Reflection display system and vehicle with this

Abstract

A reflective display system (1) for displaying a display image for a vehicle occupant by reflecting the display image on a vehicle windscreen is described, comprising at least two displays (4 to 6) mounted on a support unit (8) with their rear sides (7). The support unit (8) is configured in a mounting area (9) for the displays (4 to 6) with at least one cooling line (10) carrying a fluid cooling medium.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a reflection display system for displaying a display image for a vehicle occupant and a vehicle with a reflection display system.

[0002] DE 10 2021 112 096 A1 discloses a method and a device for operating a windshield display system with masking detection, as well as a windshield display system. A display unit is configured to display a display image on the display surface. Furthermore, a detection sensor system is provided for detecting the displayed display image on the display surface. A control unit is configured to control the display unit for display. In addition, detection information can be determined depending on the detected displayed display image. Furthermore, the control unit determines the presence of a foreign object on the display surface of the display unit depending on the displayed display image and the detection information. Furthermore, the control unit signals a display fault if the presence of a foreign object on the display surface of the display unit is detected.

[0003] A display device and a head-up display for a motor vehicle are known from DE 10 2023 100 041 A1. The display device comprises a conveyor belt unit configured to move a conveyor belt in a linear motion along a longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the display device comprises a light element strip with a linear arrangement of light points. The light points are arranged along a transverse direction on the conveyor belt. Additionally, a control unit is provided, which is configured to control the light element strips such that the light points, in conjunction with the linear movement of the conveyor belt, display predetermined image information.The assembly line unit is intended to provide a large-area display device for a head-up display for a motor vehicle with low material expenditure, whereby only minimal expenditure is required for cooling the display device compared to conventional full-area displays.

[0004] Constant efforts are being made to provide vehicle occupants with the most accurate and easily legible information possible, particularly in the area of ​​a vehicle's windshield, via so-called head-up displays (HUDs) and panoramic HUDs (PHUDs). Therefore, PUHDs now extend across the entire width of a vehicle's front end and include large-format displays.

[0005] High-performance integration platforms and control units are required to display a wide variety of information on the windshield, depending on the situation and the external environment. Due to the high energy consumption in a small space, such integration platforms and control units, as well as the additional large-area displays, require effective cooling to ensure their long-term functionality.

[0006] Commercially available cooling concepts are expensive, complex to construct, and operate only at low levels of efficiency. This is because the displays, integration platforms, and control units are exposed to cooled air provided by the vehicle's cooling circuit. This approach increases a vehicle's energy consumption.

[0007] DE 10 2007 012 905 A1 discloses a vehicle with a supporting structure and a head-up display. The head-up display is thermally coupled to the supporting structure of the vehicle by at least one of its components.

[0008] A motor vehicle with a display system and an operating method are described in DE 10 2019 133 295 A1.

[0009] DE 103 17 705 A1 discloses a housing with cooling for electronic control units, in particular for motor vehicles.

[0010] Furthermore, DE 10 2005 036 299 A1 discloses a liquid-flow cooling system for dissipating waste heat from electronics housings.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a reflection display system and a vehicle with a reflection display system that can be manufactured cost-effectively and in a space-saving manner and in which the most efficient cooling of so-called PHUDs is possible.

[0012] According to the invention, this object is achieved with a reflection display system and with a vehicle having the features of patent claims 1 and 8, respectively.

[0013] The inventive reflective display system for displaying a display image for a vehicle occupant by reflecting the display image on a vehicle windshield, preferably on a windshield, comprises at least two displays, preferably at least three displays, which are mounted with their rear sides on a support unit. The support unit is designed with at least one line carrying a fluid cooling medium in a mounting area for the displays.

[0014] In the reflective display system according to the invention, the cooling of the displays is relocated from the display area to the support unit in a space-saving and cost-effective manner compared to previously known solutions. This is the case because the cooling line carrying the fluid coolant is integrated into the support unit, and operating heat generated in the display area is transferred by thermal conduction to the support unit and the cooling line formed therewith. Cooling the at least two displays of the reflective display system via the support unit can be implemented significantly more efficiently than previously known solutions that provide separate cooling for each individual display.

[0015] Furthermore, integrating the cooling system or cooling line into the carrier unit simplifies sealing and installation of the cooling system, as the number of interfaces to the vehicle's cooling system is reduced compared to previously known solutions. This is the case because the at least one cooling line can be connected to a vehicle's cooling system with only two connections instead of four if the reflective display system includes at least two displays. In prior art reflective display systems, each additional display increases the number of connections by two, resulting in additional connection effort.

[0016] In addition, the integration of the cooling system into the carrier unit makes replacing one or more defective displays significantly easier compared to conventional solutions.

