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58-511: A dashboard is a vehicle control panel. Dashboard may also refer to: Dashboard Originally, the word dashboard applied to a barrier of wood or leather fixed at the front of a horse-drawn carriage or sleigh to protect the driver from mud or other debris "dashed up" (thrown up) by the horses' hooves. The first known use of the term (hyphenated as dash-board , and applied to sleighs) dates from 1847. Commonly these boards did not perform any additional function other than providing

116-611: A cathode-ray tube , but operating at much lower voltages. Each tube in a VFD has a phosphor -coated carbon anode that is bombarded by electrons emitted from the cathode filament . In fact, each tube in a VFD is a triode vacuum tube because it also has a mesh control grid. Unlike liquid crystal displays (LCDs), a VFD emits very bright light with high contrast and can support display elements of various colors. Standard illumination figures for VFDs are around 640 cd/m with high-brightness VFDs operating at 4,000 cd/m , and experimental units as high as 35,000 cd/m depending on

174-522: A hot cathode ( filaments ), grids and anodes ( phosphor ) encased in a glass envelope under a high vacuum condition. The cathode is made up of fine tungsten wires , coated by alkaline earth metal oxides (barium, strontium and calcium oxides ), which emit electrons when heated to 650 °C by an electric current. These electrons are controlled and diffused by the grids (made using photochemical machining ), which are made up of thin (50 micron thick) stainless steel. If electrons impinge on

232-462: A CRT. The insulating layer in a VFD is normally black, however it can be removed or made transparent to allow the display to be transparent. AMVFD displays that incorporate a driver IC are available for applications that require high image brightness and an increased number of pixels. Phosphors of different colors can be stacked on top of each other for achieving gradations and various color combinations. Hybrid VFDs include both fixed display segments and

290-503: A convenient handhold for ascending into the driver's seat, or a small clip with which to secure the reins when not in use. When the first " horseless carriages " were constructed in the late 19th century, with engines mounted beneath the driver such as the Daimler Stahlradwagen , the simple dashboard was retained to protect occupants from debris thrown up by the cars' front wheels. However, as car design evolved to position

348-427: A dark green or black background. The 8th and 9th generation Honda Civic have a "two-tier" instrument panel. The upper digital dashboard with white numbers against a blue screen (the latter of which changes to green according to driving habits), digital fuel and temperature gauges. The lower dashboard has an analog tachometer and digital odometer. The 10th and present generation saw the two-tier design replaced with

406-448: A gauge for alternator voltage, indicators for low fuel, low oil pressure, low tire pressure and faults in the airbag (SRS) systems, glove compartment , ashtray and a cigarette lighter or power outlet – as well as heating and ventilation systems, lighting controls, safety systems, entertainment equipment and information systems, e.g., navigation systems . In 1937, Chrysler , Dodge , DeSoto , and Plymouth cars came with

464-438: A gauge reading could only be estimated to the pointer's nearest halfway point between the markings. The first digital instrument clusters were considered to be unpopular during the years when they were widely produced, and were heavily criticized by reviewers in automotive magazines. Some of the criticism they received was as follows: As a result of these issues, digital instrument panels were phased out of vehicles throughout

522-451: A graphic VFD in the same unit. VFDs may have display segments, grids and related circuitry on their front and rear glass panels, using a central cathode for both panels, allowing for increased segment density. The segments can also be placed exclusively on the front instead of on the back, improving viewing angles and brightness. Besides brightness, VFDs have the advantages of being rugged, inexpensive, and easily configured to display

580-421: A marked advantage over fixed-color, fixed-character VFDs. This is one of the main reasons for the decline in popularity of VFDs, although they continue to be made. Many low-cost DVD players still feature VFDs. From the mid-1980s onwards, VFDs were used for applications requiring smaller displays with high brightness specifications, though now the adoption of high-brightness organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)

638-401: A matrix of alkaline earth and very small amounts of group III metals, doped with very small amounts of rare earth metals. VFDs can display seven-segment numerals, multi-segment alpha-numeric characters or can be made in a dot-matrix to display different alphanumeric characters and symbols. In practice, there is little limit to the shape of the image that can be displayed: it depends solely on

