Abstract:
The invention provides a display device for vehicles capable of quickly and reliably displaying high-priority and high-emergency information, while maintaining sufficient display space for other information. The vehicles may be of the type including a trunk provided with a cover. The display device has a display section in which display patterns are used. The display device includes an open position detecting device which detects that the cover of the trunk is open. A warning design pattern producing device generates a warning design pattern which visually expresses a warning when the cover is open. A warning display priority device displays the warning design pattern, prior to other information, on the display section when the cover is detected to be open.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a display device for vehicles and, more particularly, to a display device which is mounted on a vehicle provided with a trunk. When the cover of the trunk is open, the display device displays information indicating the open state of the cover prior to the display of other information.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Background Art  
           [0004]    A vehicle is typically equipped with a display device which displays information required by a rider (or driver). The information displayed has recently become diversified with improvements in the capacity of a microcomputer and a liquid crystal display device. In Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 4-48655 for example, a maintenance period display device is disclosed which detects a traveling time or a distance traversed, then compares a result of the detection with preset maintenance information, and then displays the information on the maintenance period.  
           [0005]    The display device displays not only such low-priority or low-emergency information such as a driving condition of the vehicle, or an operating condition of an air conditioner or audio system, but also displays high-emergency information that the rider (or driver) is required to recognize immediately.  
           [0006]    If a large display space is continuously provided in the display section for high-emergency information, the information is easily recognizable. However, there will only be a small display space remaining for other information. In contrast, when display space is allocated equally irrespective of the quality of emergency of the information, it will become difficult to quickly and reliably recognize high-priority or high-emergency information.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a display device for vehicles which is capable of solving the above-described technical problems, which quickly and reliably recognizes high-priority or high-emergency information, and provides a sufficient display space for other kinds of information.  
           [0008]    To attain the above-described object, this invention provides a display device for a vehicle which is mounted on a vehicle having a trunk provided with a cover body. The display device has a display section on which an unlimited display pattern may be displayed. The display device includes an open state detecting means which detects when the cover body is open, a warning design pattern generating means which generates a visual warning design pattern for warning that the cover body is open, and a warning display priority means which displays the warning design pattern on the display section prior to other information when the open state of the cover body is detected.  
           [0009]    When the open state of the trunk cover body is detected, the warning design pattern is displayed on the display screen of the display device indicating that the cover body is open, prior to the display of ordinary information such as vehicle operation information. Therefore, the rider can see quickly and exactly that the cover body is open. Furthermore, when the cover body is in a closed position, no warning design pattern is displayed. Therefore, neither the display of other information will be disturbed nor the display space for other information will decrease.  
           [0010]    Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle mounted with a display device for vehicles according to this invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a side view showing in detail the vicinity of the rear part of the vehicle of FIG. 1;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a rear view of the vehicle of FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a plan view of a meter unit including the display device for vehicles according to this invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing major sections of the display device for vehicles;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operation of the display device for vehicles;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a view showing one example of a normal image (radio operation image);  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a view showing another example of a normal image (audio operation image);  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 is a view showing a first example of display of a warning design pattern;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 10 is a view showing a second example of display of the warning design pattern; and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 11 is a view showing a variation of FIG. 5. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]    A preferred embodiment of a display device for vehicles according to this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the external appearance of a motorcycle mounted with a display device according to the one preferred embodiment of this invention. In the drawing, the motorcycle  1  (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle) is mounted with a horizontal opposed six-cylinder engine  2 .  
         [0024]    The frame structure of the vehicle is comprised of a twin-frame type main frame  4  which is bifurcated to right and left frames extending rearwardly from a steering head  3 , and a rear frame  5  connected to the rear end of the main frame  4 . A front fork  6  composed of two pipes is arranged on the right and left sides in the direction of travel, and is installed to the steering head  3 . The front fork  6  is thus rotatable in the steering direction.  
         [0025]    A handlebar  7  is secured on the upper part of the steering head  3 , on the top bridge. A front wheel axle  8  is mounted at the lower end of the front fork  6 . A front wheel  9  is rotatably supported on the front wheel axle  8 .  
         [0026]    A meter unit  10  is mounted forwardly of the handlebar  7 . A lens surface (clear lens)  12  of a lighting device is attached at the front of a front fairing (cowling)  11  which covers the front part of the vehicle  1 . A ballast  13  is housed inside of the front cowling  11  for a discharge lamp used as the lighting device. A windshield  14  is installed above the front cowling  11 , and an air inlet port  15  is formed near the mounting portion of the windshield  14 .  
