JP3139949B2 - Information display device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information display device in which display elements are arranged vertically and horizontally in a matrix and character patterns are displayed by dot spelling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an information display device in which display elements are arranged vertically and horizontally in a matrix and character patterns are displayed by dot spelling, recently, a light-emitting diode which has a long life as a display element and is capable of multicolor display and moving image display. (LEDs) have been increasingly used.

[0003] The LED is lit by passing a DC current, but its luminous intensity is almost proportional to the flowing current, so that a large information board requires a large power supply capacity.

For example, when the display surface of an information display device is an outdoor display having a size of 2 m × 3 m,
In many cases, LEDs are arranged at a pitch of 10 mm in order to perform fine display. In this case, the LED quantity is 200
(Pcs) x 300 = 60,000 (pcs). here,
Assuming that the required power supply capacity of one LED is 0.2 W, the capacity required for the information display device is 0.2 W × 60,000 = 12.
This is a very large value of KW. However, the information display device mainly displays characters, and does not light up the entire surface. Therefore, the ratio of the number of display elements to be lit to the total number of display elements, that is, the lighting rate is about 30% in a normal information display device.

Therefore, the required power supply capacity is 12 KW ×
30% = 3.6 KW, and power is normally supplied via electric wires.

[0006]

Among such information display devices, those installed on the road are shown in FIG. 10 when the road is broken or landslide occurs in an emergency such as an earthquake or a typhoon. In addition, a message such as “No traffic between 〇〇 and XX” is displayed to warn the following vehicles and play an extremely important role in preventing secondary disasters.

However, when a road is broken or a landslide is caused by a large earthquake, a typhoon, or the like, an electric wire supplying power to the information board is often cut due to the collapse of the road or a landslide.
In this case, there is a problem that information cannot be provided to the road user by using the information board.

[0008] Therefore, in the case of a power failure in which an individual information board is equipped with a power generator, it is conceivable to supply power from the power generator and continue displaying information, but the power generation capacity of a general power generator is considered. Is about 2 KW at the maximum, so the capacity is completely insufficient. In addition, there is a problem that an installation place cannot be provided because a large-capacity power generator of 4KW class is large in size. Further, there is a problem that it is too expensive for wide use.

[0009] As a general power outage compensating power supply, there is a storage battery, a solar cell, or the like. Their power capacity is smaller than the power generation capacity of the power generator, and information is displayed using the power outage compensating power supply. It was difficult to display the device using the conventional display method.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and can accurately display information even when power from an electric wire required for displaying information is cut off due to a power failure. An object of the present invention is to provide an information display device with high reliability of information to be displayed.

[0011]

Means for achieving the object are as follows.

1. A display unit (20) having display elements (21) arranged vertically and horizontally in a matrix, and a control unit (30) for selectively supplying power to the display elements (21), An information display device (10) for displaying various information, comprising a power failure compensation power supply (40), wherein the control unit (3)
0) can be switched between a normal mode in which the display section (20) is operated in a normal state and an emergency mode in which the display section (20) is operated in the event of a power failure. In the emergency mode, the power supply is switched to the power supply for power failure compensation ( 40), and in the information display in the emergency mode, the display is switched to a character font using a smaller number of display elements (21) than the character font for displaying information in the normal mode. 10).

[0013]

[0014]

(2) In the emergency mode, the control unit (30) makes the ratio of the line width to the size of the symbols for displaying information smaller than that in the normal mode. (10).

(3) A display unit (20) having display elements (21) arranged vertically and horizontally in a matrix, and a control unit (30) for selectively supplying power to the display elements (21), An information display device (10) for displaying various information, comprising a power failure compensation power supply (40), wherein the control unit (3)
0) can be switched between a normal mode in which the display section (20) is operated in a normal state and an emergency mode in which the display section (20) is operated in the event of a power failure. In the emergency mode, the power supply is switched to the power supply for power failure compensation ( An information display device (10), wherein the information display device (10) is set to switch to (40) and to display some of the symbols for displaying information in the normal mode in a thinned-out manner in the information display in the emergency mode.

