Vehicle window with display device

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle window (10, 20, 30) of a vehicle, which has a display device (110, 120, 130) which is designed to consume energy only when information displayed on the display device (110, 120, 130) is changed, wherein the display device has at least a first operating mode in which the display device is transparent to visible light which falls onto the display device from an inner side of the vehicle window, which faces a vehicle interior.

Description

Technical FieldThe present invention relates to a vehicle window, to a system having a vehicle window and a control unit, and to a motor vehicle having a vehicle window or a system.BackgroundAdvertising banners are known in the vehicle sector, which are used in particular in public vehicles, wherein these advertising banners are usually printed firmly on the outer shell of the vehicle or are printed posters which are applied to the vehicles. It is also known to provide vehicle windows with films which carry information which can be detected from the outside, this film usually blocking the view into the interior of the vehicle.All these information displays on vehicles have the disadvantage that they are usually of permanent design and the content shown cannot be changed or can be changed only with very great effort. Furthermore, display devices such as OLED displays are known, but owing to the energy consumption, such displays can be used only in very small application cases in vehicles.The object of the present invention is to improve the display options of information in vehicles without this having a greater effect on the energy consumed thereby.SummaryThis object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are described in the dependent claims.According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle window of a vehicle, including a display device configured to consume power only when information displayed on the display device is changed. The display device has a first operating mode in which the display device is transparent to visible light which falls onto the display device from an inner side of the vehicle window which faces a vehicle interior.The vehicle window formed in this way makes it possible to form all only conceivable windows, including the windshield or front windshield of a vehicle, as described. The first operating mode ensures that the vehicle window is transparent to persons viewing the vehicle window from an inner side. Furthermore, the special design of the display device opens up the possibility of displaying information even when the vehicle is parked without the engine running, since no additional energy is consumed by displaying the information. A parked vehicle can thus display information and possibly also vary, without there being the risk that the energy consumption by the display weakens the battery or other energy sources of the vehicle too much. In addition, the time required to change the displayed information is greatly reduced compared to permanently installed display systems.One possible display device is a bistable LCD display device. These display devices only require energy in generating the desired information. If the information is present on the display device, no further energy is required for displaying the information, only if the displayed information is changed additional energy is necessary. Of course, other display techniques can be used in which this feature is fulfilled, namely that no energy is consumed with the information displayed on the display unchanged.The display device may further cover substantially an entire area of the vehicle window visible after being installed in a vehicle. It thus also differs, for example, from so-called head-up displays, which can also display information on a vehicle window. Firstly, however, these head-up displays are not display devices which only consume energy when the displayed information changes, and secondly, in the case of a head-up display, the displayed information is usually only a small part of the pane, namely the region in the direct field of view of the driver.The displayed information can be designed such that it is visible in particular on the outer side of the vehicle window. This means that it is visible to someone who views the vehicle window from the outside, for example when installed in a vehicle. In the case of head-up displays, the information displayed is usually only recognizable from the inside, i.e. on the inside of the vehicle window.The display device may have an interface which is designed for the input of the information displayed on the display device. This allows a user to provide or enter any desired information to be displayed on the vehicle window.The display device is preferably likewise transparent in the first operating mode to visible light which falls onto the display device from an outer side of the vehicle window. This means that, when installed in a vehicle in the first operating mode, the pane is substantially completely transparent for a view from the outside and for a view from the inside when installed in a vehicle.Furthermore, a system is provided having at least one vehicle window as described above, wherein a control unit is additionally provided which is designed to control the information displayed on the display device.The control unit of the system can determine a first operating state of the vehicle into which the vehicle window is installed, wherein the information represented is controlled as a function of the operating state. If, for example, it is detected that the vehicle is in motion and is not stationary, the vehicle window is operated in the first operating mode, where it is transparent for a view from the outside to the inside and from the inside to the outside.Furthermore, the control unit may be configured to detect a parking mode of the vehicle in which the vehicle is not ready for operation (or driving) and the vehicle is not moving. Upon detection of this parking mode, the