Display device for vehicles

Abstract

To provide a display device for vehicles with which it is possible to suppress the display of an uncomfortable virtual image by avoiding reflection of light at an upper edge of a reflection mirror.SOLUTION: A display device 10 for vehicles comprises: a housing 11 having a wall part where an opening 15 for letting display light L of image pass through toward the outside is provided; and an image display device 20 accommodated in the housing 11 and outputting the display light L of image. The display device 10 for vehicles further includes a concave mirror 53 accommodated in the housing 11, for reflecting the display light L of image toward a windshield WS located ahead of a driver D. On an edge 69 at the top of the concave mirror 53 is disposed a bezel part 70 extending along the edge 69 to cover the edge 69.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle display device.

Background Art

[0002] Some vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with a vehicle display device also called a head-up display device (see Patent Document 1). The vehicle display device includes a display (image display device) that generates and outputs display light, a reflection mirror that reflects the display light emitted from the display toward a projection target (a reflector arranged in front of a vehicle occupant), and a housing that houses the display and the reflection mirror. This vehicle display device is configured to project a display image displayed by the display onto the aforementioned projection target (reflector) via a reflection mirror or the like, so that the driver can visually recognize it as a virtual image.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in a vehicle display device such as the above Patent Document 1, at least one reflection mirror (second mirror) is arranged in the housing at a position facing the windshield that constitutes the aforementioned projection target (reflector). For this reason, when external light including sunlight enters the housing of the vehicle display device through a window portion (opening), the external light hits the upper part of the reflection mirror and light is reflected at the upper edge of the reflection mirror, so that the reflected light can be displayed as an unpleasant virtual image on the windshield of the vehicle.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the problems of such conventional technologies. The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle display device capable of suppressing the display of unpleasant virtual images by avoiding the reflection of light at the upper edge of a reflection mirror.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A vehicle display device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a housing having a wall portion provided with an opening for allowing display light of an image to pass therethrough to the outside, an image display device housed in the housing for outputting the display light of the image, and a reflection mirror housed in the housing for reflecting the display light of the image toward a reflector disposed in front of a vehicle occupant, wherein a frame portion extending along and covering the upper edge of the reflection mirror is disposed at the upper edge of the reflection mirror.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle display device capable of suppressing the display of unpleasant virtual images by avoiding the reflection of light at the upper edge of a reflection mirror.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation and may be different from the actual ratios.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle display device 10 according to the present embodiment is a so-called head-up display device mounted on a vehicle 100 such as an automobile. The vehicle display device 10 is arranged inside the dashboard 101 together with the meter 103 and displays a virtual image S in front of the eye point EP of the vehicle 100. The eye point EP is a position predetermined as the viewpoint position of the driver (driver D) seated in the driver's seat.

[0011] The vehicle display device 10 is arranged inside the dashboard 101 of the vehicle 100. An upper surface opening 101a is provided on the upper surface of the dashboard 101. The vehicle display device 10 projects an image onto the windshield WS through this upper surface opening 101a. The windshield WS is a reflector located in front of the eye point EP in the vehicle 100. The windshield WS has, for example, semi-transparency and reflects the light incident from the vehicle display device 10 toward the eye point EP. The driver D recognizes the image reflected by the windshield WS as a virtual image S. By the driver D, the virtual image S is recognized as if it exists in front of the windshield WS.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle display device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a housing 11, a display (image display device 20), a control unit 30, a driving unit 40, and a reflection mirror 50.

[0013] The housing 11 is, for example, formed by molding a synthetic resin material into a box shape and has an internal space 13 inside. The housing 11 houses and holds the aforementioned image display device 20, control unit 30, drive unit 40, and reflection mirror 50 in the internal space 13. The housing 11 has an opening 15 that communicates between the outside of the housing 11 and the internal space 13. This opening 15 is provided at a position on the upper wall portion of the housing 11 that faces the windshield WS. Further, a cover 17 made of a translucent synthetic resin material (for example, acrylic resin) is provided on the upper wall portion of the housing 11 so as to close the opening 15. The vehicle display device 10 emits display light L of an image from the housing 11 toward the windshield WS through the opening 15. The display light L is light emitted (output) from the image display device 20 and reflected by the reflection mirror 50.

[0014] The control unit 30 is electrically connected to the image display device 20 and the drive unit 40 and controls their operations. This control unit 30 is composed of, for example, an IC chip or the like and is driven by electric power obtained from a battery in the vehicle 100. Further, the control unit 30 may be connected to an ECU (electronic control unit) in the vehicle 100 and perform signal transmission and reception with the ECU.

