JPH0943531A - Display device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent adverse effects caused by external light and to miniaturize an optical unit in a display device for a vehicle in which various information are displayed superimposedly on the outside scenery. SOLUTION: An optical unit 26, which projects a display image as information, is provided in a dashboard 22 of an automobile 21. A combiner 24 is separately arranged above an opening section 22a of a dashboard 22 to which the display image is projected and the image is superimposed on forward scenery and projected to a driver 27. A light shielding plate 25 arranged on the top of the combiner 24 so that external light such as sun light is prevented to made incident on the unit 26.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular display device for displaying various information on a scene of a vehicle such as an automobile by superimposing various information. In recent years, it has been common practice to display information such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and various warnings on a display panel inside a dashboard. A head-up display (HUD) that displays the information by using a display is beginning to be adopted.

This HUD reduces fatigue of the driver due to focus adjustment of the eyes and movement of the line of sight at the time of confirming information, and makes it easier to confirm information. Furthermore, the influence of external light such as the sun or the HUD can be obtained. There is a demand for miniaturization of the optical unit constituting the.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 12 shows an explanatory view of a conventional automobile HUD. In FIGS. 12A and 12B, the automobile 11
A region called a combiner (combiner 14) having a slightly high reflectance is formed at a predetermined position in the front visible region of the driver 13 in the front window 12 of the optical unit 15 for emitting display light toward the combiner 14. It is arranged in the dashboard 16.

Although not shown, the optical unit 15 is provided with a display source and an optical element such as a lens or a concave mirror, and is installed so as to project from the opening 16a of the dashboard 16 toward the combiner 14. That is, the combiner 14 and the optical unit 15 form a HUD.

In such a HUD, an image displayed on the display source of the optical unit 15 is magnified by the optical element and projected on the combiner 14 through the opening 16a of the dashboard 16. The projected display image is the combiner 14 and the driver 1
The driver 13 reflects the displayed image on the combiner 1
It is recognized in a state in which it is superimposed on the front scene seen through 4. The display image at this time is recognized by the driver 13 as if it is displayed in front of the automobile 11 as indicated by the broken line.

[0006]

However, as described above, external light such as sunlight enters from the opening 16a of the dashboard 16 and has a great influence on the display source of the optical unit 15. For example, when a fluorescent display tube is used as the display source of the optical unit 15, it is recognized as if it emits light when external light is applied to a portion that does not emit light. Further, when a liquid crystal device is used as a display source, the performance is deteriorated by the heat of external light. Furthermore, the optical unit 15
There are various problems that the external light is re-emitted and reaches the driver 13 depending on the direction of the external light incident on the vehicle.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of the arrangement of the optical units shown in FIG. 13A is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 12B, and FIG. 13B is a side view corresponding to FIG. 12A. Most of the front windows 12 of the automobiles 11 on which the above HUDs are mounted are formed with non-uniform curved surfaces, and the combiner 14 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), it is provided in a portion that is inclined obliquely forward right. Therefore, in order to prevent the display image recognized by the driver 13 from tilting, it is necessary to tilt the direction of the display image projected by the optical unit 15.

Therefore, the arrangement of the display source and the concave mirror (or lens) in the optical unit 15 is asymmetric. That is, a large number of various devices are arranged on the dashboard 16 of the automobile 11, and the optical unit 15 must be downsized in order to be arranged in the dashboard 16. When the system is not targeted, it is difficult to reduce the size of the optical unit 15.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular display device capable of preventing the influence of external light and reducing the size of an optical unit.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, a display device for a vehicle, in which a display image of various kinds of information about a vehicle projected from an optical unit is superimposed on a visual scene of a driver. In the space area in front of the driver, an image synthesizing unit for reflecting the display image from the optical unit to the driver and transmitting the visible scene image to superimpose the display image, A vehicle display device having a light-shielding unit that blocks the incidence of external light on the optical unit is provided near the image combining unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the light shielding means according to the first aspect is movably provided so as to correspond to different driver's line of sight. According to a third aspect of the invention, a light control means for adjusting the light amount of the transmitted scene image from the image combining means is provided in the vicinity of the light shielding means according to the first or second aspect.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the light shielding means according to any one of the first to third aspects is used as a lid portion of an opening portion corresponding to the optical unit formed on the dashboard of the vehicle, and the image synthesizing means. Alternatively, a movable mechanism is provided in which the image synthesizing means and the light control means are housed in the dashboard and exposed from the dashboard.