[0017] In the installed position of the carrier unit, a first section of the cooling line runs from an inlet of the cooling line for the cooling medium, which is arranged in a first lateral region of the carrier unit, in the transverse direction of the vehicle towards an opposite second lateral region of the carrier unit. In addition, the first section is essentially followed by a second section of the cooling line, which runs from the second lateral region back towards the first lateral region. The second section of the cooling line has an outlet for the cooling medium in the first lateral region. This offers the possibility of using the same firewall opening in a vehicle body for the cooling medium inlet and for the cooling medium outlet, thereby achieving cost and complexity advantages.

[0018] The first section and the second section of the cooling line are connected to one another in the second lateral region via an intermediate section. Cooling medium can be guided through the intermediate section from the first section, which runs below the second section in the vertical direction of the vehicle when the carrier unit is in the installed position, towards the second cooling medium section. This enables the cooling medium to be guided in the second lateral region in the vertical direction of the vehicle from bottom to top and essentially through the preferably U-tubular intermediate section and then to be led out of the carrier unit again in the transverse direction of the vehicle on the same side as the inlet. This also achieves venting of the cooling line in a structurally simple manner during operation of the reflection display system.

[0019] In an embodiment of the reflection display system according to the invention which can be produced with little assembly effort, the at least one cooling line is designed integrally with the preferably plate-shaped carrier unit.

[0020] It is possible for the support unit to be designed as an extruded component, preferably made of aluminum. In this case, the cooling line can advantageously be manufactured during the production of the support unit.

[0021] Alternatively, it is also possible to design the cooling line as a separate, preferably flexible pipe that is inserted into a recess in the support unit and firmly connected to the support unit. The recess in the support unit can, for example, be designed as a milled recess in a side surface of the support unit.

[0022] After inserting the pipe, gaps between the recess and the cooling line can be filled with suitable material, such as adhesive, synthetic resin, and the like, to ensure the best possible heat transfer between the displays and the cooling medium in the cooling line. Furthermore, it is also possible to firmly connect a metal cooling line to the support unit, which is then at least partially made of metal, by soldering or welding.

[0023] If the support unit is designed to support operating loads acting in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle when installed in a vehicle, the stability of an instrument panel is improved in a simple manner compared to previously known embodiments of instrument panels.

[0024] A thermal contact element consisting of thermally conductive material whose thermal conductivity values ​​are in a range that preferably includes values ​​greater than 0.1 W / (mK) can be arranged between the rear sides of the displays and the mounting area of ​​the carrier unit.

[0025] Such a thermally conductive material can be a thermal pad, designed, for example, as an elastic silicone mat. The thermally conductive material can also be a thermal paste or a dispensable thermally conductive material. The thermally conductive material provides a simple way to prevent air gaps between the mounting area of ​​the carrier unit and the backs of the displays, thereby keeping thermal resistance between the backs of the displays and the mounting area of ​​the carrier unit as low as possible.

[0026] It is also possible to arrange several heat pipes in the assembly area between the line sections and the backs of the displays. The heat pipes run between the first and second line sections and each have an elongated metal vessel. The metal vessels can define hermetically sealed volumes. Each volume is filled to a small extent with a liquid and a larger part with a gaseous working medium. The heat pipes each represent heat exchangers that allow a high heat flux density by utilizing the vaporization enthalpy of the working medium. In this way, large amounts of heat can be transferred over a small cross-sectional area. The liquid working medium is transported to the evaporator, i.e. to the side of the heat pipe to which heat is supplied, passively and without any aids.

[0027] The heat pipes are used to equalize the temperature in the desired manner, essentially transverse to the flow direction of the cooling medium, and thus to achieve the most homogeneous cooling of the displays possible.

[0028] Furthermore, the invention relates to a vehicle with an instrument panel and with a reflection display system described in more detail above, which is arranged between a windscreen of the vehicle and a steering column.

[0029] Further features of the invention emerge from the claims, the figures, and the description of the figures. The above description of the features and feature combinations, as well as the features and feature combinations mentioned below in the description of the figures and / or shown alone in the figures, can be used not only in the respective specified combination, but also in other combinations or on their own.

[0030] The invention will now be explained in more detail using preferred embodiments and with reference to the drawing.

[0031] It shows: Fig. 1 a three-dimensional partial view of a front area of ​​a vehicle body and a reflective display system mounted in the vehicle body in a simplified representation; Fig. 2 a highly simplified sectional view of the reflection display system according to Fig. 1 in unique position; and Fig. 3 a three-dimensional individual view of another embodiment of a carrier unit of the reflection display system according to Fig. 1.

