JP2015118165A - Instrument for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an instrument for a vehicle with good visibility.SOLUTION: An instrument for a vehicle includes control means 3a for receiving the input of vehicle information and outputting display data based on the vehicle information, a combiner 5 of a display unit 1 that forms a display image L based on the display data and allows light to transmit through a background part of the display image L, and a liquid crystal display panel 8 that is provided at a position visually recognized by a user of the vehicle through the background part when the user has visually recognized the display on the display unit 1 and on the back surface side of the combiner 5, where the control means 3a adjusts the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal display panel 8 under predetermined conditions.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle instrument that displays vehicle information.

  Conventional vehicle instruments include compound instruments such as speedometers for automobiles, motorcycles, various water vehicles, tachometers, fuel meters, distance meters, clocks, various alarm display units, and the like.

  Moreover, what was disclosed by patent document 1 is known like the vehicle-mounted head-up display (HUD) apparatus applied as a vehicle meter, for example. The HUD device includes a display unit, a reflecting mirror, and a combiner. Light (display light) representing a display image of the display unit is reflected by the reflecting mirror toward the combiner, and the display image is displayed as a virtual image by the combiner. To make it visible. Such a HUD device is provided on a dashboard of a vehicle, for example, and allows a user who is mainly a driver to visually recognize display information such as a vehicle speed and a travel distance so as to be superimposed on a front landscape. It is configured as follows.

JP 2001-282132 A

However, in the vehicular instrument provided on the dashboard and displayed so as to be superimposed on the front landscape, the front landscape looks very bright, such as the headlights of oncoming vehicles and sunlight such as the sun and sunset. In some cases, it is difficult to visually recognize display light (display image).
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle instrument having good visibility by paying attention to the above-described problems.

The vehicle instrument of the present invention is
Control means for inputting vehicle information and outputting display data based on the vehicle information;
A display image based on the display data is formed, and a display that transmits light through a background portion of the display image;
When a vehicle user visually recognizes the display of the display, a liquid crystal display panel provided on the back side of the display at a position where it can be viewed through the background portion;
With
The control means adjusts the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal display panel under a predetermined condition.

In addition, an illuminance sensor that detects the intensity of light applied to the liquid crystal display panel or the display,
The control means adjusts the amount of transmitted light of the liquid crystal display panel by inputting a detection value of the illuminance sensor and controlling a driving voltage of the liquid crystal display panel based on the detection value.

The indicator includes a light source for illuminating the display image,
The control means outputs a control signal for adjusting the light emission luminance of the light source.

The display and the liquid crystal display panel are:
The vehicle is provided on a dashboard of the vehicle so that the user can visually recognize a front scenery of the vehicle through the display and the liquid crystal display panel.

  The vehicle instrument of the present invention relates to a vehicle instrument that displays vehicle information and has good visibility.

1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle head-up display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing of the display means of the head-up display apparatus for vehicles which is embodiment same as the above. The block diagram of a head up display device for vehicles same as the above.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle instrument according to the present invention applied to a vehicle head-up display device will be described as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a display unit (display device), which is disposed on the dashboard of the vehicle A. The display image L projected by the display unit 1 is reflected in the direction of the viewpoint D of the driver (vehicle user) by a combiner described later and displayed as a virtual image V. The driver can observe the virtual image V superimposed on the landscape.

  The display unit 1 includes a display unit 2, a circuit board 3, a reflection unit 4, a combiner 5, and a housing 6.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a display unit. The display unit 2 includes a TFT type liquid crystal display element and a backlight unit.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a circuit board, and the display unit 2 is mounted on the circuit board 3.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes a reflecting mirror. The reflecting mirror 4 reflects the display image L emitted from the display unit 2 to the combiner 5. The reflecting surface 4 a of the reflecting mirror 4 is concave, and the display image L from the display unit 2 can be enlarged and projected onto the combiner 5. The reflecting mirror 4 is adhered to the holding member 4b with a double-sided adhesive tape, and is provided so as to be adjustable to an angle at which the display image L is easily visible from the driver.

  The combiner 5 reflects the display image L emitted by the display unit 2 to the driver side of the vehicle, and allows the background portion of the display image L to pass through and visually recognize the scenery in front of the vehicle. In addition, the display part 2 is not limited to the structure provided with a liquid crystal display element, For example, the structure provided with an organic EL display panel may be sufficient.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a housing. The housing 6 accommodates the display unit 2, the circuit board 3, the reflecting mirror 4, and the like. The housing 6 is provided with a translucent cover 6a through which the display image L passes. The translucent cover 6a is made of a translucent resin such as acrylic.

  Further, the vehicle head-up display device includes an illuminance sensor 7 and a liquid crystal display panel 8 in addition to the display unit 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the illuminance sensor 7 and the liquid crystal display panel 8 are connected to the control means 3 a mounted on the circuit board 3.