[0015] The drive unit 40 has, for example, a structure combining a motor and a gear, and changes (adjusts) the reflection angle of the display light L by a concave mirror 53 described later. This drive unit 40 is connected to the control unit 30 and is driven in response to a drive signal from the control unit 30. The drive unit 40 has, for example, a structure in which a gear (pinion) attached to the rotation shaft of the motor meshes with a plurality of teeth (rack) provided on the opposite side of the reflection surface 53a of the concave mirror 53. When the drive unit 40 receives a drive signal from the control unit 30, it rotates the rotation shaft of the motor. The power of the motor is transmitted to the concave mirror 53 by the meshing of the gear on the motor side and the teeth on the concave mirror 53 side, causing the concave mirror 53 to rotate, and the reflection angle of the display light L by the concave mirror 53 is changed (adjusted).

[0016] The reflection mirror 50 is disposed on the optical path of the display light L from the image display device 20 to the windshield WS, and reflects the display light L emitted from the image display device 20 toward the windshield WS. The reflection mirror 50 of the present embodiment is configured to include a plane mirror 51 and a concave mirror 53.

[0017] The plane mirror 51 has a reflecting surface formed by a plane, and is disposed at a position facing the image display device 20. This plane mirror 51 totally reflects the display light L emitted from the image display device 20 toward the concave mirror 53 by the reflecting surface. A reflective layer may be formed on the reflecting surface of the plane mirror 51 by vapor deposition or the like.

[0018] The concave mirror 53 has a reflecting surface 53a formed by a concave curved surface (or a convex curved surface), and is disposed at a position facing the opening 15 of the housing 11 and on the optical path between the opening 15 of the housing 11 and the plane mirror 51. This concave mirror 53 totally reflects the display light L reflected by the plane mirror 51 toward the windshield WS through the opening 15. A reflective layer may be formed on the reflecting surface 53a by vapor deposition or the like.

[0019] The concave mirror 53 of the present embodiment has a function as a magnifying mirror. That is, the concave mirror 53 magnifies and reflects the display image so that the display image represented by the display light L after being reflected by the concave mirror 53 is relatively larger than the display image represented by the display light L before being reflected by the concave mirror 53.

[0020] In addition, the concave mirror 53 of the present embodiment is rotatably supported by the drive unit 40, and it is possible to change (adjust) the reflection angle of the display light L and the external light OL including sunlight. By the way, the external light OL is sunlight incident into the housing 11 through the opening 15. In the present embodiment, the external light OL is condensed by being reflected by the concave mirror 53 functioning as a magnifying mirror, and then travels toward the image display device 20 through the plane mirror 51.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the concave mirror 53 of the present embodiment has a main body 60 formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a front view, and rotates about an axis 61 along the longitudinal direction (left - right direction) of the main body 60 as a rotation center. This main body 60 is integrally molded from, for example, a synthetic resin material. The main body 60 has a first side surface 60a and a second side surface 60b. These first side surface 60a and second side surface 60b are left - right side surfaces facing the longitudinal direction (left - right direction) of the main body 60. The first side surface 60a and the second side surface 60b face in opposite directions.

[0022] On the first side surface 60a, an input shaft 63 is formed to protrude. This input shaft 63 is a driven shaft that receives the output torque of the motor of the drive unit 40 and rotates. The input shaft 63 is formed in a cylindrical shape having, for example, a circular cross - sectional shape. Further, the input shaft 63 has an engagement protrusion 65 that protrudes from the first side surface 60a. This engagement protrusion 65 is provided to restrict the input shaft 63 from detaching from the motor side of the drive unit 40.

[0023] On the second side surface 60b, a supported shaft 67 is formed to protrude. This supported shaft 67 is arranged coaxially with the input shaft 63 and is rotatably supported by a bearing member (not shown). The supported shaft 67 is formed in a prism shape having, for example, a substantially rectangular cross - sectional shape.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, for the purpose of avoiding reflection of external light OL at the upper edge 69 of the concave mirror 53, a frame portion (bezel portion 70) that extends along the edge 69 and covers the edge 69 is arranged at the upper edge 69 of the concave mirror 53. This bezel portion 70 is integrally molded from, for example, a synthetic resin material and is attached (fixed) to the upper part of the concave mirror 53.

[0025] The bezel portion 70 includes a first bezel portion 71 extending along the longitudinal direction (left - right direction) of the concave mirror 53, and a pair of left - and - right second bezel portions 73, 73 extending from both ends in the left - right direction of the first bezel portion 71 and extending along the short - hand direction (up - down direction) of the concave mirror 53. Further, the first bezel portion 71 and the pair of left - and - right second bezel portions 73, 73 each have a reflecting - surface - side bezel portion 75 disposed in front of the reflecting surface 53a of the concave mirror 53 (on the side of the flat mirror 51). Since the bezel portion 70 can be disposed only at locations where external light OL hitting the concave mirror 53 and being reflected can have an impact, it is possible to suppress an increase in the weight and enlargement of the concave mirror 53. That is, the bezel portion 70 may be disposed around the entire circumference at the front - side edge portion of the concave mirror 53, but by limiting the bezel portion 70 to be disposed only at the upper portion of the concave mirror 53, an increase in the weight and enlargement of the concave mirror 53 can be suppressed as compared with the case of disposing it around the entire circumference.