control unit may switch the vehicle window into a parking operating mode in which display of the information on the control device is activated. This may mean that the vehicle is parked for longer and may be completed without occupants in the vehicle or that the vehicle is not moving and the propulsion is only switched to park while occupants are in the vehicle.The system may also include a plurality of vehicle windows as described above, and the controller may control the various display devices in different modes of operation. For example, a first display device of the plurality of display devices may be operated in the first operating mode in which the display device is transparent to visible light and does not display information, and a second display device of the plurality of display devices is operated in a second operating mode in which the display device displays information and is at least partially opaque. Opaque may mean that a view from the outside of the vehicle window through the vehicle window is substantially not possible.The system may further comprise a wireless connection unit for wireless communication with a communication unit, wherein the wireless connection unit is configured to receive control data, with the aid of which the information displayed on the display device is determined.The control unit may be configured to receive physiological data from a user of the system, wherein the displayed information is determined depending on the physiological data. Here, for example, information can be changed on the display device depending on the mood of the user or depending on other parameters such as blood pressure, heart beat etc., or the displayed information is selected depending on the detected physiological parameter.The control unit can be designed to check whether there is authorisation with which the display of information on the display device is made possible. If this authorisation is not present, the vehicle window is operated in the first operating mode, in which the display device is displayed transparently and no information is displayed. When it is detected that there is an authority, the desired information is displayed. This authorisation may depend, for example, on whether a user authenticates himself or has acquired authorisation to use the display device for displaying information for the use of the system against payment.Furthermore, the control unit can have a speech recognition module which recognizes a speech input, wherein the control unit generates the displayed information on the basis of the recognized speech inputBrief Description of the DrawingsThe features described above and the features described below can be used not only in the combinations correspondingly explicitly illustrated, but also in other combinations or individually.The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the architecture of a system having at least one vehicle window on which information can be displayed without energy consumption. FIG. 2 shows, by way of example, a motor vehicle having a system from FIG. 1, wherein all vehicle windows are designed as display devices and display information. FIG. 3 illustrates another application of the system of FIG. 1, wherein the windshield of the vehicle is operated in a transparent mode of operation while other vehicle windows represent information. FIG. 4 shows schematically the disconnection of the system from FIG. 1 in the case of a bus, wherein, in addition to the panes, the vehicle body is provided with such display devices. FIG. 5 schematically shows a vehicle window with the display device.Detailed DescriptionThe present invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. In the figures, like reference numerals designate like or similar elements. Furthermore, the figures represent schematic representations of various embodiments of the invention, wherein the elements represented in the figures are not necessarily depicted to scale. Rather, the elements shown in the figures are reproduced in such a way that the function and its purpose will be understood by the person skilled in the art. The connections between functional units or otherwise depicted elements depicted in the figures can be implemented as a direct or indirect connection, wherein a connection can be wireless or wired. Functional units may be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.FIG. 1 schematically shows a system 100 having a control unit 150 and various vehicle windows 10, 20, 30, which each have display devices 110, 120 and 130, which can be designed, for example, as bistable LCD displays. The display devices 110, 120, and 130 are configured to consume power only when information such as an image or others displayed on the display device is changed. While maintaining the displayed information, no additional power is required for the display, it is only required for changing the displayed information. Each of the display devices has an interface 111, 121, 131 via which the respective display device can be supplied with power and via which the information to be displayed is received from the display device by the control unit 150. Furthermore, a wireless connection unit 160 is provided, via which the system 100 can communicate with the outside world 170. The communication can take place via WLAN, Bluetooth or a mobile radio network or other transmission techniques. Furthermore, a storage unit 180 is provided in which the information to be displayed on the display units 110- 130 can be stored. The data stored in the storage unit 180 may be stored in the form of images. Furthermore, an input unit 190, for example a so-called HMI, human machine interface, can be present, via which a user 200 can control the system 100.The display devices 110, 120, and 130 may be operated in an operating mode in which the display devices are substantially transparent to visible light, which may be the case when viewed from both sides of the display device. The display devices 110, 120, and 130 are used in or are integrated with existing vehicle windows 10, 20, 30 so as to substantially correspond in shape and size to the visible area of the vehicle window visible from the inside or the outside after installation in a vehicle. This is exemplarily shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, where a motor vehicle has three display devices 110- 130, which are part of or attached to the vehicle windows, on the inside or outside of the vehicle window.FIG. 5 shows one of the vehicle windows 10 in the non-installed state with the display device 110, wherein the size of the display device is approximately such that, when the vehicle window 10 is installed in a motor vehicle, only the region covered by the display device is visible. