JPH07144557A - Vehicle display - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] While reducing the effect of virtual images on the driving field of vision,
(EN) Provided is a display device for a vehicle, which can make a virtual image good in readability. [Configuration] A display image of the light emitting display device 14 is projected on a combiner (projected member) 18 via a reflecting member (optical member) 16,
A display unit U for visually recognizing the virtual image 24 from the viewpoint position E (E1, E2, E3) of the driver is provided in the dashboard 17. An inclination angle adjusting means 20 is provided which changes the inclination angle θ (θ1, θ2, θ3) of the reflecting member 16 according to the viewpoint position E and corrects the position of the virtual image 24 in the driving view zones A, B and C. The tilt angle adjusting means 20 or the reflecting member 16 has a tilt angle θ.
A detection means 21 for detecting is provided. Detection signal of the detection means 21
A light adjusting means 23 for adjusting the display contrast ratio CR of the virtual image 24 on the basis of 22 is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention projects a display image of a display device onto a projection member provided above a dashboard (for example, a windshield) so that the display image can be superimposed on a landscape within a driver's driving field of view. The present invention relates to a vehicle display device that displays a virtual image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a display device for a vehicle of this type is called a head-up display, and displays driving information such as vehicle speed, engine rotation, mileage, and remaining fuel amount in front of a driver, such as the front. By projecting the projected image on the projection member provided inside the glass, the displayed image is formed as a virtual image in the driving view outside the windshield, and the driver visually recognizes the displayed image so as to overlap with the landscape within the driving view. Therefore, there are many advantages such as not having to move the line of sight greatly when viewing the virtual image.

By the way, in this type of vehicle display device, the position of the display image in the driver's driving field of view also changes in accordance with the change of the viewpoint position according to the physique and driving posture of the driver. It has been proposed that the display position of a display image can be corrected according to the position (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 229366), such a vehicle display device will be described below with reference to FIG.

The vehicular display device shown in FIG. 3 is a dash-type display 2 made up of a liquid crystal display device having a fluorescent display tube or a backlight in a dashboard 1, and a display image of the display 2 is dashed. A display unit 4 including a reflection member (optical member) 3 such as a mirror that reflects upwardly of the board 1 is provided, and a display image reflected by the reflection member 3 is formed on the inside of the windshield 5 (projected member (combiner). ) 6 is projected (reflected) to form a virtual image 7, and the virtual image 7 is visually recognized as a display image at the viewpoints 8 and 9 by the driver. At this time, the reflecting member 3 includes a driving member such as a motor. The rotating mechanism 10 consisting of
By changing the inclination of the reflecting member 3, the position of the virtual image (display image) 7 projected on the combiner 6 is increased when the viewpoint 8 of the driver is high, while the viewpoint position of the driver is increased. When the viewpoint 9 is low, the position of the virtual image 7 projected on the combiner 6 is adjusted to be low, and the position of the virtual image 7 in the driving visual field is not largely displaced depending on the physique, the driving posture, and the like of the driver. There is. In the figure, 11, 12
Is the driver's line of sight. At this time, the driver's line of sight 11, 12
Indicates a case where the common line-of-sight object 13 is viewed from the viewpoints 8 and 9.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the viewpoint position of the driver is low, the virtual image 7 is displayed.
Is located in the center of the driver's visual field, that is, in the vicinity of the line-of-sight target 13, so that the display is annoying, or when the virtual image 7 and the line-of-sight target 13 overlap each other, it is an obstacle to driving, etc. May cause trouble.
In the case of the viewpoint 8 having a high viewpoint position, the virtual image 7 is located away from the center of the driving field of view (that is, the line-of-sight object 13), so that it is difficult to display, but it is legible as a display device for this type of vehicle. There was a problem that it was difficult to make.

