JPH10329577A - Information display device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information display device for vehicle capable of approximately making equal the service life of one illumination light source to that of the other illumination light source. SOLUTION: In the information display device of a vehicle which is provided with a crystal display unit 7A, a cold-cathode tube 24 illuminating the display surface of the LC unit 7A, and a cold-cathode tube 25 is structured, a control device which, in day time in which the surrounding is light, the first and second cold-cathode tubes 24 and 25 are turned on and, at night in which the surrounding is dark, either of the first and second cathode tubes 24 and 25 is turned on is provided. Also, when either of the first and second cold-cathode tubes 24 and 25 is turned on, the control device 36 lights up selectively either of the first and second cold-cathode tubes 24 and 25 so that the number of lightings of the first cold-cathode tube 24 is roughly made equal to that of the second cold-cathode tube 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information display device for a vehicle comprising an information display main body, and first and second illumination light sources for illuminating a display surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle information display device,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a liquid crystal display including a liquid crystal display, and a reflector for reflecting display information displayed on a display surface of the liquid crystal display so that an occupant can view the information.

[0003] Such a vehicle information display device is provided with an illumination light source for illuminating illumination light from the back surface of the liquid crystal display to the display surface.

[0004] Further, there has been proposed a vehicle information display device in which a reflecting mirror is enlarged so that it can be simultaneously viewed from a driver's seat and a passenger seat.

[0005]

By the way, if the size of the reflecting mirror is increased so as to satisfy all of the driver's seat and the passenger's seat eye range (the average viewpoint position when sitting in the driver's seat or the passenger's seat), The following problems arise.

[0006] External light from all angles, such as above the windshield and toward the side glass, is incident on the display surface of the liquid crystal display, and the external light reflected on this display surface is reflected by a reflecting mirror to the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. Will be increased. This makes it easier for drivers and passengers sitting in the front passenger seat to visually recognize the reflected light as an outside view, making the information on the display surface very difficult to see. Although the rate at which extraneous light is reflected is low, the larger the reflector, the greater the amount of extraneous light reflected.

Therefore, it is conceivable to lower the reflectance of the reflector. For example, if the reflectance of the reflector is changed from 100% to 50%, the amount of reflection of extraneous light is reduced by half. However, the reflectivity of the reflector is 50
When the percentage is set, the luminance of the display image for visually recognizing the display surface of the liquid crystal display via the reflecting mirror also decreases.

For this reason, it is necessary to increase the display brightness of the liquid crystal display in advance. Therefore, two light sources, a night light source and a day light source, are provided. At night, only the night light source is turned on. During the day, two light sources, night and day, are turned on. An information display device for a vehicle which is designed to be operated is considered.

However, in such a vehicle information display device, the nighttime illumination light source is turned on even during the day, so that the life of the nighttime illumination light source is compared with that of the daytime illumination light source. In such a case, there is a problem that the length becomes extremely short.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an information display apparatus for a vehicle that can make the life of one illumination light source substantially equal to the life of the other illumination light source. Is to provide.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 comprises an information display main body and a first illumination light source and a second illumination light source for illuminating a display surface of the information display main body. An information display device for a vehicle, comprising: a first illumination light source and a second illumination light for turning on the first illumination light source and the second illumination light source when the surroundings are bright during the daytime; and when the surroundings are dark at night. A lighting control device that lights one of the light sources is provided, and the lighting control device is configured to light one of the first illumination light source and the second illumination light source.
The first and second lighting times are set such that the number of lighting times of the first lighting light source and the number of lighting times of the second lighting light source, or the cumulative lighting time of the first lighting light source and the cumulative lighting time of the second lighting light source are substantially the same.
It is characterized in that one of the illumination light sources is selected and turned on.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reflecting mirror which reflects display information displayed on a display surface of the information display main body and allows an occupant to visually recognize the display information. The size is set to be simultaneously visible from both the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side, and the reflectance of the reflecting surface is reduced.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle information display device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument panel. An instrument panel 3 is provided on a driver's seat side 2 of the instrument panel 1, and an airbag device 5 is provided on a passenger seat side 4. The instrument panel 1
As shown in FIG. 2, a storage recess 6 is provided substantially at the center of the driver's seat side 2 and the passenger's seat side 4 in the vehicle width direction.

