Display device

Abstract

To provide a display device capable of inhibiting heat expansion of a reflection part.SOLUTION: A display device 100 includes a reflection part 2, a holder 3, and a cooling device 5. The reflection part 2 reflects light (display light L) indicating an image on a front surface (a reflection surface 20) toward a user U in a vehicle. The holder 3 has: a support part 30 which supports the reflection part 2 while covering a back surface of the reflection part 2; and a heat sink 31 including a heat radiation fin 31a provided on the back surface side of the support part 30. The cooling device 5 cools the heat sink 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a display device.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a display device that includes a combiner (reflection unit) provided on the user side of a vehicle's windshield. The display device reflects display light representing an image by the combiner, allowing the user to visually recognize the image.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the display device described in Patent Document 1, the reflection unit may thermally expand due to sunlight transmitted through the windshield, resulting in distortion in the display image (the image visually recognized by the user).

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present disclosure aims to provide a display device capable of suppressing thermal expansion of the reflection unit.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, the display device according to the present disclosure includes: a reflection unit that reflects light representing an image toward a user in a vehicle on the front surface; a holder having a heat sink that supports the reflection unit while covering the back surface of the reflection unit, and heat radiation fins provided on the back side of the heat sink; a cooling device that cools the heat sink.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the thermal expansion of the reflecting portion can be suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] The display device 100 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle (automobile). As shown in FIG. 1, the display device 100 includes a display unit 1, a reflecting portion 2, a holder 3, an upper bezel 4, a cooling device 5, a ceramic forming portion 6, an imaging unit 7, and a control unit 8.

[0011] Hereinafter, for the display device 100, the side of the user U (mainly the driver of the vehicle) in the vehicle is defined as the front of the display device 100 (indicated as "Df" in FIG. 1), and the opposite direction is defined as the rear of the display device 100 (indicated as "Db" in FIG.  1). Further, the rear surface of a predetermined configuration provided in the display device 100 is also referred to as the "rear surface".

[0012] Note that the front of the display device 100 corresponds to the rear Ab of the vehicle, and the rear of the display device 100 corresponds to the front Af of the vehicle. In addition, the vertical direction used in the following description follows the vertical direction of the vehicle and corresponds to the vertical direction in FIG. 1. Further, the imaging unit 7 and the control unit 8 in FIG. 1 are schematically shown as functional blocks, and their positional relationships are arbitrary.

[0013] The display unit 1 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, etc., and is provided inside the dashboard of the vehicle (including the instrument panel). The display unit 1 emits light representing the image (hereinafter referred to as display light L) toward the reflecting portion 2 by displaying the image.

[0014] The reflecting portion 2 has a reflecting surface 20 on its front surface, and reflects the display light L toward the user U in the vehicle at the reflecting surface 20. The reflecting portion 2 and the holder 3 holding the reflecting portion 2 are provided at the upper part of the dashboard in such a manner that at least the reflecting surface 20 is exposed from the dashboard. For example, the reflecting portion 2 is configured by forming a mirror-like reflecting surface 20 on a plate-like member molded from resin by aluminum evaporation or the like. The reflecting surface 20 may be a flat surface or at least a part thereof may be a curved surface.

[0015] The display light L reflected by the reflecting surface 20 travels toward the user U side. The user U can visually recognize a virtual image of the image represented by the display light L in the glove box E. The image shows, for example, various information about the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as vehicle information). The vehicle information may include not only information about the vehicle itself but also external information of the vehicle such as information around the vehicle. Here, the glove box E is set as a range in which the user U can visually recognize the image by the display light L reflected by the reflecting portion 2. The glove box E is optically determined by the region where the image is displayed in the display unit 1, the relative positional relationship of the reflecting portion 2, and the shape of the reflecting surface 20.

[0016] In the dashboard, it is arbitrary how long the reflecting portion 20 and the corresponding display unit 1 are provided in the vehicle left-right direction. For example, the reflecting portion 20 and the corresponding display unit 1 may be a device in a pillar-to-pillar mode provided across substantially the entire width of the dashboard. Further, the display unit 1 may be composed of a single display or may be composed of a plurality of displays arranged in the left-right direction.