The present invention has been made in order to solve these problems, and in a vehicle display device of this type constructed so that the display position of the virtual image 7 can be adjusted by changing the inclination of the reflecting member 3. Focusing on the fact that the display position of the virtual image 7 depends on the tilt angle of the reflecting member 3, the display device for a vehicle that can make the legibility of the virtual image 7 good while reducing the influence of the virtual image 7 on the driving field of view. The purpose is to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention projects a display image of a light emitting display mounted in a dashboard of a vehicle by an optical member onto a projection target member provided above the dashboard to provide a driver. And a display unit for displaying a virtual image of the display image in the driving field of view, and a tilt angle adjusting means for correcting the projection position of the display image by changing the tilt angle of the optical member according to the viewpoint position of the driver. A detecting means for outputting a detection signal corresponding to the inclination angle of the optical member, which is provided by the inclination angle adjusting means, and the brightness of the display image of the light emitting display device based on the detection signal from the detecting means. Adjusting means for controlling the display contrast ratio of the virtual image by controlling the height.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides
In the above configuration, the adjusting unit lowers the display contrast ratio when the virtual image is displayed substantially in the center of the driving field of view, and when the virtual image is displayed at a position away from the center of the driving field of view of the driver. The display contrast ratio is adjusted to be high.

[Action]

According to the present invention, the display contrast ratio of the virtual image is controlled by the adjusting means based on the inclination angle of the optical member, so that the display with good readability can be obtained while reducing the influence on the driving visual field. Is obtained.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. A vehicular display device according to the present embodiment is a fluorescent display tube, EL, for displaying the traveling speed of a vehicle by light emission, for example, in response to a signal from a speed sensor (not shown). (Electroluminescence) or other light-emitting display element, or a light-emitting display 14 composed of a liquid crystal display having a backlight, and a mirror or the like that reflects the display image of the light-emitting display 14 toward the windshield 15 side. The display unit U including the reflecting member (optical member) 16 is provided in the dashboard 17, and the display image of the light emitting display 14 reflected by the reflecting member 16 is displayed on the dashboard.
17 is arranged above the windshield 15 and is projected on a combiner (projected member) 18 made of a transmissive reflection plate provided inside the windshield 15, and the display image projected on the combiner 18 is configured to be visually recognized by the driver. And in this case combiner 18
The display image projected on the vehicle is a virtual image that is located on the extension line of the interpretation line of sight RL from the viewpoint position E of the driver and is located in the driving view zones A, B, and C including the line-of-sight target 19. Is.

In the reflecting member 16, the combiner 18 is changed by changing the inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16 with respect to the light emitting display 14 according to the height of the viewpoint position E according to the physique and driving posture of the driver. An inclination angle adjusting means 20 is provided for correcting and moving the position of the display image in the vertical direction when viewed from the driver so that the position of the display image projected on the vehicle becomes the optimum display position.

The tilt angle adjusting means 20 is composed of a rotating member such as a motor which is arbitrarily driven by a driver's switching operation. The reflecting member 16 is provided with the central portion of the reflecting member 16 as a fulcrum. By rotating in the vertical direction, the inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16 is provided so as to be adjustable according to the height of the viewpoint position E.

The inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16 that can be changed by the inclination angle adjusting means 20 is detected by a limit switch provided on the inclination angle adjusting means 20 or an angle sensor provided on the reflecting member. Detected by 21
The inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16 detected by the detecting means 21
Is output to the light control means 23 as a detection signal 22 corresponding to the tilt angle θ.

The dimming means 23 is a dimming control circuit composed of a CPU programmed with dimming data corresponding to the detection signal 22, and the display contrast of the virtual image 24 is based on the detection signal 22 supplied from the detecting means 21. A drive signal 25 for determining the ratio CR is output to the light emitting display 14 to adjust the brightness of the virtual image 24 according to the inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16. In this case, the display contrast ratio CR is the virtual image 24 visually recognized from the viewpoint position E.
And the brightness of the driving visibility zones A, B, C serving as the background. The brightness of the driving visibility zones A, B, C serving as the background is provided on the dashboard 17, for example. It is obtained by an external light sensor (not shown) and output to the light control means 23, and the light control means 23 performs a predetermined process.

FIG. 2 is a table showing the operation of the vehicular display device when the viewpoint position E of the driver is at the viewpoint positions E1, E2, E3, respectively. Referring to FIG. 2 together with FIG. The operation of the embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, the optical paths of the display image of the light-emitting display at the viewpoint positions E1, E2, E3 are set to the optical paths a, b, c, respectively, and the combiner 18 of the optical paths a, b, c and the viewpoint positions E1 are set. , E2, E
The visual lines RL1, RL2, RL3 for visually recognizing the virtual image 24 are set on the extended lines connecting the lines 3 and 3, and the line of sight of the driver at each viewpoint position E1, E2, E3 is set to the driving line L1, L2 and L3 are set, and the objects of these driving lines of sight L1, L2, and L3 are the common line-of-sight object 19 in the driving field zone (the driving field center) A.