That is, as described in claim 1, the image synthesizing means is arranged separately from the others, and the light shielding means is arranged in the vicinity of the image synthesizing means to block the incidence of external light on the optical unit. . As a result, it is possible to prevent the influence of the external light from the light shielding means and to arrange the image synthesizing means in a non-tilted manner, so that it is possible to reduce the size due to the symmetrical arrangement of the internal configuration of the optical unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the light shielding means is moved according to different drivers. This makes it possible to reduce the obstruction of the driver's visual field by the light shielding plate. As described in claim 3, by adjusting the light amount of the transmitted scene image from the image synthesizing means by the light adjusting means, it becomes possible to always maintain the contrast of the display image according to the brightness of the background.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the light-shielding plate is used as a lid part of the opening portion corresponding to the optical unit of the dashboard, and the movable mechanism allows the light-shielding plate to be put in and out of the dashboard so that it can be stored in the dashboard when not in use. It becomes possible to keep it.

[0016]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partial conceptual view of an automobile 21 as a vehicle. A combiner 24, which is an image synthesizing means, is provided separately from the front window 23 in a space region between a dashboard 22 and a front window 23 of the automobile 21. A light blocking plate 25 as a light blocking means is provided above the combiner 24. Further, an opening 22a is formed in the dashboard 22, and an optical unit 26 that projects a display image on the combiner 24 through the opening 22a is provided in the dashboard 22. This carp bina 2
4. The light shielding plate 25 and the optical unit 26 constitute a HUD (head-up display).

Although not shown, the optical unit 26 includes a display, which is one or a plurality of display means (not shown), and a display image from the display is reflected a predetermined number of times to form an image from the opening 22a through the combiner 24.
A predetermined number of reflecting mirrors (which may be partially configured by a half mirror or a reflection hologram) for projecting onto the screen are arranged (see FIG. 3).

The light shielding plate 25 blocks external light such as sunlight incident on the optical unit (display) 26 through the opening 22a of the dashboard 22 and reduces the reflection on the front window 23. It is preferable to make the surface black or the like to reduce light scattering. This light shield 2
The light shielding plate 2 is arranged in front of the driver 26 and may greatly obstruct the front view.
5 is provided in a substantially planar manner on the line of sight of the driver 27. As a result, the driver 27 can see only the side surface corresponding to the thickness of the light shielding plate 25, and the visibility is minimized. Although not shown, since the line of sight changes depending on the driver 27, a rotating mechanism for adjusting the height of the light shielding plate 25 with a lever or the like may be provided (see FIG. 10).

The combiner 24 is a front window 23.
Is arranged irrespective of the inclination of, and is arranged substantially orthogonal to the vertical plane from the eyes of the driver 27 to the combiner 24. Therefore, the optical unit 26 may be arranged symmetrically, as long as the internal structure of the display unit or the like is arranged so as to form a display image in which the horizontal direction of the display image is oriented in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the combiner arrangement shown in FIG. FIG. 2 (A) is a plane conceptual diagram observed from above, and FIG. 2 (B) is a side conceptual diagram observed from side. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, when the inclination direction of the combiner 24 is arranged on the driver 27 side (arrangement substantially orthogonal to the driver 27 side), a display image formed by the optical unit 26. Driver 2 when the horizontal direction is horizontal
The horizontal direction of the recognition display image 7 is also the horizontal direction.

Therefore, the optical path in the optical unit 26 may be changed by a reflection mirror so that the optical path is symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane including the display image and the observation position of the driver 27 as a plane of symmetry.
For that purpose, a reflection mirror, a display, etc. may be arranged with symmetry. Thereby, the optical unit 26 can be downsized.

Next, a modification of the light shielding plate will be described. This is a case where the light shielding plate 25 shown in FIG. 1 is formed by an element having a dimming function. At night or when it is cloudy, the HUD optical unit 26 is not affected by external light such as sunlight, and the light shield plate 25 is essentially unnecessary. Both will be blocked. Therefore, by providing the light shielding plate 25 with a dimming function,
The front view of the driver 27 can be improved by shielding light when necessary and making it transparent when unnecessary. This also applies to the following examples.

