Display device and motor vehicle with a display device

Abstract

Display device (10) comprising a screen device (12) and a storage volume (14), wherein the screen device (12) is mounted displaceably through an opening (16) of the storage volume (14) along a predetermined displacement direction (18) between a storage position and at least one use position different from the storage position, out of an interior space (30) of the storage volume (14) and into the interior space (30) of the storage volume (14), wherein the display device (10) has a support element (36) which extends along the predetermined displacement direction (18) starting from the opening (16) away from the interior (30) of the stowage volume (14) and is designed to mechanically support the screen device (12) in a state pushed at least partially out of the stowage volume (14), wherein the screen device (12) has a first display area (42) with a first height and a first inherent rigidity and a second display area (44) adjoining the first display area (42) with a second height and a second inherent rigidity, wherein the screen device (12) is arranged curved in the stowage volume (14) at least in regions within the second display area (44), characterized by that the second inherent stiffness is reduced with respect to the first inherent stiffness.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a display device with a screen device for displaying display contents. The display device is particularly suitable for displaying the display contents in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the invention relates to a motor vehicle with a display device of the type described below.

[0002] In the course of technological development, and particularly in connection with the development of partially or fully autonomous motor vehicles, the trend is towards ever larger screens or screen devices in the passenger compartment, which are designed to provide a viewer with a wide variety of display content or information. This includes not only journey and / or vehicle-related information, such as current driving speed and / or route data (navigation data), but also entertainment options such as games and / or films. This means that the size of a screen or display does not always optimally match the respective display content. It can happen that information that could be shown on a relatively small area is shown on an unnecessarily large display or screen, which could otherwise adversely affect the viewer's view of the traffic situation.If a smaller screen is chosen to avoid this effect, it may be that movies, for example, cannot be displayed at the desired image size. Therefore, there is a need for display devices with variable-size screens.

[0003] DE 10 2014 006 338 A1 and DE 101 15 050 A1 each disclose display devices with size-variable screens for motor vehicles or other means of transport. The screens are each mounted so that they can be moved from a housing into a passenger compartment. Since the described screens are flexible or bendable, a mechanical support element arrangement must be provided to mechanically support the respective screen. The support element arrangements are carried or dragged along with the respective screen when it is moved. A disadvantage of the described display devices is that each support element arrangement has moving parts and is therefore susceptible to wear.

[0004] DE 10 2014 006 338 A1 was used to formulate the preamble of patent claim 1.

[0005] DE 10 2015 011 614 A1 also describes a display device with a flexible screen for a motor vehicle. A flexible display element is supported by a plate-shaped support element and can be moved into different positions by pivoting the support element. A housing within which the screen can be stored and thus protected from external influences is disadvantageously not provided.

[0006] DE 10 2015 005 365 A1 discloses a display device for a motor vehicle comprising a flexible display unit and an adjustment device configured to adjust the display unit from a stowed position to a use position. The adjustment device is configured to bend the display unit from the stowed position to the use position, wherein the display unit is an instrument cluster for a motor vehicle.

[0007] The invention is based on the object of providing a wear-resistant and robust display device with a size-adjustable screen for a motor vehicle.

[0008] The object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent patent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are described by the dependent patent claims, the following description, and the figures.

[0009] The invention provides a display device of the type described above. The display device comprises a screen device or a screen and a storage volume. The storage volume can be designed as a storage container or a housing, in particular a housing that is open at least in some areas and has at least one opening. The storage volume can have one or more open sides. The display device is mounted so that it can be moved through the opening of the storage volume along a predetermined displacement direction between a storage position and at least one use position different from the storage position, out of an interior of the storage volume and into the interior of the storage volume.

[0010] If the display device is used in a motor vehicle, it can preferably be provided that the display device is arranged in the region of a control panel or dashboard of a motor vehicle. The display device is preferably installed in the motor vehicle in such a way that the screen device can be moved from a storage position that is not or not fully visible to a respective occupant of the motor vehicle or observer into an at least partially visible use position in the passenger compartment.