(4) A display unit (20) having display elements (21) arranged vertically and horizontally in a matrix, and a control unit (30) for selectively supplying power to the display elements (21), An information display device (10) for displaying various information, comprising a power failure compensation power supply (40), wherein the control unit (3)
0) can be switched between a normal mode in which the display section (20) is operated in a normal state and an emergency mode in which the display section (20) is operated in the event of a power failure. In the emergency mode, the power supply is switched to the power supply for power failure compensation ( 40) The information display device (10), wherein the information display content in the emergency mode is set to be changed to the preset information display content which is more simplified than the information display content in the normal mode. .

[0018]

[0019]

Normally, power is supplied from an electric wire. However, in the event of a power failure due to a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a typhoon or an accident (emergency), the control unit (30) switches the power supply to a power supply for power failure compensation ( Switch to 40). Since the power supply for power failure compensation has a small power supply capacity, the control unit (30) switches to the power supply for power failure compensation (40), and at the same time, changes the information display from a normal state to a low-power emergency state. Therefore, even if the information display has the same content, the display mode differs between the normal mode, which is a normal display, and the emergency mode, which is an emergency display.

[0021]

Further, the control unit (30) is set so as to switch to a character font using a smaller number of display elements (21) than the character font for displaying information in the normal mode when displaying information in the emergency mode. If the information display in the normal mode is such that the character thickness (line width) is three display elements (21), the character thickness (line width) in the emergency mode If one or two display elements (21) are used, the power consumption can be reduced by the reduced amount of the lighting display elements as a whole.

[0023]

In the case where the control unit (30) is set to display a part of symbols for displaying information in the normal mode in the information display in the emergency mode, the display is also thinned out. The power consumption can be reduced by the power consumption of the display elements in the portion.

In the above example, the symbols used for displaying information are basically the same in the normal mode and the emergency mode, but the power consumption is changed by changing the thickness and size of the symbols. It is intended to reduce it.

As another means for reducing the power consumption of the information display in an emergency, the control unit (30) is set so that the information display content in the emergency mode is simplified than the information display content in the normal mode. It is also effective to do so. For example, if the place where "Earthquake Occurrence------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------in- Can be.

[0027]

[0028]

[0029]

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

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of an information display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The information display apparatus 10 includes a display unit 20 having display elements 21 arranged in a matrix in a matrix, a control unit 30 for selectively supplying power to the display elements 21 to operate the display unit 20, and a power failure. A compensation power supply 40 is provided.

The display section 20 is connected to a stabilized DC power supply 11 for supplying power to the display element 21. The DC stabilizing power supply 11 is connected to a power switch S <b> 1. When the common terminal CT and the contact A <b> 1 are connected, power is supplied from the power failure compensation power supply 40. Switch S1
The contact B1 is connected to the electric wire 12, and the switch S1 normally connects the common terminal CT to the contact B1,
Power is supplied from the electric wire 12 to the stabilized DC power supply 11.

The display section 20 includes display dot circuits C1 and C2.
To Cn (hereinafter, without specifying any display dot circuit,
When indicating that the display dot circuit is common, the display dot circuit C is described. ), And these display dot circuits C have display elements 21. The display element 21 is a light emitting element, for example, an LED. The anode of the LED 21 is connected to the (+) terminal of the stabilized DC power supply 11.
The cathode of the LED 21 is connected to the collector of the transistor 22 for turning on / off the LED 21, and the emitter of the transistor 22 is connected to the (−) of the stabilized DC power supply 11.
Connected to terminal.

The base of the transistor 22 is the AND circuit 2
3 is connected to the output terminal. One of the input terminals of the AND circuit 23 is connected to the output terminal of the storage circuit 24. The storage circuit 24 is for storing display data for turning on or off the LED 21 of the display dot circuit C, and is connected to the terminal 30D of the control unit 30 to receive the display data from the control unit 30. The display data can be stored.

The control unit 30 is composed of a microcomputer having a CPU, a memory, and an I / O port, and can be switched between a normal mode in which the display unit 20 is operated in a normal state and an emergency mode in which the display unit 20 is operated in a power failure. And
In the emergency mode, the power supply is switched to the power failure compensation power supply 40, and the display unit 20 is set to operate with low power. The control unit 30 previously outputs display data for turning on or off the display for each dot to each storage circuit 24 of the display dot circuit C via the terminal 30D, and stores the display data in the storage circuit 24.

