Clean dash instrument cluster
First Claim
1. A vehicle instrument panel display comprising:
- a semitransparent screen supported by a vehicle dash;
a primary light system mounted behind said dash, said primary light system transmitting a light; and
a primary optical system cooperating with said primary light system to direct said light onto said semitransparent screen to display an optical image of at least one variable vehicle condition.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An instrument display system provides vehicle information where a driver and passenger side of a vehicle dash have primarily identical appearances when the display system is not activated. The instrument display system includes a primary light system, a primary optical system, and a semitransparent screen used to produce an image of at least one instrument gauge. The primary optical system directs a light from the primary light system to the semitransparent screen, which is attached to the vehicle dash. The semitransparent screen has a similar appearance to the dash. Thus, when the instrument display system is turned off the semitransparent screen blends with the dash. Other embodiments may use additional light systems and optical systems, such that the scales and indicator for an instrument gauge are produced separately, yet displayed in the same location of the dash.
16 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A vehicle instrument panel display comprising:
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a semitransparent screen supported by a vehicle dash;
a primary light system mounted behind said dash, said primary light system transmitting a light; and
a primary optical system cooperating with said primary light system to direct said light onto said semitransparent screen to display an optical image of at least one variable vehicle condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of displaying a vehicle instrument panel comprising the steps of:
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(a) projecting a light from a primary light system;
(b) directing the light toward a vehicle dash using a primary optical system; and
(c) displaying a primary image on a semitransparent screen supported by the dash. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38)
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37. The method as recited in claim 37 wherein said step (a) further includes moving the pointer with an electric motor to reflect changes in a vehicle condition.
Specification