For example, by forming the light shielding plate 25 from silicate glass doped with elements such as Eu (eurobium), Ce (cerium), and Zr (zirconium), it is possible to stimulate near-ultraviolet rays and short-wavelength visible light. It significantly reduces the transmittance and improves the transmittance by removing the stimulating light, and has a function as a light-shielding plate only when sunlight is applied. Further, as another dimming function, the light shielding plate 25 is formed of a liquid crystal panel and is used together with a polarizing plate to electrically control the orientation of liquid crystal molecules according to the detection of an optical sensor to control the transmitted light. Is.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3A, a light control plate 28, which is a light control means, is provided below the light shielding plate 25 between the combiner 24 and the front window 23. The light control plate 28 is formed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel. An illuminance sensor 29 is provided on the front window 23 side of the light shielding plate 25, as shown in FIG. Further, the optical unit 26 arranged in the dashboard 22 is provided with a first display unit 30 and reflection mirrors 31 and 32 for projecting a display image from the first display unit 30 on the combiner 24. The reflection mirror 32 is, for example, a reflection hologram (may be a half mirror), and the second display 33 is arranged on the back surface of the reflection mirror 32. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG.

Therefore, FIG. 4 shows a graph for explaining the dimming control of the second embodiment. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the brightness of the front scene recognized by the driver and the brightness of the display image projected from the combiner 24. As is clear from the figure, the brightness of the front scene is the maximum display brightness. If it is lower than this, the displayed image is clearly recognized by the driver 27. vice versa,
For example, when the background is brighter than the maximum display brightness, such as in a snowy road, the contrast of the displayed image becomes poor and it becomes difficult to recognize.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the dimming control of the second embodiment, and the dimming control will be described. in this case,
The light control plate 28, which is formed of a liquid crystal panel as described above, electrically controls the alignment of the liquid crystal, and includes a light control unit 34 and a brightness control unit 35. In FIG. 5, first, the illuminance sensor 29 measures the illuminance of the incident light of the front scene incident through the front window 23, and the measurement result is sent to the brightness control unit 35.

If the brightness control section 35 determines that the brightness of the measurement result is smaller than the maximum brightness of the display 30 (33), the display 30 (33) is displayed at a brightness higher than the brightness of the measurement result. The display 30 (33) is controlled so as to control the light control plate 34, and the light control unit 34 is supplied with a signal indicating that the light control plate 28 is not operated to suppress light. Dimming control unit 34
Controls the light control plate 28 to have the maximum transmittance based on this signal.

On the other hand, when the brightness control unit 35 determines that the brightness of the measurement result is higher than the maximum brightness of the display 30 (33), the display 30 (33) is set to the maximum brightness. In addition to the control, a signal is supplied to the dimming control unit 34 to make the light transmittance of the dimming plate 28 smaller than the maximum brightness of the display 30 (33), and the dimming plate 28 is controlled by the orientation of liquid crystal molecules. It is what makes me.

Now, the optical unit 26 in FIG. 3 will be described. Now, the upper display image displayed on the first display 30 is projected onto the combiner 24 by the reflection mirrors 31 and 32, and the display image reflected here is displayed on the driver 27.
If the combiner 24 has an image forming magnification, the display image can be formed further away from the image forming device.

The display image from the second display 33 is transmitted through the reflection mirror (which is a reflection type hologram) 32 and is superimposed on the display image from the first display 30 to combine the combiner 24.
Is projected to Since the external light is blocked by the light blocking plate 25 in this manner, the second display 33 can be arranged immediately below the opening 22a of the dashboard 22.

In this case, the reflection hologram reflection mirror 32 has wavelength selectivity that reflects light in a specific wavelength range and transmits light in other wavelength ranges.
The display images of the first and second display devices 30 and 33 are superposed by performing display with the reflection wavelength of the hologram at 0 and performing display at a wavelength other than the reflection wavelength of the hologram at the second display device 33. is there. Further, since the display image of the second display 33 is not affected by the reflecting mirrors 31 and 32 having the image forming characteristic, the display image is displayed at a closer distance than the surface image of the first display 30. It Therefore, different information can be displayed for each display distance (distance of the recognition display image).

Next, FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of the inside of the automobile 21. Instead of the design instrument and the display panel in the meter hood 22b of the dashboard 22 where the conventional instrument and the display panel (instrument panel) were provided. Is provided with a combiner 24, and a light control plate 28 (which may be a simple opening) is provided in front of the combiner 24. In this case, the light unit (26) is arranged in the dashboard 22 and the opening 22a is formed in the meter hood 22b.

