Display device for vehicle

• US 20120056736A1
• Filed: 08/31/2011
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Katoh, Takahira
• Granted Patent: US 8,933,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/439
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/186 Displaying information according to relevancy
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/14 lighting through the surface to be illuminated
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/16 Circuits; Control arrangements

Abstract

A display device for a vehicle includes an information acquiring unit, a display unit and a control unit. The information acquiring unit acquires vehicle information regarding the vehicle. The vehicle information includes engine information indicating an engine on and off state. The control unit controls the display unit to display the vehicle information when the engine information indicates an engine on state. Further, the display unit controls the display unit to discontinue the display of the vehicle information once when the engine on state of the engine information is switched to the engine off state, and to restart display of the vehicle information.

Claims

1. A display device for a vehicle with an engine, the display device comprising:

an information acquiring unit configured to acquire vehicle information regarding the vehicle, the vehicle information including engine information indicating an engine on and off state, and;

a display unit configured to display the vehicle information acquired by the information acquiring unit; and

a control unit configured to control the display unit to display the vehicle information when the engine information indicates an engine on state, to discontinue display of the vehicle information once when the engine on state indicated by the engine information is switched to an engine off state, and to restart display of the vehicle information.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit controls the display unit to restart the display of the vehicle information when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the engine on state of the engine information was switched to the engine off state.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information includes door information indicating an open and closed state of a door of the vehicle, and

the control unit controls the display unit to restart the display of the vehicle information when a door closed state indicated by the door information is switched to a door open state, after the engine on state of the engine information is switched to the engine off state.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the display unit includes a pointer display section and an image display section, the pointer display section including a dial plate formed with a scale and a pointer rotating along the dial plate to indicate the vehicle information associated with the scale, the image display section configured to show the vehicle information by an image, and

the control unit controls the pointer display section and the image display section to simultaneously discontinue the display of the vehicle information when the engine on state of the engine information is switched to the engine off state, and controls one of the pointer display section and the image display section to restart the display of the vehicle information after the display of the pointer display section and the image display section is simultaneously discontinued.

5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the one is the image display section.

6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein

the control unit controls the image display section to display the vehicle information in digital form.

7. The display device according to claim 5, wherein

the control unit controls the image display section to redisplay the vehicle information when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the engine on state of the engine information was switched to the engine off state.

8. The display device according to claim 5, wherein

the vehicle information includes door information indicating an open and closed state of a door of the vehicle, and

the control unit controls the image display section to restart the display of the vehicle information when a door closed state of the door information is switched to a door open state, after the engine on state of the engine information is switched to the engine off state.

9. The display device according to claim 5, wherein

the control unit controls the image display section to discontinue the display of the vehicle information again after the display of the vehicle information is restarted.

10. The display device according to claim 9, wherein

the vehicle information redisplayed by the image display section includes at least one of travel distance information indicating a traveled distance of the vehicle and fuel level information indicating an amount of fuel in a fuel tank of the vehicle.

11. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit controls the display unit to discontinue the display of the vehicle information again after the display of the vehicle information is restarted.

12. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information redisplayed by the display unit includes travel distance information indicating a traveled distance of the vehicle.

13. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information redisplayed by the display unit includes fuel level information indicating an amount of fuel in a fuel tank of the vehicle.

14. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the display unit displays the vehicle information other than the engine information.