JP7836735B2 - Vehicle display device - Google Patents

Description

This specification discloses vehicle display devices, particularly vehicle display devices including a display mounted on a sun visor.

Vehicles are generally equipped with sun visors for sun protection. Traditionally, sun visors with integrated displays have been proposed.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle sun visor having a display on its rear surface that faces the rear of the vehicle when in use, which displays images captured by a camera that photographs the front of the vehicle on the display.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-214364

When a display is mounted along the surface of the sun visor, it is not possible to install a large display that significantly protrudes from the sun visor when in use, in order to ensure the occupant's forward visibility. On the other hand, in situations where forward visibility is not necessary, such as when the vehicle is stopped or in autonomous driving mode, a larger display size is preferable to improve the display's visibility.

The objective of the vehicle display device disclosed herein is to provide a display mounted along the surface of a sun visor, which can flexibly expand the area of the portion visible from the rear of the vehicle.

The vehicle display device disclosed herein is a vehicle display device having a display provided along the surface of a plate-shaped sun visor, wherein, when the sun visor is in use, the display is transitionable between a folded state and an unfolded state, the folded state being a state in which a first rear region, which is part of the display, is exposed to the rear of the vehicle, and the unfolded state being a state in which a second rear region, which is part or all of the display, has a larger area than the first rear region, and extends beyond the sun visor in a rear view, is exposed to the rear of the vehicle.

According to this configuration, since the display can transition between a folded state and an unfolded state, the area of the portion visible from the rear of the vehicle can be flexibly expanded. For example, when the need for forward visibility is low (e.g., when the vehicle is stopped or in autonomous driving mode), unfolding the display increases the area of the portion of the display exposed to the rear of the vehicle (i.e., the portion visible from the rear of the vehicle) compared to the folded state. On the other hand, when the need for forward visibility is high (e.g., during manual driving), folding the display 22 improves forward visibility compared to the unfolded state.

In the folded state, the display has a front area exposed to the front of the vehicle along the front of the sun visor, and the vehicle display device may further include a processor that causes the display to show information directed outwards from the vehicle in the front area when the display is in the folded state.

This configuration allows for various notifications to be sent to people outside the vehicle without the need for a separate display.

The vehicle equipped with the aforementioned vehicle display device is capable of both automatic and manual driving. During manual driving, it is preferable that the transition of the display from the folded state to the unfolded state is prohibited.

This configuration prevents the display from deploying and reducing forward visibility during manual driving, where forward visibility is crucial.

The vehicle display device disclosed herein provides a display mounted along the surface of a sun visor, which can flexibly expand the area of the portion visible from the rear of the vehicle.

This is a schematic diagram showing the front part of the vehicle interior of a vehicle equipped with the vehicle display device according to this embodiment, as seen from the rear of the vehicle. This is a functional block diagram of a vehicle display device according to this embodiment. This figure shows a first example of a display in both a folded and unfolded state. This figure shows a second example of a display in both its folded and unfolded states. This is a diagram showing the display and camera in their deployed state.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the front of the vehicle interior of a vehicle 10 equipped with the vehicle display device according to this embodiment, viewed from the rear of the vehicle. In the drawings of this specification, FR represents the front side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, LH represents the left side in the vehicle width direction, and UP represents the upper side in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 has two operating modes: an automatic driving mode for automated driving and a manual driving mode for manual driving. Automated driving is when a processor installed in the vehicle 10 controls the driving in response to detection signals from various sensors installed in the vehicle 10. Manual driving is when the occupants of the vehicle 10 control the driving by operating pedals and a steering wheel.

A sun visor 12 is provided in front of the front seats of the vehicle 10. The sun visor 12 is a roughly rectangular, plate-like member and is attached to the ceiling 14 of the vehicle 10. The sun visor 12 can be in a stored state (shown by a dashed line in Figure 1) and an open state (shown by a solid line in Figure 1). In this embodiment, the front end of the sun visor 12 in the stored state is rotatably attached to the ceiling 14 around an axis extending in the vehicle width direction. The stored state is when the sun visor 12 is roughly parallel to the ceiling 14, and the open state is when the sun visor 12 rotates from the stored state and is pulled downwards. Note that the display 22, which will be described later, is omitted from the illustration in Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the vehicle display device 20 according to this embodiment. The vehicle display device 20 includes a display 22 and a processor 24.

