faces the lower end surface of the light guide body 14, and the light emitting body is composed of the light guide body 14 and the light source 15. The front plate 16 is provided with an opening 16a having the same shape as the opening of the holder 10, and although not shown, the opening 16a is covered with a transparent cover to prevent foreign matter from entering the holder 10. There is.

In the display device configured in this way, images of the traveling speedometer 2 and the rotation speedometer 3 scales 2a, 3a and the like shown in FIG. 1 are displayed in the display area 12a of the first liquid crystal cell 12, and the second liquid crystal is displayed. Images of the traveling speedometer 2 and the pointers 2b and 3b of the rotation speedometer 3 are displayed in the display area 13a of the cell 13. As a result, the image of the second liquid crystal cell 13 is superimposed and displayed in front of the image of the first liquid crystal cell 12, so that the driver can drive with a three-dimensional effect through the opening 16a (transparent cover) of the front plate 16. Images of the speedometer 2 and the rotation speedometer 3 can be seen. Further, when warning the driver of highly important information, for example, when warning that the driver is driving without releasing the side brake, the first liquid crystal cell 12 or the second liquid crystal cell 13 is sided. The operation mark of the brake is displayed, and the light source 15 is turned on to radiate the light from the outer wall surface through the inside of the light guide body 14. As a result, the light of the light source 15 (for example, red or blue) is emitted from the light guide body 14 at the front peripheral portion of the first liquid crystal cell 12, so that the driver sees the light and is highly important information. You can intuitively recognize that.

As described above, in the display device according to the first embodiment, the liquid crystal module (first display element) configured by integrating the backlight 11 and the first liquid crystal cell 12 and the first liquid crystal cell 12 A second liquid crystal cell 13 (second display element) arranged in parallel with a space S in front of the light crystal cell 13 and a holder 10 holding peripheral portions of the first and second liquid crystal cells 12 and 13. Since the light emitters (light guide body 14 and light source 15) arranged on the inner wall of the holder 10 facing the space S are provided, the images of the first liquid crystal cell 12 and the second liquid crystal cell 13 are superimposed and displayed. By doing so, not only a liquid crystal display can be obtained, but also the space S can be effectively used as an arrangement space for the light emitting bodies (light guide body 14 and light source 15), and the size of the entire device can be suppressed. That is, a space S is required between the first and second liquid crystal cells 12 and 13 in order to realize a three-dimensional display, and the presence of this space S causes the display from the front of the first liquid crystal cell 12. When the image is viewed, the inner wall (for example, black) of the holder 10 facing the space S is visually recognized as the outline portion of the displayed image. Therefore, if the light guide body 14 is arranged in the portion to radiate the light of the light source 15, the surroundings of the display screen can be made to emit light in a mode different from the usual one, so that the surroundings of the display device and the dash It is not necessary to secure a space for arranging the light emitting body in another part such as a board, and it is possible to intuitively notify the user of highly important information without increasing the size of the entire device.

5 and 7 schematically show a display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the display device has a housing-shaped holder 20 that opens the front surface and the innermost side of the holder 20. The first liquid crystal module 21 arranged in the light source, the second liquid crystal module 22 arranged on the front side of the bottom surface of the holder 20, and the predetermined space S are arranged diagonally in front of the first liquid crystal module 21. On the front surface of the holder 20, a light source 25 composed of a half mirror 23, a light guide 24 arranged on the inner wall of the holder 20 facing the space S, an LED or the like arranged on the lower end side of the light guide 24, and the holder 20. It is configured to include a fixed front plate 26.

The first liquid crystal module 21, which is the first display element, is composed of a first liquid crystal cell 27 and a backlight 28, and the first liquid crystal module 21 is supported by the holder 20 in a posture perpendicular to the horizontal plane. Has been done. The first liquid crystal cell 27 has a display area 27a and a non-display area 27b, and a wiring pattern (not shown) is routed to the non-display area 27b.

The second liquid crystal module 22 which is the second display element is composed of the second liquid crystal cell 29 and the backlight 30, and the second liquid crystal module 22 is supported by the holder 20 in a posture parallel to the horizontal plane. Has been done. The second liquid crystal cell 29 has a display area 29a and a non-display area 29b, and a wiring pattern (not shown) is routed to the non-display area 29b. Further, even if a viewing area limiting film 31 for limiting the viewing angle is attached to the upper surface of the second liquid crystal module 22, and the image on the display area 29a is viewed through the opening 26a of the front plate 26, the image is viewed. The image is prevented from being visually recognized by the view limiting film 31.

The light guide body 24 is formed of a transparent material such as acrylic resin in a frame shape, and is fixed to the holder 20 so that the inner surface side thereof faces the space S. The light source 25 is mounted on a substrate (not shown) and faces the lower end surface of the light guide body 24, and the light emitting body is composed of the light guide body 24 and the light source 25. Further, the front plate 26 is provided with an opening 26a having the same shape as the opening of the holder 20, and the opening 26a is covered with a transparent cover (not shown).

