Vehicular display device

Abstract

A vehicular display device (10) is provided with: a housing (11) that has a wall section in which is provided an opening (15) through which image display light (L) passes to the outside; and an image display device (20) that is housed within the housing (11) and that outputs the image display light (L). Additionally, the vehicular display device (10) is provided with a reflective mirror (50) that is housed within the housing (11) and that reflects the image display light (L) toward a reflector (WS) arranged in front of a vehicle occupant (D). A frame section (70) that extends along the upper edge section (69) of the reflective mirror (50) and covers the edge section (69) is arranged on the edge section (69).

Description

Vehicle display device

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

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology related to a vehicle display device, also called a head-up display device, mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. The vehicle display device includes a display (image display device) that generates and outputs display light, a reflecting mirror that reflects the display light emitted from the display toward a projection target (a reflector disposed in front of a vehicle occupant), and a housing that accommodates the display and the reflecting mirror. This vehicle display device is configured to project a display image displayed by the display onto the projection target (reflector) via a reflecting mirror or the like, allowing the driver to view the image as a virtual image.

[0003] JP 2018-140693 A

[0004] In the above-described vehicle display device, at least one reflecting mirror (second mirror) is disposed in a position facing the windshield that constitutes the projection target (reflector) within the housing. Therefore, when external light including sunlight enters the housing of the vehicle display device through a window (opening), the external light hits the upper part of the reflecting mirror and is reflected by the upper edge of the reflecting mirror, which may cause the reflected light to be displayed as an unpleasant virtual image on the vehicle windshield.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the problems inherent in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle display device that can suppress the display of unpleasant virtual images by avoiding the reflection of light at the upper edge of the reflecting mirror.

[0006] A vehicle display device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a housing having a wall with an opening for passing image display light to the outside, an image display device housed within the housing and outputting image display light, and a reflective mirror housed within the housing and reflecting the image display light toward a reflector positioned in front of a vehicle occupant, and a frame portion extending along the upper edge of the reflective mirror and covering the edge is disposed on the upper edge.

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

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle display device according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a vehicle display device according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a concave mirror as seen from the front side. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the concave mirror as seen from below. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the concave mirror as seen from the rear side. FIG. 6 is a front view of the concave mirror. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 6.

[0009] The vehicle display device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional proportions in the drawings are exaggerated for the sake of convenience and may differ from the actual proportions.

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

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

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

[0013] The housing 11 is, for example, a box-shaped body made of synthetic resin material, and has an internal space 13 therein. The housing 11 accommodates and holds the image display device 20, control unit 30, drive unit 40, and reflection mirror 50 described above. The housing 11 has an opening 15 that connects the exterior of the housing 11 to the internal space 13. The opening 15 is located on the top wall of the housing 11, facing the windshield WS. A cover 17 made of a translucent synthetic resin material (e.g., acrylic resin) is also located on the top wall of the housing 11 so as to cover the opening 15. The vehicle display device 10 emits display light L of an image from the housing 11 through the opening 15 toward the windshield WS. 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. The control unit 30 is configured, for example, with an IC chip or the like, and is driven by power obtained from a battery in the vehicle 100. The control unit 30 may also be connected to an ECU (electronic control unit) in the vehicle 100 and may transmit and receive signals to and from the ECU.

[0015] The drive unit 40 has a structure combining, for example, a motor and gears, and changes (adjusts) the reflection angle of the display light L by the concave mirror 53 (described later). The 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 a structure in which, for example, 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 53 a 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 gear on the motor side meshes with the teeth on the concave mirror 53 side, transmitting the power of the motor to the concave mirror 53, causing the concave mirror 53 to rotate, and the reflection angle of the display light L by the concave mirror 53 to be changed (adjusted).

[0016] The reflecting 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 reflecting mirror 50 of this embodiment is configured to include a plane mirror 51 and a concave mirror 53.

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

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

[0019] The concave mirror 53 of the present embodiment functions 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 reflection by the concave mirror 53 is relatively larger than the display image represented by the display light L before reflection by the concave mirror 53.

[0020] Furthermore, the concave mirror 53 of this embodiment is rotatably supported by the drive unit 40, and is capable of changing (adjusting) the reflection angle of the display light L and external light OL including sunlight. The external light OL is sunlight that enters the housing 11 through the opening 15. In this embodiment, the external light OL is condensed by being reflected by the concave mirror 53, which functions as a magnifying mirror, and is directed toward the image display device 20 via the flat mirror 51.

[0021] 3 to 6 , the concave mirror 53 of this embodiment has a main body 60 formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and rotates around an axis 61 along the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the main body 60. The 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. The first side surface 60a and the second side surface 60b are left and right side surfaces facing in 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] An input shaft 63 is formed to protrude from the first side surface 60a. This input shaft 63 is a driven shaft that receives output torque from the motor of the drive unit 40 and rotates. The input shaft 63 is formed, for example, in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section. The input shaft 63 also has an engaging protrusion 65 that protrudes from the first side surface 60a. This engaging protrusion 65 is provided to prevent the input shaft 63 from coming off the motor side of the drive unit 40.

[0023] A supported shaft 67 is formed to protrude from the second side surface 60b. 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 the shape of a prism having, for example, a substantially rectangular cross section.