[0011] The movable mounting of the display allows a specific display area to be provided as needed and adapted to the respective display content. This allows the size of a display area to be selected and adjusted as needed. For example, the size of the screen device can be selected and adjusted depending on the space required for a particular display content. In other words, the respective usage position of the screen device can be selected as needed and adapted to the respective display content.

[0012] The screen device preferably comprises a display for displaying display content. The display preferably has a continuous display surface. The display surface is preferably formed by or provided by a display layer for displaying pixel-based display content. Such a display layer can be, for example, an OLED layer (OLED - organic light emitting diode).

[0013] According to the invention, the display device has a support element which extends along the predetermined displacement direction, starting from the opening, away from the interior of the storage volume and is designed to mechanically support the screen device in a state in which it is at least partially pushed out of the storage volume. The support element is designed as a fixed support element, which can be realized, for example, as a support plate or a support arm or an arrangement of at least two support arms. The support element is attached to the opening of the storage volume. Starting from the opening or starting from an attachment position at the opening, the support element extends away from the interior of the storage volume or storage container.The support element can also be designed as a support wedge, with one end of the support wedge extending along the predetermined displacement direction, starting from the opening, away from the interior of the storage volume. In any case, the support element is designed to mechanically support the screen device in a state at least partially pushed out of the storage volume.

[0014] In contrast to known solutions, the support element is fixed or has a fixed height. In other words, the support element itself cannot change its shape. This advantageously reduces the susceptibility to wear of the entire display device.

[0015] According to the invention, the screen device has a first display area and a second display area adjoining the first display area. The first display area of the screen device has a first height and a first inherent rigidity. The second display area has a second height and a second inherent rigidity, wherein the second inherent rigidity is reduced with respect to the first inherent rigidity. The second inherent rigidity can be reduced by 30 to 70 percent compared to the first inherent rigidity. Preferably, the second inherent rigidity is 50 percent of the first inherent rigidity. In other words, the screen device is preferably half as inherently rigid in the area of the second display area as it is within the first display area.Preferably, the first inherent rigidity is selected such that the screen device is designed to be stable or dimensionally stable within the first display area, in particular without external mechanical support. In contrast, the second inherent rigidity is preferably selected such that the screen device is not stable in the area of the second display area. In other words, the screen device is designed to be bendable or flexible within the second display area. In other words, the screen device can be curved within the second display area upon application of an externally acting force, such as can be applied to the screen device by a touch operation by the viewer, for example.

[0016] According to the invention, the screen device is arranged curved in the storage volume, at least in some areas within the second display area. The described curvature of the screen device within the second display area results in the advantage that the screen device can be stowed in a particularly space-saving manner and curved or even rolled up in the storage volume or storage container.

[0017] The invention also includes embodiments which provide additional advantages.

[0018] One embodiment provides that the support element has at least one guide element, wherein the screen device is positively guided by means of the at least one guide element along the predetermined displacement direction in an extension of the support element. The guide element can be designed, for example, as a linear guide element. A linear guide element can be designed, for example, as a clamp that at least partially surrounds the screen device. Particularly preferably, the screen device has lateral elongated hole guides into which lateral legs of the described clamp engage. This advantageously ensures that the screen device does not tilt or jam during displacement along the predetermined displacement direction.This is particularly advantageous if the screen device is to be moved from the stowed position into a use position that extends beyond the support element or beyond the fixed height of the support element.

[0019] A further embodiment provides that the display device has a pivoting mechanism. The pivoting mechanism is designed to move the screen device between the stowed position and the at least one use position different from the stowed position, depending on a control signal. The control signal can, for example, be coupled to a display content. In other words, a control device, for example a control device of the motor vehicle, can be designed to generate the control signal depending on a size of the screen device required to display the respective display content and to transmit it to the display device.

