Vehicular meter unit

• US 7,954,951 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2008
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kuno, Masahiro, Matsuno, Nagako
• Primary Examiner(s): Dowling; William C
• Application Number:
  US12/078,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20080309475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 353 11- 14, 340/995.1, 340/441, 340/438, 340/459, 340/461, 340/462, 345/1.1, 345/1.3
• US Class Current: 353/12
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1515 Reconfigurable dials
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/1515 Reconfigurable dials
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/155 Virtual instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/20 Output arrangements, i.e. from vehicle to user, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/213 Virtual instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/24 in front of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/30 providing vision in the non-visible spectrum, e.g. night or infrared vision

Abstract

In a first display mode, a common image function component is displayed to occupy at least a part of a display region of a second specific image function component. In a second display mode, the common image function component is continuously displayed outside the second specific image function component to avoid the overlap therebetween (i.e., such that an exclusive positional relationship is made therebetween). When the display mode is switched, a final transition of the display mode to a display state in the second display mode is made while or after a moving image showing a transition process, in which the common image function component is moved from a display position in the first display mode to a display position in the second display mode, is displayed as a mode transition animation.

Claims

1. A vehicular meter unit arranged to face a driver'"'"'s seat of a vehicle, the vehicular meter unit comprising:

a meter display means for displaying a plurality of image function components, each of which is formed as either one of an image meter indicating an obtained meter indication value and an information output section other than the image meter for changing a display state in accordance with an obtained information content, on a screen of a display in such a manner that the display of the image function components can be switched between a first display mode and a second display mode providing different display layouts of the image function components, wherein the image function components include at least one image meter; and

a display control means for setting a display region of a second specific image function component, which is the image function component displayed as a display object only in the second display mode, in the second display mode such that the display region of the second specific image function component overlaps at least partially with a display region of a common image function component, which is the image function component displayed as a display object in both of the first display mode and the second display mode, in the first display mode on the screen after the switching of the display mode, for setting a display region of the common image function component in the second display mode exclusively outside the display region of the second specific image function component, and for providing a display state in the second display mode in the case where the display mode is switched from the first display mode to the second display mode while or after a moving image showing a transition process of movement of the common image function component from a display position in the first display mode to a display position in the second display mode is displayed as a mode transition animation.

2. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the mode transition animation is a moving image, in which the common image function component continuously moves along a route from the display position in the first display mode to the display position in the second display mode.

3. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the common image function component is the image meter, and

the display control means sets an area of the display region of the image meter to be smaller than an area of the display region of the second specific image function component.

4. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 3, wherein

the image meter constituting the common image function component is displayed adjacent to a right side or a left side of the second specific image function component in the second display mode.

5. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the display control means displays the image meter constituting the common image function component in the same form in the first display mode and the second display mode.

6. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the image meter constituting the common image function component is a digital speed meter.

7. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the second specific image function component is a camera image display section or a car navigation screen display section.

8. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the display control means sets a display region of a first specific image function component, which is the image function component displayed as a display object only in the first display mode, such that the display region of the first specific image function component overlaps at least partially with the display region of the second specific image function component on the screen after the switching of the display mode, and

the display control means provides a display state in the second display mode in the case where the display mode is switched from the first display mode to the second display mode while or after a moving image, in which a display state of the first specific image function component is gradually erased, is displayed as the mode transition animation.

9. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 8, wherein

the display control means displays a moving image, in which the first specific image function component is gradually contracted toward a convergence point defined in the display region of the second specific image function component in the second display mode and erased, as the mode transition animation.

10. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 8, wherein

the display control means displays a moving image, in which the first specific image function component is gradually faded out and is erased, as the mode transition animation.

11. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 8, wherein

the display control means displays a moving image, in which the first specific image function component is erased in a swept manner from one end side to the other end side along a predetermined erasing direction on the screen, as the mode transition animation.

12. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 8, wherein

the image meter constituting the common image function component is a digital speed meter, and

the first specific image function component is a rotational pointer type analog speed meter.

13. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 12, wherein

the first display mode is provided such that a rotational pointer type analog output meter indicative of an output state of a vehicle drive section is displayed as the first specific image function component different from the rotational pointer type analog speed meter such that the rotational pointer type analog output meter and the rotational pointer type analog speed meter are displayed simultaneously and adjacently to each other side by side on the screen,

the second specific image function component is an image display window that is formed to overlap with and bridge both of the rotational pointer type analog output meter and the rotational pointer type analog speed meter provided side by side and that constitutes the camera image display section or the car navigation screen display section,

the display control means gradually contracts and erases the rotational pointer type analog output meter and the rotational pointer type analog speed meter toward a convergence point defined at an intermediate position between the rotational pointer type analog output meter and the rotational pointer type analog speed meter with respect to a direction in which the rotational pointer type analog output meter and the rotational pointer type analog speed meter are arranged side by side, and

the display control means displays a moving image, in which the digital speed meter constituting the common image function component is moved toward an outside of a side edge of the image display window opposite to the contraction direction to the convergence point of the rotational pointer type analog speed meter, as the mode transition animation.

14. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the display control means holds an indication value of the image meter relating to the display of the mode transition animation and fixes an indication state of the image meter to the held indication value in the middle of displaying the mode transition animation when the display mode is switched from the first display mode to the second display mode.

15. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 1, wherein

the image meter relating to the display of the mode transition animation includes a rotational pointer type analog meter, and

the mode transition animation is displayed while eliminating a pointer image from the rotational pointer type analog meter.

16. The vehicular meter unit arranged to face a driver'"'"'s seat of a vehicle, the vehicular meter unit comprising:

a meter display means for displaying a plurality of image function components, each of which is formed as either one of an image meter displaying an obtained meter indication value and an information output section other than the image meter for changing a display state in accordance with an obtained information content, on a screen of a display in such a manner that the display of the image function components can be switched between a first display mode and a second display mode providing different display layouts of the image function components, wherein the image function components include at least one image meter; and

a display control means for setting a display region of a first specific image function component, which is the image function component displayed as a display object only in the first display mode, to overlap at least partially with a display region of

a second specific image function component, which is the image function component displayed as a display object only in the second display mode, on the screen after the switching of the display mode and for providing a display state in the second display mode in the case where the display mode is switched from the first display mode to the second display mode while or after a moving image, in which a display state of the first specific image function component is gradually erased, is displayed as a mode transition animation.

17. A vehicular meter unit comprising:

a first meter display means for displaying an image indicative of speed of a vehicle on a screen of a display as a first display mode with the use of a pointer type analog speed meter having a pointer, which can move along a prescribed indication track, and a scale plate graphic, which is formed along the indication track, and an image of a digital speed meter, which digitally indicates a speed indication value of the pointer with a digit image, in a first position specific to the first display mode together with the pointer type analog speed meter;

a second meter display means for displaying a subsidiary information output section, which is specific to a second display mode and is not displayed in the first display mode, on the screen of the display as the second display mode such that the subsidiary information output section overlaps with and bridges both of a region occupied by the pointer type analog speed meter in the first display mode and a region occupied by the digital speed meter in the first display mode while erasing the image of the pointer type analog speed meter, for moving the digital speed meter from the first position to a second position specific to the second display mode, which does not overlap with the subsidiary information output section, and for displaying the digital speed meter at the second position; and

a display mode switching means for switching an image display state of the display between the first display mode and the second display mode.

18. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 17, wherein

the digital image displayed with the digital speed meter for indicating the speed indication value is set at the same display size in both of the first display mode and the second display mode.

19. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 17, wherein

the digital image displayed with the digital speed meter for indicating the speed indication value is set with the same font in both of the first display mode and the second display mode.

20. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 17, wherein

the display mode switching means switches the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode such that the digital speed meter is directly switched from a display state at the first display position to a display state at the second display position without going through a display state at an intermediate position between the first position and the second position.

21. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 20, wherein

when the meter display mode switching means switches the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode, the meter display mode switching means performs the switching from the display state of the digital speed meter at the first position to the display state of the digital speed meter at the second position after the completion of the erasure of the pointer type analog speed meter.

22. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 17, wherein

when the meter display mode switching means switches the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode, the meter display mode switching means performs display control of causing the subsidiary information output section to emerge after the completion of the switching from the display state of the digital speed meter at the first position to the display state of the digital speed meter at the second position.

23. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 17, wherein

when the meter display mode switching means switches the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode, the meter display mode switching means provides the display state in the second display mode after displaying a moving image of gradually erasing the display state of the pointer type analog speed meter as a mode transition animation.

24. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 17, wherein

the subsidiary information output section is an image display window providing a camera image display section or a car navigation image display section.

25. The vehicular meter unit as in claim 24, wherein

when the meter display mode switching means switches the display mode from the first display mode to the second display mode, the meter display mode switching means provides the display state in the second display mode after displaying a moving image of causing the image display window to gradually emerge as a mode transition animation.