[0017] The holder 3 is configured to hold the reflecting portion 2 and is formed of metal or resin. The holder 3 may be formed by two-color molding. The holder 3 has a support portion 30 that supports the reflecting portion 2 and a heat sink 31 formed integrally with the support portion 30.

[0018] The support portion 30 receives the lower end of the reflecting portion 2 and covers the back surface of the reflecting portion 2. The support portion 30 has a cavity portion 30a on the back side of the reflecting portion 2 and is formed in a hollow structure. By means of this cavity portion 30a, the heat conductivity from the support portion 30 to the reflecting portion 2 is reduced, and thus the thermal expansion of the reflecting portion 2 can be suppressed.

[0019] The heat sink 31 is configured to include heat radiation fins 31a provided on the back side of the support portion 30. The heat radiation fins 31a are formed in a flat plate shape extending from the support portion 30 toward the front glass 9 of the vehicle. For example, the heat radiation fins 31a are substantially triangular in shape when viewed from the side of the holder 3. Note that the shape of the heat radiation fins 31a is arbitrary as long as it is fin-shaped. A plurality of the heat radiation fins 31a are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction (the depth direction of the paper surface in FIG. 1) of the vehicle and are configured in a comb shape.

[0020] The holder 3 is subjected to low-reflection processing by known methods such as matte black painting and embossing. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the image on the back side of the holder 3 from being prominently reflected on the front glass 9. From this viewpoint, the low-reflection processing may be applied to at least the back surface of the holder 3.

[0021] The upper bezel 4 is configured to fix the reflecting portion 2 to the holder 3 (support portion 30) and is formed of resin or metal. The upper bezel 4 is provided so as to cover the upper portion of the reflecting portion 2 and is fixed to the holder 3 by fixing means (not shown) such as hooks and screws. The upper bezel 4 is substantially L-shaped in cross section and covers the upper end surfaces of the reflecting portion 2 and the holder 3 (support portion 30) and the upper portion of the back surface of the holder 3 (support portion 30).

[0022] Note that the upper bezel 4 may be made of a color that is not easily noticeable, such as black, in order to make it difficult to trouble the user U when the user U views the outside world (including not only the color of the material itself but also the fact that it is painted). Also, among the upper bezel 4, the portion covering the upper end surfaces of the reflection part 2 and the holder 3 may be formed in a thin shape like a knife edge. Further, the upper bezel 4 may be a part of a bezel (not shown) that surrounds the edge of the reflection part 2 in a frame-like manner.

[0023] The cooling device 5 is configured to cool the heat sink 31. For example, it is composed of an air-cooling fan that air-cools the heat-radiating fins 31a of the heat sink 31 from below. Note that the cooling device 5 only needs to be able to cool the heat sink 31, and may be configured to cool parts other than the heat-radiating fins 31a. Also, the cooling device 5 may be water-cooled or use a heat pipe. Further, the cooling device 5 is not limited to being provided exclusively for cooling the heat sink 31. For example, the cooling device 5 may air-cool the heat sink 31 as one function of an HVAC (Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning) module mounted on a vehicle. The control of the operation of the cooling device 5 may be performed by the control unit 8 or by an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) (not shown) mounted on the vehicle.

[0024] As described above, due to the cooling device 5 that cools the heat sink 31, even in an environment where the interior of the vehicle is illuminated by sunlight S through the windshield 9, the heat of the reflection part 2 and the holder 3 can be dissipated from the heat sink 31, so that the thermal expansion of the reflection part 2 can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of distortion in the display image (the image viewed by the user U).

[0025] The ceramic forming portion 6 constitutes a part of the light-shielding portion provided along the outer edge of the front glass 9. This light-shielding portion is a part where black ceramic is formed by baking paint, and is generally called the black ceramic portion. The ceramic forming portion 6 is a part of the light-shielding portion provided in the lower end region of the front glass 9. Note that the light-shielding portion including the ceramic forming portion 6 may be provided on the inner surface (the surface facing the user U2) of the front glass 9, or may be provided on the outer surface of the front glass 9. Further, when the front glass 9 is composed of a plurality of laminated glasses, the light-shielding portion may be provided inside the front glass 9. The formation range of the ceramic forming portion 6 will be described later.

