JP7834014B2 - Mobility external display structure - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a mobility external display structure.

As an external display for mobility devices such as vehicles, a configuration is known in which a liquid crystal panel displaying the battery level is placed on the side surface of the vehicle's exterior, as shown in, for example, Patent Document 1.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-50291

However, the external display described in Patent Document 1, when positioned on the exterior surface of a vehicle, is limited to placement only where the vehicle's outer shape is flat due to the display's structure. In other words, the placement of the display on the vehicle's exterior surface is restricted to flat areas. Therefore, maintaining the vehicle's exterior design while positioning the external display is difficult, indicating room for improvement in this regard.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a mobility external display structure that allows for easy placement of an external display while maintaining the external design of a vehicle or other mobility device.

To solve the above problems, the mobility external display structure according to the present invention employs the following configuration.
In other words, the mobility external display structure according to the present invention is a mobility external display structure (for example, an external display body 10 in an embodiment) for displaying information on the curved outer surface of a mobility device (for example, a vehicle 1 in an embodiment), comprising: an external display cover (for example, an external display cover 3 in an embodiment) having a curved cover surface (for example, a cover surface 3a in an embodiment) that extends and curves along the vehicle width direction of the outer surface; and a plurality of thin plate-shaped divided displays arranged adjacent to each other inside the external display cover with at least a portion of them touching in the vehicle width direction, wherein the plurality of divided displays (for example, divided displays 2 in an embodiment) adjacent to each other in the vehicle width direction are arranged at a position or angle corresponding to the curved cover surface, and are arranged with a stepped portion (for example, a stepped portion 21 in an embodiment) that is offset in at least one of the following directions: the thickness direction of the divided display and the vertical direction of the divided display when viewed from the vertical direction of the display surface .

With the above configuration, an external display cover is provided that forms a curved surface that conforms to the outer surface of the mobility device. Multiple segmented displays can be arranged inside this external display cover according to the curved surface. This allows the external display to be placed on the curved portion of the mobility device's exterior surface to display information without hindering the device's overall design.

In this case, by positioning the external display at a location or angle that conforms to the curved surface of the cover, information can be displayed more effectively on the curved portion of the mobility's exterior without hindering its overall design.

In this case, the display surfaces of one of the adjacent split displays can be arranged parallel to each other. That is, when this configuration is adopted, the display surfaces of adjacent split displays are parallel to each other, allowing the displayed image to be shown in a way that is easily visible from one direction, conforming to the shape of the mobility device.

The aforementioned stepped portion may be located in an opaque area of the mobility's exterior wall surface.

In this case, the stepped portion formed between adjacent split displays is hidden from view from outside the mobility device by the opaque area of the mobility device's exterior wall, and the outer edge of the mobility device's exterior wall forms the contour of the multiple split displays when viewed from outside the device. Therefore, when this configuration is adopted, the contours of the multiple split displays appear neat and smooth from outside the mobility device, improving the overall appearance design of the mobility device.

The external display cover may have both a transparent area and an opaque area.

In this case, the stepped portion formed between adjacent split displays is hidden from view from outside the mobility device by the opaque area of the external display cover, and the boundary between the transparent and opaque areas of the external display cover forms the contour of the multiple split displays when viewed from outside the mobility device. In other words, the opaque area of the external display cover forms the outer wall surface of the mobility device. Therefore, when this configuration is adopted, the contours of the multiple split displays appear neat and smooth from outside the mobility device, improving the overall appearance design of the mobility device.

The adjacent split displays may be positioned such that one of the split displays is rotated relative to the other at an angle corresponding to the curved surface of the cover, with one side of the display surface serving as the axis of rotation.

In this case, the split display can be positioned at an angle to the exterior surface of the mobility device and the surface of the external display cover. Therefore, adopting this configuration can improve the visibility of the external display.

The aforementioned split display may be positioned with its display surface tilted upward relative to the horizontal plane of the mobility device.

In this case, the split displays can be positioned with the display surface facing the line of sight of a person outside the mobility device. Therefore, adopting this configuration can improve the visibility of the external display.

The mobility external display structure according to the present invention allows for easy placement of an external display while maintaining the external design of the mobility device.