The switch S2 is connected to the control unit 30, and the common terminal CT and the contact A2 of the switch S2 are connected to the control unit 30. Switch S2 is switch S
In response to a signal in which the common terminal CT of the switch S2 and the contact A2 are connected at the time of a power failure, that is, a power failure signal, the control is switched to the emergency mode.

The illustration of a series resistor or a constant current circuit for stabilizing the current of the LED 21 is omitted.

Next, various operations in the normal mode and the emergency mode will be described.

The storage circuit 24 storing the display data of the lighting outputs a signal to one input terminal of the AND circuit 23, and in a normal mode in which a power failure signal is not input from the switch S2 to the control unit 30. , The control unit 30 has a terminal OT
Is set to the [1] level, and the storage circuit 24 outputs the AND circuit 2
A signal is output to the output terminal 3 and the base of the transistor 22 is driven to conduct between the collector and the emitter of the transistor 22, and a current flows through the LED 21 as a display element to display the light. The state of the signal of each part at this time is shown in section B of each part waveform in FIG. In addition, section A shows a state in which the information display device 10 is not operating.

Next, an operation of the information display in the emergency mode will be described.

Next, when a power failure state occurs, a power failure signal is input from the switch S2 to the control unit 30, and the control unit 30 repeatedly switches the terminal 0T between the [1] level and the [0] level at a high speed, and outputs the [1] level. Lowering the duty ratio of
The supply is performed with a pulse having a small pulse width duty ratio.

The state of the signal level of each part at this time is shown in FIG.
, The switch S2 repeats [1] at the terminal 0T of the control unit 30 and repeats [1] and [0] at high speed, the output of the storage circuit 24 is [1], and the LED 21 is controlled by the control unit 30. Repeats [1] and [0] at a high speed in synchronization with the output change of the terminal 0T.

At this time, [0] of the terminal 0T of the control unit 30
By repeating the level and the [1] level at a high speed within the duration of the afterimage phenomenon of the human eye, the information display on the display unit 20 does not flicker visually. Here, the control unit 30
Lowering the duty ratio of the [1] level of the terminal 0T of the display element 21 reduces the lighting time rate of the display element 21,
Although the amount of emitted light also decreases, the control unit 30 calculates this duty ratio from the power supply capacity and the ratio of lit LEDs among all the LEDs 21 of the display unit 20 (referred to as “normal lighting rate”), and The duty ratio is set to an optimum duty ratio corresponding to the power capacity of the power failure compensation power supply 40 configured as described above.

In this manner, the time during which the transistor 22 is in the on state can be reduced, the average power consumption can be reduced, the power supply capacity can be reduced, and appropriate information display can be maintained even during a power failure. It should be noted that humans can judge light and shade only when they are adjacent to each other.
Since the difference in brightness is 30%, the duty ratio is set to 30
Even if it is reduced by 50%, there is no problem in visual recognition. As a result, the power supply capacity can be reduced by 30 to 50%.

Next, referring to FIG. 3 to FIG.
However, the operation in the case where the information display in the emergency mode is set to switch to the character font that uses a smaller number of display elements 21 than the character font for displaying the information in the normal mode will be described.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a character font of "tsu" when "no-go" is displayed in the display unit 20 in the normal mode. At this time, the number of lights of the LED 21 is about 700. 4 to 7 are examples of character fonts at the time of a power failure, and the character font of “tsu” is illustrated for comparison with FIG.

When a power failure occurs and the power failure signal is
2, the control unit 30 switches the normal mode to the emergency mode, outputs the display data of the character font with a low lighting rate to the storage circuit 24 of the display dot circuit C via the terminal 30D, and stores the data. The data is stored in the circuit 24.

For example, when the thickness (line width) of a character is three in the information display in the normal mode (FIG. 3), in the emergency mode, as shown in FIG. If the thickness (line width) is set to one display element 21 or two, the power consumption can be reduced by the reduced amount of the lighting display elements as a whole.

