Overhead console

Abstract

To provide an overhead console that can simplify a structure without deterioration in functionality.SOLUTION: An overhead console 4 fitted to a ceiling 3 of a vehicle 1 includes a storage part 10 for storing a terminal 9 including a display 15 in a first surface 14 of a housing 13 and a spotlight source 17 in a second surface 16 separately from the first surface 14. The terminal 9 stored in the storage part 10 executes at least one of first lighting of irradiating a cabin widely with light of the display 15 and second lighting of irradiating the cabin locally with light of the spotlight source 17.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an overhead console. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, an overhead console attached to the ceiling of a vehicle is well known, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this type of overhead console, map lamps provided on the overhead console are turned on and off by operating a switch provided on the housing of the overhead console. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-70066 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when an overhead console is placed on the ceiling of a vehicle, the large structure of the overhead console is placed on the ceiling, which hinders the improvement of the interior design of the vehicle. In particular, the overhead console is equipped with lamps and switches that have conspicuous shapes, which detracts from the interior design of the vehicle. Therefore, there has been a demand for simplifying the structure of the overhead console as much as possible.

[0005] However, even if measures are taken to simplify the structure by simply omitting certain functions from among the multiple functions of the overhead console, the omission of those functions may cause inconvenience to the user. Therefore, there is a need for technology that can simplify the structure without reducing the functionality of the overhead console. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The overhead console that solves the above problem is configured to be attached to the ceiling of a vehicle and includes a storage section that houses a terminal having a display on a first surface of the housing and a spot light source on a second surface separate from the first surface, and the terminal housed in the storage section performs at least one of first lighting that illuminates the interior of the vehicle over a wide area with light from the display and second lighting that illuminates the interior of the vehicle locally with light from the spot light source. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present invention allows for a simplified structure without reducing the functionality of the overhead console. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle interior having an overhead console according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the overhead console. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an electrical configuration diagram of the terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the lighting operation of the first lighting device. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the lighting operation of the second lighting device. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an image diagram illustrating a case where light from a spot light source is turned on in the vehicle width direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. (Vehicle 1 Overview) As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 is equipped with a windshield 2 that is disposed across the entire interior of the vehicle. An overhead console 4 is attached to a ceiling 3 of the vehicle 1 as one of the interior fittings. The overhead console 4 is located on the ceiling 3 at the front of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction and in the center in the width direction of the vehicle. A room mirror 5 is attached to the overhead console 4 to enable viewing behind the vehicle from inside the vehicle.

[0010] (Overhead console 4) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the overhead console 4 includes a housing 8 that forms the outer wall of the overhead console 4. The overhead console 4 is configured so that the housing 8 is attached to a ceiling 3. The overhead console 4 includes a storage section 10 that stores a terminal 9. The terminal 9 is, for example, a high-function mobile phone such as a smartphone. In this way, the overhead console 4 has a structure that can store the terminal 9.

[0011] (Terminal 9) 1 and 2, the terminal 9 has a display 15 on a first surface 14 of the housing 13, and a spot light source 17 on a second surface 16 different from the first surface 14. The first surface 14 is, for example, the front surface of the housing 13. The second surface 16 is, for example, the rear surface of the housing 13. In this example, the orientation of the terminal 9 in the housing 10 is such that the display 15 faces toward the ceiling (the +Z-axis direction in FIG. 1, etc.) and the spot light source 17 faces away from the ceiling (the -Z-axis direction in FIG. 1, etc.). The display 15 is, for example, a touch panel display.

[0012] (Lighting function using terminal 9 on overhead console 4) 1, the overhead console 4 has a lighting function that utilizes a terminal 9 housed in a housing portion 10. The terminal 9 housed in the housing portion 10 performs at least one of a first lighting function that widely illuminates the interior of the vehicle with light from a display 15, and a second lighting function that locally illuminates the interior of the vehicle with light from a spot light source 17. In this example, the overhead console 4 can perform both the first lighting and the second lighting.