Figure 1 is a front view of the front of the vehicle according to this embodiment. Figure 2 is a magnified view of part II shown in Figure 1, which is an external display unit. Figure 3 is a front view showing the vehicle with the external display cover removed, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a view of the front of the vehicle shown in Figure 2, seen from the front left and slightly above. Figure 5 is an enlarged view of section III shown in Figure 4, which consists of multiple split displays. Figure 6 is a side view of the front of the vehicle shown in Figure 3. Figure 7 shows the display surfaces of the multiple split displays shown in Figure 6, viewed from the vertical direction IV. Figure 8 is a view of the multiple split displays shown in Figure 6, as seen from the plane direction V, which includes the display surface.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment described below, common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Furthermore, in the following explanation, unless otherwise specified, front, back, up, down, left, and right refer to the front, back, up, down, and left and right directions of a vehicle facing forward. Arrows UP pointing to the top of the vehicle, FR pointing to the front of the vehicle, and LH pointing to the left side of the vehicle are indicated in appropriate places in the diagram.

<Implementation>
Figure 1 is a front view of the front of vehicle 1 in this embodiment.
In Figure 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an external display body (mobility external display structure) provided on the front of the vehicle 1 (mobility), reference numeral 2 denotes a plurality of divided displays constituting the external display body 10, and reference numeral 3 denotes an external display cover that covers the plurality of divided displays 2 from the display surface 2a side. In this embodiment, the case in which the external display body 10 is applied between the left and right headlights 16 on the front side of the vehicle 1 will be described as an example.

Vehicle 1 has its front body 11 covered by a front bumper 12, left and right fender panels 13, a hood 14, etc. Inside the hood 14 are the vehicle's power sources, such as an internal combustion engine and motor (not shown). Above the front bumper 12, in the center of the vehicle width direction, the front body 11a between the bumper and the hood 14 is fitted with the external display unit 10 of this embodiment, which is the front exterior component. On both sides in the vehicle width direction, between the fender panels 13 and the hood 14, are the left and right headlights 16.

The front bumper 12 is formed to be elongated along the vehicle width direction, and both ends in the vehicle width direction are fastened and fixed to the respective front ends of the left and right fender panels 13. In this embodiment, the front regions of the left and right fender panels 13 are designated as the outer fixing regions on the outside in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body 11. The main part of the front bumper 12 is formed of resin material. The external display unit 10 is assembled to the upper part of the central region in the vehicle width direction of the front bumper 12. Headlights 16, which incorporate multiple lighting elements such as headlights and turn signals, are positioned on both the left and right sides of the upper part of the front bumper 12, above the external display unit 10 (and the front part of the vehicle body 11a).

The front section 11a of the vehicle body curves gradually from the center in the width direction towards both sides, and then towards the rear of the vehicle.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of part II shown in Figure 1, specifically of the external display unit 10.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the external display unit 10 of the vehicle 1 is structured to display predetermined information with the display unit (the display surface 2a of the divided display 2, described later) facing forward on the curved front part 11a of the vehicle body 1. The external display unit 10 comprises an external display cover 3 that forms a curved cover surface 3a that curves along the front part 11a of the vehicle body, and a plurality of divided displays 2 arranged inside the external display cover 3. The plurality of divided displays 2 and the external display cover 3 are assembled as a single unit.

As shown in Figure 2, the external display cover 3 covers the entire array of split displays 2 from the front of the vehicle. The external display cover 3 is formed in a thin, plate-like shape and extends and curves in the vehicle width direction, substantially following the curved shape of the front portion 11a of the vehicle body.

The external display cover 3 has a transparent area 31 located at the top of the external display cover 3 in the height direction, and an opaque area 32 located at the bottom. Here, "transparency" in the external display cover 3 refers to a state where the display on the split display 2 is visible when the external display cover 3 is viewed from the front, while "opaqueness" refers to a state where the split display 2 is hidden and not visible, and the display on the display surface 2a of the split display 2 is not visible.

In this manner, when the multiple split displays 2 and the external display cover 3 are assembled to the front part 11a of the vehicle body, the lower part of the multiple split displays 2 is covered by the opaque area 32. That is, the lower part of the multiple split displays 2 is not visible from the front of the vehicle.