In the case of FIG. 4, the lighting number of the LED 21 is about 23.
The number is zero, which is about 33% of the normal value, and the power capacity can be reduced by about 67%. At this time, since the characters are displayed in one row of the LEDs 21, the light emission amount of the LEDs 21 constituting the characters decreases, but the corneal illuminance of the human increases when viewed from a short distance. The vehicle traveling on the upper side can be sufficiently visually recognized in combination with traveling at a lower speed than usual.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the case where the control unit 30 is set to generate a character font having a low lighting rate. L
A part of the ED 21 is thinned out and displayed. 5 and 6, the number of lights of the LED 21 is about 320.
It is about 46% of the usual number, and thus the power capacity can be reduced by about 54%.

FIG. 5 shows a character font in which the line of the character font is thinned by one LED 21 and thinned out at regular intervals. The character font with a low lighting rate is stored in the control unit 30 in advance. In addition, the control unit 30 automatically generates a character font having a low lighting rate by software of the CPU.

On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 6, the LEDs 21 at specific rows and columns of the display unit are turned off, and it is not necessary to prepare character fonts in advance, so that the control unit 30 can be configured at low cost. Even if the LED 21 being turned on for thinning out lights is separated from the LED 21 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the human eyes can see the dot 21 continuously by dot spelling due to the bleeding phenomenon of light, which may cause a visual problem. Absent.

Various methods are conceivable for automatically generating a character having a low lighting rate, and it is needless to say that a character which is easier to see than FIG. 6 and has a lower lighting rate can be generated.

Next, in the case of FIG. 7, the information is displayed when the control unit 30 is set to display the information in the emergency mode so that the size of the symbols is smaller than that in the normal mode even though the symbols are the same. It shows an example of display. In this case, the lighting number of the LED 21 is about 120%, which is about 17% of the normal number, and the power capacity can be reduced by about 83%. At this time, since the LEDs 21 display characters in one line, the amount of light emitted from the LEDs constituting the characters is reduced, and the characters are half the height of normal characters. In this case, it is difficult to see from a distance, but when viewed from a short distance, the corneal illuminance of humans increases, and in an emergency, the vehicle running on the road is also running at a lower speed than usual Together, the characters look large and can be fully viewed.

Next, in the emergency mode, the information display itself in the emergency mode is the same as in the normal mode, but the power supply to the display element 21 is intermittently performed, and the information display is blinked to display the power consumption. Can also be reduced.

In this case, when the power failure signal is input from the switch S2 to the control unit 30 to switch to the emergency mode, the control unit 30 changes the output from the terminal 0T between the [1] level and the [0] level. The display blinks by repeating at the speed. As a result, the average power consumption can be reduced, and the power supply capacity can be reduced. The state of the signal of each part at this time is shown in section d of each part waveform in FIG. In FIG. 2, time t
3, the output from the terminal 0T is at the [1] level,
The ED 21 lights up. On the other hand, during the time t4, the output from the terminal 0T is at the [0] level, and the LED 21 is turned off. Power consumption can be reduced by increasing the ratio of time t3 to time t4 to 1: 4 or the like. The ratio is 1: 4
In this case, the normal power consumption is 20%, and the power supply capacity can be greatly reduced. Further, since the blinking display is a display method different from the usual display method, it is possible to draw more attention.

In the above example, the symbols used for displaying information are basically the same in the normal mode and the emergency mode, but the power consumption is changed by changing the thickness or size of the symbols. It is intended to reduce it.

Next, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, as another means for reducing the power consumption of information display in an emergency, the control unit 3
A case where 0 is set so that the information display content in the emergency mode is more simplified than the information display content in the normal mode will be described.

FIG. 8 shows the information displayed on the display unit 20 in the emergency mode in the normal mode. When a power failure signal is input from the switch S2 to the control unit 30 and the mode is switched to the emergency mode, the control unit 30 stores the display content having a low lighting rate corresponding to the power failure in the storage circuit 24 of the display dot circuit C via the terminal 30D. Is output and stored in the storage circuit 24, and the LED 21 is turned on for display.

