JPH0566966B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention comprises a display means disposed on an instrument panel of a vehicle having a display section capable of defining a plurality of display areas, The present invention also relates to a vehicular multiple display device configured to display images of warning information and the like in the display area in the form of characters and graphics, and particularly to a display structure for warning symbols and warning messages that indicate the content of an abnormality when an abnormality occurs.

(Prior art) In recent years, display screens made of cathode ray tubes, EL elements, liquid crystals, etc. are placed on vehicle instrument panels instead of conventional mechanical instruments, and desired information is displayed as images on these display screens. Vehicle display devices developed in the past have been used.

Such display devices constantly display information related to vehicle operation, such as vehicle speed, engine speed, distance traveled, coolant temperature, remaining fuel amount, and turbo boost pressure, as well as information such as brake fluid shortage. If an abnormality occurs such as insufficient charging, insufficient engine oil, insufficient cooling water, insufficient fuel, door ajar, or various lamps out, a predetermined warning symbol indicating the nature of the abnormality is displayed to alert you. There is.

By the way, as vehicles have become more multi-functional, the amount of driving information that must be displayed on the display screen has also increased, so the display space for warning symbols that indicate the details of abnormalities is limited, and the warning symbols are smaller than images of vehicle driving information. This tends to result in small displayed images.
In addition, as the number of display items that represent driving information has increased, so too have the number of warning items.There are many types of working symbols that indicate the occurrence of an abnormality, and even if a warning symbol image is displayed, the driver may overlook the warning symbol display. There were problems in that it took a long time to decipher the warning symbols.

Therefore, for example, in the display device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57-187618, the image of the vehicle running information and the image of the warning item are duplicated, and the image of the warning item is compared to the image of the vehicle running information. This makes it easier to read the images by displaying them in a thinner screen and making the images of the warning items gradually darker depending on the level of urgency of the warning, but since the driving information image and the image of the warning item are displayed twice. However, there was a problem with image visibility.

(Object of the Invention) In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a multi-display device for a vehicle that makes it easy to read the contents of the abnormality and, after reading the contents of the abnormality, can display the occurrence of the abnormality without impairing conventional functions. The purpose is to provide

(Structure of the Invention) As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes a display means disposed on an instrument panel of a vehicle having a display section capable of defining a plurality of display areas, and a predetermined display section in the display section. A control means for controlling the display means to generate a predetermined display regarding the running state of the vehicle in the display area. When an abnormality occurs, the control means interrupts and displays a warning symbol and a warning message in the predetermined display area, each indicating the details of the abnormality that has occurred, instead of the predetermined display, so that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the abnormality occurred. The apparatus is characterized in that it further includes means for switching and displaying only the warning message to the predetermined display while leaving the warning symbol as it is.

(Effects of the Invention) With the above configuration, when an abnormality occurs, both a warning symbol and a warning message indicating the details of the abnormality are displayed, making it extremely easy to decipher the contents of the abnormality. The symbol is displayed as it is, but the warning message disappears and the display returns to the normal display regarding the driving state of the vehicle. Therefore, the warning display can be continued without impairing the conventional function of the display section by displaying the warning.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a driver's seat of an automobile equipped with a display unit of a multiple display device according to the present invention, and 20 is an instrument panel;
21 is a steering wheel, and 22 is a display screen installed on the instrument panel 20. The display screen 22 consists of a fixed display area 23 in which predetermined information is always displayed, and a multiple display area 24 in which a plurality of, for example, three types of display screens are selectively displayed by operating a changeover switch.
The three types of display contents displayed in this multiple display area 24 include, for example, a ``tachometer-centered display'' centered on the tachometer, and an ``all-item display'' that displays almost the same information as that displayed on a normal automobile instrument panel. display",
and "safety monitor display". Third
The figure shows the display screen 24a of "octopus center display".

Referring to FIG. 3, on the display screen 24a, an engine tachometer 25 and a torque split indicator 26 indicating the state of power distribution to the front and rear wheels of a four-wheel drive system are arranged, and a turbo overload indicator is located at the bottom. A supply pressure gauge 27, a water temperature gauge 28, and a fuel gauge 29 are arranged.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the electronic circuit of a multiple display device according to the invention. 31 is a controller that calculates data input from each sensor and switch according to a control program, and also displays the display 3.
The controller 33 includes a microcomputer that performs processing to control the operation of the controller 2.
The terminals of the controller 31 are power supply terminals connected to the battery 34, and the terminals ~ are fuel, turbocharging pressure,
This is an input terminal for data from each sensor that outputs data representing engine rotation and vehicle speed, and the terminal is connected to an ignition switch. Terminals ~ are input terminals connected to switches for selecting the aforementioned three types of display contents displayed in the multiple display area 24 of FIG. 2, respectively. Furthermore, the terminal ~ is an input terminal connected to each sensor switch for warnings such as insufficient brake fluid, poor charging, insufficient engine oil, abnormal exhaust pipe heat generation, insufficient cooling water, door ajar, tail lamp blown, stop lamp blown, and seat belt. It is connected to a switch which is closed in each case of non-attachment. The output of the controller 33 is sent to the controller 3 via an interface 35.
1 and is output from the display 32 through the signal line 36.
interface 37. The output of this interface 37 is given to a driver 38, and a display section 39 is driven.

