JPH0713642B2 - Liquid crystal display type speedometer - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display type speedometer that displays the traveling speed of a vehicle by analog bar display.

[Conventional technology]

A speed warning display is mandatory for a speedometer that displays the traveling speed of a vehicle. Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, it is known that the segment electrode 2 for speed warning, which is coated with a red or yellow color filter, is arranged near the segment electrode 1 for speed display.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, since the conventional speedometer described above displays the speed value in a numerical segment display in which seven segment electrodes 1 are combined, a speed warning is provided separately from the liquid crystal drive circuit 3 that drives the segment electrodes 1. The dedicated liquid crystal drive circuit 4 for driving the segment electrodes 2 is required.

Therefore, the number of liquid crystal drive circuits 3 and 4 is increased, and the special segment electrode 2 for speed warning is required. Therefore, the number of electrodes and terminals is increased, which causes a problem such as an increase in cost.

Further, since the speed display is made by combining some fixed patterns, the arrangement of the segment electrodes is limited. Therefore, there is little freedom in displaying the traveling speed, and there is room for improvement in terms of design.

The present invention has been made based on such a circumstance, a special drive circuit for speed warning and a segment electrode are not required, the cost can be reduced, and the flexibility of speed display and warning display is increased, and An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display type speedometer that can easily recognize the increase in speed while easily reading the traveling speed and can clearly display that the speed has reached the warning range.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention arranges a large number of strip-shaped segment electrodes for bar display in a line along a velocity display scale, and sequentially applies a voltage to these segment electrodes to display on the display surface. It is premised on a liquid crystal display type speedometer in which the number of bars displayed in is continuously increased from the smaller side of the speed display scale toward the larger side thereof, and the speed display is performed by analog bar display.

Then, the entire display range of the speed display is divided into a plurality of speed ranges in steps of 10 Km / h, the plurality of segment electrodes corresponding to each of these speed ranges, a plurality of segment electrodes forming one group. The unit is divided into units, each of which is provided with a velocity display scale for indicating the divided velocity range, and the segment electrodes of each unit have the same bar length dimension and are adjacent to each other. In the meantime, the lengthwise dimension of the bar is formed to be longer in the larger group of the speed display scale, and the segment electrodes of all the units have one side located at one end side in the lengthwise direction of the bar. By arranging them side by side on the same straight line, a step along the length direction of the bar is formed between the segment electrodes adjacent to each other with different speed ranges, and these adjacent segments are arranged. Of the poles, the segment electrode on the unit side with a large velocity range has an extension that extends to the stepped portion between the segment electrode on the unit side with a small velocity range and the segment electrode with this extension. One of the features is that it corresponds to the speed range to be warned and emits a warning color different from the bar display of other segment electrodes.

[Action]

According to this configuration, when a voltage is applied to the segment electrodes corresponding to the speed range to be warned as the speed increases,
The bar display is made, and the extension portion protruding to the step between the adjacent segment electrodes emits a warning color different from those of the other bar displays. Therefore, no special drive circuit for speed warning or a dedicated segment electrode is required.

Moreover, since the speed display is not a combination of some fixed patterns, there is no significant restriction on the arrangement and shape of the segment electrodes, and the degree of freedom of the speed display and the speed warning display is increased. .

Further, according to the above configuration, in the unit that displays the speed range in 10 Km / h increments, the segment electrodes forming the bar display have the same total length, so for example, if you look at the speed display scale that displays 10 Km / h, deceleration It can be seen that it is on the order of 10 km / h. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that the vehicle is traveling in the speed range by simply looking at one speed display scale, and the speed can be easily read.

Moreover, as the speed range increases, the number of bars increases and the length of the segment electrodes increases at the same time, and the bar display becomes longer. Therefore, the display area of the segment electrodes increases at an accelerated rate as the speed increases. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to recognize the increase in speed more strongly than the case where the number of bars is increased while keeping the bar display length constant.

Further, since the segment electrode corresponding to the speed range to be warned has an extension portion protruding to the step between the adjacent segment electrodes, the area of the segment electrode for displaying the warning is of a size sufficient to satisfy the safety standard. Therefore, the speed warning can be displayed clearly.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a liquid crystal display speedometer incorporated in a meter unit of a motorcycle, for example, and reference numeral 12 denotes the liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel 12 is constituted by attaching polarization filters 14 and 14 on the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal cell 13, and its display surface 15
A plurality of speed display scales 16 for displaying the traveling speed of the motorcycle in steps of 10 Km / h are attached to the top.

