Information display for motor vehicle dashboard, has display mounted on steering column housing for viewing through steering wheel

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COCKPIT FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE INTERIOR INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE STEERING COLUMN AND ONE INFORMATION DISPLAY DEVICE, AND AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH SUCH A COCKPIT

The invention relates to a cockpit for a vehicle interior comprising at least one steering column and an information display device, as well as a vehicle equipped with such a cockpit.

By cockpit is meant all or part of the front area of ​​the vehicle interior located between the apron, the doors and the front seats, namely mainly the dashboard and the many equipment attached to it such as vacuum -pockets and protective cushions, the air conditioning or heating system and its controls, the steering column, the steering wheel and pedals, the center console and the gear lever.

In the cockpits of current vehicles, there are at least two places to display information relating to the operation of the vehicle such as the indicator lights for the battery status, brake wear or the position of the various lights, the speedometer, tachometer or even the oil, gasoline and coolant temperature levels.

These devices are generally either placed in front of the driver, on a dashboard belonging to the dashboard and most often covered by a cap, or also offset laterally with respect to the driver, for example substantially in the center of the dashboard. edge and oriented towards said driver to facilitate visibility.

However, these display devices, in particular the first solution mentioned, are not adapted to the morphology of all the conductors, in particular their size. Indeed, for a taller first person, the dashboard display can be very well placed and perfectly visible through the steering wheel, while for a smaller second person, the hub rim and / or the steering wheel spokes can hide the display at least partially.

In current vehicles, the steering column is usually adjustable in inclination and possibly in depth in order to adapt it to the driving position of the driver. Thus, the rim and the spokes of the steering wheel can once again obscure the display and interfere with the viewing of information.

In the two cases mentioned above, the ergonomics of the driving position is therefore not ideal. This mainly results in a risk that the driver does not see certain important information relating to his driving and safety, such as the speed of the vehicle, the warning light of the brakes or opening of a door, the level gasoline or even the tire pressure.

Consequently, the solutions of the prior art are not technically satisfactory because they are not very ergonomic, or even dangerous for driving.

The aim of the invention is to resolve the drawbacks mentioned above.

To do this, the invention proposes to modify the position of the information display device so as to improve the visibility of the latter in order to make driving safer, whatever the position of the steering column.

More precisely, the invention relates to a cockpit for a motor vehicle interior comprising at least one steering column passing through an instrument panel, a steering wheel mounted at one end of said steering column and a device for displaying relative information. to the vehicle, wherein the information display device is mechanically linked to the steering column so that the displayed information is visible to a driver regardless of his driving position and / or the inclination of the steering column.

In order to optimize the design and the cost price, the cockpit further comprising a top column module arranged around the column and near the steering wheel, the top column module supports the information display device.

For reasons of compactness, the information display device and the top column module are supplied by a common connector mounted as an interface on the vehicle.

In order to reduce the connectivity of the vehicle, the information display device is connected to control and management electronics common to the top column module and to the information display device. This control and management electronics preferably comprises an electronic communication bus and a microcontroller common to the information display device and to the top of the column module.

According to a particular embodiment, the top of the column module integrates the information display device in its volume.

Preferably, the information display device comprises an analog and / or digital display such as an instrument panel or a liquid crystal screen.

Advantageously, the display device further comprises a specular mirror, reflecting the information coming from the display in the direction of the driver, substantially between the branches and the rim of the steering wheel.

According to another embodiment, the display device comprises a system for projecting information onto the windshield of the vehicle, in head-up type reflection vision, such as a liquid crystal screen or a light-emitting diode projector. .

Advantageously, the display device further comprises a semi-reflecting mirror onto which the projection system projects the information to form a first image part which is reflected on said mirror towards the steering wheel and a second image part which crosses the mirror and is displayed on the windscreen, in head-up view.

As a variant, the mirror is tiltable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the steering column and, advantageously, the adjustment of the tilt of the mirror is automatically slaved to the tilt of the steering column.

The invention also relates to a motor vehicle equipped with such a cockpit.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the detailed description which follows, relating to exemplary embodiments illustrated by the appended figures of schematic views, which respectively represent:

- Figure 1, a sectional view of a vehicle cockpit comprising an information display device attached to a steering column,

- Figure 2, a front view of Figure 1,

- Figure 3, a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of Figure 1 in which the information display device is a projector, and

- Figure 4, a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of Figure 3.

Part of a cockpit 1 for the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle is shown in FIG. 1.

The cockpit 1 comprises a steering column 10 of axis xx 'around which is a top column module 15, a dashboard 20 placed under a windshield 30, a steering wheel 40 with spokes mounted on one end of the steering column 10, and a display device 50 for information relating to the operation of the vehicle, such as indicator lights, meters or levels.

The column top module is called the box located behind the steering wheel and around the steering column which makes it possible to group together, mechanically and electrically / electronically, various controls, including those for the headlights, windshield wipers, indicators, horn and radio.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the information display device 50 is integrated in the top column module 15, that is to say it is incorporated into its volume, a housing being provided in the module 15 so that the driver can view the information displayed by the display device 50. The top column module 15 is placed in the immediate vicinity of the steering wheel 40 and therefore serves as a support for the display device 50. An electrical power supply 19 common to the module 15 and to the display device 50 is interface mounted on the vehicle.

