JP2010254108A - Vehicular display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular display device for reducing a sense of incongruity along with the luminance change of illumination light. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular display device which is mounted on an idle-stop vehicle and supplied with power from a battery mounted on the vehicle includes a display means 2 for displaying information of the vehicle, an illumination means 3 for illuminating the display means 2, and a control means 1 for inputting idle-stop information to determine whether the vehicle is in an idle-stop state or not, and controlling the display means 2 and the illumination means 3. The control means 1 reduces the light quantity of the illumination means 3 in the idle-stop state, and controls the illumination means 3 to gradually increase the luminance when returning from the idle-stop state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device that is mounted on a vehicle that performs idle stop and receives power supply from a battery mounted on the vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle display device that performs display illumination.

  Conventionally, there is a vehicle equipped with an idle stop function for the purpose of saving energy or protecting the global environment. For example, the engine is stopped while the ignition switch is kept on for a relatively long time such as a relatively short stop time such as waiting for a signal, a person getting on and off, and loading or unloading a load.

  A display device for a vehicle such as a meter mounted on a vehicle that performs this kind of idle stop can be driven by power supply from a battery. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, in an idle stop state, In some cases, it is desired to reduce the illumination brightness in order to reduce the burden on the battery.

JP 2006-256397 A

  However, the above-described vehicle display device may give a sense of discomfort to the vehicle user due to, for example, a sudden increase in illumination when returning from the idle stop state. In addition, there is a possibility that the display device for a vehicle may be noticed more than necessary due to a sense of incongruity that the lighting changes suddenly at a timing not intended by the user.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle display device that can reduce the sense of incongruity associated with a change in the luminance of illumination.

  The vehicle display device of the present invention is a vehicle display device that is mounted on a vehicle that performs idle stop and receives power supply from a battery mounted on the vehicle, the display unit displaying information on the vehicle, The control means comprises: illumination means for illuminating the display means; and a control means for controlling the display means and the illumination means while inputting a signal for determining whether or not the vehicle is in the idle stop state. The illumination unit is dimmed in the idle stop state, and the illumination unit is controlled so as to gradually increase the illumination brightness when returning from the idle stop state.

  Further, the control means controls the illumination means so as to gradually lower the illumination brightness when the vehicle shifts to an idle stop state.

  Further, the display means includes at least a speedometer that displays a traveling speed of the vehicle, and is applied as a vehicle instrument.

  The present invention relates to a display device for a vehicle that is mounted on a vehicle that performs idle stop and receives power supply from a battery mounted on the vehicle, and can reduce a sense of incongruity associated with a change in luminance of illumination.

The block diagram which shows the structure in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a timing in each state of embodiment same as the above. The figure which shows another example of embodiment same as the above.

  Hereinafter, as an embodiment of the present invention, an example in which the vehicle display device of the present invention is applied to a vehicle instrument including a speedometer will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle instrument, which includes a control means 1, a display means 2, and an illumination means 3, and has an outer shape equivalent to a known vehicle instrument.

  For example, a microcomputer can be applied to the control unit 1, and various vehicles from other devices such as a calculation unit that executes various processes including control according to the present embodiment in accordance with a control program stored in the storage unit, an ECU of the vehicle, and the like. An input / output interface for inputting information and connecting to the display means 2 and the illumination means 3 is provided. The control means 1 receives various vehicle information including an ignition switch state signal and wheel rotation information, and controls the display means 1 to display a measured value by an arithmetic process based on these information, and the illumination means 2 A control signal for adjusting the illumination brightness of the display means 1 is generated and sent to each.

  The display unit 2 is driven by receiving power supply from the battery, and displays a measured value or the like based on a control signal from the control unit 1. In this case, the display means 2 includes a so-called analog instrument composed of a pointer that rotates based on the control signal and a dial plate that has a scale, a number, or an index that is a target of the pointer, and a liquid crystal display. A composite instrument including a panel display unit constituted by panels and a display unit for displaying an alarm state and an indicator is used. As the analog instrument of the display means 2, for example, it can be composed of a speedometer showing the traveling speed of the vehicle, an engine speed meter, a fuel gauge, and a water temperature gauge, and the integrated travel distance, the outside air temperature, etc. can be switched and displayed on the panel display section. It can be configured as follows.

  The illuminating unit 3 is driven by power supply from the battery, and is controlled to emit light with a desired luminance based on a control signal from the control unit 1. For example, the illumination is performed so that the user can visually recognize the display by the display unit 2 even at night. In this case, a light emitting diode provided on the back side (the side opposite to the display surface) of the display unit 2 can be applied. . The control unit 1 can control the light emission luminance of the illumination unit 3 using pulse width modulation control.