[0026] Also, on the outer surface of the bezel portion 70, a reflection - suppression processing portion 77 subjected to reflection - suppression processing to suppress light from being reflected is formed. In the present embodiment, this reflection - suppression processing portion 77 is formed at a location that is not in contact with the concave mirror 53 in the bezel portion 70 and is visible in appearance. The reflection - suppression processing portion 77 may be formed on all outer surfaces including the outer surface in contact with the concave mirror 53, or may be formed at least on the upper surface 70a and the front surface 70b (see FIG. 7). As the above - mentioned reflection - suppression processing, for example, various processing such as embossing and painting, which have the effect of suppressing light reflection on the outer surface of the bezel portion 70, can be adopted. Note that the locations (reflection - suppression processing portions 77) subjected to reflection - suppression processing in FIGS. 3 to 6 are indicated by dot hatching.

[0027] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, on the inner side of the bezel portion 70 (the tip surface 75a of the reflection surface side bezel portion 75), in order to prevent external light OL from directly hitting the tip surface 75a, a shape angled with respect to the upper surface 70a of the concave mirror 53 is adopted. That is, the tip surface 75a of the reflection surface side bezel portion 75 is formed as an inclined surface that slopes upward as it goes from the front (plane mirror 51 side) to the rear (opposite side of the plane mirror 51 side) of the concave mirror 53. For this reason, within the driving range of changing the reflection angle of the concave mirror 53, it is possible to suppress the reflection of the external light OL on the inner side of the bezel portion 70 (the tip surface 75a of the reflection surface side bezel portion 75).

[0028] As described above, the vehicle display device 10 according to the aspect of the present embodiment includes a housing 11 having a wall portion provided with an opening 15 through which the display light L of the image passes outward, and an image display device 20 housed in the housing 11 and outputting the display light L of the image. The vehicle display device 10 includes a reflection mirror 50 (concave mirror 53) housed in the housing 11 and reflecting the display light L of the image toward a reflector (windshield WS) disposed in front of a vehicle occupant (driver D). Along the upper edge portion 69 of the reflection mirror 50 (concave mirror 53), a frame portion (bezel portion 70) extending along the edge portion 69 and covering the edge portion 69 is disposed.

[0029] By disposing the bezel portion 70 that covers the upper edge portion 69 of the concave mirror 53 on the upper part of the concave mirror 53 where external light OL including sunlight can hit, it becomes possible to avoid the reflection of the external light OL on the upper edge portion 69 of the concave mirror 53. That is, by disposing the bezel portion 70 on the upper edge portion 69 of the concave mirror 53, it is possible to suppress the display of an unpleasant virtual image S due to the reflection of the external light OL on the upper edge portion 69 of the concave mirror 53, and it is possible to ensure good display quality by the vehicle display device 10.

[0030] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a vehicle display device 10 that can suppress the display of an unpleasant virtual image S by avoiding the reflection of light (external light OL) on the upper edge portion 69 of the reflection mirror 50 (concave mirror 53).

[0031] In the vehicle display device 10, a reflection suppression processing portion 77 subjected to reflection suppression processing may be formed on the outer surface of the frame portion (bezel portion 70) in order to suppress reflection of light.

[0032] Since the reflection suppression processing portion 77 subjected to reflection suppression processing is formed on the outer surface of the bezel portion 70, such a bezel portion 70 can effectively suppress reflection of external light OL on the outer surface of the bezel portion 70.

[0033] In the vehicle display device 10, the reflection suppression processing portion 77 may be subjected to embossing or painting as the reflection suppression processing.

[0034] Since the reflection suppression processing portion 77 subjected to embossing or painting as the reflection suppression processing is formed on the outer surface of the bezel portion 70, such a bezel portion 70 can effectively suppress reflection of external light OL on the outer surface of the bezel portion 70.

[0035] As described above, although the present embodiment has been described, the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0036] 10 Vehicle display device 11 Housing 15 Opening 20 Image display device 50 Reflective mirror 53 Concave mirror 69 Edge 70 Bezel portion 77 Reflection suppression processing portion 100 Vehicle D Driver L Display light WS Windshield

Claims

1. A housing having a wall portion provided with an opening through which display light of an image passes outward; An image display device housed in the housing and outputting display light of an image; A reflection mirror housed in the housing and reflecting display light of an image toward a reflector disposed in front of a vehicle occupant, comprising: At an upper edge portion of the reflection mirror, a frame portion extending along the edge portion and covering the edge portion is disposed. A vehicle display device.

2. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein a reflection suppression processed portion subjected to reflection suppression processing for suppressing reflection of light is formed on an outer surface of the frame portion.

3. The vehicle display device according to claim 2, wherein the reflection suppression processed portion is subjected to embossing or painting as the reflection suppression processing.

Images