Communications: electrical – Land vehicle alarms or indicators – Internal alarm or indicator responsive to a condition of the...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-04
2004-03-30
Trieu, Van (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Land vehicle alarms or indicators
Internal alarm or indicator responsive to a condition of the...
C340S980000, C359S013000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06714125
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle-applied display unit to visualize an display image of a luminous display source as a virtual image on a combiner standing on a dashboard.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle-applied display unit to visualize, or to have a driver recognize, a virtual image of a display image including supporting information about travelling by means of reflection for leading an image light of the display image of a luminous display source accommodated in a dashboard to an eye point of a driver, an opening for leading the image light of the display image of the luminous display source to a front windshield or a combiner which reflects the image light is usually formed on a top face of the dashboard.
An outer light entering a vehicle-inside from an vehicle-outside further enters the opening and is irradiated to the luminous display source. Therefore, measures for preventing a washout (i.e., weakening of contrast) of the virtual image of the display image are necessary.
For example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 4-85370 discloses a prior art vehicle-applied display unit with one measure, wherein two polarizing plates having respective polarization directions different by 90 degrees each other are placed on an inner surface portion of a front windshield to which the image light of the display image passing the opening of the dashboard is irradiated. The two polarizing plates intercept the outer light irradiated to the luminous display source.
With respect to the above prior art disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 4-85370, however, since because the outer light enters a vehicle with various angles from various portions such as the front windshield and door windshields, the outer light entering the vehicle-inside from the portions without the polarizing plate cannot be prevented from reaching the luminous display source.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle-applied display unit, wherein the contrast of a virtual image, visible from an eye point, of a display image of a luminous display source is prevented from lowering by the influence of the outer light entering the vehicle-inside from the vehicle-outside or the lowering of the contrast is reduced so as to keep the visibility of the virtual image of the display image of the luminous display source well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the above object, as a first aspect of the present invention, a vehicle-applied display unit comprises: a dashboard of a vehicle positioned ahead of an eye point in the vehicle; a luminous display source provided inside the dashboard; an opening provided on the dashboard; and a combiner standing on the dashboard visibly from the eye point and reflecting image light, toward the eye point, of a display image emitted from the luminous display source and passed the opening, wherein the combiner is arranged on an optical path of a portion, of outer light entering a vehicle-inside from a vehicle-outside, going toward the luminous display source through the opening at least over a whole extent, in a vehicle-width direction, of the portion of the outer light for at least partially enclosing the opening over a front through both sides portions thereof and is made of light-attenuation processed material capable of at least attenuating the portion of the outer light.
As a second aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, the combiner is arcuately formed in a vehicle-width direction with an inside surface of the combiner facing the eye point in such a manner that both longitudinal ends of at least a portion, of the combiner, on which the image light of the display image is irradiated are positioned rearward of a central portion thereof and also in such a manner that, in a vehicle-height direction, the portion of the combiner has a straight cross-section while inclinedly standing rearward with a top thereof being positioned rearward of a bottom thereof.
As a third aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, a measuring instrument displaying a state of the vehicle is arranged on a portion, of the dashboard, located nearer the eye point than the opening is, and the combiner has such an external form that a contour of the combiner visible from the eye point almost encloses a virtual image of the display image and a real image of the measuring instrument, the virtual image being obtained by irradiation of the image light of the display image and being visible from the eye point.
As a fourth aspect of the present invention, based on the third aspect, the measuring instrument includes a plurality of meter units with intervals in the vehicle-width direction and the combiner is arranged in a manner that a portion of the combiner reflects the image light of the display image of the luminous display source toward the eye point, the portion being positioned between two meter units adjacent to each other.
As a fifth aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, a recess is formed on a top face of the dashboard, and the combiner stands inside the recess while partially enclosing the opening formed in the recess so that the combiner is positioned outside a vehicle forward sight from the eye point.
As a sixth aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, a steering wheel is arranged between the dashboard and the eye point, and the combiner has a regular-arcuated top edge, a curvature of the top edge being different from that of the steering wheel according to a back-and-forth position difference therebetween from the eye point.
As a seventh aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, an optical path changing member to make the optical path of some area, in a vehicle-height direction, of the portion of the outer light go away from the luminous display source is arranged between the luminous display source and the combiner, and the combiner is arranged on the optical path of at least a remaining area of the portion of the outer light.
As an eighth aspect of the present invention, based on any one of the first to seventh aspects, a polarizing plate is put on one surface of the combiner for attaining light attenuation, and a second polarizing plate having a polarization direction different from that of the polarizing plate by 90 degrees is arranged between the opening and the luminous display sources.
As a ninth aspect of the present invention, based on the eighth aspect, the luminous display source has a third polarizing plate having a same polarization direction as that of the second polarizing plate on an emitting surface of the image light of the display image.
As a tenth aspect of the present invention, a vehicle-applied display unit comprises: a dashboard of a vehicle positioned ahead of an eye point in the vehicle; a luminous display source provided inside the dashboard; an opening provided on the dashboard; and a combiner standing on the dashboard visibly from the eye point and reflecting image light, toward the eye point, of a display image emitted from the luminous display source and passed the opening, wherein a recess is formed on a top face of the dashboard, and the combiner stands inside the recess and ahead of the opening formed in the recess so that the combiner is positioned outside a vehicle forward sight from the eye point.
As an eleventh aspect of the present invention, based on the tenth aspect, a measuring instrument displaying a state of the vehicle is arranged on a portion, of the dashboard, located nearer the eye point than the opening is, and the combiner has such an external form that a contour of the combiner visible from the eye point almost encloses a virtual image of the display image and a real image of the measuring instrument, the virtual image being obtained by irradiation of the image light of the display image and being visible from the eye point.
As a twelfth aspect of the present invention, based on the eleventh aspect, the measuring instrument includ
Amari Takeyuki
Furuya Yoshiyuki
Sugiyama Tetsuya
Trieu Van
Yazaki -Corporation
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