[0013] The first lighting is, for example, lighting that illuminates the interior of the vehicle over a wide area by irradiating light from the display 15 of the terminal 9 toward the ceiling (the +Z-axis direction in FIG. 1). Examples of the first lighting include ambient lighting and stage lighting. Ambient lighting is, for example, lighting that simply illuminates the display 15 of the terminal 9 to brighten the surrounding wall surface such as the ceiling 3. Stage lighting is, for example, lighting that brightens the interior of the vehicle by a video or image displayed on the display 15 of the terminal 9.

[0014] The second lighting is, for example, lighting that locally illuminates the interior of the vehicle with light emitted from the spot light source 17 of the terminal 9 in the direction opposite to the ceiling (the -Z axis direction in FIG. 1). The second lighting is, for example, spot lighting. The second lighting is preferably lighting that illuminates both seats 18 (for example, the driver's seat and the passenger seat) in the vehicle with spot lighting.

[0015] (First illumination light guide section 21) 1 and 2, the overhead console 4 includes a first lighting light guide 21 that guides light from the display 15 toward the interior of the vehicle. The first lighting light guide 21 is, for example, a light guide that guides light that has entered the interior and emits it in a predetermined direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the first lighting light guide 21 is formed, for example, in a shape whose width continuously increases in the direction toward the ceiling (the +Z-axis direction in FIG. 1) when viewed from the front, in other words, in an inverted trapezoid shape.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, first lighting light guide 21 has incident portion 22 arranged parallel to display 15 of terminal 9 accommodated in accommodation portion 10. Incident portion 22 is, for example, the entire surface facing display 15, and receives light output from display 15. First lighting light guide 21 has output portion 23 that outputs light guided inside first lighting light guide 21 to the outside. Output portion 23 extends in a direction obliquely intersecting the surface direction of incident portion 22 (the XY plane direction in FIG. 2), and converts the light of display 15 incident from incident portion 22 into a direction toward a user seated in seat 18 inside the vehicle (the −Z-axis direction in FIG. 2), and outputs the converted light. In this example, output portion 23 is, for example, a surface facing seat 18, and is formed in an inclined shape when viewed from the side. As described above, the light from the display 15 is incident on the entrance portion 22 of the first lighting light guide portion 21 and is guided inside the first lighting light guide portion 21, and the guided light is then irradiated from the exit portion 23 to the user in the seat 18.

[0017] (Light guide section 25 for second illumination) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the overhead console 4 includes a second lighting light guide 25 that guides light from the spot light sources 17 of the terminals 9 accommodated in the accommodation unit 10 so that the light from the spot light sources 17 has directionality. The second lighting light guide 25 is, for example, a light guide that guides light incident therein and emits it in a predetermined direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the second lighting light guide 25 includes a terminal placement section 26 on which the terminals 9 accommodated in the accommodation unit 10 are placed, and side wall sections 27 that are erected on both sides of the terminal placement section 26 in the width direction (the Z-axis direction in FIG. 1, etc.). The width direction corresponds to, for example, the left-right direction when the overhead console 4 is viewed from the front. The second lighting light guide 25 is connected to the bottom surface of the first lighting light guide 21 at the end of the side wall section 27.

[0018] Second lighting light guide 25 has incident portion 28 into which light from spot light source 17 of terminal 9 accommodated in accommodation portion 10 is incident. Incident portion 28 is arranged at least at a location facing spot light source 17 on the surface facing second surface 16 of terminal 9. Second lighting light guide 25 has concave exit portion 29 that collects and outputs light from spot light source 17 of terminal 9. Exit portion 29 is arranged so that the concave shape faces the interior of the vehicle.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the emission unit 29 has a light reflector 31 that outputs light from the spot light source 17 of the terminal 9 as light directional in the vehicle width direction. The light reflector 31 is, for example, a mirror member that serves as a partition plate, and is arranged so that at least a portion thereof is exposed to the outside of the concave shape of the emission unit 29. At least one of the two surfaces of the light reflector 31 is a reflective surface (mirror surface), and the reflective surface is arranged along the XZ plane. The second illumination light guide unit 25 irradiates directional light toward both of a pair of seats 18 (the driver's seat and the passenger seat in this example) that are arranged in the vehicle width direction (the Y-axis direction in Fig. 1 etc.).

