CN108363203A - Display module for vehicle and the passenger compartment including the module - Google Patents

Abstract

Display module (18) for vehicle's passenger compartment (10), including being used to show image (24,26,28) screen (20), by least one piezoelectric element (30) and control device (34) of screen (20) carrying, the control device is suitable for control piezoelectric element (30) to generate sound wave (38,40,42).

Description

Display module for vehicle and passenger compartment including same

technical field

The present invention relates to vehicles, in particular motor vehicles, and more particularly to passenger compartments of such vehicles. The invention also relates to a device for informing a driver of a vehicle, in particular a head-up display module.

Background technique

Typically, a vehicle includes an instrument panel having a portion disposed below the windshield and facing the driver's seat of the vehicle. This section includes visual indicators related to the status of several vehicle systems. For example, dashboards include speed indicators and fuel tank level indicators, among others. However, the driver of the vehicle must look away from the windshield when looking at the portion containing the visual indicator.

For safety, a head-up display module can be installed on this part of the dashboard. The display module includes a screen and a projection device arranged opposite to the windshield. The screen forms a support for the visual indicators projected by the projection means. The driver can look at the screen while looking at the windshield, thereby improving the safety of vehicle use.

Sometimes, to ensure that the driver does pay attention to the information provided by one of the indicators, an audible signal is given along with the appearance of the visual indication. A speaker provided on the instrument panel emits a sound reminder to remind the user to look at the screen of the head-up display module.

However, such an arrangement has the disadvantage of being relatively bulky and requires the presence of specific elements, such as loudspeakers, to emit the sound signal. If a speaker is used for other functions, such as the vehicle's radio, the user's gaze will not be directed at the screen when activated. Therefore, display modules are less effective in this case.

Contents of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a display module, in particular a heads-up display module, which is efficient and less bulky.

To achieve this object, the invention provides a display module for a passenger compartment of a vehicle, characterized in that the display module comprises a screen for displaying images, at least one piezoelectric element carried by the screen and control means, the The control device is used to control the piezoelectric element to generate sound waves.

The screen thus participates in the emission of sound waves. The display module is thus compact and can alert the driver if particularly relevant information is displayed on the screen. Also, since the screen emits sound waves, the user's eyes are instinctively drawn to it.

Additionally, in preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more of the following arrangements may be used:

- the display module is of the head-up type; however, it should be noted that the display module may more generally be of any type and in particular may be arranged anywhere within the passenger compartment of the vehicle;

- The piezoelectric element is adapted to vibrate the screen to generate sound waves; thereby generating sound waves in a simple manner;

- piezoelectric elements adapted to vibrate the screen perpendicular to the main plane of the screen;

- the control device is connected to the piezoelectric element via a printed circuit board arranged at one end of the screen; the sound waves are thus directed towards the driver's seat;

- the piezoelectric element is arranged at one end of the screen;

- the display module comprises a plurality of piezoelectric elements arranged at the ends of the screen and distributed regularly; the whole screen thus vibrates uniformly;

- display images by projecting them on a screen;

- the screen is of the organic light-emitting diode type, also known by the abbreviation OLED;

- The screen is of the Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode type, also abbreviated AMOLED;

- in particular when the screen is OLED or AMOLED, it may be sandwiched between two panels, at least one of which is transparent and at least one of which consists of plastic or glass;

- The screen may also be formed from a transparent plate; it should be noted that in this application the term "transparent" is understood to mean a material having a light transmission percentage greater than or equal to 60%; the plate may also be translucent and Also has a light transmittance greater than or equal to 60%;

- the transparent panel comprises glass and/or plastic; the transparent panel may in particular be formed entirely of glass or plastic;

- the plastic material of the plate may partly or substantially consist of polycarbonate known with the abbreviation PC, poly(methyl methacrylate) with the abbreviation PMMA, or polyethylene terephthalate with the abbreviation PET;

- The thickness of the board is between 0.8 mm and 5 mm.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a passenger compartment of a vehicle, which includes the above-mentioned display module.