[0024] 3 to 7 , in order to prevent external light OL from being reflected at an upper edge 69 of the concave mirror 53, a frame (bezel 70) is disposed on the upper edge 69 of the concave mirror 53, extending along the edge 69 and covering the edge 69. The bezel 70 is integrally molded from, for example, a synthetic resin material, and is attached (fixed) to the top of the concave mirror 53.

[0025] The bezel portion 70 has 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 left and right ends of the first bezel portion 71 and extending along the lateral direction (up-down direction) of the concave mirror 53. Furthermore, the first bezel portion 71 and the pair of left and right second bezel portions 73, 73 each have a reflective surface side bezel portion 75 arranged in front of the reflective surface 53a of the concave mirror 53 (on the plane mirror 51 side). The bezel portion 70 can be arranged only in locations on the concave mirror 53 where external light OL may strike and reflect and have an effect, making it possible to prevent the concave mirror 53 from becoming too heavy and large. In other words, the bezel portion 70 may be arranged around the entire front edge of the concave mirror 53, but by arranging the bezel portion 70 only on the upper part of the concave mirror 53, the weight and size of the concave mirror 53 can be reduced compared to when the bezel portion 70 is arranged around the entire circumference.

[0026] The outer surface of the bezel 70 is formed with a reflection-reducing portion 77 that has been subjected to reflection-reducing processing to reduce light reflection. In this embodiment, the reflection-reducing portion 77 is formed in a portion of the bezel 70 that is not in contact with the concave mirror 53 and is visible from the outside. The reflection-reducing portion 77 may be formed on all outer surfaces, including the outer surface that is in contact with the concave mirror 53, or may be formed on at least the top surface 70a and the front surface 70b (see FIG. 7). The reflection-reducing processing may be, for example, a textured finish or a painted finish, or various other processes that are effective in reducing light reflection on the outer surface of the bezel 70. Note that the portions in FIGS. 3 to 6 that have been subjected to reflection-reducing processing (reflection-reducing portion 77) are indicated by dotted hatching.

[0027] 7 , the inside of the bezel 70 (the tip surface 75 a of the reflective surface-side bezel 75) has a shape that is angled with respect to the upper surface 70 a of the concave mirror 53 so that external light OL does not directly strike the tip surface 75 a. That is, the tip surface 75 a of the reflective surface-side bezel 75 is formed as an inclined surface that slopes upward from the front (the side toward the flat mirror 51) to the rear (the side opposite the flat mirror 51) of the concave mirror 53. This makes it possible to suppress reflection of external light OL on the inside of the bezel 70 (the tip surface 75 a of the reflective surface-side bezel 75) within the driving range for changing the reflection angle of the concave mirror 53.

[0028] As described above, the vehicle display device 10 according to this embodiment includes a housing 11 having a wall with an opening 15 for passing the image display light L to the outside, and an image display device 20 housed within the housing 11 and outputting the image display light L. The vehicle display device 10 includes a reflecting mirror 50 (concave mirror 53) housed within the housing 11 and reflecting the image display light L toward a reflector (windshield WS) disposed in front of a vehicle occupant (driver D). A frame (bezel 70) extending along and covering an upper edge 69 of the reflecting mirror 50 (concave mirror 53) is disposed on the upper edge 69 of the reflecting mirror 50 (concave mirror 53).

[0029] By arranging a bezel portion 70 covering an upper edge portion 69 of the concave mirror 53 above the concave mirror 53, which may be exposed to external light OL including sunlight, it is possible to avoid reflection of the external light OL at the upper edge portion 69 of the concave mirror 53. In other words, by arranging 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 caused by reflection of external light OL at 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 this embodiment, a vehicle display device 10 can be provided that can suppress the display of an unpleasant virtual image S by avoiding the reflection of light (external light OL) at the upper edge 69 of the reflective mirror 50 (concave mirror 53).

[0031] In the vehicle display device 10, an anti-reflection processed portion 77 may be formed on the outer surface of the frame portion (bezel portion 70) to suppress reflection of light.

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

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

[0034] The outer surface of the bezel portion 70 is formed with a reflection-suppressing processed portion 77 that is embossed or painted as a reflection-suppressing process, so that such a bezel portion 70 can effectively suppress the reflection of external light OL on the outer surface of the bezel portion 70.

[0035] The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-209367 (filing date: December 12, 2023) are incorporated herein by reference.

[0036] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims.

[0037] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Vehicle display device 11 Housing 15 Opening 20 Image display device 50 Reflecting mirror 53 Concave mirror 69 Edge 70 Bezel 77 Reflection suppressing processed portion 100 Vehicle D Driver L Display light WS Windshield

Claims

1. A vehicle display device comprising: a housing having a wall with an opening that allows image display light to pass through to the outside; an image display device housed within the housing and outputting the image display light; and a reflecting mirror housed within the housing and reflecting the image display light toward a reflector positioned in front of a vehicle occupant, wherein a frame portion is disposed on an upper edge of the reflecting mirror so as to extend along the edge and cover the edge.

2. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein an anti-reflection processed portion is formed on an outer surface of the frame portion to suppress reflection of light.

3. The vehicle display device according to claim 2, wherein the anti-reflection processed portion is embossed or painted as the anti-reflection processing.

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