[0020] (Storage section 10) 1 and 2, the housing 10 is made up of an area surrounded by the first lighting light guide 21 and the second lighting light guide 25. Specifically, the housing 10 is made up of an area surrounded by the back surface of the first lighting light guide 21, the upper surface of the terminal placement portion 26 of the second lighting light guide 25, and the inner surfaces of a pair of side wall portions 27 of the second lighting light guide 25. As shown in FIG. 2, a step 30 is formed on the bottom surface of the entrance of the housing 10 to prevent the terminal 9 housed in the housing 10 from falling out.

[0021] (Mirror 32) As shown in FIG. 2, the overhead console 4 includes a mirror 32 that allows a user to view an image (e.g., a video or a still image) displayed on the display 15 of the terminal 9. The mirror 32 is disposed between the housing 8 and the first illumination light guide 21. At least the surface of the mirror 32 is formed from a light-reflecting material. The mirror 32 is disposed obliquely with respect to the direction of light irradiation from the display 15 (the Z-axis direction in FIG. 2), thereby reflecting the light from the display 15 toward the user and allowing the user to view the image on the display 15.

[0022] (Voice recognition function of terminal 9) 3, the terminal 9 includes a terminal control unit 34 that controls the operation of the terminal 9. The terminal control unit 34 includes, for example, a processor, a memory, and a storage. Examples of the processor include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The terminal 9 includes a microphone 35 that collects ambient sounds. The microphone 35 outputs detected audio data to the terminal control unit 34. The display 15 and the spotlight source 17 are connected to the terminal control unit 34, and their operations are controlled by the terminal control unit 34.

[0023] The terminal 9 has a voice recognition function that analyzes voice using a computer. In this example, the terminal control unit 34 has a voice recognition unit 36 ​​that executes the voice recognition function. The voice recognition unit 36 ​​analyzes, for example, voice data collected by a microphone 35, and controls the display 15 and the spot light source 17 according to the analysis results. That is, the voice recognition unit 36 ​​controls the turning on and off of the display 15 and the spot light source 17 based on the analysis results of the voice recognition.

[0024] (Operation of the embodiment) Next, the operation of the overhead console 4 of this embodiment will be described. (Housing terminal 9 in overhead console 4) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the overhead console 4 is provided with a storage section 10 for a terminal 9. Therefore, after getting in the vehicle, the user places the terminal 9 they are carrying in the storage section 10. In this way, because the overhead console 4 is used as a storage area for the terminal 9, there is no need to provide a storage area for the terminal 9 in the center console or center cluster inside the vehicle. This simplifies the structure and shape of the center console and center cluster. Furthermore, the design of the center console and center cluster is not affected by the storage area for the terminal 9.

[0025] (Operation of the first light) As shown in Fig. 4, when a user wants to turn on the first light, the user utters a request to turn on the first light, such as "Turn on the first light." At this time, the words uttered by the user are collected by the microphone 35 of the terminal 9. The voice data detected by the microphone 35 is then analyzed by the voice recognition unit 36 ​​of the terminal 9. When the voice recognition unit 36 ​​obtains a voice recognition analysis result indicating that the voice is a request to turn on the first light, it turns on the display 15. At this time, the display 15 may, for example, simply output light, or may display video or an image.

[0026] When display 15 is turned on, light from display 15 enters first illumination light guide 21 from incident portion 22. This light is guided inside first illumination light guide 21 toward exit portion 23 and is irradiated from exit portion 23 toward the user. In this example, exit portion 23 has a larger area than entrance portion 22 and is formed in a sloped shape so as to face the user seated in seat 18. Therefore, light from exit portion 23 is irradiated over a wide area, making it possible to brightly illuminate a wide area inside the vehicle.