         [0027]    A fuel tank  16  is mounted on the main frame  4 . A rider&#39;s seat  17  and a pillion seat  18  are arranged to the rear of the fuel tank  16 . The rider&#39;s seat  17  and the pillion seat  18  are mounted on the rear frame  5 . The pillion seat  18  is formed unitarily with the rider&#39;s seat  17 , and has a backrest  19 . A rear trunk  20 C is provided behind the backrest  19 . A rear stop light  21  and a blinker light  22  are also mounted behind the rear trunk  20 C. Side trunks  20 L and  20 R are mounted beneath the rear trunk  20 C on the right and left of the rear wheel  26 . A set of rear stop lights  24  and blinker lights  25  are mounted at the rear of the side trunks  20 L and  20 R.  
         [0028]    An air cleaner  27  is mounted forwardly of the lower part of the fuel tank  16 . An intake manifold  29  extends from a throttle body  28  mounted in front of the air cleaner  27 . The intake manifold  29  is connected to each of three cylinders oppositely arranged on both the right and left sides of the vehicle. A fuel injection system (not shown) is located upstream of each of these cylinders. An exhaust manifold  30  is installed from the engine  2  toward the rear. The exhaust manifold  30  is connected to a muffler  31 .  
         [0029]    Both sides under the rider&#39;s seat  17  are covered with side covers  32 , and a front lower cowling  33  is located at the front of the engine  2 . A rear cushion  34  is disposed under the rider&#39;s seat  17 . The rear cushion  34  is connected to a hydraulic unit (not shown) which is capable of electrically adjusting the spring force to provide the initial weight application to the suspension according to the rider&#39;s weight. The vehicle  1  can be supported up on a stand  35 .  
         [0030]    As shown in FIG. 2, the cover  44 C of the trunk  20 C opens upwardly. As shown in FIG. 3, the covers  44 L and  44 R of side trunks  20 L and  20 R open sidewardly. The opening and closing operations of the cover  44 C and the covers  44 L and  44 R are detected by the cover open-close sensors  39 C,  39 L and  39 R, respectively, (not shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and  3 ) explained later with reference to FIG. 5.  
         [0031]    Locking and unlocking each of the trunks  20 C,  20 L and  20 R is performed by inserting the ignition key into a key cylinder  40  (see FIG. 3) and turning the ignition key. In the present embodiment, it is possible to remotely lock and unlock the trunks  20 C,  20 L and  20 R by wireless remote control. For this purpose, a controller  38  with a built-in wireless signal receiving function and a lock/unlock actuator are mounted on the vehicle.  
         [0032]    Three opening-closing levers  23 L,  23 C and  23 R are provided beneath the rear trunk  20 C as shown in FIG. 3. When the opening-closing levers  23 L,  23 C and  23 R are operated after unlocking by the ignition key or by remote control, the cover  44 L of the side trunk  20 L, the cover  44 C of the rear trunk  20 C, and the cover  44 R of the side trunk  20 R are opened.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 4 is a plan view of the meter unit  10  as viewed from the rider&#39;s seat side of the motorcycle. The meter unit  10  of the present embodiment is comprised of an instrument panel  10   a  and a display device  10   b  unitarily formed under it.  
         [0034]    A speedometer  110  is located at the central part of the instrument panel  10   a . A tachometer  120  is disposed on the left thereof, and a fuel gauge  130  and a water temperature gauge  140  are mounted on the right thereof. Blinker indicators  170  and  171  are mounted at the upper right and left of the speedometer  110 .  
         [0035]    On the speedometer  110  are arranged an oil indicator  111 , an anti-theft indicator  112 , a high-beam indicator  113 , a meter light adjusting light sensor  114 , an ABS (anti-lock brake system) warning lamp  115 , and an FI (fuel injection) warning lamp  116 . Between the fuel gauge  130  and the water temperature gauge  140  are vertically arranged in one row an auto cruise indicator  131  and an auto cruise set indicator  132 , and a gearshift REVERSE indicator  141 , a NEUTRAL indicator  141 , and an OVERDRIVE indicator  143 . Furthermore, a light on-off indicator  144  is located on the left side of each gearshift indicator, and a fuel empty indicator  145  is located on the right side. A clock  121  is located in the lower part of the tachometer  120 .  
