Vehicle display device

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle display device that can secure a visually appealing display area even while using multiple displays. [Solution] The vehicle display device 100 includes a first display unit 11 that emits a first display light representing a first image toward the user 1, a half mirror 20 that transmits the first display light, and a second display unit 12 that emits a second display light representing a second image toward the half mirror 20. The first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 are located on opposite sides of the half mirror 20 and are provided at different positions in the width direction of the half mirror 20. The first display light transmitted through the half mirror 20 and the second display light reflected by the half mirror 20 allow the first image and the second image to be viewed by the user 1 side by side on the same plane.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a display device for a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle display device including a display that emits display light representing an image toward a colored portion provided on a windshield of a vehicle, and allowing a user to visually recognize an image represented by the display light reflected by the colored portion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the configuration of Patent Document 1, when it is desired to allow a user to visually recognize an image of a larger size, a method of arranging a plurality of displays can be considered. However, for example, if only a plurality of displays are arranged in the width direction of the vehicle, the cases of adjacent displays may interfere with each other, or bezels of the displays may exist, resulting in a jagged arrangement of images being visually recognized, and there is a risk that the appearance of the display area (the area where an image is displayed to the user) may be impaired.

[0005] This disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle display device that can secure a display area with a good appearance while using a plurality of displays.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] <所載の目的を達成するため、本開示に係る車両用表示装置は、 A first display that emits first display light representing a first image toward a user, A half-mirror is provided at an angle to the first display and transmits the first display light, The system includes a second display that emits a second display light representing a second image toward the half mirror, The first display unit and the second display unit are located on opposite sides of the half mirror and are provided at different positions in the width direction of the half mirror. The first display light transmitted through the half-mirror and the second display light reflected by the half-mirror cause the first image and the second image to be visible to the user side by side on the same plane. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, it is possible to secure a visually appealing display area even when using multiple displays. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A schematic perspective view of a vehicle display device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] A schematic side view of a vehicle display device according to the same embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] One embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] The vehicle display device 100 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is installed, for example, on the vehicle's dashboard (including the instrument panel) and is located on the side of the vehicle's windshield that is closer to the user 1. The user 1 is a passenger in the vehicle and is primarily the driver of the vehicle.

[0011] To facilitate understanding of the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show mutually orthogonal X, Y, and Z axes. The X-axis extends in the left-right direction, and its arrow points to the right. The Y-axis extends in the up-down direction, and its arrow points upward. The Z-axis extends in the front-back direction, and its arrow points backward. In this paper, the left-right, up-down, and front-back directions refer to the direction from User 1 (the same as the direction of the vehicle), unless otherwise specified.

[0012] The vehicle display device 100 comprises a plurality of display units 10 arranged in the left-right direction, a half-mirror 20, and a control board 30 (see Figure 2). The control board 30 is a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) on which a controller is mounted, and is electrically connected to each of the plurality of display units 10 by FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) or the like. The operation of the plurality of display units 10 is controlled by the controller, and they display various information about the vehicle.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the plurality of indicators 10 according to this embodiment include two first indicators 11 and one second indicator 12. Since each of the two first indicators 11 has similar characteristics in relation to the second indicator 12, one of the first indicators 11 will be described below.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the first display unit 11 emits a first display light L1 representing a first image toward the user 1. The first display unit 11 is composed of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and displays the first image as an image under the control of the control board 30. The first display unit 11 has a first display surface 11a for displaying the first image and a first bezel 11b surrounding the first display surface 11a. The first display surface 11a is rectangular when viewed from its normal direction. The first bezel 11b has a rectangular frame shape and its surface is treated with an anti-reflection coating. In other words, in the first display unit 11, the first bezel 11b is an area where the first image is not displayed.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2, the second display unit 12 emits a second display light L2 representing the second image toward the half mirror 20. The second display unit 12 emits the second display light L2 toward the upward. The second display unit 12 is composed of, for example, an LCD and displays the second image as an image under the control of the control board 30. The second display unit 12 has a second display surface 12a for displaying the second image and a second bezel 12b surrounding the second display surface 12a. The second display surface 12a is rectangular when viewed from its normal direction. The second bezel 12b has a rectangular frame shape and its surface is treated with an anti-reflection coating. In other words, in the second display unit 12, the second bezel 12b is an area where the second image is not displayed.

