Display device for vehicle

• US 8,933,799 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2011
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Katoh, Takahira
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fan, Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US13/199,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20120056736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 340/425.5, 340/438, 340/439, 340/459, 340/461, 340/462
• US Class Current: 340/459
• 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 state as an ON-state or an OFF-state;

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 the engine state as the ON-state, to immediately discontinue the operation of the display unit which immediately causes the display of the vehicle information to cease when the engine information indicates the engine state is switched to the OFF-state, to determine the occurrence of an event other than when the engine state is again indicated as the ON-state by the engine information, and, with the engine state being indicated as the OFF-state, to restart the operation of the display unit to restart display of the vehicle information after the occurrence of the event, wherein

the event is when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the engine state is switched to the OFF-state; and

the control unit controls the display unit to restart the display of the vehicle information when the predetermined period of time has elapsed.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information includes gauge information associated with a dial plate having a scale;

the display unit includes a pointer display section and an image display section, the pointer display section including the dial plate formed with the scale and a pointer rotating along the dial plate to indicate the gauge information associated with the scale, the image display section configured to show the gauge 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 gauge information when the engine state indicated in the engine information is switched from the ON-state to the OFF-state, and controls one of the pointer display section and the image display section to restart the display of the gauge information after the display of the pointer display section and the image display section is simultaneously discontinued.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the one of the pointer display section and the image display section is the image display section.

4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein

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

5. The display device according to claim 3, wherein

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

6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein

the gauge 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the display unit does not display the engine information.

11. 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 state as an ON-state or an OFF-state and door information indicating an open and closed state of a door of the vehicle;

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 the engine state as the ON-state, to immediately discontinue the operation of the display unit which immediately causes the display of the vehicle information to cease when the engine information indicates the engine state is switched to the OFF-state, to determine the occurrence of an event other than when the engine state is again indicated as the ON-state by the engine information, and, with the engine state being indicated as the OFF-state, to restart the operation of the display unit to restart display of the vehicle information after the occurrence of the event, wherein

the event is when the door of the vehicle is switched from a closed state to an open state,

with the engine state indicated as the OFF-state, the control unit controls the display unit to restart the display of the vehicle information when the door closed state indicated by the door information is switched to the door open state, and

with the engine state indicated as the OFF-state, the control unit controls the display unit to discontinue the display of the vehicle information after a predetermined time period elapsed after the control unit restarted the display of the vehicle information.