As described above, by providing the combiner 24 in the meter hood 22b, the meter hood 22b also serves as the light shield plate (25). In other words, the light shield plate (2
5) is a part of the dashboard 22. As a result, information can be displayed at a distance, and a front scene can be recognized through the meter hood 22b. Particularly, a driver with a short height has previously blocked the forward field of view with an instrument or the like in the meter hood 22b. It is possible to secure a front view until just before the vehicle.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7A shows a case where the vehicle is a large-sized vehicle of a so-called cab-over type, and a combiner 24 and a light shielding plate 25 are provided above the dashboard 22.
Is arranged. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, a predetermined upper display image is superimposed on the front scene from the combiner 24 and is recognized by the driver 27. Further, the display on the dashboard 22 is recognized inside the steering wheel as being peculiar to large vehicles.

In a large-sized vehicle, the driver's 27 eyes are located at a high position, and the display panel is arranged far below the midpoint of the driver's field of view so that the driver's eyes can be visually recognized just before the vehicle. Although the person 27 had to move his or her line of sight greatly, he could recognize both the displayed image and the front scene through the combiner 24 of the HUD, and the position of the display could be made very close to the center of the visual field.

As a result, the movement of the line of sight from the front scene is reduced when confirming the information, and the distance from the driver 27 to the display image can be set longer than that of the display panel of the dashboard 22. Is capable of recognizing a display image from a front view with focus adjustment with less eyes.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 8 (A) and 8 (B) are conceptual diagrams. As shown in FIG. 8 (A), when the HUD display is necessary, the light shielding plate 25 and the combiner 24 are located above the dashboard 22 and The display image from the unit 26 is superimposed on the front scene and projected on the driver side. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the HUD display is unnecessary, the light shielding plate 25 is used to close the opening 22a of the dashboard 22 by a movable mechanism, and the combiner 24 is housed in the dashboard 22. Is. At this time, the light shielding plate 25 serves as a lid of the opening 22 a of the dashboard 22.

In the fifth embodiment, the HUD is auxiliary, and the combiner 24 and the light shielding plate 25 are housed in the case where the HUD is not always required, thereby improving the forward visibility of the driver. Therefore, FIG. 9 shows a conceptual diagram of the light-shielding plate raising / lowering mechanism of the fifth embodiment, and FIG. 10 shows an operation explanatory diagram of the light-shielding plate raising / lowering of the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 9, the first and second pantograph mechanisms 41,
42 is attached to the first pantograph mechanism 4
1, the first to fourth arms 43a to 43d are rotatably connected at predetermined positions, and the second pantograph mechanism 42 has first to fourth arms 44a to 44d rotatable at predetermined positions. It is connected and configured.

The connecting portions of the first arms 43a and 44a and the second arms 43b and 43b of the first and second pantograph mechanisms 41 and 42 are rotatably connected to the light shielding plate 25. In addition, each of the fourth arms 43d and 44d
Of the guides 45a, 45b provided on the light shielding plate 25
(45b is not shown in the figure) is slidably engaged.

The above first and second pantograph mechanisms 4
A combiner 24 is installed between the fourth arms 43d and 44d of 1, 42. In addition, each second arm 43b,
A rod 46 is installed between the tips of 44b. In addition to the above-mentioned optical unit (26), a motor 47 for raising and lowering the light shielding plate 25 is provided in the dashboard 22, and the pulleys 48a, 48b and the rollers 48c are attached to the motor shaft.
A belt 49 is suspended on the belt 49 and the rod 46 is fixed to the belt 49. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the tips of the first arms 43a and 44a of the first and second pantograph mechanisms 41 and 42 are slidably engaged in the dashboard 22. Guides 50a, 50b (see FIG. 10)
(A) and (B), 50b is not shown in the figure).

10A and 10B, the guides 50a and 50b (50b) are provided in the dashboard 22 as described above.
(Not shown in the figure) is provided, and the guide 50a,
50b is attached to tilt guides 51a and 51b (51b is not shown in the figure). The tilt guides 51a and 51b are for adjusting the tilt of the light shielding plate 25 (adjusting so as to be on the line of sight of the driver), and an adjusting lever 52 is provided.

