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US 9,959,838 B2Granted
Transparent display overlay systems for vehicle instrument cluster assemblies
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorKatsumi Nagata
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An instrument cluster assembly for a vehicle includes a vehicle instrument that is viewable by an occupant of the vehicle. A transparent protective cover covers the vehicle instrument such that the vehicle instrument is viewable by the occupant through the transparent protective cover. A transparent display overlay system includes an overlay display comprising a transparent display layer connected to the transparent protective cover by an optical adhesive layer. A display controller displays an image on the transparent display layer based on vehicle information. The vehicle instrument is viewable by the occupant through the transparent protective cover and the transparent display layer adjacent the image.
Claims20
An instrument cluster assembly for a vehicle, the instrument cluster assembly comprising:
- an instrument panel comprising a vehicle instrument that is viewable by an occupant of the vehicle, the instrument panel displaying general indicator information regarding an internal operation condition of the vehicle;
- a transparent protective cover that covers and encloses the vehicle instrument such that the vehicle instrument and the general indicator information are viewable by the occupant through the transparent protective cover;
- a transparent display overlay system comprising:
- an overlay display comprising an active transparent display layer connected to the transparent protective cover by an optical adhesive layer;
- and
- a display controller that selectively displays an image comprising specific indicator information on the active transparent display layer with the active transparent display layer activated based on the general indicator information, the specific indicator information supplements the general indicator information, the active transparent display layer generating the image along the transparent protective cover;
- wherein the vehicle instrument is viewable by the occupant through the transparent protective cover and the active transparent display layer adjacent the image and the image comprises a directional indicator that points toward the general indicator information visible through the active transparent display layer and the transparent protective cover to provide a visual association from the image to the general indicator information, the general indicator information being at a fixed location on the instrument panel.
4 more elements
A method of displaying vehicle information to an occupant of a vehicle, the method comprising:
- providing general indicator information to the occupant of the vehicle using an instrument cluster of an instrument cluster assembly, the instrument cluster including a vehicle instrument and a transparent protective cover that covers and encloses the vehicle instrument such that the vehicle instrument and the general indicator information are viewable though the transparent protective cover;
- and
- providing specific indicator information as part of an image associated with the general indicator information to the occupant of the vehicle using an overlay display of a transparent display overlay system, the specific indicator information supplements the general indicator information, the overlay display comprising an active transparent display layer connected to the transparent protective cover by an optical adhesive layer;
- wherein a display controller provides the image on the active transparent display layer based on vehicle information only when the general indicator information is displayed, the image comprises a directional indicator that points toward the general indicator information visible through the active transparent display layer and the transparent protective cover to provide a visual association from the image to the general indicator information, the active transparent display layer generating the image along the transparent cover, the general indicator information being at a fixed location on the instrument panel.
1 more element
A method of forming an instrument cluster assembly for a vehicle, the method comprising:
- affixing an active transparent display layer of an overlay display to a transparent protective cover with an optical adhesive, the active transparent display layer configured to display an image based on a signal provided by a display controller, the signal being based on vehicle information;
- and
- connecting the transparent protective cover to an instrument cluster thereby covering and enclosing a vehicle instrument of the instrument cluster, the instrument cluster providing general indicator information, the active transparent display layer being spaced from the vehicle instrument in a vehicle lengthwise direction;
- wherein the vehicle instrument and the general indicator information are viewable through the transparent protective cover and the active transparent display layer with the transparent protective cover connected to the instrument cluster, the active transparent display layer generating the image along the transparent protective cover only when the general indicator information is displayed, the image comprising a directional indicator that points toward the general indicator information visible through the active transparent display layer and the transparent cover to provide a visual association from the image to the general indicator information, the general indicator information being at a fixed location on the instrument panel;
- wherein the image providing specific indicator information as part of the image that is associated with the general indicator information, the specific indicator information supplements the general indicator information.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.