Mobile telephone equipment with head-up display

Abstract: A mobile telephone equipment for use in an automobile having a front windshield includes a head-up display for displaying images of both communications information and telephone push buttons in a superimposed relationship outside of and to the front of the front windshield, and a touch panel formed on the front windshield in a pattern corresponding to that of the image of the telephone push buttons which are displayed outside of and to the front of the front windshield. The driver of the automobile can make a call using the touch panel on the front windshield, and continue to look to the front whilst driving.

Description: The present invention relates to a mobile telephone equipment having a head-up display as a display means for displaying communications information, and more particularly to a mobile telephone equipment which has a touch panel formed on a front windshield in a manner to correspond to displayed telephone push buttons. Conventional mobile telephone equipments have either no display means for displaying communications information or use simple liquid-crystal display means or the like on a main telephone unit or a handset for displaying communications information. Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings shows a typical handset for use with a conventional mobile telephone equipment. The handset shown in Fig. 4, denoted at 62, has a liquid crystal display panel 64 for displaying communications information such as the telephone number of a party to which the telephone device is being connected, and the period of time during which the call is being made, or calendar information such as date, time, etc. The handset 62 also has push buttons 66 including a dial. Since the liquid crystal display panel 64 is disposed on the handset 62, the display area of the liquid crystal display panel 64 is limited, i.e., it is not wide enough to display a sufficient amount of information with high visibility. When the driver of an automobile uses the handset 62 while driving the automobile, the driver has to turn his eyes from the front view. To make a call from the handset 62, the driver has to take the handset 62 and look at the push buttons 66, and hence has to turn his eyes from the front view. Consequently, using the handset 62 or making a call from the handset 62 while driving the automobile is quite dangerous. Use of the handset 62 to place a call at night while driving the automobile is particularly dangerous because the driver's compartment is dark, making the push buttons 66 less visible and causing the driver to take more time to make the call than during the daytime. Some recent automobiles have a head-up display device for displaying information such as an automobile's speed, a distance traveled, the time, and so on within a front field of view outside of the front windshield, so that the driver can see the displayed information in a superimposed relation to the actual front view. One known head-up display device, for example, is disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open No. 267288/92. The head-up display device allows the driver to see displayed information outside of the front windshield without turning his eyes from the front field of view. In the specification of United States patent number 4,818,048 which was published on April 4 1989, it was proposed that a head-up holographic display should be provided on a vehicle windshield of images of a control panel and of indications of the vehicle operator's manual movements on the control panel itself during the manual selection of operations. Signals from the control panel illuminated respective layers of the display selectively. An arrangement to be described below as an example includes a mobile telephone equipment which allows the driver of an automobile to read displayed information and operate push buttons without averting his eyes from a view forwards through the front windshield, so that the driver can use the mobile telephone equipment more safely while driving the automobile. In a particular arrangement to be described below there is a mobile telephone equipment for use in an automobile having a front windshield, which includes an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves, a main unit having a transmitter, a receiver, and a first controller, the transmitter and the receiver being connected to the antenna, a handset having a speaker, a microphone, and a second controller, the second controller being connected to the speaker, the microphone, and the first controller, and a display unit having a head-up display for displaying images of communications information and telephone push buttons in a superimposed relationship outside of and to the front of the front windshield. The mobile telephone equipment further includes a touch panel formed on the front windshield in a pattern corresponding to the image of the telephone push buttons which are displayed in a superimposed relationship outside of and to the front of the front windshield by the head-up display. The touch panel includes transparent electrodes which may be of indium oxide or tin oxide disposed on the front windshield. The display unit has a light-emitting display element which may include a vacuum fluorescent display, a liquid crystal display device, or a cathode-ray tube. The following description and drawings disclose, by means of examples, the invention which is characterised in the appended claims, whose terms determine the extent of the protection conferred hereby. In Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings:- Fig. 1(a) is a block diagram of a mobile telephone equipment having a head-up display; Fig. 1(b) is a schematic side elevational view of an automobile, showing the head-up display incorporated in the automobile; Fig. 2(a) is a view showing a displayed image representing telephone push buttons; Fig. 2(b) is a view showing another displayed image representing communications information; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a structure of a touch panel formed on a front windshield in a pattern corresponding to telephone push buttons displayed by the head-up display. As shown in Fig. 1(a), a mobile telephone equipment having a head-up display includes a main unit 1 having a transmitter 11, a receiver 12, and a controller 13, a handset with a controller 21, a speaker 22, and a microphone 23, an antenna 3 connected to the transmitter 11 and the receiver 12, a display unit 4, and a touch panel 6. The controller 13 is connected to the transmitter 11 and the receiver 12. The controller 21 is connected to the speaker 22, the microphone 23, and the controller 13. The display unit 4 is controlled by the controller 13 for displaying necessary communications information with the head-up display. The touch panel 6 is formed on a front windshield 5 (see Fig. 1(b)) of an automobile which incorporates the mobile telephone equipment, and is connected to the controller 13. The touch panel 6 can be used to make a call in the same manner as push buttons (see Fig. 4) on the handset 2. As shown in Fig. 1(b), the head-up display includes an optical system including mirrors 42 and 43 for directing information that is displayed by a light-emitting display element 41 of the display unit 4 toward the front windshield 5, which forms a virtual image 44 that can be viewed as superimposed on the front view outside of the front windshield 5 by the driver of the automobile. The light-emitting display element 41 may be a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, or a cathode-ray tube (CRT). The head-up display can display communications information and push buttons as the virtual image 44 in a superimposed relation to the front view outside of the front windshield 5. A call can be made through the touch panel 6 on the front windshield 5 in the same manner as the push buttons on the handset 2. Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) show, by way of example, respective images displayed by the head-up display. The displayed image shown in Fig. 2(a) represents telephone push buttons. The displayed telephone push buttons shown in Fig. 2(a) are displayed as a virtual image outside of the front windshield 5. The touch panel 6 (see Fig. 3) is formed on the front windshield 5 in a pattern corresponding to the displayed telephone push buttons. The driver of the automobile can access and operate the touch panel 6 based on the telephone push buttons displayed by the head-up display to make a call, without operating the push buttons on the handset 2. Therefore, the driver is not required to turn his eyes from the front view through the front windshield 5, and hence can drive the automobile safely while making a call. A positional deviation of the telephone push buttons displayed by the head-up display from the touch panel 6 on the front windshield 5 poses no problem insofar as the driver has his viewpoint in an ordinary range. However, to avoid any problems which may be caused when the viewpoint of the driver differs widely from the ordinary range, the front windshield 5 may be marked with a symbol which will not obstruct the driver's view, e.g., dots on the respective four corners of the touch panel 6. The displayed image shown in Fig. 2(b) represents communications information. The displayed communications information shown in Fig. 2(b) is also displayed as a virtual image. When no call is placed, the displayed image represents driving information including the speed of travel of the automobile, the distance traveled by the automobile, the time, and so on. When a call is placed, the displayed image represents information or messages relative to the call, e.g., incoming call information, information as to a party to which the mobile telephone equipment is connected, i.e., the telephone number of the party, whether the call is being made or the line is busy, the period of time during which the call has continued, the charge for the call, the condition of the radio waves, and so on. Since the displayed communications information is displayed as a virtual image in the front field of view, a driver can see the displayed messages without moving his line of vision or adjusting the focus of his eyes while driving the automobile. Fig. 3 fragmentarily shows a structure of the touch panel 6 formed on the front windshield 5 in a pattern corresponding to the displayed push buttons. The touch panel 6 comprises transparent electrodes such as of ITO (indium oxide) or Nesa electrodes such as of tin oxide which do not obstruct the vision of the driver. Specifically, the electrodes include common electrodes 51 and segment electrodes 52 corresponding to the respective displayed push buttons. The electrodes 51, 52 are spaced a distance of about 1 mm from each other and form electrostatic capacitances therebetween. Desired displayed push buttons can be selected by detecting a change in the electrostatic capacitances which is caused by a touch of the driver's finger. Since the mobile telephone equipment with a head-up display as described above has a wide display area in the front view outside of the front windshield, the display area is not limited by the handset, but large enough to display a sufficient amount of information with good visibility. The driver of the automobile is not required to turn his eyes from the front view in order to see the displayed information while driving the automobile. Since the displayed information is visible in the front view outside of the front windshield, any inconveniences or dangers which the driver would otherwise experience when turning his eyes from the front view in order to see the displayed information are eliminated. Inasmuch as the touch panel is positioned to provide a function of push buttons in the front view outside of the front wind-shield, the touch panel can be operated efficiently with ease, and allows the driver to make a call while seeing the front view and driving the automobile. Therefore, the driver can drive the automobile much more safely even when he is using the mobile telephone equipment. Although particular arrangements have been described above, by way of example, to illustrate the present invention, it should be understood that variations and modifications thereof, as well as other arrangements, may be made without departing from the scope of the protection sought by the appended claims.