Although the half mirror 23 is not shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 5, the half mirror 23 is tilted at an inclination angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane in front of the first liquid crystal module 21 and above the second liquid crystal module. Have been placed. The half mirror 23 has anti-transparency that reflects a part of the incident light and transmits a part of the incident light. Therefore, the image displayed in the display area 29a of the second liquid crystal cell 29 is reflected by the half mirror 23 toward the first liquid crystal module 21 side and displayed as a virtual image P in front of the first liquid crystal cell 27, and the user (Driver) can see the virtual image P through the half mirror 23.

In the display device configured in this way, images such as the traveling speedometer 2 and the rotation speedometer 3 scales 2a and 3a shown in FIG. 1 are displayed in the display area 27a of the first liquid crystal cell 27, and the second liquid crystal is displayed. Images of the traveling speedometer 2 and the pointers 2b and 3b of the rotation speedometer 3 are displayed in the display area 29a of the cell 29, and this image is reflected by the half mirror 23 and is reflected as a virtual image P in front of the first liquid crystal cell 27. Is displayed. As a result, the virtual image P of the second liquid crystal cell 29 is superposed in front of the image of the first liquid crystal cell 27, so that the driver can see the half mirror 23 from the opening 26a (transparent cover) of the front plate 26. You can see the images of the traveling speedometer 2 and the rotation speedometer 3 that have a three-dimensional effect. Further, in order to warn the driver of highly important information, when the light source 25 is turned on and the light is radiated from the outer wall surface through the inside of the light guide body 24, the front peripheral portion of the first liquid crystal module 21 is formed. Since the light of the light source 25 is radiated from the light guide body 24, the driver can intuitively recognize that the information is of high importance by looking at the light.

As described above, in the display device according to the second embodiment, the half mirror 23 is arranged between the first liquid crystal module 21 and the second liquid crystal module 22, and the first liquid crystal module. A light emitting body (light guide body 24 and light source 25) is arranged on the inner wall of the holder 20 so as to face the space S sandwiched between the 21 and the half mirror 23, and the half mirror 23 is a second liquid crystal module. Since the image displayed by 22 is reflected to display the virtual image P in front of the first liquid crystal module 21, the image of the first liquid crystal module 21 and the virtual image P of the second liquid crystal module 22 are displayed. Not only can a three-dimensional display be obtained by displaying them in an overlapping manner, but also the space S can be effectively used as an arrangement space for the light emitters (light guide body 24 and light source 25) to suppress the increase in size of the entire device. it can.

8 to 10 schematically show a display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and the difference between this display device and the second embodiment is in the shape of the light guide body 24. Since the other configurations are basically the same, duplicate description will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to the parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 5 to 7.

That is, in the display device according to the third embodiment, the light guide body 24 is formed in a square cylinder shape as a whole, and the light guide body 24 is inserted into the holder 20 to form the first liquid crystal module 21 and the first liquid crystal module 21. By arranging it between the liquid crystal module 22 and the liquid crystal module 22, the light guide body 24 faces the space S in almost the entire range of the inner wall from the innermost side to the front side of the holder 20.

Therefore, also in the display device according to the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the image of the first liquid crystal module 21 and the virtual image P of the second liquid crystal module 22 are superimposed and displayed to give a stereoscopic effect. Not only can a certain display be obtained, but the space S can be effectively used as an arrangement space for the light emitting body (light guide body 24 and the light source 25) to suppress the increase in size of the entire device.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the liquid crystal module is used as the first and second display elements has been described, but it is also possible to use a display device such as an organic / inorganic EL instead of the liquid crystal module. In that case, a transmissive organic / inorganic EL or a transmittance-controlled liquid crystal cell is used instead of the second liquid crystal cell 13 in the first embodiment, and instead of the other liquid crystal modules 12, 21 and 22. A non-transmissive organic / inorganic EL may be used.

1 Display device 2 Travel speedometer 3 Rotation speedometer
2a, 3a Scale 2b, 3b Guideline 10,20 Holder 11,28,30 Backlight 12,27 First liquid crystal cell 13,29 Second liquid crystal cell 14,24 Light guide body 15,25 Light source 16,26 Front plate 16a Aperture 21 1st liquid crystal module 22 2nd liquid crystal module 23 Half mirror 31 Visibility limiting film S space P virtual image

Claims (2)

It holds a first display element for displaying an image, a second display element arranged in parallel with a predetermined space in front of the first display element, and peripheral portions of the first and second display elements. comprising a holder, a light guide having an inner wall surface disposed on an inner wall of the holder facing the space, and a light source for emitting light toward the space through the interior of the light guide, the first A display device characterized in that an image of the second display element is superimposed and displayed in front of an image of the display element. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the second display element is a transmissive display element or a transmittance control type display element.

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