That is, when the driver's viewpoint position E is the viewpoint position E1, the tilt angle adjusting means 20 adjusts the tilt angle θ of the reflecting member 16 to the tilt angle θ1, and the display image of the light emitting display 14 is displayed on the optical path a. After that, the display image is projected on the combiner 18 at a high position, and the display image projected on the combiner 18 reaches the viewpoint position E1, but from the viewpoint position E1, the display image is on the extension line of the interpretation line of sight RL1. And
It is visually recognized as a virtual image 24 located in the driving visibility zone C.
At this time, the line-of-sight target 19 at the viewpoint position E1 is located in the driving view zone A based on the driving line of sight L1, whereas the virtual image 24 visually recognized from the viewpoint position E1 is located in the driving view zone C. The value of the display contrast ratio CR of the virtual image 24 is set to a high value of 2.0 by the light adjusting means 23 based on the detection signal 22 corresponding to the tilt angle θ1 output by.

Next, when the viewpoint position E of the driver is the viewpoint position E2, the inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16 is adjusted by the inclination angle adjusting means 20.
Is adjusted to an inclination angle θ2, the display image of the light emitting display 14 passes through the optical path b, and the display image is projected on the combiner 18 substantially at the center position, and the display image projected on the combiner 18 is the viewpoint position. After reaching E2, the display image is visually recognized from the viewpoint position E2 as a virtual image 24 located on the extension line of the interpretation line of sight RL2 and located in the driving visibility zone B. At this time, the line-of-sight object 19 at the viewpoint position E2 is located in the driving view zone A based on the driving line of sight L2, and the virtual image 24 visually recognized from the viewpoint position E2 is located in the driving view zone B, but the inclination angle of the detection means 21. Light control means 23 based on the detection signal 22 corresponding to θ2
Thus, the value of the display contrast ratio CR of the virtual image 24 is set to 1.5, which is slightly lower than that at the viewpoint position E1.

Next, when the viewpoint position E of the driver is the viewpoint position E3, the inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16 is adjusted by the inclination angle adjusting means 20.
Is adjusted to an inclination angle θ3, the display image of the light emitting display 14 is projected to a lower position on the combiner 18 through the optical path c, and the display image projected on the combiner 18 is set to the viewpoint position E3. Upon arrival, the display image is visually recognized from the viewpoint position E3 as a virtual image 24 located on the extension of the legible line of sight RL3 and located in the driving visibility zone A. At this time, the line-of-sight object 19 at the viewpoint position E3 is located in the driving view zone A based on the driving line of sight L2, while the virtual image 24 visually recognized from the viewpoint position E3 is also located in the driving view zone A, but the detection means 21
The value of the display contrast ratio CR of the virtual image 24 is set to 1. by the light adjusting means 23 based on the detection signal 22 corresponding to the inclination angle θ3.
2 and the viewpoint position E2 are set to be lower.

The display contrast ratio C according to this embodiment is
The adjustment value of R is one setting example, and the CR value of the display contrast ratio when the virtual image 24 is in the driving view zone A is CR.
When CR is the display contrast ratio CR value when the virtual image 24 is in the driving view zone B, and CR is the display contrast ratio CR value when the virtual image 24 is in the driving view zone C, CRA <CRB <CRC. Like a virtual image
The display contrast ratio CR may be set higher as 24 is displayed at a position away from the driver's driving field of view.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the inclination angle θ (θ of the reflecting member 16 provided so as to be changeable by the inclination angle adjusting means 20 according to the viewpoint position E (E1, E2, E3) of the driver.
1, θ2, θ3) is detected by the detecting means 21 as the tilt angle θ
The detection signal 22 corresponding to (θ1, θ2, θ3) is supplied to the light control means 23. Based on the detection signal 22 by the light control means 23, the virtual image 24 is at the position farthest from the driver's driving view zone A. When it is displayed in the (driving field zone C), the display contrast ratio CR can be increased to improve the legibility of the display, and the virtual image 24 is displayed in the driving field zone A of the driver.
The display contrast ratio CR is adjusted to be low when it is displayed in the position closest to the vehicle (driving field zone A), and therefore the display of the virtual image 24 may be bothersome or may be difficult.
It is possible to reduce adverse effects on the driving visibility such as the display of 24 obstructing the driving visibility.