The liquid crystal cell 13 has a pair of upper and lower glass substrates 17 and 18. The glass substrates 17 and 18 are arranged so as to face each other by sealing the outer peripheral portion over the entire circumference, and the liquid crystal 19 is sealed in the gap between the glass substrates 17 and 18. A large number of segment electrodes 20 are formed on the inner surface of the upper glass substrate 17, and the lower glass substrate 18 is formed.
A common electrode 21 is formed on the inner surface of the. The segment electrode 20 and the common electrode 21 face each other across the liquid crystal 19.

The segment electrodes 20 are strip-shaped for bar display, and are arranged in a line along the speed display scale 16. The segment electrode 20 and the common electrode 21 are connected to a liquid crystal drive circuit 23 via a lead wire 22. LCD drive circuit 23
On the basis of the speed calculated by the microcomputer 24, the liquid crystal display voltage is sequentially applied between the electrodes 20 and 21.

The display surface 15 of the liquid crystal panel 12 is, for example, an opaque black background that blocks light when a voltage is not applied to both electrodes 20 and 21. Then, when a voltage is applied to both electrodes 20, 21, the liquid crystal 19 in a portion corresponding to the segment electrode 20 becomes transparent, and a white background corresponding to the shape of the segment electrode 20 is formed on the black display surface 15. The bar is displayed.

On the other hand, in the case of this embodiment, the large number of segment electrodes 20
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the four segment electrodes 20 are divided into four units as one group, and one unit displays 10 Km / h. . Then, in each unit, 10 Km / h, 20 Km / h at the position corresponding to the segment electrode 20 having the largest speed display.
A speed display scale 16 for displaying h, 30 Km / h and 40 Km / h is provided.

The segment electrodes 20 of each unit are set to have the same dimension H in the lengthwise direction of the bar, and this dimension H is formed longer for units having a larger speed display scale. The segment electrodes 20 of all the units are arranged such that one side located on one end side in the length direction of the bar is aligned on the same straight line along the speed display scale 16. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the segment electrodes 20 showing 10 Km / h, 20 Km / h, and 30 Km / h and the segment electrodes 20 ′ of other units adjacent to each other with different speed ranges have the same bar. Have different lengths, and the positions of the upper ends are vertically displaced, and a step 25 is formed between the two segment electrodes 20, 20 'along the length direction of the bar.

Two segment electrodes 20,2 adjacent to each other with different speed ranges
Of the 0 ', the longer segment electrode 20' is integrally formed with an extension 26 projecting above the segment electrode 20 of the adjacent unit having a low velocity range.
Fills the step 25. Due to the presence of the extension portion 26, the three segment electrodes 20 'showing 10 Km / h, 20 Km / h, and 30 Km / h have different shapes from the other segment electrodes 20 and a large display area itself is formed. ing.

Moreover, in this embodiment, since the traveling speed to be warned is set to 30 Km / h, the segment electrode 20 'having a large display area showing the above 30 Km / h corresponds to this warning speed.
This segment electrode 20 'is 1 cm to meet the safety standard.
^It has a display area of ² or more. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a red color filter 27 having a color different from the bar display color is attached to one surface of the segment electrode 20 '. Therefore, the entire bar display segment electrode 20 'also serves as a speed warning unit 28 for displaying that the traveling speed of the motorcycle has reached the speed range to be warned.

With such a configuration, when the traveling speed of the motorcycle increases, the liquid crystal drive circuit 23 causes the segment electrode 20 and the common electrode 21 of the unit having a small speed range to be separated based on the calculation signal from the microcomputer 24. The voltage is sequentially applied to. Then, a white bar display corresponding to the shape of the segment electrode 20 is made on the black display surface 15, and this bar continuously increases along the speed display scale 16, so that the speed value is an analog bar graph. Is displayed.

When the traveling speed of the motorcycle shifts to 30 Km / h, a voltage is applied to the segment electrode 20 'corresponding to this speed. In this case, the segment electrode 20 'displaying 30 Km / h is 20 Km
It has an extension 26 that overhangs the four segment electrodes 20 of the unit that displays / h units, and its shape is different from other segment electrodes 20 ', and the display area itself is a size that satisfies the safety standard. In addition, since the red color filter 27 is attached, the bar display is performed and at the same time, the entire bar emits red light and the speed warning portion is displayed.
It functions as 28 and indicates that the running speed of the motorcycle has reached the warning speed range.