Claims: A mobile telephone equipment for use in an automobile having a front windshield (5), including an antenna (3) for transmitting and receiving radio waves, a main unit (1) having a transmitter (11), a receiver (12), and a first controller (13), the transmitter (11) and the receiver (12) being connected to the antenna (3), a handset (2) having a speaker (22), a microphone (23), and a second controller (21), the second controller (21) being connected to the speaker (22), the microphone (23), and the first controller (13), and a display unit (4) providing a head-up display (44), characterised in that a touch panel (6) of transparent electrodes is disposed on the front windshield (5), and in that the head-up display (44) includes images of both communications information and telephone push buttons in a superimposed relationship with one another on the outside of and to the front of the front windshield (5), the telephone push button images being displayed by the display unit (4) as virtual images (44) in a pattern corresponding to the touch panel (6) of transparent electrodes on the windshield (5). A mobile telephone equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit (4) has a light-emitting display element (41) which includes a vacuum fluorescent display. A mobile telephone equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit (4) has a light-emitting display element (41) which includes a liquid crystal display device. A mobile telephone equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit (4) has a light-emitting display element which includes a cathode-ray tube. A mobile telephone equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transparent electrodes of the touch panel (6) are of ITO. A mobile telephone equipment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transparent electrodes of the touch panel (6) are of Nesa(TM).

Inventors: TAKEKAWA YASUHISA, TAKEKAWA, YASUHISA
Applicants: NIPPON ELECTRIC CO, NEC CORPORATION
Application year: 1995
Main classification: G02B27
IPC codes: G02B27, H04M1