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, all the display devices operate in a further operating mode in which information is displayed on the display device. In this case, the display device can be designed to be transparent to a viewer from the outside, or the displayed information is such that a view into the vehicle interior is no longer possible. The displayed information may be any desired information. Referring also to FIG. 3, the vehicle 300 of FIG. 2 is shown in another operating mode of the system of FIG. 1, wherein the display device 110 configured as a front windshield operates in the transparent operating mode, while the side windows of the vehicle operate the display devices 120, 130 in the non-transparent operating mode. The display devices can be designed, for example, in such a way that they prevent sunlight or other light from entering the vehicle and thus assume the function of shielding for the sunlight in order to prevent sunlight entering the vehicle and thus heating up the vehicle. This may be the case when the vehicle is stationary and inoperative as shown in FIG. 2, but may be true only of the side windows of the motor vehicle while the display device 110 is operating in a transparent mode of operation to enable the vehicle to be operated.The display devices 110- 130 may be used to display various types of information on the vehicle. It can be used as an advertising banner, as contact information for outsiders, if the vehicle temporarily blocks other vehicles, as a parking meter for displaying an arrival time in a parking lot. Further, various text messages or the like may be mounted on the display devices for the outside world. The display devices may be used for any communication with the outside world, whether pedestrians or other vehicles.Referring to FIG. 4, it shows a public transportation means 400 in which not only the pane surfaces 401- 403 are formed as display devices, but also such display devices are provided on the body 409. The vehicle 400 may include display devices 410-450 that form the window areas of the vehicle similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, but yet another display device 460 is provided on the body 409 that is configured like the other display devices so prescribed and that may be used to display information directly on the body of the vehicle.For this purpose, elastic or flexible bistable LCD display devices can be used which can adapt their shape to the shape of a surface of a vehicle.Here, the control unit 150 shown in FIG. 1 may take control of the display devices on the various display devices such as the display devices 110- 130 or 410- 460. For example, it is possible that, for the use of the display devices, authorisation is necessary which can be purchased, for example, in order to use the display device for a specific period of time.When creating the information shown, artificial neural networks can also be used to create the information shown. Furthermore, it is possible for the control unit 150 to obtain sensor data from the interior of the vehicle or from the outside of the vehicle via the connection unit 160. This sensor data can contain, for example, information about the physiological state of vehicle occupants. Further, the control unit may determine the information content on the display devices via the connection unit 160 or directly via the audio file played in the vehicle and set the information content on the display devices depending on the played audio file. Furthermore, a voice input can be provided, via which a user controls the information to be displayed via a voice input. The image data or other data required for the representative information may be provided on the storage unit 180, but may be obtained via the network 170.The control unit may be further configured to check whether or not the desired content is suitable for displaying information to the public. If the content violates laws that apply at the respective location of the vehicle, the presentation of this information is prevented.In summary, a vehicle window is provided in the present case which has a display device which only consumes energy when the information displayed on the display device is changed.The display device may be a bistable LCD display device.The display device may cover substantially an entire area of a vehicle window visible after being installed in the vehicle. This is illustrated, inter alia, in FIGS. 2-4.In the first operating mode, the display device can be transparent not only to visible light which falls from the inside of the vehicle window onto the vehicle window, but also which falls from an outside onto the vehicle window.A system 100 is also provided, having a vehicle window such as vehicle windows 110- 130 or 410- 460 and a control unit 150.The control unit 150 may be configured to determine the operating state of a vehicle in which the vehicle window is installed, wherein the displayed information is controlled depending on the operating state. Here, for example, the control unit may activate a parking mode of the vehicle, wherein in this parking mode the vehicle is not ready for operation (or driving) and the vehicle is stationary, wherein upon detection of the parking mode the control unit 150 switches the vehicle window in a parking operating mode in