The information display device 50 for its part comprises an analog and / or digital display 54 in the form of a conventional instrument panel and / or a liquid crystal screen. The display is linked to control and management electronics 18 which it shares with the top column module 15. This control and management electronics 18 comprises an electronic communication bus, a microcontroller and a printed circuit board fitted with a microprocessor making it possible to centralize the controls of the headlights, the windshield wipers and the radio of the module 15, as well as than the indicator lights, counters and levels of display 54. This solution is therefore very compact and makes it possible to save on wiring and control electronics.

The display 54 cooperates with an inclined specular mirror 56 which reflects the information from the display 54 towards the driver symbolized here by an eye 60 whose field of vision is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1. Of course, the information of the display 54 are upside down so that they are found right side up once reflected by the mirror between the spokes and the rim of the steering wheel in the direction symbolized by the arrows F.

The mirror 54 is adjustable in inclination about an axis yy 'perpendicular to the axis xx' of the steering column 10, this adjustment being carried out manually by means of a wheel 58, or else automatically using for example a micro motor electronically slaved to the inclination of the steering column 10.

When drivers of very different sizes take their seats one after another in the same vehicle, each of them having a different driving position, their heads and eyes are not placed exactly at the same level. With a display device such as those currently existing, a small driver will be able to correctly see the information displayed on the instrument panel while another significantly larger will have his view partially or totally obscured by the branches and / or the flywheel rim 40.

With the cockpit 1 of the present invention, the position of the display device 54 and the inclination of the mirror 56 are optimized so that any type of driver can correctly distinguish the information between the branches and the rim of the steering wheel 40, without having to to contort.

Furthermore, the visibility problem encountered in current devices is increased when the driver modifies the inclination of the steering column 10 to adapt it to his driving position.

With the solution of the present invention, this problem no longer exists because the display device 50 accompanies the steering column 10 in its tilting movement. If necessary, the driver can manually adjust the inclination of the mirror 56 if this has not been done automatically with the change in inclination of the steering column 10.

Thus, the visibility of information relating to the operation of his vehicle, and in particular safety information such as the brake wear indicator or speed, is optimal regardless of the driver or his driving position. The driver is therefore safe and does not have to seek information between the spokes of the steering wheel when looking away from the road for an extended period, as is the case with current dashboards.

Two variant embodiments are shown in Figures and 4.

In the variant illustrated by FIG. 3, the display device 50 comprises a dynamic display projection system 55 such as a backlit liquid crystal screen. This screen projects the information relating to the operation of the vehicle directly onto the windshield 30 according to the arrow F 'to form an image which is reflected in the direction of the driver 60 in order to achieve a so-called "head-up" vision of the information, that is to say. -to say without the driver 60 looking away from the road. An opening is made in the dashboard so that projection onto the windshield is possible.

In the variant illustrated by FIG. 4, the information comes from a liquid crystal screen 55 equipped with a divergent optical lens 55 ′. The information is projected onto a semi-reflecting mirror 57 so that part of the image is reflected on the mirror in the direction of the conductor 60 according to the arrows F, while another part of the image passes through the mirror. in order to be projected onto the windshield according to the arrow F 'and then reflected thereon in the direction of the driver 60. An opening is also provided in the dashboard to allow the image to pass in the direction of the windshield.

The mirror can also serve as a filter to only pass certain wavelengths such as red to restrict the display on the windshield to some important information such as vehicle speed or warning lights.

Here again, the inclination of the mirror 57, or even that of the screen 55 directly, can be adjusted or automatically adapted to the inclination of the steering column 10 in order to provide the driver with optimum viewing comfort.

Of course, the light power of the projection system 55 and the transparency of the mirror are suitable for night and day vision of the information on the windshield, which may optionally undergo a special treatment such as a local reflective layer to properly reflect the windshield. image projected even in broad daylight.

With the solutions presented, great freedom of instrument panel style is offered by freeing up the space traditionally occupied by the display unit. New functionalities can in particular be integrated here. They also allow better integration of the electronics and the electrical harnesses which circulate close to the steering column. The electronic control interface of the display can thus be simplified by, for example, avoiding shielding. The microcontroller at the top of the column can for example directly control a display of the liquid crystal type.

It should be understood, however, that these examples are given solely by way of illustration of the subject of the invention, of which they in no way constitute a limitation.

Thus, it is possible, in the solution illustrated by Figures 1 and 2, to do without the mirror and to achieve a direct display similar to what already exists with current dashboards, with the difference that in this case, this Information display device is directly attached to the steering column.

Regarding the solution of figure 4, it is also possible to reverse the direction of projection, that is to say to place the semi-reflective mirror closer to the steering wheel and to project the information from the rear so that a part of the image is reflected off the mirror towards the windshield where one area is covered with a reflective coating, while the other part of the image passes through the mirror towards the driver. An automatic adjustment of the angle of the mirror is also provided to adapt to the position of the steering column.

The invention has been described mainly with the use of a liquid crystal display, but a light emitting diode system may also be suitable.