[0032] Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional partial view of a front area of ​​a vehicle body 1 and of a reflective display system 2 mounted in the vehicle body 1, which is part of an instrument panel. The instrument panel is designed as a pre-assembled module that is inserted into the vehicle body 1 during assembly of a vehicle. A display image for vehicle occupants can be generated via the reflective display system 2 and displayed by reflection on a vehicle window, preferably on a windshield. The reflective display system 2 comprises a so-called panoramic head-up display 3 (PHUD), which in the present case extends essentially across the entire vehicle width in the vehicle transverse direction Y and is designed with three displays 4 to 6. The displays 4 to 6 are in the Fig. 2, each mounted with its rear side 7 on a carrier unit 8.

[0033] The carrier unit 8 is designed in an assembly area 9 for the displays 4 to 6 with a cooling line 10 carrying a fluid cooling medium. Depending on the respective application, the cooling line 10 is either as shown in Fig. 3 integral with the plate-like support unit 8 or as in Fig. 2 shown inserted into recesses 11 of the carrier unit 8 and firmly connected to the carrier unit 8.

[0034] When designing the carrier unit 8 according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a first section 10A of the cooling line 10 runs in the installed position of the carrier unit 8 from an inlet 12 of the cooling line 10 for the cooling medium, which is arranged in a first lateral region 13 of the carrier unit 8, in the vehicle transverse direction Y in the direction of an opposite second lateral region 14 of the carrier unit 8. The first section 10A is followed by a second section 10B of the cooling line, which runs in the vehicle transverse direction Y from the second lateral region 14 back in the direction of the first lateral region 13 and has an outlet 15 for the cooling medium in the first lateral region 13. Due to the essentially straight courses of the sections 10A and 10B, only a slight flow resistance occurs in the cooling line 10.

[0035] The first section 10A and the second section 10B of the cooling line 10 are connected to one another in the second lateral region 14 via an intermediate section 10C. When the support unit 8 is in the installed position, cooling medium is guided through the intermediate section 10C from the first section 10A, which runs below the second section 10B in the vehicle's vertical direction Z, in the direction of the second section 10B. For this purpose, the support unit 8 forms an angle α with a vehicle horizontal plane XY in the vehicle's longitudinal direction X, so that an upper edge 8A of the support unit 8 is arranged above a lower edge 8B in the vehicle's vertical direction Z. As a result, air accumulation in the first section 10A of the cooling line 10 is flushed out in the direction of the second section 10B and the outlet 15 with little design effort.

[0036] Between the rear sides 7 of the displays 4 to 6 and the mounting area 9, thermal contact elements 16 are arranged, which consist of a thermally conductive material whose thermal conductivity, depending on the respective application, has values ​​in a range greater than 0.1 W / (mK).

[0037] In the assembly area 9, several flat heat pipes 17 are arranged between the sections 10A and 10B of the cooling line 10 and the rear sides 7 of the displays 4 to 6. The heat pipes 17 each run essentially in the vehicle's longitudinal direction X between the first section 10A of the cooling line 10 and the second section 10B of the cooling line 10 and are spaced apart from one another in the vehicle's transverse direction Y. The heat pipes 17 each comprise an elongated metal vessel 18, each of which defines a hermetically sealed volume. Each of these volumes is filled to a small extent with a liquid working medium and to a larger extent with a gaseous working medium. During operation of the reflection display system 2, the working medium is evaporated in areas of the reflection display system 2 that are remote from the sections 10A and 10B of the cooling line 10 and represent so-called remote areas of the cooling line 10.Thus, not only are temperature gradients in the transverse direction between the sections 10B to 10A of the cooling line 10 equalized via the heat pipes 17, but temperature gradients between areas of the reflection display system 2 remote from and close to the line are also homogenized.

[0038] The heat pipes 17 absorb heat or the evaporation enthalpy required for evaporation. In a known manner, the gaseous phase of the working medium flows toward the condensation region of the heat pipes 17, which is located above the first section 10A of the cooling line 10. There, the heat pipes 17 transfer thermal energy to the support unit 8, whereby the gaseous working medium, which can be water or the like, condenses. The condensed working medium then flows back through the heat pipes 17 toward the evaporator regions.

[0039] When designing the carrier unit 8 according to Fig. 3, the first section 10A of the cooling line 10 comprises a plurality of line sections 10A1 running side by side in the transverse direction of the support unit 8. In addition, the second section 10A of the cooling line 10 has a plurality of line sections 10B1 running side by side in the transverse direction of the support unit 8. The line sections 10A1 and 10B1 are separated from one another in the region of the first lateral region 13, with the line sections 10A1 connecting to the inlet 12 and the line sections 10B1 connecting to the outlet 14. The second lateral region 14 is formed with the intermediate section 10C and connects the line sections 10A1 and 10B1 to one another.