The display 22 is mounted along the surface of the sun visor 12. When the sun visor 12 is in use, the display 22 can transition between a folded state and an unfolded state, either manually or by control of the processor 24. Here, the folded state is when a first rear region (details described later), which is part of the display 22, is exposed to the rear of the vehicle. In other words, in the folded state, the first rear region is visible from the rear of the vehicle. The unfolded state is when a second rear region (details described later), which is part or all of the display 22, has a larger area than the first rear region, and extends beyond the sun visor 12 when viewed from behind, is exposed to the rear of the vehicle. In other words, in the unfolded state, the second rear region is visible from the rear of the vehicle.

In this embodiment, the display 22 is flexible. In this embodiment, the display 22 transitions between a folded state and an unfolded state by bending or stretching. The display 22 is composed of, for example, organic EL (Electro-Luminescence). Alternatively, the display 22 may be composed of multiple partial displays, each individually inflexible, combined in such a way that they can face different orientations. This allows the display 22, composed of multiple partial displays, to be flexible as a whole.

Figure 3 shows a first example of the display 22 in its folded and unfolded states. In Figure 3, the left side of the arrow represents the folded state, and the right side of the arrow represents the unfolded state.

In the example shown in Figure 3, in the folded state, a portion of the display 22 along the rear surface 12a of the sun visor 12 is the first rear region 22a-1 (of course, the display surface faces the rear of the vehicle). The display 22 bends forward at the lower end of the sun visor 12 and follows the front surface 12b of the sun visor 12. The portion of the display 22 exposed to the front of the vehicle along the front surface 12b is called the front region 22b.

In the example shown in Figure 3, the bent portion of the display 22 extends from the folded state in the direction indicated by the dashed arrow in Figure 3, either manually or under control by the processor 24. That is, the bent portion of the display 22 extends so that the front area 22b faces the rear of the vehicle, becoming flat, thus transitioning to the unfolded state. As a result, in the unfolded state, the entire display 22 exposes the rear of the vehicle. In other words, the entire display 22 becomes the second rear area 22a-2. Needless to say, the second rear area 22a-2 in the unfolded state has a larger area than the first rear area 22a-1 in the folded state. Furthermore, the second rear area 22a-2 extends below the lower end of the sun visor 12 when viewed from the rear.

The display 22 can be bent again while in the unfolded state, allowing it to transition back to the folded state.

Figure 4 shows a second example of the display 22 in its folded and unfolded states. In Figure 4, the left side of the arrow represents the folded state, and the right side of the arrow represents the unfolded state.

In the example shown in Figure 4, when folded, a portion of the display 22 along the rear surface 12a of the sun visor 12 constitutes the first rear region 22a-1. The display 22 bends forward at the upper end of the sun visor 12 and follows the front surface 12b of the sun visor 12. A portion of the display 22 exposed to the front of the vehicle along the front surface 12b constitutes the front region 22b.

In the example shown in Figure 4, the display 22 slides along the surface of the sun visor 12 in the direction indicated by the dashed-dotted arrow in Figure 4, either manually or under control by the processor 24, from the folded state. The display 22 transitions to the unfolded state when it slides until it becomes flat. As a result, in the unfolded state, the entire display 22 is exposed to the rear of the vehicle. That is, the entire display 22 becomes the second rear region 22a-2. In the example in Figure 4, as in the example in Figure 3, the second rear region 22a-2 in the unfolded state has a larger area than the first rear region 22a-1 in the folded state. Furthermore, the second rear region 22a-2 extends below the lower end of the sun visor 12 when viewed from the rear. In this example, the front region 22b of the display 22 has a flexible front surface.

Note that the unfolded state does not necessarily mean that the display 22 has slid completely flat. In this case, in the unfolded state, a portion of the display 22 becomes the second rear region 22a-2, and a portion of the display 22 remains as the front region 22b. However, even in this case, the second rear region 22a-2 has a larger area than the first rear region 22a-1, and the display 22 slides until it extends below the lower edge of the sun visor 12 when viewed from the rear.

In the unfolded state, the display 22 can be slid upwards to return to the folded state.

As described above, the display 22 can transition between a folded state and an unfolded state. This allows for a flexible expansion of the area visible from the rear of the vehicle. For example, when the need for forward visibility is low, such as when the vehicle 10 is stopped or in autonomous driving mode, unfolding the display 22 increases the area of the display 22 exposed to the rear of the vehicle compared to the folded state. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the folded state, the display 22 does not protrude significantly from the sun visor 12 when viewed from the rear (at least less than in the unfolded state). Therefore, when the need for forward visibility is high, such as in manual driving mode, folding the display 22 improves forward visibility compared to the unfolded state.