A storage case (not shown) is provided in the storage recess 6, and an information display main body 7 is stored in the storage case as shown in FIG. The display body 7 is covered with a cover member 8. The cover member 8 is rotatably supported by the instrument panel 1,
9 is a rotating mechanism of the cover member 8. This rotation mechanism 9 has a drive motor 10. A worm 11 is attached to an output shaft of the drive motor 10. The worm 11 is meshed with a worm wheel 12, and the rotation of the worm wheel 12 is transmitted to a sector gear via a rotation transmission gear mechanism 13, and the cover member 8 is folded down to cover the storage recess 6 (see FIG. 1). ) And an upright position (see FIG. 2) that exposes the storage recess. On the inner surface of the cover member 8, a plane mirror 14 as a reflecting mirror is provided as shown in FIG. As the plane mirror 14, a reflection mirror having a reflectance of 50% is used to reduce the reflected light of extraneous light.

An activation switch 15 is provided on the instrument panel 1 near the storage recess 6. When the start switch 15 is operated, the information display main body 7 is operated and the drive motor 10 is operated. By the operation of the drive motor 10, the cover member 8 is automatically rotated in the upright direction, and the plane mirror 14 is exposed. The surface of the information display body 7 is a display surface 7a for displaying navigator information such as a map, an image of a television, and the like. The display information displayed on the display surface 7a is reflected by the plane mirror 14 to form a reflected image. Q is presented so that the occupant can visually recognize it.

The plane mirror 14 has a horizontally long shape extending long in the vehicle width direction, and has a reflection area large enough to allow the display information to be simultaneously viewed from both the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side. The size of the reflection area is determined in consideration of the driver's seat eye range 15 and the passenger's seat eye range 16, as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 18 denotes a reflection surface area required when viewing the reflected image Q from the eye range 16. The detailed definition of the eye range is based on the paper SAEJ941.

When the reflected image Q is visually recognized from the driver's seat, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the reflected image Q is presented to the driver's seat side, while the reflected image Q is visually recognized from the passenger seat, as shown in FIG. 6, the reflected image Q is presented to the passenger seat side. You.

The information display main body 7 is provided with a backlight illuminating device 20 for illuminating the display surface 7a by illuminating the liquid crystal display 7A forming the display surface 7a from the back.

As shown in FIG. 7, the backlight illumination device 20 has a light guide plate 22 made of acrylic or the like and having a high light transmittance, which is stacked on a reflection plate 21, and is stacked on the light guide plate 22. Diffusion plate 23 and side end surfaces 22A- of light guide plate 22
U-shaped first cold cathode tube 2 attached along 22C
4 and a second cold-cathode tube 25, and a reflector 26 covering the first and second cold-cathode tubes (first and second light sources) 24 and 25 over the whole. On the inner peripheral surface of the reflector 26, a silver vapor-deposited film 28 for introducing the light emitted by the first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25 into the light guide plate 22 is formed.

The light introduced into the light guide plate 22 is reflected by the light guide plate 2.
The light from the side end surfaces 22A to 22D, the bottom surface 22E, and the like, and the reflection from the reflection plate 21 uniformly illuminates the diffusion plate 23, and the light diffused by the diffusion plate 23 uniformly illuminates the liquid crystal display 7A. To be illuminated.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the vehicle information display device. In FIG. 8, 31 is a lighting switch that is turned on when the surroundings are dark or at night, 32 is an inverter that turns on the first CCFL 24, 33 is an inverter that turns on the second CCFL 25, and 34 is an inverter that turns on the second CCFL 25. A driver 35 of the liquid crystal display 7A is an EEPROM for storing the count value of the internal counter. The count values of the internal counter are “0” and “1” set corresponding to the first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25.