For this reason, since the bar display and the speed warning display are interlocked with each other, the conventional segment electrode for speed warning and its drive circuit are not required, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, even if the speed is displayed, it is not displayed by a combination of some divided fixed patterns as in the related art, and therefore, the arrangement and shape of the segment electrode 20 are not greatly restricted. As a result, the degree of freedom of the speed display and the speed warning display is increased, which is convenient in terms of design.

Further, according to the above configuration, the unit for displaying the speed range of 10 Km / h is the segment electrode 20
Since the dimension H in the longitudinal direction is the same, for example, when traveling at a speed of 10 km / h, the lengths of the bars displayed on the display surface 15 are the same, and the driver can see the traveling speed of the motorcycle. Ten
You can know that it is Km / h. Therefore, 10km
If you look at one speed display scale 16 that displays / h, the speed will be 10
It is possible to recognize that it is in the Km / h range and read the speed easily.

In addition, as the velocity range increases, the number of bars increases and the dimension H of the segment electrode 20 in the longitudinal direction increases, which makes the bar display longer. It can be increased at an accelerated rate. Therefore, it is possible to make the driver strongly recognize the increase in traveling speed as compared with the case where the number of bars is increased while keeping the bar display length constant.

In addition, segment electrode 2 corresponding to the speed range to be warned
Since 0'has an extension 26 projecting to the step 25 between adjacent segment electrodes, the area of the segment electrode 20 'for displaying a warning can be sufficiently secured. Therefore, the safety standard can be satisfied and the speed warning can be clearly displayed.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention described in detail above, since the speed display and the speed warning display are interlocked with each other, the dedicated segment electrode for the speed warning and its drive circuit can be omitted, and the cost can be reduced. Further, since there is no great restriction on the arrangement and shape of the segment electrodes, the degree of freedom of the speed display and the speed warning display is increased, which is convenient in terms of design.

Moreover, according to the above configuration, the unit for displaying the speed range in 10 Km / h increments has the same total length of the plurality of segment electrodes forming the bar display, and if the speed range does not change, the length of the plurality of bar displays is not changed. Are the same, it is possible to recognize that the vehicle is traveling in that speed range by simply looking at one speed display scale, and the speed can be read easily. In addition, since the display area of the segment electrodes can be increased at an accelerating rate as the speed increases, the speed of It is possible to make the driver strongly recognize the rise.

Further, since the segment electrode corresponding to the velocity range to be warned has an extension portion that projects to the step between the adjacent segment electrodes, it is possible to secure a sufficient area for the segment electrode for performing the warning display. it can. Therefore, there is an advantage that the safety standard can be satisfied and the speed warning can be clearly displayed.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view of a speedometer, FIG. 2 is a view showing a shape of a segment electrode and a schematic circuit configuration, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a liquid crystal panel, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional speedometer and a schematic circuit configuration. 15 …… Display surface, 16 …… Speed display scale, 20,20 ′ …… Segment electrode 25 …… Step, 26 …… Extended part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A large number of strip-shaped segment electrodes for bar display are arranged in a line along a speed display scale, and a voltage is sequentially applied to these segment electrodes so that a bar displayed on the display surface is displayed. A liquid crystal display type speedometer in which the number is continuously increased from the smaller side of the speed display scale toward the larger side, and the speed display is performed by an analog bar display. , 10Km / h division into multiple speed ranges, and corresponding to each of these speed ranges, the above segment electrodes are divided into multiple units with multiple segment electrodes as one group. In addition to adding a velocity display scale that displays the above-mentioned divided velocity range, the segment electrodes of each unit have the same length dimension of the bar, and between adjacent units, The larger the speed display scale, the longer the length of the bar is formed.The segment electrodes of all the units are arranged on the same straight line on one side located at one end of the bar in the length direction. By arranging them, a step along the length direction of the bar is formed between the segment electrodes adjacent to each other with different speed ranges, and among these adjacent segment electrodes, the segment electrode on the unit side with a large speed range. Has an extension that extends to the stepped portion between the segment electrode on the unit side where the velocity range is small, and one of the segment electrodes having this extension corresponds to the velocity range to be warned. , A liquid crystal display type speedometer characterized in that a warning color different from the bar display of other segment electrodes is emitted.