[0040] The reflective display system 2 described in more detail above also meets the general requirements for cooling concepts regarding robustness. Furthermore, the reflective display system 2 features a low component weight and does not cause any additional energy consumption of the vehicle equipped with it. Furthermore, the reflective display system 2 is geometrically easy to integrate into existing vehicle systems, is cost-effective to manufacture, and exhibits low systematic complexity. Furthermore, the increased cooling requirement resulting from the expansion of the display function can be met with minimal effort.

[0041] In addition, the waste heat dissipated by displays 4 to 6 can be used to regulate the temperature in other vehicle areas, depending on the operating state. Thus, the connection of reflective display system 2 to the vehicle's cooling system has a positive overall effect on the efficiency with which the entire vehicle operates.

[0042] Furthermore, the complexity is reduced by the modular design of the reflective display system 1. In the event of servicing, the displays 4 to 6 of the PHUD 3 can be easily replaced without additional measures in the area of ​​the cooling system of the carrier unit.

[0043] Furthermore, the reflection display system 2 also contributes to improving the acoustics in the interior of a vehicle equipped with the reflection display system 2, since air accumulation in the cooling system is reduced and the internal fans used in known PHUDs are no longer required. List of reference symbols 1 vehicle body 2 Reflection display system 3 Panoramic Head-Up Display 4 to 6 displays 7 Back of the display 8 carrier unit 8A Top edge of the carrier unit 8B Lower edge of the carrier unit 9 Mounting area of ​​the carrier unit 10 Cooling line 10A first section of the cooling line 10A1 Pipe sections of the first section of the cooling line 10B second section of the cooling line 10B1 Pipe sections of the second section of the cooling line 10C Intermediate section of the cooling line 11 Recess 12 Cooling line inlet 13 first lateral area of ​​the carrier unit 14 second lateral area of ​​the carrier unit 15 Cooling line outlet 16 thermal contact element 17 Heat pipe 18 vessels X Vehicle longitudinal direction Y vehicle transverse direction Z Vehicle vertical direction XY vehicle horizontal plane α angle

Claims

[1] Reflection display system (1) for displaying a display image for a vehicle occupant by reflecting the display image on a vehicle window, comprising at least two displays (4 to 6) which are mounted with their rear side (7) on a carrier unit (8), wherein the carrier unit (8) is designed in a mounting area (9) for the displays (4 to 6) with at least one cooling line (10) carrying a fluid cooling medium, wherein a first section (10A) of the cooling line (10) in the installed position of the carrier unit (8) runs from an inlet (12) of the cooling line (10) for the cooling medium, which is arranged in a first lateral region (13) of the carrier unit (8), in the vehicle transverse direction (Y) in the direction of an opposite second lateral region (14) of the carrier unit (8), wherein the first section (10A) is essentially followed by a second section (10B) of the cooling line (10), which runs from the second lateral region (14) in the direction of the first lateral region (13) and has an outlet (15) for the cooling medium in the first lateral region (13). and wherein the first section (10A) and the second section of the cooling line (10) are connected to one another in the second lateral region (14) via an intermediate section (10C) through which, in the installed position of the carrier unit (8), cooling medium can be guided from the first section (10A) running below the second section (10B) in the vehicle vertical direction (Z) in the direction of the second section (10B). [2] Reflection display system according to claim 1, characterized by that the at least one cooling line (10) is designed integrally with the preferably plate-like carrier unit (8). [3] Reflection display system according to claim 1, characterized bythat the cooling line (10) is inserted into recesses (11) of the carrier unit (8) and is firmly connected to the carrier unit (8). [4] Reflection display system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the support unit (8) is designed to support operating loads acting in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (X) when installed in a vehicle during operation. [5] Reflection display system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that a thermal contact element (16) is arranged between the rear sides (7) of the displays (4 to 6) and the mounting area (9), which thermal contact element consists of thermally conductive material whose thermal conductivity has values ​​in a range preferably greater than 0.1 W / (mK). [6] Reflection display system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized byin that a plurality of heat pipes (17) are arranged in the assembly area (9) between the sections (10A, 10B) of the cooling line (10) and the rear sides (7) of the displays (4 to 6), each of which is arranged to run between the first section (10A) of the cooling line (10) and the second section (10B) of the cooling line (10) and each of which has an elongated metal vessel (18) which defines hermetically encapsulated volumes, the volumes being filled to a small extent with liquid and to a larger extent with gaseous working medium. [7] Reflection display system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the carrier unit (8) is designed as a metal component, preferably as an aluminum component or the like. [8] Vehicle comprising: - an instrument panel between a windscreen of the vehicle and a steering column; - the reflection display system (2) according to one of claims 1 to 7.

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