[0026] The imaging unit 7 is composed of one or a plurality of cameras provided in the vehicle, and images the external scenery of the vehicle. The imaging unit 7 images at least one of the external scenery in the left-right direction, rear, and front of the vehicle, and supplies the data of the captured image to the control unit 8. In this document, supplying, acquiring, and generating the data of a predetermined image may sometimes be simply expressed as supplying, acquiring, and generating an image.

[0027] The control unit 8 controls the display operation of the display unit 1. The control unit 8 is composed of, for example, a microcontroller, and includes a processor including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory including a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). Various data such as an operation program (including a program for executing the specific image generation process described later) that defines the processing procedure of the CPU are stored in the memory. The control unit 8 communicates with each device such as the imaging unit 7 and the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle, and acquires various information related to the vehicle. The control unit 8 generates an image to be displayed on the display unit 1 based on the acquired various information and the image data for drawing stored in the memory. The control unit 8 is mounted on, for example, a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) disposed in the dashboard. Further, the control unit 8 includes, as functional units, an image acquisition unit 81 and an image processing unit 82 described later.

[0028] (Forming range of the ceramic forming part 6) The ceramic forming part 6 is formed at least at a position facing the heat sink 31. As a result, since the sunlight S can be blocked at the portion of the front glass 9 facing the heat sink 31, it is possible to suppress the sunlight S that passes through the front glass 9 and illuminates the interior of the vehicle from illuminating the heat sink 31. As a result, the thermal expansion of the reflecting part 2 can be suppressed better.

[0029] Here, as shown in FIG. 1, a straight line passing through a specific point P described later and the upper end of the upper bezel 4 is defined as a first virtual line V1, and a straight line parallel to the first virtual line V1 and passing through the lower end of the upper bezel 4 (specifically, the lower end of the portion of the upper bezel 4 that covers the upper part of the back surface of the support part 30) is defined as a second virtual line V2.

[0030] The specific point P is a point (coordinate) preset inside the vehicle and is set to the upper end height Et of the glove box E. As shown in FIG. 2, the specific point P may be, for example, (i) a point P1 that is at the position of the upper end height Et and is obtained by moving the glove box center Ec, which is the center of the glove box E, vertically upward, or (ii) a point P2 that is at the position of the upper end height Et and is on the vehicle center line C. The vehicle center line C is a line indicating the center of the vehicle and is set for each vehicle type. Not limited to these examples, the specific point P can be arbitrarily set as long as it is a point at the upper end height Et of the glove box E. Based on the specific point P set in this way, it is preferable that the ceramic forming part 6 satisfies the conditions described below.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the upper end of the ceramic forming part 6 is located between a first position H1 where the first virtual line V1 intersects the front glass 9 and a second position H2 where the second virtual line V2 intersects the front glass 9. By satisfying this condition, it is possible to suppress the sunlight S that passes through the front glass 9 and illuminates the interior of the vehicle from illuminating the holder 3, and it is possible to suppress the reflecting part 2 from becoming highly heated through the holder 3. Thereby, the thermal expansion of the reflecting part 2 can be suppressed.

[0032] From here, the functions and processes of the control unit 8 specific to this embodiment will be described. The image indicating the vehicle information displayed on the display unit 1 under the control of the control unit 8 may include a specific image showing the exterior view of the vehicle (at least one of the exterior views in the left - right direction, rear, and front of the vehicle). That is, the display unit 1 may emit light (display light L) representing the specific image toward the reflecting surface 20. From here, the specific image generation process executed by the control unit 8 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The trigger for starting this process can be arbitrarily determined, such as when the control unit 8 receives an instruction operation by the user U or when the control unit 8 determines that the vehicle is in motion.