The dimming signal shown in FIG. 8 is a dimming switch for adjusting the brightness of the first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25.
(Not shown), and the display control signal is a signal output from a navigation system (not shown) or the like.

Numeral 36 denotes a control device comprising a CPU and the like.
The control device 36 controls the dimming signal, the display control signal, the EEPRO
The inverters 32 and 33, the driver 34, and the like are controlled based on the count value of M35, the on / off of the start switch 15, the on / off of the lighting switch 31, and the like.

Next, the operation of the vehicle information display device of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that S shown in FIG. 9 indicates a step.

In step 1, the start switch 15 is turned on to drive the drive motor 10, whereby the cover member 8 is automatically rotated in the upright direction, and the plane mirror 14 is exposed as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, a navigation system (not shown) operates to input a display control signal to the control device 36, and navigation information is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7A.

In step 2, the control device 36 sets the EEPR
The count value stored in the OM 35 is read. In step 3, it is determined whether or not the lighting switch 31 has been turned on. If no, the process proceeds to step 10, and if yes, the process proceeds to step 4. Since the lighting switch 31 is a switch that is turned on when the surroundings are dark or at night, the process proceeds to step 4 when the surroundings are dark or at night, and proceeds to step 10 when the surroundings are daytime.

In step 4, it is determined whether or not the read count value is "0". If no, the process proceeds to step 6, and if yes, the process proceeds to step 5. In step 5, the inverter 32 is operated to turn on the first cold-cathode tube 24, and the value of the internal counter is set to "1". In Step 6, the inverter 33 is operated to operate the second
The cold cathode tube 25 is turned on and the internal counter is cleared and set to "0".

In step 7, the lighting switch 3
It is determined whether 1 has been turned off. If no, the process returns to step 7; if yes, the process proceeds to step 8. That is, the operation of step 7 is repeatedly performed until the lighting switch 31 is turned off, and the first cold cathode tube 24 or the second cold cathode tube 25 continues to light.

The lighting of the first cold cathode tube 24 or the second cold cathode tube 25 illuminates the display surface 7a of the liquid crystal display 7A. Then, the display information displayed on the display surface 7a is reflected by the plane mirror 14, and is presented as a reflected image Q so that the occupant can visually recognize it.

As described above, when the surroundings are dark or at night, one of the first cold cathode tubes 24 or the second cold cathode tubes 25 is turned on, and the display surface 7a of the liquid crystal display 7A is turned on. Because of the illumination, the display information on the display surface 7a is very easy to see. In addition, since the plane mirror 14 has a horizontally long shape extending long in the vehicle width direction, both the driver and the occupant in the passenger seat can visually recognize the plane mirror 14 at the same time. Although the reflectance of the plane mirror 14 is 50%, since the surrounding area is dark, the display information on the display surface 7a does not become difficult to see.

By the way, when the surroundings are bright during the daytime,
If the lighting switch 31 is not turned on, it is determined in step 3 that the answer is no, and the process proceeds to step 10. In step 10, it is determined whether or not both the inverters 32 and 33 are off. If yes, the process proceeds to step 8. If no, go to step 9.

In step 8, the inverters 32 and 33 are operated to light the two first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25. That is, in the steps 10 and 8, in the daytime, when the first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25 are not turned on, the first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25 are turned on.

In step 9, it is determined whether or not the start switch 15 has been turned off. If no, the process returns to step 3. That is, in the daytime, the first and second cold cathode tubes 24, 2
After the lamp 5 is turned on, the operations of Steps 3, 10 and 9 are repeated until the start switch 15 is turned off. During this time, the first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25 are kept on. Become.

As described above, in the daytime when the surroundings are bright, the two first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25 are turned on, and the display surface 7a of the liquid crystal display 7A is illuminated to increase the display luminance. Therefore, the display information on the display surface 7a is very easy to see even when the surroundings are bright. Further, since the plane mirror 14 has a horizontally long shape extending long in the vehicle width direction, a large percentage of the external light incident on the display surface 7a of the liquid crystal display 7A is reflected by the plane mirror 14 to the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. It ’s a plane mirror 1
Since the reflectance of No. 4 is 50%, the amount of light reflected by the plane mirror 14 is １ ／. Further, since the display brightness is increased by illuminating the display surface 7a of the two first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25, the display information on the display surface 7a becomes difficult to see due to reflected light of extraneous light. The display surface 7a is very easy to see.