Therefore, the state of FIG. 10A is the case where the HUD is used, and the belt 47 is rotated by the motor 47 in the direction of the arrow so that the second pantograph mechanisms 41 and 42 of the first and second pantograph mechanisms 41 and 42 are rotated. Pulley 4 with arms 43b and 44b
Move to 8a side. At this time, the first arm 43
The tips of a and 44a move the guides 50a and 50b in the arrow direction, and the tips of the fourth arms 43d and 44d move the guides 45a and 45b in the arrow direction, and the light shielding plate 25 pops up on the dashboard 22. To be done.

The state of FIG. 10B is the case where the HUD is not used, and the belt 47 is rotated by the motor 47 in the direction of the arrow to move the second arms 43b and 44b to the pulley 48b side. At this time, the first arm 43
The tips of a and 44a move the guides 50a and 50b in the arrow direction, and the tips of the fourth arms 43d and 44d move the guides 45a and 45b in the arrow direction and combiner 24
Is housed in the dashboard 22, and the opening 22a is closed by a light shielding plate 25 as a lid.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is based on FIG.
A reflecting mirror 46 is provided on the back surface of the above, and a display image incident on the reflecting mirror 36 from the optical unit 26 is reflected by the combiner 24. In this case, the optical unit 2
The optical path in 6 is slightly changed so as to enter the reflecting mirror 36. In addition, the combiner 24 has a reflecting mirror 36.
The arrangement angle is set so as to reflect the display image from (1) to the driver (27).

According to the sixth embodiment, the first indicator 3
The display image from 0 is projected on the reflecting mirror 36 through the opening 22a of the dashboard 22 via the reflecting mirrors 31 and 32,
Projecting from the reflecting mirror 36 to the driver (27) from the combiner 24, the optical path length is longer than that in FIG. 3, and the recognition display image by the driver (27) can be made farther. Is.

[0046]

As described above, according to the first aspect, the image synthesizing means is arranged separately from the others, and the light shielding means is arranged in the vicinity of the image synthesizing means to prevent the external light from entering the optical unit. By blocking the incident light, it is possible to prevent the influence of the external light by the light shielding means and to arrange the image synthesizing means without inclining it, so that the optical unit can be downsized by the symmetrical arrangement of the internal configuration.

According to the second aspect, by moving the light shielding means according to different drivers, it is possible to reduce the obstruction of the driver's visual field by the light shielding plate. According to the third aspect, by adjusting the light amount of the transmitted scene image from the image combining means by the light adjusting means, it is possible to always maintain the contrast of the display image according to the brightness of the background.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the light-shielding plate is used as the lid of the opening portion corresponding to the optical unit of the dashboard, and the movable mechanism is used to move the dashboard into and out of the dashboard so that it can be stored in the dashboard when not in use. Can be kept.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the combiner arrangement of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining dimming control according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of dimming control according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of an elevating mechanism for a light shielding plate according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of raising and lowering the light shielding plate according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional automobile HUD.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an optical unit arrangement of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 Automotive 22 Dashboard 23 Front Window 24 Combiner 25 Light Shield 26 Light Unit 27 Driver 28 Light Control Plate 29 Illuminance Sensor 30 First Indicator 31 Reflection Mirror 32 Reflection Mirror (Reflective Hologram or Half Mirror) 33 Second Display unit 34 Dimming control unit 35 Brightness control unit 36 Reflector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G09F 9/00 359 7426-5H G09F 9/00 359Z

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle display device for superimposing a display image of various kinds of information about a vehicle projected from an optical unit on a visual sight image of a driver, wherein the optical unit is arranged in a spatial region in front of the driver. An image combining means for reflecting the display image from the vehicle to the driver and transmitting the visible scene image to superimpose the display image, and an external light incident on the optical unit in the vicinity of the image combining means. A vehicle display device comprising: a light-shielding unit that blocks the light. 2. A display device for a vehicle, wherein the light-shielding means according to claim 1 is movably provided so as to correspond to different driver's line of sight. 3. A vehicle display device, characterized in that a light adjusting means for adjusting the light quantity of the transmitted scene image from the image combining means is provided in the vicinity of the light shielding means according to claim 1. 4. The light-shielding means according to claim 1 is a lid of an opening corresponding to the optical unit formed on the dashboard of the vehicle, and the image synthesizing means,
Alternatively, the vehicle display device is characterized in that a movable mechanism is provided in which the image synthesizing means and the light control means are housed in the dashboard and exposed from the dashboard.