JPH04243632A - Display device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give variation to vehicular display and utilize invalid areas among gauges. CONSTITUTION:A full dot color liquid crystal display 2 is enclosed in a gauge panel, and another display 4 is further disposed in a separate position, as well as a half mirror optical system is disposed in an appropriate position to obtain a vehicular display device of display structure free in adding optional display according to the vehicle type and grade.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a display device for automobile instruments.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional automotive instrument display devices include those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example. Figure 1 shows an analog pointer that has a pointer shaft system, has a plurality of built-in mechanical bodies (not shown) that rotationally drive the pointer shaft system, and houses a speedometer A, an engine tachometer B, a water temperature gauge C, and a fuel gauge D. This is the instrument panel of the system. The conventional example shown in FIG. 2 is a so-called "electronic meter" and is a fluorescent display tube type instrument panel having segment light emitting sections in the pattern shown. This displays numbers such as speed A, section integration B, and integration C, or displays engine rotational speed D in a bar graph by selecting a segment that is to be illuminated.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such conventional automobile instrument display devices, the arrangement and shape of individual instruments, that is, the design, is fixed (one pair depending on the vehicle type and grade). As the visibility of the instrument panel is fixed, there is no room for the user to choose the instrument panel, and although there is an advantage of getting used to the visibility of the instrument panel after using it for a long time, it may become boring, or There was a problem in that it was almost impossible to display information and it was impossible to add display functions.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made by focusing on the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to house a full-dot color liquid crystal display in an instrument panel, and to separate other displays. To provide a display device for a vehicle having a display structure in which an optional display can be freely displayed depending on the vehicle type and grade by arranging a half mirror optical system at an appropriate position. .

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained in detail below based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

Reference numeral 1 designates a housing that houses a plurality of instruments, and 2 and 3 incorporate full-dot liquid crystal main displays 2 and 3 that are capable of color and graphic display. Reference numeral 4 denotes a first sub-display, which is a digital water temperature gauge arranged in a display area outside the respective effective display areas of both main displays 2 and 3, and can be turned off completely, for example. It is a fluorescent display tube. 4-1 is a drive circuit board for driving the first sub-display 4 to turn on. Reference numeral 5 designates a second sub-display, and the second sub-display 5 is a bulb-illuminated display disposed within the instrument panel hood 8, and is, for example, an A/T indicator. A half mirror 6 is used to generate a display virtual image 5' generated by the second sub-display 5. 7 is a holder for the half mirror 6, 9 is the lower part of the instrument panel, and 10 is a holder that prevents the inside of the meter panel from being illuminated by the light reflected by various display lights on the back surface of the half mirror 6 and diffusely reflected light from reaching the eyes. This is a black light-absorbing sheet provided.

The configuration of this embodiment has been described above, and its operation will now be explained.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main display 2, which is a full-dot color liquid crystal display, displays an analog + digital display of speed, a totalizer, a section totalizer, and the like. The bar, which corresponds to the pointer, is painted in warm colors of yellow and orange to improve visibility. The other main display 3 is an analog display type engine tachometer, boost gauge, and oil pressure gauge. These displays are because the display contents are selected and set in advance according to the driver's preference. For example, if a boost gauge or oil pressure gauge is not required, only the engine tachometer can be displayed. Further, in FIG. 3, the display contents of the left main display 2 and the right main display 3 can be reversed.

Furthermore, if a digital display system is selected and set in advance instead of an analog display system, digital display is also possible. In this way, not only the display content but also the design can be changed simply by changing or porting the software.

[0010] An invalid display area is created between these indicators 2 and 3, but this embodiment is intended to make effective use of this invalid area. A sub-indicator for the water temperature gauge was placed so that even if other indications were displayed, it would not seriously impede driving.

Now, for a while after starting the engine, the first sub-display 4, which is a water temperature gauge, is displayed between the two main displays 2 and 3. Only when the driver operates the selection switch or when it is automatically determined that there is almost no change in water temperature over time, the display on the first sub-display 4, which is a water temperature gauge, is completely turned off. Instead, the drive range of the A/T indicator on the second sub-display 5 lights up (see FIG. 5). The representative optical path a of the light emitted from this second sub-display device 5 is:
The light enters the representative point P on the surface of the half mirror 6 at an incident angle θ1, and the reflected light at that point reaches the driver's eyes at a reflection angle θ1 (the law of reflection holds).

Light reflectance R (%) of this half mirror 6
is defined as 10%, for example. Therefore, the brightness L1' (cd/m2) of the virtual image 5' is approximately 0.1L1 with respect to the display brightness L1 (cd/m2) of the second sub-display 5.
becomes.

At this time, it is obvious that the position of the virtual image 5' is symmetrical with respect to the half mirror surface of the second sub-display 5. Therefore, in other words, the second sub-display device 5 is laid out at a symmetrical position with respect to the half mirror surface of the virtual image 5'.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the water temperature gauge is displayed when the water temperature display is requested, but at this time, the light transmittance T (%) of the half mirror 6 is specified as 5%, for example. If so, the display brightness L2 (cd/
m2), the brightness of the real image L2' (cd/m2)
is approximately 0.05L2 (cd/m2).

Then, the first sub-display 4 goes out, and the second
By lighting up the sub-display 5, the main display 2
, 3 remain unchanged, and both sub-display patterns are instantly switched.

According to this embodiment, the first sub-display 4 is arranged between the two main displays 2 and 3, but the second
The sub-display 4 may actually be omitted. That is, by constantly displaying the virtual image of the second sub-display 5 in the display dead area caused by placing two main displays adjacent to each other, other displays can be performed in areas that cannot be displayed on the main display. be able to. (See Figure 5)

[0017]

As described above, the present invention provides a plurality of main displays 2 and 3 capable of displaying graphics, and a display disposed near the display areas of the main displays 2 and 3 and different from these main displays. a first sub-indicator 4 of the system;
The display system is arranged at a different position from the first display system and generates a display image as a virtual image 5', and the position of the virtual image is approximately the same as the real image position of the first sub-display 4. Since this is a vehicle display device comprising a second display system disposed with a half mirror 6 that projects the virtual image 5' so as to reflect the virtual image 5', the display of the plurality of main displays 2 and 3 can be The symbols (designs) can be easily changed by changing or porting the software, so the displayed symbols can be changed according to the driver's preference. In addition, the driver operates the selection switch or monitors the signal status from the sensor over time and switches between multiple sub-displays when the temporal change is within an allowable range, making effective use of the invalid area of the instrument display. In addition, it is possible to perform display effects, and as a result, it is possible to reflect the driver's intention and provide a variety of display effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a conventional vehicle display device.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing another conventional display form.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a structural explanatory diagram of a sub-display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing another display state of the display device of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Instrument housing 2:
Main display 3: Main display
4: First sub-display 5: Second sub-display 6: Half mirror 7: Half mirror holder
8: Instrument panel hood 9: Instrument panel

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A plurality of main displays (2), (3) capable of displaying graphics;
) and has a first sub-display (4) that is arranged near the display area of the main display and has a different display method from these main displays.
The display system is arranged at a different position from the first display system and generates a display image as a virtual image (5'), and the position of the virtual image is the same as the real image of the first sub-display (4). A vehicular display device comprising: a second display system having a half mirror (6) for projecting the virtual image (5') at substantially the same position as the virtual image (5').