Figure 3 is a front view of the vehicle 1 with the external display cover 3 removed, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a view of the front part 11a of the vehicle 1 in Figure 2, seen from the front left diagonally above. Figure 5 is an enlarged view of part III shown in Figure 3, which consists of multiple split displays 2. Figure 6 is a side view of the front part of the vehicle 1 shown in Figure 3. Figure 7 is a view of the display surface 2a of the multiple split displays 2 shown in Figure 6, seen from the vertical direction IV. Figure 8 is a view of the display surface 2a of the multiple split displays 2 shown in Figure 6, seen from the surface direction V.
Multiple split displays 2 are arranged along the longitudinal direction, which is the curved direction of the curved surface 3a of the external display cover 3.

The split display 2 is an LED module having a flat display surface 2a. The planar shape of the split display 2 is rectangular, as shown in Figure 7.

The split display 2 displays various information, such as the charging status (battery level) in the case of an electric vehicle (electric vehicle) as vehicle 1. The display format on the split display 2 can include various characters, graphics, numbers, and symbols. Furthermore, it is possible to illuminate multiple split displays 2 using different display colors, color saturation, color brightness, and pattern displays. The display on the split displays 2 can either use all of the split displays 2 to display a single pattern of information, or display one pattern of information on each split display 2.

As shown in Figure 7, adjacent segmented displays 2 in the vehicle width direction are arranged at angles and positions corresponding to the curved surface 3a of the cover. Specifically, in a plurality of segmented displays 2, adjacent segmented displays 2 are arranged with a stepped portion 21 in at least one of the following directions: the thickness direction of the segmented display 2, and the direction parallel to the display surface 2a. In this embodiment, when viewing the display surface 2a of one of the adjacent segmented displays 2 from a vertical direction, the other segmented display 21 is positioned with a stepped portion 21 that is vertically offset from the other segmented display 2a. Furthermore, each stepped portion 21 on one end side from the center in the vehicle width direction is offset in the same direction (upward in this case).

The step height S (amount of displacement) of each step portion 21 is set to a dimension corresponding to the curved surface 3a of the external display cover 3, so it is not limited to all step portions 21 having the same step height S. In Figure 7, the step heights S1 to S4 of the step portions 21 increase as they move away from the center in the vehicle width direction. That is, in Figure 7, the second step height S2 is larger than the first step height S1, and the fourth step height S4 is the largest. Note that all step heights S may be set to a constant dimension.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the stepped portion 21 is positioned within the opaque area 32 of the external display cover 3 (vehicle exterior wall surface). In other words, the stepped portion 21 is covered from the front by the opaque area 32 of the external display cover 3.

As shown in Figure 6, the multiple split displays 2 are arranged with their display surfaces 2a tilted upward relative to the vehicle's horizontal plane.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8, the adjacent split displays 2 are positioned such that one of the split displays 2 rotates at an angle θ relative to the other, with one side of the display surface 2a as the axis of rotation, in accordance with the curved cover surface 3a (see Figure 2).

<Effects of the embodiment>
The vehicle external display structure (external display body 10) of this embodiment includes an external display cover 3 that has a cover curved surface 3a that conforms to the curved portion of the outer surface of the vehicle, and a plurality of divided displays 2 can be arranged inside this external display cover 3 according to the cover curved surface 3a. As a result, in this embodiment, the external display can be placed on the curved portion of the outer surface of the vehicle 1 to display information without interfering with the exterior design of the vehicle 1.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the external display unit 10 is arranged such that adjacent divided displays 2 are provided with stepped portions 21 in at least one of the following directions: the thickness direction of the divided displays 2, and the direction parallel to the display surface 2a. Therefore, the display surface 2a of one of the adjacent divided displays 2 can be arranged parallel to the display surface 2a of the other divided display 2. In other words, when this configuration is adopted, the display surfaces 2a of adjacent divided displays 2 are parallel to each other, allowing the displayed image to be shown in a way that is easily visible from one direction, conforming to the external shape of the vehicle 1.