In the above configuration, the controller 3 in FIG.
When the switch connected to terminal No. 1 is selected, an octopus center display screen 24a as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the multiple display area 24 of FIG. On this display screen 24a, a torque split indicator 2 indicating the state of power distribution to the front and rear wheels of the four-wheel drive system is displayed.
An area 42 above ``TORQUE SPLIT'' and a message 41 in English is displayed as an area for displaying the details of the abnormality that has occurred, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. Note that in FIGS. 5A and 5B, images displayed in areas other than area 42 are omitted. The warning display process by the control means is the sixth
The process is executed according to the flowchart shown in the figure.

In FIG. 6, this flow advances to step S1 every predetermined cycle, and inputs from each abnormality detection sensor are read. Next, in step S2, it is determined whether an abnormality has occurred. If YES, it is determined in step S3 whether or not it is a new warning. If it is a new warning, a timer is started in step S4, and a warning symbol indicating the content of the abnormality that has occurred is read out in step S5. If the determination result in step S3 is NO, the timer has already started, so the process moves directly to step S5. Next, the process advances to step S6, where it is determined whether a predetermined time (t seconds) has elapsed since the new warning occurred. If NO, step S7
Proceed to , and read out the warning message indicating the details of the abnormality that has occurred. Then, in step S8, the display area of the warning symbol and warning message is calculated, and in step S9, the warning symbol and warning message are displayed in an interrupt manner. With the above processing, the area 42 of the display screen 24
As shown in FIG. 5A, instead of the message 41, for example, a warning symbol 43 representing "door ajar" and a warning message 44 are displayed.
(DOOR AJAR) is displayed. The flow then returns to step S1 again, and this state of display is maintained by repeating the same process. The process is repeated in this way, and when a predetermined time (t seconds) has elapsed since the occurrence of a new warning, the step
The determination result in S6 is YES, the process moves to step S10, and the area 42 is cleared before an abnormality occurs.
Message 41 (TORQUE) that was displayed on
SPLIT) is calculated and displayed in an interrupt manner in step S9. Therefore, area 4 of display screen 24
2, as shown in FIG. 5B, a message 41 is switched and displayed instead of the warning message 44, and the display content becomes the screen of FIG. 3 with only the warning symbol 43 added. If it is determined in step S2 that there is no abnormality, the process continues to step S2.
Go to S11, reset the timer, and step S12
The interrupt display is canceled and the screen is returned to the state shown in FIG. 3, and the process returns to step S1 via step S13.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs, both the warning symbol 43 and the warning message 44 are displayed in the area 42, so that it is easy to decipher the contents of the abnormality and After the predetermined time has elapsed, the warning message 44 disappears and the message 41 is displayed again, so that the loss of the conventional function of the display unit due to the display of the alarm can be minimized.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the driver's seat of a car equipped with a display unit of a multiple display device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a screen displayed in the multiple display area of the display screen. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the electronic circuit of the device according to the present invention. FIGS. 5A and B are diagrams showing an example of the display screen when an abnormality occurs. FIG. It is a flowchart. 20...Instrument panel, 21...Handle, 22...
Display screen, 23...Fixed display area, 24...Multiple display area, 25...Tachometer, 29...Fuel gauge, 31...Controller, 32...Display device, 33...
Controller, 35, 37...Interface, 38...Driver, 39...Display section, 41...
...Message, 42...Display area, 43...Warning symbol, 44...Warning message.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A display means having a display section capable of defining a plurality of display areas and disposed on an instrument panel of a vehicle; and a control means for controlling the display means to generate a predetermined display regarding the abnormality, and when an abnormality occurs, the control means displays a warning symbol and a warning symbol respectively indicating the details of the abnormality that has occurred, in place of the predetermined display. The present invention is characterized by comprising means for displaying a message in the predetermined display area, and after a predetermined time has elapsed since the occurrence of the abnormality, switching and displaying only the warning message to the predetermined display while leaving the warning symbol as is. A multiple display device for vehicles.