[0016] The half mirror 20 is positioned at an angle to the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12. The half mirror 20 is constructed by forming a film (half mirror coating) on ​​a plate-shaped transparent substrate made of glass or resin, which has the function of transmitting and reflecting incident light at a certain rate. The half mirror coating is a dielectric multilayer film or a metal film. The half mirror 20 has a reflective surface 21 that transmits the first display light L1 from the first display unit 11 toward the user 1, while reflecting the second display light L2 from the second display unit 12 toward the user 2. The reflective surface 21 is the surface of the half mirror 20 on which the aforementioned half mirror coating is formed, and in this embodiment, it is the surface on the user 1 side. The back surface of the half mirror 20 relative to the reflective surface 21 may be coated with an anti-reflective film such as an AR (Anti-Reflection) coating. The reflective surface 21 may also be coated with a film or vapor deposition treatment for IR (infrared) cut, UV (ultraviolet) cut, or smoke effect.

[0017] The first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 are located on opposite sides of the half mirror 20, and are positioned at different locations in the width direction (left-right direction) of the half mirror 20. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2 in particular, the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the half mirror 20. Specifically, "the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the half mirror 20" means that the first display surface 11a and the second display surface 12a are arranged symmetrically with respect to the reflective surface 21 of the half mirror 20.

[0018] With this arrangement, the first display light L1 transmitted through the half mirror 20 and the second display light L2 reflected by the half mirror 20 (reflective surface 21) allow the first and second images to be viewed adjacent to each other on the same plane by the user 1. Here, as shown in Figure 1, the second image viewed through the half mirror 20 by the second display light L2 reflected by the reflective surface 21 is called the reflected image V2. For the user 1, this reflected image V2 is viewed adjacent to the first image on a virtual plane including the first display surface 11a. In this way, the vehicle display device 100 makes it possible to secure a visually appealing display area even when using multiple displays 10.

[0019] Furthermore, in the vehicle display device 100 according to the present embodiment, the images formed by the first bezel 11b or the second bezel 12b are continuously viewed by the user 1 on the same plane without creating a break between the first image and the second image. This can be achieved by adjusting the relative arrangement of the first display 11 and the second display 12 such that, in the left - right direction, when considering the portion of the first bezel 11b close to the second display 12 and the portion of the second bezel 12b close to the first display 11, the other of the first bezel 11b and the second bezel 12b overlaps at a position symmetric to one of the reflecting surfaces 21 of the first bezel 11b and the second bezel 12b. Also, the relative arrangement of the first display 11 and the second display 12 is adjusted to satisfy the condition that, in the left - right direction, (i) the edge of the aforementioned reflected image V2 coincides with the edge of the first display surface 11a, or (ii) a part of the reflected image V2 overlaps with the first display surface 11a. With such a relative arrangement of the first display 11 and the second display 12, from the user 1's perspective, through the half - mirror 20, the first image and the second image appear to continue without a break in the left - right direction. That is, according to the vehicle display device 100, even when using a plurality of relatively small displays 10, a continuous large display area can be ensured.

[0020] Note that the vehicle display device 100 may include a hood that covers the first display 11 and the half - mirror 20 while allowing the user 1 to peek at the reflecting surface 21 of the half - mirror 20. This hood can prevent external light such as sunlight from entering between the first display 11 and the half - mirror 20. Also, the vehicle display device 100 may include a cover glass with smoke applied on the side of the user 1 with respect to the reflecting surface 21 of the half - mirror 20. This cover glass can make the presence of the first display 11 and the second display 12 less noticeable when the first display light L1 and the second display light L2 are not emitted.

[0021] As described above, the contents of the first display 11 and the second display 12 are synthesized by the half mirror 20. However, due to the reflection characteristics and wavelength dependence of the half mirror 20, there may be a difference in the wavelength of the transmitted light and the wavelength of the reflected light. In consideration of this, the controller may perform adjustment control so that the light of each of transmission and reflection has the same chromaticity based on the wavelength characteristics of the half mirror 20 registered in advance. Also, such adjustment control may be applied to the first display 11 and the second display 12 themselves.