  The illuminance sensor 7 can be a photosensor and measures the illuminance on the dashboard. The illuminance sensor 7 is an input means for determining the display luminance of the display unit 2 and the illumination luminance of other devices, and the automatic lighting of the headlamp The present invention can also be applied as an input means for turning off. However, in this case, the illuminance sensor 7 mainly detects the illuminance of the external light irradiated on the liquid crystal display panel 8 from the front side of the vehicle, and outputs a detection signal to the control means 3a mounted on the circuit board 3. As a sensor, the housing 6 is provided.

  The liquid crystal display panel 8 is provided on the back side of the combiner 5 of the display unit 1 at a position where it can be seen through the background portion when the driver visually recognizes the display of the display unit 1. In this case, the liquid crystal display panel 8 having a slightly larger area than the combiner 5 is provided on the back side of the combiner 5. The liquid crystal display panel 8 is driven by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control or PFM (Pulse Frequency Modulation) control by the control signal from the control means 3a, and the transmittance can be varied using the intermediate state of the liquid crystal.

  As the control means 3a, a microcomputer can be applied, a ROM that stores a program for processing operation, a RAM that temporarily stores calculation values, a CPU that executes the program, and for communication with various in-vehicle devices. It is mainly constituted by an input / output interface circuit for establishing an electrical connection relationship with a cable, an EEPROM for storing various preset values, and the like.

  The control means 3a inputs vehicle information from a separate in-vehicle electronic device or various sensors by communication, and drives and controls each component of the display unit 2 to thereby display a desired display image representing a measured value such as a vehicle speed. To output.

  The control means 3a controls the light source of the display unit 2 based on the detection signal from the illuminance sensor 7 so that a display image L having a desired luminance is output, and the illuminance based on the detection signal is predetermined. When the threshold value is exceeded, the liquid crystal display panel 8 is driven so that the transmittance of the liquid crystal display panel 8 changes. In this case, the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal display panel 8 with respect to the illuminance based on the detection signal can be changed continuously or stepwise using preset table data or calculation.

  With the above configuration, the transmittance of the liquid crystal display panel 8 can be reduced when external light is strong and it is difficult to see the display image L projected on the combiner 5 due to the headlamp of the oncoming vehicle or sunlight. The contrast between the display image L and the background thereof can be increased, and the vehicle head-up display device with good visibility is obtained.

  In addition, when the usage environment of the head-up display device for a vehicle is dark, a vehicle instrument with high convenience that can check vehicle information such as measured values while increasing the transmittance and visually confirming the scenery in front of the vehicle; Become. Moreover, these states in which the transmittance of the liquid crystal display panel 8 is different can be automatically switched, and the vehicle instrument is further highly convenient.

  Such a head-up display device for a vehicle inputs vehicle information and outputs display data based on the vehicle information, and forms a display image L based on the display data and also displays a background portion of the display image L. A liquid crystal provided on the rear side of the combiner 5 at a position where the combiner 5 of the display unit 1 that transmits light and the vehicle user visually recognizes the display of the display unit 1 and is visible through the background portion. The control means 3a adjusts the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal display panel 8 under a predetermined condition. Therefore, the effects described above can be obtained.

  Although the vehicular instrument of the present invention has been described as an example in the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and other configurations depart from the gist of the present invention. It goes without saying that various improvements and display changes can be made without departing from the scope. For example, the configuration of the head-up display using the combiner 5 as the display unit (display) 1 has been described as an example. However, an organic EL element that transmits the background portion is simply applied, or a light guide using edge light is used. A liquid crystal display element using illumination can also be applied.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention relates to a vehicle instrument that is mounted on a moving body and displays various types of information, and is suitable, for example, as an instrument mounted on a moving body equipped with an automobile, a motorcycle, an agricultural machine, or a construction machine.

1 Display unit (display)
2 Display 3 Circuit board 3a Control means 4 Reflector 5 Combiner 6 Housing 7 Illuminance sensor 8 Liquid crystal display panel A Vehicle D View point

Claims (4)

Control means for inputting vehicle information and outputting display data based on the vehicle information;
A display image based on the display data is formed, and a display that transmits light through a background portion of the display image;
When a vehicle user visually recognizes the display of the display, a liquid crystal display panel provided on the back side of the display at a position where it can be viewed through the background portion;
With
The vehicle instrument characterized in that the control means adjusts the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal display panel under a predetermined condition. An illuminance sensor for detecting the intensity of light applied to the liquid crystal display panel or the display,
The control means is configured to adjust a transmitted light amount of the liquid crystal display panel by inputting a detection value of the illuminance sensor and controlling a driving voltage of the liquid crystal display panel based on the detection value. Item 1. The vehicle instrument according to Item 1. The indicator includes a light source for illuminating the display image,
The vehicle instrument according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means outputs a control signal for adjusting a light emission luminance of the light source. The display and the liquid crystal display panel are:
3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is provided on a dashboard of the vehicle so that the user can visually recognize a front landscape of the vehicle through the display and the liquid crystal display panel. Instrument.

Images