[0027] Furthermore, in the case of stage lighting in which display 15 outputs a video or image, the image (e.g., a video or a still image) of display 15 is reflected by mirror 32 and displayed on emission unit 23. Therefore, a user in seat 18 can view the image output by display 15 via emission unit 23. Therefore, when the first lighting is turned on, the user can view and enjoy the image displayed by display 15.

[0028] When the user wishes to turn off the first light, the user utters a request to turn off the first light, such as "Turn off the first light." When the voice recognition unit 36 ​​recognizes the request to turn off the first light from the voice data acquired by the microphone 35, it turns off the display 15. Thus, the first light can be turned off again by the user's speech.

[0029] (Operation of the second light) 5, when a user wants to turn on the second light, the user utters a request to turn on the second light, such as "Turn on the second light." When the voice recognition unit 36 ​​recognizes the request to turn on the second light from the voice data acquired by the microphone 35, it turns on the spot light source 17. Thus, the second light can be turned on by the user's speech.

[0030] When spot light source 17 is turned on, light from spot light source 17 is incident from incident portion 28 into second illumination light guide 25. This light is guided inside second illumination light guide 25 toward exit portion 29 and is irradiated toward the user from exit portion 29. In this example, the light is collected by concave exit portion 29 and has directionality, and is irradiated toward the user in seat 18.

[0031] 6, the light reflecting material 31 in this example is arranged at the emission portion 29 in a vertical direction when viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. Therefore, the light from the spot light source 17 is guided toward the driver's seat and the passenger seat by the respective reflective surfaces of the light reflecting material 31, and is thereby irradiated onto both the driver's seat and the passenger seat. As described above, by utilizing the light from the spot light source 17, it is possible to locally illuminate the hand of a user seated in the seat 18.

[0032] When the user wishes to turn off the second light, the user utters a request to turn off the second light, such as "Turn off the second light." When the voice recognition unit 36 ​​recognizes the request to turn off the second light from the voice data acquired by the microphone 35, it turns off the spot light source 17. Therefore, it is possible to turn off the second light again by the user's speech.

[0033] (Effects of the embodiment) According to the overhead console 4 of the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0034] (1) An overhead console 4 attached to the ceiling 3 of a vehicle 1 includes a housing 13 having a display 15 on a first surface 14 thereof and a housing 10 for housing a terminal 9 having a spot light source 17 on a second surface 16 thereof, the second surface 16 being separate from the first surface 14. The terminal 9 housed in the housing 10 performs at least one of first lighting, which uses light from the display 15 to illuminate the interior of the vehicle over a wide area, and second lighting, which uses light from the spot light source 17 to illuminate the interior of the vehicle locally.

[0035] According to this configuration, the overhead console 4 is provided with a storage section 10 capable of storing a terminal 9. The overhead console 4 can perform first lighting using the display 15 of the terminal 9 stored in the storage section 10, and second lighting using the spot light source 17 of the terminal 9. In this way, the first lighting and second lighting are performed using the terminal 9 stored in the overhead console 4, so the first lighting and second lighting can be performed even if the overhead console 4 does not have illumination light sources for the first lighting and second lighting. As described above, the structure of the overhead console 4 can be simplified without reducing the functionality of the overhead console 4.

[0036] (2) The orientation of the terminal 9 in the storage section 10 is such that the display 15 faces the ceiling and the spot light source 17 faces away from the ceiling. The first lighting is lighting that illuminates the interior of the vehicle over a wide area with light emitted from the display 15 toward the ceiling. The second lighting is lighting that illuminates the interior of the vehicle locally with light emitted from the spot light source 17 in the direction away from the ceiling. With this configuration, the terminal 9 is stored in the storage section 10 of the overhead console 4 in a horizontally laid state. Therefore, the dimension of the overhead console 4 in the height direction (Z-axis direction in Figure 1, etc.) can be kept small. The height direction refers to the up-down direction when the overhead console 4 is viewed from the front.