[0020] The pivoting mechanism is preferably arranged in the interior of the storage volume and is designed to continuously slide the screen device from the storage position into at least one intermediate position depending on the control signal and to hold it there. The pivoting mechanism can, for example, have a central drive unit and a pivot arm. The pivot arm is preferably connected at a first end to the drive unit and a second end, arranged opposite the first end, to a base region of the screen device. An exemplary arrangement of the drive unit and pivot arm will be described in detail below.

[0021] The first inherent rigidity is preferably achieved by a materially and / or structurally stiffened carrier layer arranged on the screen device within the first display region. In other words, a stiffened carrier layer is attached to a rear side of the screen device within the first display region, opposite the display layer. The carrier layer can be formed, for example, from a hard plastic or aluminum or an aluminum alloy. It can also have structural elements or struts for structural stiffening. As described above, the display layer is preferably formed as a flexible OLED layer. Such an OLED layer is flexible or bendable.Within the first display region, the screen device preferably comprises a layered composite consisting of an OLED layer and a stiffened carrier layer, while within the second display region, the stiffened carrier layer is completely or partially missing and the screen device comprises only the flexible OLED layer. This makes it possible to provide a continuous display layer that nevertheless has different inherent stiffnesses in certain regions.

[0022] A particularly advantageous development provides that the fixed height of the support element corresponds at least to the first height of the first display area, wherein an upper edge of the first display area in the stowed position is flush with an upper edge of the support element. In other words, the support element is essentially the same height as the first display area in the stowed position. In the use position and / or the intermediate position, however, the first display area preferably protrudes at least partially beyond the upper edge of the support element, wherein the second display area, which is of a flexible design, is supported at least partially by the support element and thus advantageously withstands, for example, touch operation by a user.

[0023] The display device preferably comprises a screen device with a touch-sensitive sensor layer. In other words, the screen device is designed as a touch-sensitive display or as a touch display or a touchscreen. The described support element supports the screen device in such a way that touch operation of the screen device is enabled.

[0024] The invention also includes a motor vehicle with a display device of the type described. The motor vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as a motor vehicle, in particular as a passenger car or truck, or as a passenger bus or motorcycle. As described above, the display device is preferably arranged in the region of a control panel or dashboard of the motor vehicle. In particular, the display device can be arranged concealed beneath a control panel in such a way that the screen device is not visible or only partially visible to a vehicle occupant in the stowed position.

[0025] In the following, a method for displaying display contents by means of a display device is also described, wherein the display device comprises a screen device and a storage volume, wherein the screen device is mounted so as to be displaceable through an opening of the storage volume along a predetermined displacement direction between a storage position and at least one use position different from the storage position, out of an interior of the storage volume and into the interior of the storage volume.

[0026] In this method, a support element is provided which extends along the predetermined displacement direction starting from the opening away from the interior of the storage volume and mechanically supports the screen device in a state at least partially pushed out of the storage volume.

[0027] The invention also includes combinations of the features of the described embodiments.

[0028] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. Shown are: Fig. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a display device, wherein a screen device is in a possible stowed position; Fig. 2 a schematic cross-sectional view of the screen device and support element; Fig. 3 a schematic representation of a display device with a screen device at least partially pushed out of a storage volume; Fig. 4 a schematic representation of a section of a motor vehicle with a display device arranged in the motor vehicle; and Fig. 5 a schematic representation of a method for displaying display content.

[0029] The exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the described components of the embodiments each represent individual features of the invention that can be considered independently of one another, each of which also develops the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to encompass combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those shown. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention already described.

[0030] In the figures, the same reference symbols denote elements with the same function.

[0031] Fig. 1 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a display device 10. The display device 10 comprises a screen device 12 and a storage volume 14 configured as a storage container. The screen device 12 can be displaced or pushed back and forth between a storage position and a use position through an opening 16 of the storage volume 14 along a predetermined displacement direction 18. The display device 10 can have a pivoting mechanism 20 with a drive unit 22 and a pivot arm 24 mounted on the drive unit 22. The pivot arm 24 can be attached to one end of the screen device 12.

