Automotive Display Device, Vehicle, and Display Method

• US 20080258897A1
• Filed: 06/06/2005
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Toshiya, Yamamoto, Takeshi, Miake, Aki, Itoh, Megumi, Ota, Shinichirou, Kikuchi, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,331,622 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/461
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/211 producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3635 Guidance using 3D or perspective road maps

Abstract

An automotive display device, which allows the user to easily recognize the sameness of an information image even if the shape of the image is changed, is realized. An automotive display device (1) includes a display section (13) for displaying a vehicle information image including information regarding a vehicle. The vehicle information image is a 3-D image. The automotive display device (1) further includes an image processing section (113) for generating a vehicle information image seen from a fixed viewpoint, an image display processing section (114) for displaying the vehicle information image on the display section (13), and an ETC information detection section (21) that detects a driving condition of the vehicle. The image processing section (113) rotates the vehicle information image around a predetermined axis and for a predetermined angle, in accordance with ETC information obtained by the ETC information detecting section (21).

Claims

1. An automotive display device which is provided in a vehicle and includes a display section for displaying a vehicle information image including information in regard to the vehicle,

the automotive display device comprising:

a first vehicle information image based on which the vehicle information image is generated; and

at least one second vehicle information image generated by rotating the first vehicle information image in three dimensions.

2. The automotive display device as defined in claim 1, wherein, a width of said at least one second vehicle information image is shorter than a width of the first vehicle information image.

3. The automotive display device as defined in claim 1, wherein, a length of said at least one second vehicle information image is shorter than a length of the first vehicle information image.

4. The automotive display device as defined in claim 1, wherein, a display area of said at least one second vehicle information image is smaller than a display area of the first vehicle information image.

5. The automotive display device as defined in claim 1, wherein, the first vehicle information image is switched to said at least one second vehicle information image and vice versa, in accordance with a driving condition of the vehicle.

14. A vehicle comprising the automotive display device defined in claim 1.

6. An automotive display device which is provided in a vehicle and includes a display section for displaying a vehicle information image including information in regard to the vehicle, the display vehicle information image being generated based on at least one first vehicle information image,

the automotive display device comprising:

an image generating section that generates a second vehicle information image by, when necessary, rotating said at least one first vehicle information image for a predetermined angle around a predetermined rotation axis; and

an image display processing section that displays the second vehicle information image on the display section.

7. The automotive display device as defined in claim 6, further comprising a vehicle driving condition detection section that detects a driving condition of the vehicle,

the image generating section rotating said at least one first vehicle information image, in accordance with the driving condition detected by the vehicle driving condition detection section.

8. The automotive display device as defined in claim 7, further comprising an image component display information storage section that stores (i) types of image components displayed on the display section, (ii) rotational states of the image components, and (iii) arrangement coordinates on the display section, in association with driving conditions of the vehicle,

the image generating section reading out, from the image component display information storage section, a rotational state of an image component associated with the driving condition detected by the vehicle driving condition detection section, so as to rotate said at least one first vehicle information image in accordance with the rotational state of the image component thus read out.

9. The automotive display device as defined in claim 7, wherein, the image display processing section causes the display section to display a driving condition related image that relates to the driving condition, in accordance with the driving condition detected by the vehicle driving condition detection section.

10. The automotive display device as defined in claim 9, wherein, the image display processing section reading out, from the image component display information storage section, arrangement coordinates associated with the driving condition detected by the vehicle driving condition detection section, so as to cause the display section to display the driving condition related image, in accordance with the arrangement coordinates thus read out.

11. The automotive display device as defined in claim 6, wherein, when said at least one first vehicle information image is rotated, the image generating section generates a second vehicle information image that is a moving image indicating in what manner said at least one vehicle information image is rotated.

12. The automotive display device as defined in claim 6, further comprising a vehicle information image synthesizing section that synthesizes predetermined two or more of said at least one first vehicle information image,

the image generating section generating a synthesized vehicle information image as a result of synthesis performed by the vehicle information image synthesizing section.

13. The automotive display device as defined in claim 12, further comprising a component synthesizing information storage section that stores, as component synthesizing information, (i) said at least one first vehicle information image to be synthesized and (ii) barycentric positions for determining a relative position of said at least one first vehicle information image, in association with one another,

the vehicle information image synthesizing section synthesizing said at least one first vehicle information image, in accordance with the component synthesizing information stored in the component synthesizing information storage section.

16. A vehicle comprising the automotive display device defined in claim 6.

15. A display method in an automotive display device which is provided in a vehicle and includes a display section for displaying a vehicle information image including information in regard to the vehicle, the display vehicle information image being generated based on a first vehicle information image,

the display method comprising the steps of:

generating a second vehicle information image by, when necessary, rotating the first vehicle information image for a predetermined angle around a predetermined rotation axis; and

displaying the second vehicle information image on the display section.