When the start switch 15 is turned off, the determination in step 9 is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step 11. In step 11, the count value of the internal counter rewritten in step 5 or 6 is written in the EEPROM 35. In step 12, the operation of the inverters 32 and 33 is stopped to turn off the first and second cold cathode tubes 24 and 25, and the operation of the navigation system is stopped.
Then, the drive motor 10 is driven to store the plane mirror 14 and the cover member 8 is closed to complete the process.

By the way, every time the lighting switch 31 is turned on / off, the first and second operations corresponding to the count value of the internal counter are performed by the operations of steps 4 to 6.
Since one of the cold cathode tubes 24 and 25 is turned on and its count value is rewritten, the lighting switch 31 is turned on.
Each time is turned on / off, the cold cathode tubes 24 and 25 are alternately lit.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10, in the daytime (daytime), the lighting switch 31 is off, and during the periods T1, T3,..., The first and second cold cathode tubes 24,
25 are both lit (on). In the case of night, the lighting switch 31 is on, and during the on-period T2, T4,..., One of the first and second cold-cathode tubes 24, 25 is alternately turned on (on). become.

As described above, in the case of night, the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 2
Since the lamps 4 and 25 are alternately turned on, the life of one cold cathode tube 24 and the life of the other cold cathode tube 25 can be made almost the same.

In the above embodiment, the lighting of the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 24 and 25 is switched based on the count value of the internal counter.
4, 25 may be alternately turned on, or one of the cold cathode tubes 24, 25 may be selected so that the lighting time is accumulated and the accumulated lighting time of both cold cathode tubes 24, 25 becomes the same. You may make it light.

In the above embodiment, the display information displayed on the display surface 7a of the display main body 7 is made visible to the occupant via the plane mirror 14. However, the plane mirror 14 is omitted and the display surface 7a is directly displayed. May be visible. Further, the display surface 7a displays the navigator information, but is not limited to this, and may naturally display a meter or the like. Further, in the above embodiment, the display surface 7a is illuminated by the cold cathode tubes 24 and 25, but may be another illumination light source such as a halogen lamp or a tungsten lamp.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, the life of one illumination light source can be made substantially the same as the life of the other illumination light source.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an instrument panel of an automobile equipped with a vehicle information display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a lid covering the vehicle information display device of FIG. 1 is open.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an eye range and a plane mirror.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a plane mirror and a reflection image when a reflection image is visually recognized from a driver's seat.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a plane mirror and a reflected image when the reflected image is visually recognized from a passenger seat.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a backlight illumination device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the vehicle information display device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle information display device.

FIG. 10 is a time chart showing an operational relationship among a start switch, a lighting switch, and a cold cathode tube.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7A Liquid crystal display 24 First cold cathode tube 25 Second cold cathode tube 36 Controller

Claims (2)

[Claims] An information display device for a vehicle, comprising: an information display main body; a first illumination light source and a second illumination light source for illuminating a display surface of the information display main body, wherein the surroundings are bright during daylight hours. The first illumination light source and the second
A lighting control device for lighting the illumination light source and lighting either the first illumination light source or the second illumination light source when the surroundings are dark at night; the lighting control device includes a first illumination light source or a second illumination light source; When turning on either one of the illumination light sources, the number of times of lighting of the first illumination light source and the number of times of lighting of the second illumination light source, or the cumulative lighting time of the first illumination light source and the cumulative lighting time of the second illumination light source, An information display device for a vehicle, characterized in that either one of the first and second illumination light sources is selected and turned on so that the light sources are substantially the same. 2. A reflecting mirror for reflecting display information displayed on a display surface of the information display main body and visually recognizing an occupant. 2. The information display device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the size is set to be simultaneously visible from both the seat side and the reflectance of the reflection surface is reduced.