Furthermore, the external display body 10 of this embodiment is provided with an external display cover 3 having a surface perpendicular to the display surface 2a and an opaque region 32. The stepped portion 21 is positioned within the opaque region 32 of the external display cover 3. Therefore, the stepped portion 21 formed between adjacent divided displays 2 is hidden from view from outside the vehicle by the opaque region 32 of the external display cover 3. The outer edges of the opaque region 32 and the transparent region 31 of the external display cover 3 form the contours of the multiple divided displays 2 when viewed from outside the vehicle. Consequently, when this configuration is adopted, the contours of the multiple divided displays 2 appear neat and smooth from outside the vehicle, improving the vehicle's exterior design.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the external display unit 10 is arranged such that adjacent divided displays 2 rotate around one side of the display surface 2a, with one of the divided displays 2 positioned at an angle θ relative to the other, corresponding to the curved surface 3a of the cover. This allows the divided displays 2 to be positioned at an angle to the outer surface of the vehicle 1 and the surface of the external display cover 3. Therefore, adopting this configuration improves the visibility of the external display.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the external display unit 10 has a divided display 2 with its display surface 2a tilted upward relative to the horizontal plane. Therefore, the divided display 2 can be positioned so that its display surface 2a faces the line of sight of a person outside the vehicle 1. This improves the visibility of the external display.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various design modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which an external vehicle display structure is provided between the left and right headlights 16 on the curved front part 11a of the outer surface of the vehicle 1. However, the location of the external vehicle display structure is not limited to this, and it is possible to apply the external vehicle display structure to other curved outer surfaces of the vehicle 1. Therefore, there are no particular restrictions on the direction of curvature of the outer surface of the vehicle 1 to which the external vehicle display structure is applied, or on the curvature of the curved surface. In other words, in this embodiment, a plurality of divided displays 2 are arranged along the width direction of the vehicle 1, but for example, a configuration in which a plurality of divided displays are arranged along the vertical direction or the front-to-back direction of the vehicle is also possible.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the adjacent split displays 2 are configured with stepped portions 21 offset in a direction parallel to the display surface 2a, at an angle θ, and with an upward inclination. However, the configuration is not limited to these angles and positions. For example, in the case of stepped portions, the stepped portions may be offset between adjacent split displays 2 in the thickness direction of the split displays 2, or they may be offset in both the direction parallel to the display surface 2a and the thickness direction.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the external display cover 3 has a configuration having a transparent region 31 and an opaque region 32 that constitutes the vehicle's outer wall surface. However, an external display cover 3 having only the transparent region 31 is also possible. In this case, a vehicle outer wall surface having the opaque region is provided, and the stepped portion can be arranged to be hidden by the vehicle's outer wall surface.

This invention can be applied to various types of moving objects other than vehicles. For example, it can be applied to motorcycles, trains, aircraft, and the like.

1. Vehicle (Mobility)
2... Split display 2a... Display surface 3... External display cover (mobility exterior wall surface)
3a...Curved cover surface 10...External display unit (Mobility external display structure)
11...Vehicle body 11a...Front of vehicle body 21...Stepped section 31...Transparent area 32...Opaque area S, S1-S4...Step

Claims (5)

A mobility external display structure for displaying information on the curved outer surface of a mobility device,
An external display cover having a curved cover surface that extends along the vehicle width direction on the outer surface,
The external display cover comprises a plurality of thin, plate-shaped segmented displays arranged adjacent to each other in the vehicle width direction, with at least a portion of each display touching the inside of the external display cover,
The mobility external display structure is characterized in that the adjacent divided displays in the vehicle width direction are arranged at a position or angle corresponding to the curved surface of the cover, and are arranged with stepped portions offset in at least one of the following directions: the thickness direction of the divided displays and the vertical direction of the divided displays when viewed from the vertical direction of the display surface. The mobility external display structure according to claim 1 , characterized in that the stepped portion is located in an opaque area of the mobility exterior wall surface. The mobility external display structure according to claim 1 , characterized in that the external display cover has a transparent region and an opaque region. The mobility external display structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the adjacent split displays are arranged such that one of the adjacent split displays is rotated at an angle relative to the other in accordance with the curved surface of the cover, with one side of the display surface as the axis of rotation. The mobility external display structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the split display is arranged with the display surface inclined upward with respect to the horizontal plane.