[0033] (Specific Image Generation Process) When starting this process, first, the image acquisition unit 81 of the control unit 8 determines whether it has acquired the captured image Q (illustrated in FIG. 4) obtained by the imaging unit 7 capturing the exterior view of the vehicle from the imaging unit 7 (step S1). If the control unit 8 cannot acquire the captured image Q (step S1; No), the specific image generation process ends. On the other hand, when the captured image Q is acquired (step S1; Yes), the image acquisition unit 81 inputs (stores in the memory) the captured image Q (step S2). Note that the specific outer shape F shown in FIG. 4 is not a component of the captured image Q.

[0034] Subsequent to step S2, the image processing unit 82 of the control unit 8 cuts out the captured image Q with a specific outer shape F different from the outer shape (rectangle) of the captured image Q (step S3), and generates the image cut out in this way as a specific image. Explaining with the example of FIG. 4, the specific image is an image of the content obtained by removing the outside of the specific outer shape F from the captured image Q.

[0035] Here, let the specific image actually visually recognized by the user U by the display light L reflected by the reflecting surface 20 be the display image G. Since the display image G depends on the shape of the reflecting surface 20, it is different from the aspect of directly viewing the specific image generated in step S3. The specific outer shape F here is preset so that the outer shape Fg of the display image G becomes an arbitrary shape. The display image G in FIG. 4 represents the external view of the left rear of the vehicle, and its outer shape Fg is an example of a shape imitating the left side mirror. Thereby, the display device 100 can function like an electronic mirror. A plurality of types such as the left and right sides of the vehicle and a back monitor may be prepared for the specific image visually recognized by the user U as the display image G. And the outer shape F of the specific image (the shape visually recognized by the user U as the outer shape Fg of the display image G) may be a different shape for each type of the specific image.

[0036] Note that in step S3, so that the display image G displayed by the display light L reflected by the reflecting surface 20 is in the correct orientation for the user U, the image processing unit 82 also executes adjustment of the image orientation before or after the process of cutting out the captured image Q with the specific outer shape F.

[0037] Subsequent to step S3, the image processing unit 82 causes the display unit 1 to display the image cut out in step S3 (that is, the generated specific image) (step S4). The control unit 8 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S1 to S4 until it determines No in step S1.

[0038] According to the display device 100 that executes the specific image generation process as described above, the outer shape Fg of the display image G (the specific image visually recognized by the user U) can be set to an arbitrary shape. When the captured image Q is directly displayed on the display unit 1, distortion of the display may be easily recognized due to the shape of the reflecting surface 20. On the other hand, the outer shape Fg of the display image G can be an arbitrary shape different from the outer shape of the captured image Q, and as a contrast with the external view reflected in the display image G, it is possible to make it difficult for the user U to feel the occurrence of display distortion. Further, since the specific image can be generated without executing image processing over the entire area of the captured image Q like warping, the time lag related to the video display of the external view can be reduced.

[0039] In addition, the outer shape of the captured image Q is rectangular, and the outer shape Fg of the display image G may include a curve. If all of the outer shape Fg of the display image G is composed of straight lines, the distortion of the display can be easily grasped in comparison with the straight lines. However, by configuring the outer shape Fg of the display image G to include a curve, it is possible to make it difficult for the user U to feel the occurrence of display distortion.

[0040] In addition, the image processing unit 82 generates a specific image having a specific outer shape F, but it is not necessary to perform distortion correction on the specific image due to the shape of the reflecting surface 20. Thereby, the time lag related to the video display of the outdoor scene can be reduced more favorably.

[0041] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, modifications, and drawings. It is possible to appropriately make changes (including deletion of components) without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0042] The display device 100 described above can be described from the following viewpoints a to c.

[0043] (a1) The display device according to viewpoint a of the present disclosure is a reflection unit that reflects light representing an image toward a user in a vehicle on the front surface, a holder having a support unit that supports the reflection unit while covering the back surface of the reflection unit, and a heat sink including heat radiation fins provided on the back surface side of the support unit, and a cooling device that cools the heat sink.

[0044] (a2) The display device according to (a1) above may further include a ceramic forming unit provided in a lower end region of the windshield of the vehicle and facing the heat sink.