[0032] In order to move the screen device 12 along the displacement direction 18, a rotational force 23 can be transmitted from the drive unit 22 to the pivot arm 24 and thus to the end of the screen device 12. The rotational force 23 can be generated, for example, as a function of a control signal 26 transmitted from a control device 28 to the display device 10. The pivoting mechanism 20 is preferably arranged in an interior space 30 of the display device 10, in particular the storage volume 14, and can continuously push the screen device 12 out of the storage volume 14 and pull it into the storage volume 14 along the displacement direction 18 as a function of the control signal 26.

[0033] In addition, Fig. 1 a support element 36 which is attached to the opening 16 and extends away from the interior 30 of the storage volume 14.

[0034] Fig. 1 shows an example of an arrangement of the screen device 12 in a stowed position. The stowed position shown is characterized in that an upper edge 32 of the screen device 12 is flush with an upper edge 34 of the support element 36. For an eye 38 of a viewer or user, the support element 36 is in the Fig. 1 shown storage position is therefore not visible.

[0035] In the Fig. 1, a first display area 42 protrudes from the interior 30 of the storage volume 14, at least for the most part, while a second display area 44 is curved and stowed within the storage volume 14. In order to Fig. 1 within the second display area 44, the screen device 12 can be designed to be flexible or bendable within the second display area 44. Within the first display area 42, however, the screen device 12 is preferably equipped with increased inherent rigidity compared to the second display area 44. This increase in inherent rigidity can be achieved by attaching a carrier layer 46 to the rear. On a side of the screen device 12 facing away from the carrier layer 46 and facing the viewer's eye 38, a display layer 48 for displaying pixel-based display content is arranged on the screen device 12. The display layer 48 can extend over the entire length of the screen device, i.e., across the first and second display areas 42, 44. This ensures a continuous display of display content.

[0036] A slotted hole 50 can be integrated into the screen device 12 between the carrier layer 46 and the display layer 48. The slotted hole 50 can serve as an engagement point for a guide element 40.

[0037] In order to guide the screen device 12 when it is moved along the direction of displacement 18, a guide element 40 can be provided.

[0038] With reference to the information provided in connection with Fig. 1 designated and described components shows Fig. 2 a schematic cross-sectional view of the screen device 12 with a guide element 40 which is guided laterally in an elongated hole 50 of the screen device 12.

[0039] With reference to the information provided in connection with the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 designated and described components shows Fig. 3 shows an arrangement of the screen device 12 in a use position different from the stowed position. In the use position, the screen device 12 can be pushed out of the stowed volume 14 in such a way that the first display area 42 protrudes completely or at least almost completely beyond the support element 36. In other words, the first display area 42 protrudes in the Fig. 3, the second display area 44 extends at least partially beyond the upper edge 34 of the support element 36. Furthermore, the second display area 44 is supported at least partially by the support element 36. Thus, in the use position, an enlarged display area can be provided to the viewer's eye 38.

[0040] In the described stowed position, the viewer can, for example, select navigation software on a screen device 12 designed as a touchscreen. As a result of this selection, the control device 28 can send a corresponding control signal 26 to the display device 10. Thereupon, the drive unit 22 can exert a rotational force 23 on the pivot arm 24, and thus move the screen device 12 from the stowed position to the Fig. 3. A map display of the selected navigation software can then be advantageously enlarged.

[0041] Fig. 4 shows, with reference to the Fig. 1 to 3, an exemplary arrangement of the display device 10 in a motor vehicle 52. The display device 10 is shown in the Fig. 4 is integrated, for example, in a control panel 54 of the motor vehicle 52. In other words, a surface 56 of the control panel 54 forms part of the storage volume 14 or the storage container. The display device 12 can thus be displaced through an opening 16 within the surface 56 of the control panel 54.