  Next, processing of the control means 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of various states. Whether the control means 1 has shifted from the engine operating state to the idle stop state (the engine stop state with the ignition switch turned on) using various vehicle information to be input. If it is determined whether or not the engine is shifted to the idle stop state, the illumination unit 3 is controlled so that the illumination luminance is gradually reduced from the normal luminance in the engine operating state.

  In this case, the control means 1 is dimmed by reducing the illumination brightness to less than half that when the engine is operating, and has the effect of reducing the load on the battery. Moreover, the control means 1 can also be controlled to selectively diminish or turn off those other than those having a high priority to be notified to the user, such as an alarm.

  Further, in this case, the control means 1 is configured to determine whether or not the engine operation state has shifted to the idle stop state to determine whether or not dedicated idle stop information (signal) from the ECU has been input. However, instead of idle stop information, using various vehicle information that has been input, for example, the vehicle stops from the calculated value of the speedometer and a certain period of time has passed, and the predetermined conditions such as the ignition switch state and water temperature are satisfied. It is also possible to determine whether or not a transition to idle stop has occurred.

  Next, the control means 1 determines whether or not the engine has shifted (returned) from the idle stop state to the engine operating state. When this condition is satisfied, the lighting means 3 is controlled so as to gradually increase the illumination brightness. To do. In this case, the control means 1 is configured to determine whether or not the transition from the idle stop state to the engine operating state has been performed by inputting dedicated idle stop information (signal) from the ECU. However, it can also be determined from information such as throttle opening information and engine starter cell motor operation information.

  Further, in the control of the illumination unit 3 (gradual dimming or gradually increasing) by the control unit 1 described above, it may be changed continuously as shown in FIG. 2 or may be changed stepwise. In addition, the control means 1 can set the optimal illumination brightness value calculated using the illumination brightness value preset by the user or the detection value of the illuminance sensor as the upper limit (normal brightness) for increasing the illumination brightness. .

  Such a vehicle display device is a vehicle display device that is mounted on a vehicle that performs idle stop and receives power supply from a battery mounted on the vehicle, the display means 2 displaying information on the vehicle, A lighting unit 3 for illuminating the display unit 2; and a control unit 1 for controlling the display unit 2 and the lighting unit 3 while inputting idle stop information for determining whether or not the idle unit is in the idle stop state. The control unit 1 dims the illumination unit 3 in the idle stop state, and controls the illumination unit 3 to gradually increase the illumination brightness when returning from the idle stop state.

  Therefore, it is possible to reduce a sense of incongruity caused by a change in the luminance of the illumination, compared to a case where the illumination increases rapidly. Moreover, since an abrupt illumination change is not performed, it is possible to suppress the user's attention to the vehicle display device more than necessary. Also, depending on the environment of the vehicle, for example, even when the user is paying attention to the change in the illumination of the vehicle in the dark, by gradually changing the luminance, the user's light adaptation can be taken into consideration, making it feel dazzling This can be suppressed.

  Further, the control means 1 controls the illumination means 3 so as to gradually lower the illumination brightness when the vehicle shifts to the idle stop state, so that the illumination brightness is suddenly dimmed. This reduces the sense of discomfort felt by users. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, it is advantageous when the engine is shifted from the engine operating state to the idle stop state and then immediately shifted to the engine operating state. The uncomfortable feeling by changing can be reduced.

  The display means 2 is composed of at least a speedometer that displays the traveling speed of the vehicle, and is applied as a vehicle meter, so that the discomfort caused by the change in illumination brightness particularly in the driver's field of view among the vehicle users. This is advantageous because it can be reduced.

  The vehicle display device of the present invention has been described by way of example in the configuration of the embodiment described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the gist of the present invention is also achieved in other configurations. It goes without saying that various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the scope.

  The present invention can be applied as, for example, a display device for a vehicle mounted on a moving body including an automobile, a motorcycle, an agricultural machine, or a construction machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control means 2 Display means 3 Illumination means

Claims (3)

It is installed in a vehicle that performs idle stop,
A vehicle display device that receives power from a battery mounted on the vehicle,
Display means for displaying the information of the vehicle, illumination means for illuminating the display means,
A signal for determining whether or not the idle stop state is input, and a control means for controlling the display means and the illumination means,
The control means dims the illumination means in the idle stop state, and controls the illumination means to gradually increase the illumination brightness when returning from the idle stop state. Vehicle display device.   The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the illumination unit so as to gradually lower the illumination luminance when the vehicle shifts to an idle stop state.   The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes a speedometer that displays at least a traveling speed of the vehicle, and is applied as a vehicle instrument.

Images