         [0036]    At the central part of the display device  10   b  is a display section  160 , below which a mode switch  161 , a trip switch  162 , and a display switch  163  are located. Used in the display section  160  is a display medium, such as a dot-matrix liquid crystal panel or a cathode-ray tube (CRT), in which the display pattern is not limited.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the constitution of major sections of the display device  10   b . The display device  10   b  is connected, together with a radio receiver  101 , an audio system  102 , and a CB radio, to the control unit  100 .  
         [0038]    The display device  10   b  of the present embodiment has a function to display various kinds of information from the control unit  100 , and a function to display warnings on the display section  160  by detecting output signals from the open-close sensors  39 C,  39 L and  39 R which detect the open or closed state of the covers  44 C,  44 L and  44 R of the trunks  20 C,  20 L and  20 R.  
         [0039]    A normal image generating section  164  working in connection with the control unit  100  operates in response to the operation of the switches  161 ,  162  and  163 , generating an image of radio operations shown in FIG. 7 or a normal image of audio operations shown in FIG. 8, then outputting image data thereof. When a normal image is output in response to the operation of the switch  161  and others, an operation detection signal S 1  is output. The prior display request section  165  is designed to output a prior display request signal S 2  when any one of the open-close sensors  39 C,  39 L, and  39 R has detected that the trunk cover  44  is open.  
         [0040]    A plurality of warning design patterns are stored in a warning design pattern memory section  166  to be displayed on the display section  160  when the cover  44  of the trunk  20  is open. A warning design pattern selecting section  167  selectively reads out one of the warning design patterns stored in the warning design pattern memory section  166  on the basis of an output signal from each sensor  39 , then outputs image data thereof to the warning display priority section  168 .  
         [0041]    The warning display priority section  168  normally selects the normal image generating section  164  as an image data supply source for outputting image data to the display section  160 . When the prior display request signal S 2  from the prior display request section  165  is detected, the image data supply source is changed over to the warning design pattern selecting section  167 .  
         [0042]    The operation detecting section  159  is for temporarily changing images on the display section  160 , for example from an image of a warning design pattern of a prior display to a radio operation image when the radio is operated by the rider. When the operation detection signal S 1  is detected during output of a prior display request signal S 2 , an interrupt request signal S 3  is outputted. In other words, the interrupt request signal S 3  is outputted at a request for the display of a normal image through the operation of the switch  161  when the warning design pattern is being displayed in priority on the display section  160  according to the prior display request signal S 2  outputted from the prior display request section  165 .  
         [0043]    A temporary interrupt request section  169  responds to the interrupt request signal S 3 , outputting a gate signal Sg for a predetermined period of time preset by the timer  169   a  to thereby close the gate  158 .  
         [0044]    Each trunk  20  is provided with a plurality of open-close sensors  39 . In FIG. 11, each open-close sensor  39  (in the drawing, two sensors:  39   a  and  39   b ) is designed to close the contact when the trunk cover  44  is in the open position. The sensors  39   a  and  39   b  are connected in parallel. According to this arrangement, the cover  44  is determined to be open so long as both the open-close sensors  39   a  and  39   b  cannot detect the closed state of the cover by each trunk  20 . The sensors, therefore, can reliably detect that the cover is open.  
         [0045]    Next, operation of major sections of the display device  10   b  will be explained by referring to the flowchart in FIG. 6. At step S 10 , a decision is made whether or not the ignition (IG) switch is on, and the procedure goes to step S 11  only when the IG switch is on. In this case, it is allowed to proceed to step S 11  according to a decision based on the vehicle speed in place of the ignition switch position only when the vehicle is traveling.  
         [0046]    At step S 11 , a decision is made whether or not the covers  44  of the trunk  20  are open according to a signal outputted from each open-close sensor  39 . If either one of the covers  44  is open, at step S 12 , a warning design pattern corresponding to the open cover  44  is selectively read from the warning design pattern memory section  166  by means of the warning design pattern selecting section  167 . At step S 13 , an image data of the warning design pattern thus read out is outputted to the warning display priority section  168 .  