Returning to Figure 2, the processor 24 is composed of, for example, a microprocessor, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The processor 24 may not consist of a single processing unit, but rather of multiple processing units located in physically separate locations working together. The processor 24 functions as a state control unit 26 and a display control unit 28.

The state control unit 26 transitions the state of the display 22 between the folded state and the unfolded state in response to instructions from the occupants of the vehicle 10. Specifically, when the state control unit 26 receives instructions from the occupants through the operation of a predetermined switch or the like, it operates an actuator for state transition, thereby transitioning the state of the display 22.

When vehicle 10 is in manual driving mode, it is preferable that the transition of the display 22 from the folded state to the unfolded state be prohibited. This prevents the display 22 from becoming unfolded and reducing forward visibility when forward visibility is critical. Specifically, when vehicle 10 is in manual driving mode, the state control unit 26 will not transition the display 22 from the folded state to the unfolded state, even if instructed to do so by the occupant.

Furthermore, when the state transitions of the display 22 are performed manually, it is advisable to provide a locking mechanism (not shown) that can prevent the transition of the display 22 from the folded state to the unfolded state. When the vehicle 10 is in manual driving mode, this locking mechanism should be used to prevent the transition of the display 22 from the folded state to the unfolded state.

The display control unit 28 controls the display 22 to display various images. In particular, as shown in Figure 3 or 4, the display 22 according to this embodiment has a front area 22b that is exposed to the front of the vehicle when folded. Therefore, when the display 22 is in the folded state, the display control unit 28 may display information directed to people outside the vehicle (for example, people in front of the vehicle 10) on the front area 22b. This eliminates the need for a separate display other than the display 22, and allows various notifications to be sent to people outside the vehicle (especially those in front of the vehicle 10).

In particular, it would be desirable for the occupants of vehicle 10 to be able to select the content to be displayed on the front area 22b of the display 22 when it is folded (for example, messages such as "Please cross" or "Go ahead"). This would allow the occupants of vehicle 10 to communicate with people outside the vehicle.

Furthermore, if the state transitions of the display 22 are performed manually, it is advisable to provide a sensor to detect the state of the display 22. This allows the display control unit 28 to detect the state of the display 22 in accordance with the detection signal from the sensor.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, a camera C may be provided on the rear surface 12a of the sun visor 12. The display control unit 28 may configure the display control unit 28 to display the image captured by camera C on the second rear surface area 22a-2 of the display 22 when the display 22 is unfolded. Alternatively, the display control unit 28 may configure the display control unit 28 to display the image captured by camera C on the first rear surface area 22a-1 (see Figure 3 or Figure 4) of the display 22 when the display 22 is folded.

When the sun visor 12 is retracted (see Figure 1), the display 22 is folded prior to this. When the sun visor 12 is retracted, the front area 22b of the display 22 (see Figure 3 or Figure 4) faces downwards. Therefore, the display control unit 28 may illuminate all or part of the front area 22b when the sun visor 12 is retracted. This makes the front area 22b available for use as interior lighting.

The vehicle display device described above is not limited to the embodiments described herein, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the disclosure.

10 Vehicle, 12 Sun visor, 12a Rear, 12b Front, 14 Ceiling, 20 Vehicle display device, 22 Display, 22a-1 First rear area, 22a-2 Second rear area, 22b Front area, 24 Processor, 26 State control unit, 28 Display control unit.

Claims (2)

A vehicle display device having a display and processor provided along the surface of a plate-shaped sun visor,
When the sun visor is in use, the display is capable of transitioning between a folded state and an unfolded state.
The aforementioned folded state is a state in which the first rear area, which is part of the display, is exposed to the rear of the vehicle.
The aforementioned deployed state is a state in which a part or all of the display, having a larger area than the first rear region, and a second rear region that extends beyond the sun visor in a rear view, is exposed to the rear of the vehicle.
In the folded state, the display has a front area that is exposed to the front of the vehicle along the front of the sun visor.
The processor causes the display to show information directed outwards from the vehicle in the front area when the display is in the folded state.
A vehicle display device characterized by the following features. The vehicle equipped with the aforementioned vehicle display device is a vehicle capable of both automatic and manual driving.
During manual operation, the transition of the display from the folded state to the unfolded state is prohibited.
The vehicle display device according to feature 1.