FIG. 9 shows the information displayed on the display unit 20 in the emergency mode. For example, if it is set to switch from displaying “Earthquake Occurrence 〇〇- ×× Closed Road” to “Beyond Closed Road” during normal times, the amount of information will be reduced, but absolutely necessary information will be displayed. The power consumption can be reduced while reducing the power consumption. In this case, display data is stored in advance in the control unit 30 so that important characters such as “accident”, “fire”, “earthquake occurrence”, “no traffic”, and “no entry” are displayed in a simple manner. Can respond. Thereby, the number of display characters is reduced, and the power supply capacity can be reduced.

Alternatively, of the normal display, auxiliary displays such as the inside of the tunnel and the name of the point are displayed in lowercase letters.
The lighting rate can be reduced without lowering the information density.

In the information display in the emergency mode, when switching from a character font for displaying information in the normal mode to a character font using a small number of display elements, the control unit 30 reduces the number of display elements. By incorporating a program for automatically generating a character font, it is possible to cope with a reduction in power consumption in any information display in the emergency mode.

In the above embodiment, at the time of a power failure, 1) the lighting duty ratio of the LED is reduced, 2) the character font with a low lighting rate is displayed, 3) the display content with the low lighting rate is displayed, 4) Although the description has been made by performing the blinking display, it goes without saying that these may be controlled by any combination.

In the information display device, when an LED is used as a display element, the display is usually performed using multiple colors such as red and yellow-green.
The lighting rate of the ED can be reduced.

Although the display element has been described as an LED, the present invention is not limited to this, and other display elements such as an incandescent lamp may be used.

[0066]

According to the information display device of the present invention,
Since information can be displayed with low power, even if a power failure occurs due to a natural disaster, an accident, or the like, sufficient information can be displayed using a general power supply individually provided in the information display device as a compensation power supply.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram showing a main part of an information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram showing signal waveforms of some of the components of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing “traffic” when “no traffic” is displayed in the normal mode of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Are exemplified.

FIG. 4 illustrates a character font in an emergency mode of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates another character font in the emergency mode of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates another character font in the emergency mode of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates another character font in the emergency mode of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 exemplifies an emergency information display in a normal mode of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates an information display in an emergency mode of the information display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates display contents displayed by a conventional information display device in an emergency.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Information display apparatus 20 ... Display part 21 ... Display element (LED) 30 ... Control part 40 ... Power supply for blackout compensation

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-136911 (JP, A) JP-A-7-219467 (JP, A) JP-A 1-166096 (JP, A) 45578 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G09F 9/33 G09G 3/00 H01L 33/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An information display device, comprising: a display unit having display elements arranged in a matrix in a matrix, and a control unit for selectively supplying power to the display elements, and displaying various information. A power source for compensation, wherein the control unit is switchable between a normal mode in which the display unit is operated in a normal state and an emergency mode in which the display unit is operated in the event of a power outage. An information display device characterized by switching to a power supply and switching to a character font that uses fewer display elements than a character font for displaying information in a normal mode in displaying information in an emergency mode. 2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, in the emergency mode, a ratio of a line width to a size of a symbol for displaying information is determined.
2. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the ratio is smaller than that in the normal mode. 3. An information display device comprising a display section having display elements arranged in a matrix in a matrix and a control section for selectively supplying power to the display elements, and displaying various information. A power source for compensation, wherein the control unit is switchable between a normal mode in which the display unit is operated in a normal state and an emergency mode in which the display unit is operated in the event of a power outage. An information display device, wherein the information display device is set to switch to a power supply, and to display a part of symbols for displaying information in a normal mode in a display mode in an emergency mode by thinning out a part of symbols. 4. An information display device, comprising: a display section having display elements arranged in a matrix in a matrix, and a control section for selectively supplying power to the display elements, and displaying various kinds of information. A power source for compensation, wherein the control unit is switchable between a normal mode in which the display unit is operated in a normal state and an emergency mode in which the display unit is operated in the event of a power outage. An information display device which is set to switch to a power source and to change information display contents in an emergency mode to preset information display contents which are more simplified than the information display contents in a normal mode.