Additionally, in preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more of the following arrangements may be used:

- the screen is arranged in a plane comprising a vertical direction and a horizontal direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle;

- the display module includes a windshield at a distance from the screen substantially equal to Nλ/4, where λ is the wavelength of the sound wave in air and N is an odd number; Sound waves that are 180° out of phase with the sound waves in the direction of travel of the seat, and thus superimposed on those sound waves, so that no energy is lost, or worse, a resultant wave of zero amplitude is formed;

- The piezoelectric element is arranged to be hidden from the user's view; the user's view is not disturbed by the piezoelectric element and the perceived quality is improved.

Description of drawings

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of a non-limiting example with the help of the following figures:

- Figure 1 is a front view of the windshield and control panel of the passenger compartment of the vehicle seen from the driver's seat of the vehicle,

- Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a display module according to the invention,

- Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the display module,

- Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view of a display module and part of a passenger compartment.

Detailed ways

Shown in FIG. 1 is a passenger compartment 10 of a motor vehicle. It should be noted that the invention may be implemented in any type of vehicle. The view in FIG. 1 shows the passenger compartment 10 from the driver's seat of the vehicle. Accordingly, passenger compartment 10 includes windshield 12 , instrument panel 14 and steering wheel 16 .

In addition, the dashboard 14 carries a display module 18 , here of the head-up type. However, the display module 18 may be of any type and may be arranged in another part of the passenger compartment 10, such as an armrest. The display module 18 comprises projection means and a transparent plate 20 comprising a main part 21 substantially comprising a vertical direction (Z) and a horizontal direction (Y) perpendicular to the direction of travel (X) of the vehicle. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 , the transparent plate 20 is arranged on an upper surface 22 with respect to the vertical direction (Z) of the instrument panel 14 . The transparent pane 20 is thus arranged opposite the windshield 12 . That is why, when the driver looks at the transparent panel 20, he also sees through the windshield 12 to the outside of the vehicle.

The transparent panel 20 is also capable of displaying the image or images emitted by the projection device so that they are visible to the driver. The transparent plate 20 thus forms a screen. For example, the transparent panel 20 displays an image 24 relating to an authorized speed limit or an image 26 relating to no passage being permitted or an image 28 relating to the route the vehicle is following. The images 24 , 26 , 28 occupy a portion of the transparent panel 20 so that the driver can also see the exterior of the vehicle behind the transparent panel 20 and the windshield 12 .

The head-up display module 18 will now be described in more detail with the aid of FIG. 2 .

The main part 21 of the transparent panel 20 is visible to the driver. In addition, the transparent panel 20 includes a lower end 23 disposed with respect to the vertical direction (Z), which is arranged below the upper surface 22 of the instrument panel 14 so as to be hidden from the driver's view. This lower end portion 23 also extends in a plane substantially comprising a vertical direction (Z) perpendicular to the direction of travel (X) of the vehicle and a horizontal direction (Y).

In addition, the lower end portion 23 of the transparent plate 20 carries a plurality of piezoelectric elements 30 regularly distributed in a horizontal direction (Y) perpendicular to the traveling direction (X) of the vehicle. The plurality of piezoelectric elements 30 are therefore also invisible to the driver.

In addition, the lower end portion 23 of the transparent plate 20 is fixed at its lower end in the vertical direction (Z) to the printed circuit board 32 to which each piezoelectric element 30 is electrically connected.

The operation of the display module 18 will now be described with the aid of FIG. 3 .

The piezoelectric element 30 is electrically connected to a printed circuit board 32 . The board is electrically connected to a control module 34 in communication therewith. The control module 34 is electrically connected to a system 36 of the vehicle. System 36 may be an air conditioning or heating system, a speedometer or a GPS module. More generally, the control module 34 may be electrically connected to various systems of the vehicle, in particular all vehicle systems. Additionally, the control module 34 may be electrically connected to an electronic control unit (ECU), abbreviated as ECU, itself electrically connected to the vehicle systems and able to command them.