[0037] (3) Overhead console 4 includes first lighting light guide unit 21 that guides the light of display 15 toward the interior of the vehicle. With this configuration, first lighting light guide unit 21 can emit the light of display 15 of terminal 9 in a desired direction.

[0038] (4) First illumination light guide unit 21 is provided with incident unit 22 arranged parallel to display 15, and emission unit 23 extending in a direction obliquely intersecting the plane direction of incident unit 22 and converting light of display 15 incident from incident unit 22 into a direction toward a user sitting in seat 18 in the vehicle and outputting the converted light. According to this configuration, the light incident on incident unit 22 of first illumination light guide unit 21 can be extracted from emission unit 23 of first illumination light guide unit 21 in a direction (−Z axis direction in FIG. 1 , etc.) substantially opposite to the incident direction of the light (+Z axis direction in FIG. 1 , etc.), thereby illuminating the user.

[0039] (5) Overhead console 4 includes second illumination light guide unit 25 that guides the light of spot light source 17 so that the light from spot light source 17 has directionality. With this configuration, second illumination light guide unit 25 can emit the light from spot light source 17 of terminal 9 in a desired direction.

[0040] (6) Second illumination light guide 25 has concave emission portion 29 that condenses and outputs light from spot light source 17. With this configuration, the light from spot light source 17 can be emitted to the user from concave emission portion 29 of second illumination light guide 25 as direct light having specific directionality.

[0041] (7) The overhead console 4 is provided with a mirror 32 that is disposed obliquely with respect to the direction of light emitted from the display 15 and that reflects the light from the display 15, thereby making the image (e.g., video or still image) displayed on the display 15 visible. With this configuration, when the first lighting is performed to illuminate the interior of the vehicle with the light of the image displayed on the display 15 of the terminal 9, the image displayed on the display 15 is reflected by the mirror 32 and is visible to the user. This contributes to improving the entertainment value inside the vehicle.

[0042] (8) The terminal 9 has a voice recognition function that analyzes voice using a computer. The first light is activated when the terminal 9 recognizes a request to turn on the first light through voice recognition. The second light is activated when the terminal 9 recognizes a request to turn on the second light through voice recognition. With this configuration, the display 15 and spot light source 17 of the terminal 9 are switched on and off by the voice recognition function of the terminal 9. Therefore, the first light and the second light can be switched on and off with an operation that is simpler than manual operation.

[0043] (Other embodiments) This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined and implemented within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0044] The storage section 10 does not necessarily have to be disposed in front of the overhead console 4, but may be disposed on the top, side, or back surface, for example. The first surface 14 of the terminal 9 is not limited to the surface of the housing 13, but may be changed to another surface.

[0045] The second surface 16 of the terminal 9 is not limited to the rear surface of the housing 13, but may be changed to another surface, such as the side surface of the housing 13, for example. The terminal 9 is not limited to being placed horizontally in the storage section 10, but may be placed vertically in the storage section 10, for example.

[0046] The first illumination light guide section 21 is not limited to a shape that emits light vertically downward (the -Z axis direction in Figure 1, etc.), but may be a shape that emits light horizontally (for example, toward the rear of the vehicle body).

[0047] The number of the concave emission portions 29 of the second illumination light guide portion 25 is not limited to one, and may be multiple, for example, corresponding to the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. The shape of the first illumination light guide section 21 may be changed to another shape depending on the direction in which light is to be extracted. The same applies to the second illumination light guide section 25.

[0048] The voice recognition function of the terminal 9 may be provided in advance in the terminal 9, or may be provided in the terminal 9 by downloading a voice recognition application from an external device. The operation of turning on the first and second lights is not limited to operation using voice recognition. For example, an operation unit mechanically connected to the switches of the terminal 9 may be provided on the overhead console 4, and the display 15 and the spot light source 17 may be turned on and off based on the operation of this operation unit.

