Vehicle information transmission device

• US 9,222,636 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2011
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hatakeyama, Yoshiyuki, Kawamata, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Poos, John
• Application Number:
  US13/990,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20130249395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,485 Days
• Field of Search: 315/77, 315/78, 315/79, 315/80
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/338 Light strips
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle information transmission device includes: a display device that displays light in a first mode at a position of a vehicle body, at which visual recognition of a certain object is prompted, when the visual recognition is prompted and that displays light in a second mode different from the first mode on the vehicle body when the visual recognition is not prompted or when the visual recognition is prompted; and a control unit that adjusts light in the second mode on the basis of light in the first mode when the visual recognition is prompted.

Claims

1. A vehicle information transmission device comprising:

a display device that (i) displays a first virtual image of light which has a predetermined color tone at a position on a vehicle body, at which visual recognition of a certain object is prompted, when the visual recognition is prompted, and that (ii) displays a second virtual image of light which has a different color tone from the first virtual image of light at a position on the vehicle body which is different from the position at which the first virtual image of light is displayed when the visual recognition is not prompted and when the visual recognition is prompted; and

a control unit that adjusts the position at which the second virtual image of light is displayed based on the position at which the first virtual image of light is displayed when the visual recognition is prompted, wherein

when the visual recognition is prompted, the control unit decreases a light level of only a portion, which corresponds to the position at which the visual recognition is prompted, of the second virtual image of light displayed on the vehicle body.

2. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein

the display device displays light at a plurality of different positions on the vehicle body when the visual recognition is prompted and when the visual recognition is not prompted.

3. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein

the display device displays red series light and green series light on the vehicle body when the visual recognition is prompted, and displays the green series light on the vehicle body when the visual recognition is not prompted.

4. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein

the display device displays light on the vehicle body in a manner such that a series of light dots extends in a vehicle-width direction.

5. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 4, wherein

the control unit corrects a center position of light on a basis of a curved shape of a road when light is displayed on the vehicle body.

6. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein

the display device displays light on the vehicle body in a manner such that a series of light dots extends in a vehicle-width direction,

the display device displays first color light on the vehicle body when the visual recognition is not prompted, and displays second color light together with the first color light on the vehicle body when the visual recognition is prompted, and

the control unit adjusts only a portion, which corresponds to the position at which the visual recognition is prompted, of the first color light when the visual recognition is prompted.

7. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 6, wherein

the first color light and the second color light are parallel to each other.

8. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 6, wherein

the first color is a green series color, and the second color is a red series color.

9. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 6, wherein

on the vehicle body, the second color light is displayed above the first color light.

10. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 1, wherein

the display device is installed inside a vehicle, and

the display device projects light onto a front windshield.

11. The vehicle information transmission device according to claim 10, wherein

the display device is installed at an instrument panel.