Thus, when the ECU or system 36 determines that it is necessary to send an alert to the driver so that he looks at the transparent panel 20 to read the information thereon, it sends the information to the control module 34 . This module is interactively connected with a printed circuit board 32 which drives the piezoelectric element 30 by applying a voltage. As a result, the piezoelectric element 30 vibrates the transparent plate 30 perpendicular to the main plane (YZ) of the transparent plate 20 in the traveling direction (X) of the vehicle. The vibration frequency is between 20 Hz and 18 kHz, so that the transparent panel 20 produces sound waves audible to the driver. The control means 34 are thus connected to the piezoelectric elements 30 via the printed circuit board 32 and are able to control these piezoelectric elements 30 to generate sound waves.

We will now use FIG. 4 to describe the function of the windshield 12 with respect to the display module 18 .

When the transparent panel 20 vibrates, a plurality of sound waves are emitted in the traveling direction (X) of the vehicle. Wherein, the first sound wave 38 travels from the front to the rear of the vehicle, towards the driver's seat. The second sound wave 40 travels from the rear of the vehicle to the front, towards the windshield 12 . The second sound wave 40 is out of phase with respect to the first sound wave 38 by 180° or Pi radians. This second sound wave 40 is reflected by the inner surface of the windshield 12, so that the reflected sound wave 42 propagates from the front of the vehicle to the rear. This reflected sound wave 42 is superimposed on the first sound wave 38 . The superposition of sound waves 38 and 42 forms a composite wave.

To ensure that no energy is lost, or even a resultant wave of constant zero amplitude is formed, the part of the windshield 12 that receives the greatest amount of sound waves (here part 12A) is at a distance of Nλ/4 from the transparent panel 20, where λ is the sound wave in air wavelength, N is an odd number. In this embodiment, the sound waves are emitted at a frequency of 170 Hz and N is equal to one. Portion 12A of windshield 12 is thus located at a distance from transparent panel 20 substantially equal to 50 centimeters. Thus, energy conservation is maximized and sound is transmitted audibly to the vehicle driver. The windshield 12 thus forms a reflective element, reflecting sound waves emitted from the rear of the vehicle towards the front. Transparent panel 20 is positioned relative to windshield 12 such that sound waves reflected by windshield 12 are superimposed with waves emitted from the front of the vehicle directly to the rear while maximizing energy savings.

Of course, many variations may be applied to the invention without departing from its scope or spirit.

In particular, the number of piezoelectric elements 30 can be varied, in particular only one can be used.

It is also possible to use a specific element placed between the transparent panel 20 and the windshield 12 to reflect sound waves emitted from the rear to the front of the vehicle.

Claims (10)

1. A display module (18) for a vehicle passenger compartment (10), characterized in that the display module (18) comprises a screen (20) for displaying images (24,26,28), composed of At least one piezoelectric element (30) carried by the screen (20) and a control device (34) adapted to control the piezoelectric element (30) to generate sound waves (38, 40, 42). 2. Display module (18) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said piezoelectric element (30) is adapted to vibrate said screen (20) in order to generate said sound waves (38, 40, 42). 3. The display module (18) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the piezoelectric element (30) is adapted to vibrate the screen (20) perpendicular to the main plane (YZ) of the screen (20) . 4. The display module (18) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control device (34) is via a printed circuit board (32) arranged at one end (23) of the screen (20) connected to the piezoelectric element (30). 5. The display module (18) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the piezoelectric element (30) is arranged at one end (23) of the screen (20). 6. Display module (18) according to the preceding claim, comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements (30) arranged at said end (23) of said screen and distributed regularly. 7. A passenger compartment (10) of a vehicle comprising a display module (18) according to claim 1. 8. Passenger compartment (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said screen (20) is arranged in a plane (YZ) comprising a vertical direction ( Z) and the horizontal direction (Y). 9. Passenger compartment (10) according to the preceding claim, comprising a windshield (12) located at a distance from said screen (20), said distance being substantially equal to Nλ/4, where λ is said The wavelength of sound waves in air, and N is an odd number. 10. Passenger compartment (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the piezoelectric element (30) is arranged to be hidden from view of the user.