[0042] Fig.5 shows a schematic representation of a method for displaying display content using a display device 10. In a first method step S1, a display device 10 with a screen device 12 and a storage volume 14 is provided, wherein the screen device 12 is mounted so as to be displaceable through an opening 16 of the storage volume 14 along a predetermined displacement direction 18 between a storage position and at least one use position different from the storage position, out of an interior space 30 of the storage volume 14 and into the interior space 30 of the storage volume 14. In a method step S2, a support element 36 is provided for the display device 10. The support element 36 extends along the predetermined displacement direction 18, starting from the opening 16, away from the interior space 30 of the storage volume 14.In a method step S3, the screen device is pushed out of the interior space 30 in response to a control signal 26. The support element 36 mechanically supports the screen device 12. Enlarged display content can now be displayed on the thus pushed-out screen device 12 in a method step S4.

[0043] In a preferred arrangement, a first rigid portion or a first display area of the described screen device is located outside a dashboard structure of a motor vehicle. A second portion or second display area is preferably designed to be flexible and can be extended by means of suitable kinematics or by means of a pivoting mechanism. The housing or the storage volume can be designed such that it has a support structure or a support element on the rear that is as high as the rigid portion in a non-extended state or in a stowed position. The support structure is then not visually perceptible to an observer. If the flexible portion or the second display area is extended, the entire unit or the entire screen device can be supported on the support structure of the housing in the case of touch operation.

[0044] Overall, the examples show how the invention can provide an arrangement for an extendable or displaceably mounted flexible or bendable display.

Claims

[1] Display device (10) comprising a screen device (12) and a storage volume (14), wherein the screen device (12) is mounted displaceably through an opening (16) of the storage volume (14) along a predetermined displacement direction (18) between a storage position and at least one use position different from the storage position out of an interior space (30) of the storage volume (14) and into the interior space (30) of the storage volume (14), wherein the display device (10) has a support element (36) which extends along the predetermined displacement direction (18) starting from the opening (16) away from the interior (30) of the stowage volume (14) and is designed to mechanically support the screen device (12) in a state pushed at least partially out of the stowage volume (14), wherein the screen device (12) has a first display area (42) with a first height and a first inherent rigidity and a second display area (44) adjoining the first display area (42) with a second height and a second inherent rigidity, wherein the screen device (12) is arranged curved in the stowage volume (14) at least in regions within the second display area (44), characterized by , that the second inherent stiffness is reduced with respect to the first inherent stiffness. [2] Display device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the support element (36) has at least one guide element (40), wherein the screen device (12) is positively guided by means of the at least one guide element (40) along the predetermined displacement direction (18) in an extension of the support element (36). [3] Display device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a pivoting mechanism (20), wherein the pivoting mechanism (20) is designed to move the screen device (12) between the stowed position and the at least one use position in response to a control signal (26). [4] Display device (10) according to claim 3, wherein the at least one pivoting mechanism (20) is arranged in the interior (30) of the stowage volume (14) and is designed to slide the screen device (12) from the stowage position continuously in dependence on the control signal (26) into at least one intermediate position and to hold it there. [5] Display device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first inherent rigidity is effected by a materially and / or structurally stiffened carrier layer (46) arranged on the screen device (12) within the first display area (42). [6] Display device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a height of the support element (36) corresponds at least to the first height of the first display area (42), wherein an upper edge (32) of the first display area (42) in the stowed position is flush with an upper edge (34) of the support element (36) and wherein in the use position and / or the intermediate position the first display area (42) projects at least partially beyond the upper edge (34) of the support element (36) and the second display area (44) is supported at least partially by the support element (36). [7] Display device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the screen device (12) has a touch-sensitive sensor layer. [8] Motor vehicle (52) with a display device (10) according to one of the preceding claims.

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