Display apparatus for vehicle

• US 6,806,848 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2001
• Issued: 10/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ono, Kenji, Hijikata, Shunsuke, Nakaji, Yoshiharu, Kitazaki, Satoshi, Hirao, Akinari, Kato, Kazuhito
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Henry N.
• Application Number:
  US09/987,252
• Publication Number:
  US 20020067366A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 345/3.4, 345/7, 345/8, 345/788, 345/789, 345/798, 340/461, 340/462, 340/426, 340/436, 340/815.4, 340/903, 340/937, 250/214.AL, 250/214.C, 250/370.1, 250/206.1, 250/206.2
• US Class Current: 345/3.4
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/654 the user being the driver
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/04 Changes in size, position or resolution of an image
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

A display unit is disposed in front of a driver'"'"'s seat in a front central region of a passenger compartment of a vehicle. A sensor senses a condition, such as a driver'"'"'s eye position, an outside brightness and a steering frequency, affecting the uneasiness of a driver caused by the display screen. A controller reduces the size of a picture display region in accordance with the condition to achieve an agreeable size and position of picture on the screen.

Claims

1. A display apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

a display unit comprising a screen presenting information to a driver, the display unit being disposed in a front central region of a passenger compartment;

a sensor section comprising an eye position sensor to sense an eye position of the driver; and

a controller to reduce a size of a display region on the screen of the display unit and to shift a position of the display region in the screen upwardly toward a driver'"'"'s seat'"'"'s side as the eye position moves forward.

2. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit is located in front of a driver'"'"'s seat on a first lateral side toward a position of a front passenger'"'"'s seat, and the controller shifts the position of the display region upwardly toward a second lateral side opposite to the first lateral side as the eye position is shifted forwardly and upwardly.

3. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller alters the display region on the screen so as to hold a driver'"'"'s viewing angle relative to the display region invariably at a predetermined constant angle.

4. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller alters the display region on the screen so as to hold a driver'"'"'s viewing angle relative to the display region invariably at a constant angle when the driver'"'"'s viewing angle is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

5. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller holds the display region at a maximum size to use the entirety of the screen as the display region when the eye position is located on a rear side of a predetermined position.

6. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the eye position sensor comprises a seat position sensor to sense a position of an adjustable driver'"'"'s seat in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

7. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit is located on an inboard side of a steering wheel of the vehicle;

the screen is substantially rectangular and bounded by upper and lower sides, a far side remoter from the steering wheel and a near side closer to the steering wheel;

the display region is a rectangular frame bounded by upper and lower sides, a far side remoter from the steering wheel and a near side closer to the steering wheel; and

the controller shifts the lower side of the display region upward toward the upper side of the screen and the far side of the display region laterally toward the near side of the screen as the eye position is shifted forward.

8. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the controller holds a driver'"'"'s downward viewing angle to the lower side of the display region substantially constant at a predetermined angle by shifting the lower side of the display region in accordance with the eye position, and holds a driver'"'"'s sideward viewing angle to the far side of the display region substantially constant at a predetermined angle by shifting the far side of the display region in accordance with the eye position, the downward viewing angle being an angular distance in a vertical plane between a horizontal line and a straight line connecting the eye position and the lower side of the display region, and the sideward viewing angle being an angular distance in a horizontal plane between a straight line parallel to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a straight line connecting the eye position and the far side of the display region.

9. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor section further comprises an outside brightness sensor to sense a darkness outside the vehicle;

and the controller is configured to reduce the size of the display region in the screen of the display unit in accordance with the darkness sensed by the outside brightness sensor.

10. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor section further comprises a steering frequency sensor to sense a driver'"'"'s steering frequency;

and the controller is configured to reduce the size of the display region in the screen of the display unit when the steering frequency increases.

11. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sensor section further comprises a steering direction sensor to sense a steering direction of a driver'"'"'s steering operation;

and the controller shifts the display region in the steering direction.

12. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sensor section further comprises an outside brightness sensor to sense a darkness outside the vehicle;

and the controller is configured to reduce the size of the display region in the screen of the display unit in accordance with the darkness sensed by the outside brightness sensor.

13. A display apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

a display unit comprising a screen presenting information to a driver of a vehicle, the display unit being located in a front region of a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

an outside brightness sensor to sense a brightness outside the vehicle; and

a controller to vary a size of a display region in the screen of the display unit in accordance with the brightness sensed by the outside brightness sensor.

14. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the controller reduces the size of the display region when the brightness outside decreases.

15. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the outside brightness sensor is an illuminance sensor.

16. A display apparatus comprising:

a display unit comprising a screen presenting information to a driver of a vehicle, the display unit being disposed in a front region of a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

a sensor section comprising a steering frequency sensor to sense a driver'"'"'s steering frequency; and

a controller to reduce a size of a display region on the screen of the display unit when the steering frequency increases.

17. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the sensor section further comprises a steering angle sensor to sense a steering direction of a driver'"'"'s steering operation, and the controller shifts the display region when reduced in size, in the steering direction within the screen.

18. A display apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

means for presenting visual representation in a display region on a screen located in a front region of a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

means for sensing an eye position of a driver relative to the screen; and

means for altering the size of the display region on the screen in accordance with the eye position of the driver.

19. A display control process for a vehicle, comprising:

sensing an eye position of a driver relative to a screen of a display unit in a passenger compartment of the vehicle; and

increasing the size of a display region within the screen when the eye position is shifted rearward away from the screen.