[0022] Also, in order to absorb the installation tolerance between the first display 11 and the second display 12, the display areas of the adjacent first display 11 and second display 12 may be overlapped, the same content may be displayed in the overlapping display areas, or the display of content may be not performed in one of the overlapping display areas.

[0023] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and drawings. Modifications (including deletion of components) can be appropriately made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0024] In the above, an example in which a plurality of displays 10 are composed of two first displays 11 and one second display 12 has been shown. However, it may be composed of one first display 11 and one second display , and the number is arbitrary as long as the first display 11 and the second display 12 are alternately arranged in the width direction (left - right direction) of the half mirror 20.

[0025] A half - mirror coat may be applied to the surface of the half mirror 20 opposite to the surface on the side of the user 1. That is, the opposite surface may function as the reflection surface 21.

[0026] At least one of the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 may be a display other than an LCD, such as an OLED (Electro-Luminescence) display or a display using a projector. When a display using a projector is used, a transmissive screen onto which the first image is projected constitutes the first display surface 11a, and a transmissive screen onto which the second image is projected constitutes the second display surface 12a. Furthermore, at least one of the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 may be a bezel-less display.

[0027] Furthermore, at least one of the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 is not limited to displaying an image formed by a combination of pixels, but may also be an indicator display unit that illuminates at least one of the characters, figures, and icons applied to the design plate using illumination light from an LED (Light-Emitting Diode).

[0028] Furthermore, the statement that the first image and the second image are visible to user 1 adjacent to each other on the same plane is arbitrary, as long as the first image and the second image are not separated by the image of the first bezel 11b or the second bezel 12b (i.e., the image of the part of the image that cannot be displayed), and includes not only (i) the first image and the second image being visible to user 1 continuously on the same plane, but also (ii) the first image and the second image being visible to user 1 with a gap between them on the same plane.

[0029] The light transmittance and reflectance of the half mirror 20 do not have to be the same, and may be different. For example, the light transmittance and reflectance of the half mirror 20 may be adjusted according to the display brightness of the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12. Furthermore, the half mirror 20 is not limited to a flat plate shape, but may be a curved plate shape, as long as the first image and the second image can be viewed by the user 1 adjacent to each other on the same plane.

[0030] In the above explanation, explanations of publicly known technical matters have been omitted where appropriate to facilitate understanding of this disclosure.

[0031] This invention allows for various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments described above are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the invention. In other words, the scope of this invention is indicated not by the embodiments, but by the claims. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the equivalent scope of the meaning of the invention are considered to be within the scope of this invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0032] 100...Vehicle display device, 1...User 10…Multiple displays 11...1st display, L1...1st display light 11a...First display surface, 11b...First bezel 12...Second display, L2...Second display light 12a...Second display surface, 12b...Second bezel 20... Half mirror 30…Control board V2…Reflection image

Claims

1. A first display unit that emits a first display light representing a first image toward the user, A half-mirror is provided at an angle to the first display and transmits the first display light, The system includes a second display that emits a second display light representing a second image toward the half mirror, The first display unit and the second display unit are located on opposite sides of the half mirror and are provided at different positions in the width direction of the half mirror. The first display light transmitted through the half-mirror and the second display light reflected by the half-mirror cause the first image and the second image to be visible to the user side by side on the same plane. Vehicle display device.

2. The first image and the second image are viewed by the user in succession on the same plane. The vehicle display device according to claim 1.

3. The first display unit has a first display surface for displaying the first image and a first bezel surrounding the first display surface. The second display unit has a second display surface for displaying the second image and a second bezel surrounding the second display surface. The images formed by the first bezel or the second bezel are viewed on the same plane without creating a break between the first image and the second image, so that the first image and the second image are continuously visible to the user on the same plane. The vehicle display device according to claim 2.

4. The first display and the second display are arranged symmetrically with respect to the half mirror. A vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images