[0045] (a3) In the display device according to (a1) or (a2) above, the support unit may be formed in a hollow structure.

[0046] (b1) The display device according to aspect b of the present disclosure includes a reflection unit that reflects light representing an image toward a user in the vehicle on the front surface, a holder that supports the reflection unit while covering the back surface of the reflection unit, an upper bezel that covers the upper end surfaces of the reflection unit and the holder, and the upper part of the back surface of the holder, and a ceramic forming portion provided in a lower end region of the windshield of the vehicle. When a straight line passing through a specific point set inside the vehicle and the upper end of the upper bezel is defined as a first virtual line, and a straight line parallel to the first virtual line and passing through the lower end of the upper bezel is defined as a second virtual line, the upper end of the ceramic forming portion is located between a first position where the first virtual line intersects the windshield and a second position where the second virtual line intersects the windshield. The specific point is set at the upper end height of an instrument box set as a range within which the user can visually recognize the image by the light reflected by the reflection unit.

[0047] Note that in the display device according to aspect b, the holder may not have a heat sink.

[0048] (b2) In the display device according to (b1) above, at least the back surface of the holder may be subjected to low-reflection processing.

[0049] (c1) The display device according to aspect c of the present disclosure includes a display unit that emits light representing a specific image toward a reflection surface provided on a vehicle, an image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image obtained by capturing an external view of the vehicle by an imaging unit provided on the vehicle, and an image processing means for cutting out the captured image acquired by the image acquisition means with a specific outer shape different from the outer shape of the captured image, and displaying the cut-out image as the specific image on the display unit. If the specific image that is visually recognized by the user in the vehicle by the light reflected by the reflection surface is taken as a display image, the specific outer shape is preset so that the outer shape of the display image can be any shape.

[0050] In addition, in the display device according to viewpoint c, the reflection surface does not have to be a component of the reflection part 2 provided on the user U side of the windshield 9, and may be a component of the ceramic forming part 6 of the windshield 9. That is, the display device according to viewpoint c may be configured to allow the user U to visually recognize a specific image by the display light L reflected by the ceramic forming part 6.

[0051] (c2) In the display device according to (c1) above, the outer shape of the captured image is rectangular, and the outer shape of the display image may include a curve.

[0052] (c3) In the display device according to (c1) or (c2) above, the image processing means generates the specific image having the specific outer shape, but may not perform distortion correction due to the shape of the reflection surface on the specific image.

[0053] In the above description, for the sake of facilitating the understanding of the present disclosure, the description of known technical matters has been appropriately omitted.

[0054] This invention can be implemented in various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of this invention. Also, the above-described embodiments are for explaining this invention and do not limit the scope of this invention. That is, the scope of this invention is indicated by the claims rather than the embodiments. And various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the meaning of the invention equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of this invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0055] 100... Display device 1... Display unit 2… Reflecting part, 20… Reflecting surface 3… Holder 30… Support part, 30a… Hollow part, 31… Heat sink, 31a… Heat dissipation fin 4… Upper bezel 5… Cooling device 6… Ceramic forming part 7… Imaging part 8… Control part 81… Image acquisition part (image acquisition means), 82… Image processing part (image processing means) 9… Front glass U… User, S… Sunlight E… Eyebox, Ec… Eyebox center, Et… Upper end height P… Specific point, P1, P2… Points V1… First virtual line, H1… First position V2… Second virtual line, H2… Second position Q… Captured image, F… Specific outer shape G… Display image, Fg… Outer shape of display image

Claims

1. a reflecting part that reflects light representing an image toward a user in the vehicle in front; a holder having a heat sink that includes a support part that supports the reflecting part while covering the back surface of the reflecting part, and heat radiating fins provided on the back side of the support part; a cooling device that cools the heat sink; and a display device.

2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a ceramic forming part provided in a lower end region of a windshield of the vehicle and facing the heat sink. The display device according to claim 1.

3. The support part is formed in a hollow structure. The display device according to claim 1 or 2.

Images