which the display of information on the display device is activated. The system 100 may include a plurality of vehicle windows 110, 120, 130 operating in different modes of operation as seen in FIG. 3. A first display device 110 may be operated in a first mode of operation in which the display device is substantially transparent to visible light with no information displayed, and a second possible display device, such as the displays 120, 130, may be operated in another second mode of operation in which the display device displays information and thereby at least partially weakens the light transmission.The system 100 may include a wireless interface or connection unit 160 for wireless communication with entities external to the system. This wireless connection unit 160 can be configured to receive control data, with the aid of which the information displayed on the display device is determined. Thus, for example, the control data can be transmitted via the wireless connection unit via mobile radio networks, the Internet, WLAN or Bluetooth, which control the information which is to be displayed on the display device or devices.The controller 150 as a whole may receive physiological data from a user of the system and set the displayed information depending on the physiological data.Further, the control unit 150 may check whether or not there is a right with which the display of the information on the display device is enabled, and when the right is not present, the vehicle window is not used for the display of information and is operated in the first operation mode in which it is substantially transparent to the visible light.The control unit can have a speech recognition module (not shown) which recognizes a speech input of the user 200, wherein the control unit then generates the displayed information on the basis of the recognized speech unit. The user can thus control the content to be displayed via the speech recognition module.Furthermore, a motor vehicle having an above-described vehicle window or the above-described system is provided.

Claims

A vehicle window (10, 20, 30) of a vehicle, comprising a display device (110, 120, 130) configured to consume power only when information displayed on the display device (110, 120, 130) is changed, the display device having at least a first operation mode in which the display device is transparent to visible light incident on the display device from an inner side of the vehicle window facing a vehicle interior.The vehicle window (10, 20, 30) of claim 1, wherein the display device is a bistable LCD display device.The vehicle window according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display device covers substantially an entire area of the vehicle window visible after being installed in the vehicle.Vehicle window pane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the display device has an interface (111) which is designed to receive the information displayed on the display device.Vehicle window according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the display device in the first operating mode is transparent to visible light which falls onto the display device from an outer side of the vehicle window.System (100) comprising - at least one vehicle window (10, 20, 30) according to one of the preceding claims, - a control unit (150) which is designed to control the information displayed on the display device.The system (100) according to claim 6, wherein the control unit (150) is configured to determine an operating state of a vehicle in which the vehicle window is installed and to control the displayed information depending on the operating state.The system (100) according to claim 7, wherein the control unit (150) is configured to detect a parking mode of the vehicle in which the vehicle is not ready to drive and the vehicle is stationary, wherein upon detection of the parking mode the control unit switches the vehicle window into a parking operating mode in which a display of the information on the display device is activated.The system (100) according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein a plurality of vehicle windows according to any one of claims 1 to 5 are provided, wherein the control unit is configured to operate a first display device of the plurality of display devices in a first operating mode in which the display device is substantially transparent to visible light and no information is displayed, and to operate a second display device of the plurality of display devices in a second operating mode in which the display device displays the information and is at least partially opaque.The system (100) according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the system comprises a wireless connection unit (160) for wireless communication to the outside of the system, wherein the wireless connection unit is configured to receive control data by means of which the information displayed on the display device is determined.The system according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the control unit is configured to receive physiological data from a user of the system and to determine the displayed information depending on the physiological data.The system according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein the control unit is configured to check whether there is an authorisation with which the display of the information on the display device is enabled, wherein if there is no authorisation, the control unit operates the vehicle window in the first operating mode in which the display device is transparent to visible light.The system according to any one of claims 6 to 12, wherein the control unit comprises a speech recognition module that recognizes a speech input, wherein the control unit generates the displayed information based on the recognized speech input.Motor vehicle having a vehicle window according to one of Claims 1 to 5.Motor vehicle having a system according to one of Claims 6 to 13.

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