CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. national stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2018/075383, filed Sep. 19, 2018, and claims the benefit thereof. The International Application claims the benefit of German Application No. 10 2017 217 023.9 filed on Sep. 26, 2017, both applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Described herein is a motor vehicle with at least one display device.

Motor vehicles usually have at least one display device in the form of a display, which may also be designed as a touch display. This display is usually installed in the region of the central console or in the upper region of the dashboard, either in a fixed or lowerable state. These display devices or displays are in each case installed in a housing or, in the case of fixed installation in the region of the central console, are integrated there in corresponding housing-like mountings or the like.

The display devices are usually LCD displays, on which the required items of information are reproduced on the defined display area, which, depending on the software controlling the representation, may also be correspondingly partitioned.

In future, piloted driving, in which the vehicle is driven largely or completely autonomously, will increasingly gain ground. The driver is in this case relieved and can devote himself to other things. At the same time, there is the possibility that the driver will move his seat back into a position further away from the steering wheel or the dashboard, in which he sits more comfortably and with more space, so that he can attend to other activities. He may therefore assume a kind of rest position. Since, however, in this position he is further away from the display device, the representations on the display device or the display are more poorly perceivable for him.

SUMMARY

A motor vehicle includes a display device having a projector and a projection area, on the rear side of which the projector projects the representation of information that can be seen from the front side, the size of the projection area being variable.

A back-projection device, used as the display device, includes a projector, which illuminates a projection area from the rear side, that is to say that the representation of information visible from the front side is projected onto the rear side of the projection area, which of course is correspondingly translucent or transparent. This projection area is not fixed in size, but rather is variable in size. This makes it possible to be able to vary the representation of an image or information in its size, depending on where the driver or the driver's seat is actually located. If for example the driver is driving the car himself, that is to say he is in the usual driver's position, the size of the projection area is therefore set for this case; it is designed in such a way that the driver, who is sitting relatively close to it, can make out all of the items of information well. If, however, the driver or the driver's seat is in the rest position, further away from the projection area, the size of the projection area is increased correspondingly, so that altogether the representation projected is larger, and consequently the items of information can be made out in a correspondingly good way by the driver even when sitting further away from it.

According to a first alternative, the distance of the projection area from the projector may in this case be variable. According to this configuration, the axial distance between the projector and the projection area is accordingly varied for changing the size. That is to say that the projection area is closer to the projector when the driver or the driver's seat is closer to the projection area during active driving of the motor vehicle by the driver. By contrast, the projection area is moved axially away from the projector when the driver or the driver's seat is in the rest position. On account of the aperture angle of the projector, which can be chosen as relatively large, a correspondingly short axial movement of the projection area can be sufficient to increase the size of the representation of the information correspondingly.

The projection area may be a flexible area, that is to say a kind of screen onto which the representation of information is projected. This flexible projection area is expediently able to be partially wound up and unwound on one or two rollers or rolls, in order to vary the size. The one or the two rollers or rolls are correspondingly linearly movable, so that by winding up and unwinding the projection area they can be correspondingly moved away from or toward the projector. Two rollers or rolls on which the screen-like flexible projection area can be wound up and unwound may be used in this case. These two rollers or rolls are movable on corresponding linear guides, which run obliquely in relation to the axial movement axis, so that, as a result of the linear movement, their distance is increased or reduced during the movement. When there is an increase in the distance, the screen-like projection area is unwound from the rollers to increase the size of the projection area; when there is a reduction in the distance of the rollers, the opposite correspondingly applies. If only one roller or roll is provided, the other end of the projection area is correspondingly fixed in position, but equally guided linearly movably, in order to ensure that the plane of the projection area remains the same, and consequently therefore the projection area is not tilted in relation to the projector.

It is expedient in this case if, in a first position, in which it is partially wound up, the projection area is within a housing-like enclosure and, in a second position, in which it is unwound further or completely, it is moved out from the enclosure. If the projection area is for example installed in the region of the central console, the central console can as it were represent the housing-like enclosure. The projection area or screen may thus be moved axially in relation to this enclosure, that is to say the central console, and be adjusted between two positions, one position lying as it were within the enclosure or central console and the other position lying just outside it.

For varying the distance, it is expedient if the one or two rollers or rolls is or are movable by a motorized drive. This makes an automatic adjustment possible. This automatic adjustment between the small projection area and the large projection area may for example be coupled to the position of the driver's seat, so that, if the driver's seat moves into the rest position, the variation of the projection area also automatically takes place. Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the change in the size of the projection area is only initiated after actuation of a corresponding operating element, for example a button or a keypad or the like.

In any event, at least one motor, which actively moves the one roller, or both rollers if both rollers are coupled, serves for moving the projection area, it being possible for both the roller or roll rotation and the axial displacement to be controlled. Alternatively, each roller or roll may also be driven by a separate motor, the motors of course being correspondingly synchronized.

As an alternative to the axial movement of the projection area for changing its distance from the projector, it is conceivable that the projection area is installed in a fixed position and that one or more paneling elements that cover it in portions at the front and are movable for changing the degree of coverage are provided. In the case of this configuration, the projection area is consequently installed in a fixed state. The region of the projection area that is visible from the driver's side is defined by way of the position of corresponding paneling elements that cover the projection area at the edges and are movable. In an extended position of the paneling elements, the projection area is correspondingly covered at the edges; the visible part is smaller, compared with the situation when the paneling elements are retracted. In this way, therefore, the visible part of the projection area is changed, the projection area being visible is a larger area the further the driver or the driver's seat is away from the display device. At the same time, in the case of this alternative, a changing of the size of the image projection is brought about by the projector onto the projection area, that is to say that the representation of information can be switched over between small and large by the projector. If the paneling elements are extended, that is to say the visible part of the projection area is small, the size of the representation of the information, as it is projected by the projector onto the rear side of the small projection area, is also correspondingly small. If the paneling elements are retracted, the visible projection area is therefore correspondingly great, a changeover is also brought about by the projector and the representation of information is correspondingly adapted in size, that is to say that a kind of zoom is set by the projector.

The paneling element or elements may in this case be designed in the manner of panels of blinds and be movable by a motorized drive. The paneling elements are for example only provided at the upper edge and at the lower edge; they can therefore be moved upward and downward in relation to the projection area. For adjusting, a corresponding motor is provided, it being possible for the two paneling elements also to be moved in a coupled manner by way of the one motor. Is also conceivable, however, to provide additional lateral paneling elements, which can therefore be moved horizontally to the side in order to be able to vary the projection area also in its lateral size. For this purpose, a separate motor may be provided, and all of the paneling elements, in this case four, may be moved by way of one motor, with the movements coupled.

An expedient configuration of this second variant provides in this case that, in dependence on the changing of the size of the projection area, the size of the representation of information projected by the projector is also variable. Accordingly, the projector does not just switch over between a small representation of information and a large representation of information, but rather the actual size of the projection is almost infinitely variable, depending on how the changing of the size of the projection area takes place.