Although the display unit U is composed of the light emitting display 14 and the reflecting member 16 in the above-described embodiment, another optical element, for example, between the light emitting display 14 and the reflecting member 16 is used. Display unit U incorporating a plurality of optical members
May be configured.

In the above embodiment, the display contrast ratio CR is adjusted in three steps according to the viewpoint positions E1, E2 and E3. However, the display contrast ratio CR is adjusted in the movement setting range of the viewpoint position E. Within, it may be adjusted steplessly.

In the above embodiment, the driver's viewpoint position E (E1, E2, E
The tilt angle adjusting means 20 is driven according to 3) and the reflecting member 16
The inclination angle θ of the
The case where the tilt angle θ changed by is output as the detection signal 22 corresponding to the tilt angle θ by the detection means 21 including the limit switch and the angle sensor is shown. However, the viewpoint position E (E1, E2, E3) of the driver is shown. The tilt angle θ of the reflecting member 16 is caused by causing the tilt angle adjusting means 20 to follow the movable member that is changed and adjusted in accordance with
May be changed. In this case, detection means for detecting the change angle such as a rearview mirror or a rearview mirror is provided in place of the detection means 21, and the detection signal output from this detection means is used as the driver's viewpoint position E (E1). , E2, E3), which can be used as the detection signal 22 of the inclination angle θ of the reflecting member 16, and the same operation as that of the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0025]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a display image of a light emitting display mounted in a dashboard of a vehicle is projected by an optical member onto a projection target member provided above the dashboard for driving. A display unit for displaying a virtual image of the display image in the driver's driving field of view, and an inclination angle adjustment for correcting the projection position of the display image by changing the inclination angle of the optical member according to the viewpoint position of the driver. Means, detecting means for outputting a detection signal corresponding to the inclination angle of the optical member, which is provided by the inclination angle adjusting means, and a display image of the light emitting display device based on the detection signal from the detecting means. Adjusting means for controlling the brightness to adjust the display contrast ratio of the virtual image, and the display contrast ratio of the virtual image is adjusted by the adjusting means based on the inclination angle of the optical member. Because but controlled, while reducing the influence of the virtual image of the operating field of view, it is possible to provide a vehicular display device that can make a good readability of the virtual image.

In the above structure, the adjusting means lowers the display contrast ratio when the virtual image is displayed substantially in the center of the driving field of view, and displays the virtual image at a position away from the center of the driving field of view of the driver. By adjusting the display contrast ratio to a high level when the display is performed, a desired display contrast ratio can be obtained according to the display position of the virtual image, so that the annoyance of displaying the virtual image can be suppressed and the readability of the virtual image can be improved. Display device can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a table for explaining the operation of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 Light emitting display 16 Reflective member (optical member) 17 Dashboard 18 Combiner (projected member) 20 Tilt angle adjusting means 21 Detecting means 22 Detecting signal 23 Dimming means 24 Virtual image A, B, C Driving view zone (driving view) E (E1, E2, E3) Viewpoint position U Display unit θ (θ1, θ2, θ3) Tilt angle (tilt angle) CR Display contrast ratio

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A display image of a light emitting display mounted in a dashboard of a vehicle is projected by an optical member onto a projection target member provided above the dashboard so that the display image of the display image is displayed in a driver's driving field of view. A display unit for displaying a virtual image,
Inclination angle adjusting means for adjusting the projection position of the display image by changing the inclination angle of the optical member according to the driver's viewpoint position, and the optical member changeably provided by the inclination angle adjusting means. Detecting means for outputting a detection signal corresponding to the inclination angle of the, and adjusting means for controlling the brightness of the display image of the light emitting display based on the detection signal from the detecting means to adjust the display contrast ratio of the virtual image. A display device for a vehicle, comprising: 2. The adjusting means reduces the display contrast ratio when the virtual image is displayed substantially in the center of the driving field of view, and the virtual image is displayed at a position away from the center of the driving field of view of the driver. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the display contrast ratio is adjusted to a high value.