         [0047]    At step S 14 , when either cover  44  is open, the open-close sensor  39  detects it, outputting a signal. The prior display request section  165  outputs the prior display request signal S 2  according to the signal from the sensor  39 . The prior display request signal S 2  is inputted to the warning display priority section  168  through a gate  158 . The warning display priority section  168 , responding to the prior display request signal S 2 , changes the source of image data supply to the display section  160  from the normal image generating section  164  to the warning design pattern selecting section  167 . As a result, the warning design pattern shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is displayed in priority on the display section  160  in place of the normal image (FIGS. 7 and 8) that has been displayed.  
         [0048]    The warning design patterns shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 schematically show the shape of the rear part of the vehicle shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 9, all of the covers  44 C,  44 L and  44 R are open. The warning design pattern is selected by the warning design pattern selecting section  167  when open positions of the covers have been detected by all of the open-close sensors  39 C,  39 L and  39 R. In FIG. 10, only the cover  44 R of the right side trunk  20 R is open. This warning design pattern is selected by the warning design pattern selecting section  167  when only the open-close sensor  39 R has detected that the cover is open.  
         [0049]    According to the present embodiment, the cover  44  of the trunk  20  should not be open when the ignition switch is on, or during travel. In this case, if an open position of the cover  44  is detected, a warning design pattern indicating that the cover  44  of the trunk  20  is open will be displayed prior to the normal image that has been displayed on the display section  160 . Therefore, the driver can quickly and reliably know that the cover  44  is open. If the cover  44  is in a closed position, no warning design pattern will be displayed on the display section  160 . Therefore, neither the display of other information will be disturbed nor the display space for other information will be decreased.  
         [0050]    Referring back to FIG. 6, at step S 15 , a decision is made whether or not the interrupt request signal S 3  will be outputted from the operation detecting section  159  by the temporary interrupt request section  169 . The interrupt request signal S 3  will be outputted when the prior display request signal S 2  is being outputted from the prior display request section  165  and also when the operation detection signal S 1  is outputted from the normal image generating section  164 . When the interrupt request signal S 3  is being outputted, the gate signal Sg will be outputted from the temporary interrupt request section  169  at step S 16 .  
         [0051]    As a result, the input of the priority request signal S 2  to the warning display priority section  168  will be interrupted by the gate  158 . Therefore, the warning display priority section  168  will switch the source of image data supply to the display section  160  from the current warning design pattern selecting section  167  to the normal image producing section  164 . Consequently, display on the display section  160  is the normal image for example shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, by referring to which the driver can operate the radio or the audio system.  
         [0052]    At step S 17 , the timer  169   a  of the temporary interrupt request section  169  starts. At step S 18 , a decision is made whether or not the preset time of the timer  169   a  is over. Upon the time-out, the supply of the gate signal Sg will be stopped at step S 19 . Therefore, in case the trunk cover  44  is still open, the prior display request signal S 2  will be inputted again to the warning display priority section  168 .  
         [0053]    Therefore, the warning display priority section  168  changes the source of image data supply to the display section  160  from the current normal image producing section  164  to the warning design pattern selecting section  167 . Consequently, the warning design pattern will be displayed again on the display section  160  as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.  
         [0054]    According to the present embodiment, if the driver operates the switch  161  or others to operate the radio and the audio system, even during the prior display of the warning design pattern, a normal image corresponding to the switch operation by the rider will be temporarily displayed, thereby enabling desired operations and settings as usual. That is, it is possible to operate the radio and the audio system even during loading or unloading with the trunk cover held open.  
         [0055]    In the embodiment described above, either of the image data outputted from the normal image producing section  164  and the image data outputted from the warning design pattern selecting section  167  is selectively outputted to the display section  160  by the warning display priority section  168 . However, it should be noted that the method of prior display of the warning design pattern is not limited thereto, and that when the open trunk cover has been detected, the display section may be divided into two regions, large and small, so that the normal image that has been displayed will be displayed in the small region while the warning design pattern will be displayed in the large region.  
         [0056]    Upon detection of the open trunk cover, the warning design pattern will be displayed on the display section of the display device for vehicles, warning that the cover is open, prior to the information that has been displayed. Therefore, the driver can quickly and exactly know that the cover is open. When the cover is in closed position, no warning design pattern is displayed. Therefore, neither the display of other information will be disturbed nor the display space for other information will become small.  
         [0057]    Even when the warning design pattern is being displayed as prior information on the display screen because the trunk cover is open, a normal image will be temporarily displayed correspondingly to the driver&#39;s given operation. That is, a desired operation and setting can be performed as usual.  
         [0058]    The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.