[0049] The operation of turning on the first and second lights is not limited to an operation using voice recognition. For example, a sensor (e.g., an electrostatic sensor) may be provided on the overhead console 4 to detect contact or approach of a human body. When the sensor is touched or a human body approaches the sensor, a predetermined mechanism of the overhead console 4 may light up the display 15 or spot light source 17 of the terminal 9.

[0050] The overhead console 4 may not have the first lighting light guide 21. In this case, the first lighting may be performed by direct light from the display 15 of the terminal 9.

[0051] The overhead console 4 may not have the second lighting light guide 25. In this case, the second lighting may be performed by direct light from the spot light source 17 of the terminal 9.

[0052] The overhead console 4 can be attached to any position on the ceiling 3. The overhead console 4 may have various functions other than the lighting function, such as a display function for displaying images captured by a camera, an operation function for operating on-board items, and a storage function for storing items other than the terminal 9.

[0053] The overhead console 4 is not limited to a configuration that executes both the first lighting and the second lighting, but may execute at least one of the first lighting and the second lighting. The terminal 9 is not limited to a highly functional mobile phone such as a smartphone, but may be, for example, a vehicle key or a tablet terminal.

[0054] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to those embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and equivalent modifications. In addition, various combinations and forms, including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

[0055] Next, the technical ideas that can be understood from the above-described embodiment and modified examples will be described. (i) The second illumination light guide emits directional light toward both of a pair of seats aligned in the vehicle width direction. With this configuration, the second illumination can illuminate multiple seats with light from a single spot light source. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1...vehicle, 3...ceiling, 4...overhead console, 9...terminal, 10...accommodation section, 13...casing, 14...first surface, 15...display, 16...second surface, 17...spot light source, 18...seat, 21...first lighting light guide section, 22...incident section, 23...exiting section, 25...second lighting light guide section, 29...exiting section, 32...mirror.

Claims

1. An overhead console mounted on the ceiling of a vehicle, a housing section for housing a terminal having a display on a first surface of a housing and a spot light source on a second surface different from the first surface; An overhead console in which the terminal accommodated in the accommodation section performs at least one of first lighting, which illuminates the interior of the vehicle over a wide area using light from the display, and second lighting, which illuminates the interior of the vehicle locally using light from the spot light source.

2. the orientation of the terminal in the housing is such that the display faces the ceiling and the spot light source faces away from the ceiling, the first lighting is lighting that illuminates a wide area inside the vehicle by light emitted from the display toward the ceiling, 2. The overhead console according to claim 1, wherein the second light source locally illuminates the interior of the vehicle with light emitted from the spot light source in a direction opposite to the ceiling.

3. 2. The overhead console according to claim 1, further comprising a first illumination light guide portion that guides light from the display toward the interior of the vehicle.

4. The first illumination light guide portion is an incident portion disposed parallel to the display; 4. The overhead console according to claim 3, further comprising: an exit portion extending in a direction obliquely intersecting the plane direction of the incident portion, and converting the light of the display incident from the incident portion into a direction toward a user seated in a seat inside the vehicle and outputting the converted light.

5. 2. The overhead console according to claim 1, further comprising a second illumination light guide portion that guides the light of the spot light source so that the light of the spot light source has directionality.

6. The overhead console according to claim 5 , wherein the second illumination light guide portion has a concave emission portion that condenses and outputs the light from the spot light source.

7. 2. The overhead console according to claim 1, further comprising a mirror disposed obliquely with respect to the direction of light emitted from the display, the mirror reflecting the light from the display and thereby making the image displayed on the display visible.

8. The terminal has a speech recognition function for analyzing speech by a computer, the first illumination is activated when the terminal recognizes a request to turn on the first illumination through voice recognition; The overhead console according to claim 1 , wherein the second light is turned on when the terminal recognizes a request to turn on the second light through voice recognition.

Images