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696-402: A positive potential. The microprocessor cycles through illuminating the digits in this way at a rate high enough to create the illusion of all digits glowing at once via persistence of vision . The extra indicators (in our example, "VCR", "Hi-Fi", "STEREO", "SAP", etc.) are arranged as if they were segments of an additional digit or two or extra segments of existing digits and are scanned using

754-465: A safety dashboard that was flat, raised above knee height, and had all the controls mounted flush. Padded dashboards were advocated in the 1930s by car safety pioneer Claire L. Straith . In 1948, the Tucker 48 became the first car with a padded dashboard. One of the safety enhancements of the 1970s was the widespread adoption of padded dashboards. The padding is commonly polyurethane foam , while

812-415: A selling point of consideration during the next following decade. The 2009 Lexus LFA was one of the first cars to use a modern LCD screen. Lexus claimed a digital speedometer was required since an analogue tachometer wouldn't be able to keep up with the rev changes of the car's engine. This statement however was mainly marketing-driven; there is no technical reason why an analog needle would not keep up with

870-407: A significant drawback for battery-operated equipment like calculators, so VFDs ended up being used mainly in equipment powered by an AC supply or heavy-duty rechargeable batteries. During the 1980s, this display began to be used in automobiles, especially where car makers were experimenting with digital displays for vehicle instruments such as speedometers and odometers. A good example of these were

928-466: A single instrument panel, which in higher tiers is a fully digital and partially customizable design. Since the mid-2010s and early 2020s, fully customizable digital instrument clusters have become popular. The modern implementation allows the driver to choose which information to project where and how in the instrument cluster, such as navigation aid, connected phone information and blind spot camera view. The customization can also reduce distraction for

986-492: A vacuum tube triode . Electrons can only reach (and "illuminate") a given plate element if both the grid and the plate are at a positive potential with respect to the cathode. This allows the displays to be organized as multiplexed displays where the multiple grids and plates form a matrix, minimizing the number of signal pins required. In the example of the VCR display shown to the right, the grids are arranged so that only one digit

1044-405: A wide variety of customized messages, and unlike LCDs, VFDs are not limited by the response time of rearranging liquid crystals and are thus able to function normally in cold, even sub-zero, temperatures, making them ideal for outdoor devices in cold climates. Early on, the main disadvantage of such displays was their use of significantly more power (0.2 watts ) than a simple LCD. This was considered

1102-471: Is a set of instrumentation, including the speedometer , that is displayed with a digital readout rather than with the traditional analog gauges. Many refer to it either simply as a digital speedometer or a digital instrument cluster. The first application of an electronic instrument cluster, in a production automobile, was in the 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda . The first American manufacturer application

1160-424: Is illuminated at a time. All of the similar plates in all of the digits (for example, all of the lower-left plates in all of the digits) are connected in parallel. One by one, the microprocessor driving the display enables a digit by placing a positive voltage on that digit's grid and then placing a positive voltage on the appropriate plates. Electrons flow through that digit's grid and strike those plates that are at

1218-518: Is pushing VFDs out of these markets. Vacuum fluorescent displays were once commonly used as floor indicators for elevators by Otis Elevator Company worldwide and Montgomery Elevator Company in North America (the former from the early 1980s to the late-2000s in the form of (usually two) green 16-segment displays , and the latter from the mid 1980s to the early 2000s in the form of (usually 3) green or blue 10x14 dot-matrix displays , one for

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1276-499: Is sometimes a problem with VFDs. Light output drops over time due to falling emission and reduction of phosphor efficiency. How quickly and how far this falls depends on the construction and operation of the VFD. In some equipment, loss of VFD output can render the equipment inoperable. Fading can be slowed by using a display driver chip to lower the voltages necessary to drive a VFD. Fading can also occur due to evaporation and contamination of

1334-425: Is then partially etched to create holes which are then filled with a conductor like graphite , which in turn is coated with phosphor. This transfers energy from the trace to the segment. The shape of the phosphor will determine the shape of the VFD's segments. The most widely used phosphor is Zinc-doped copper-activated Zinc oxide , which generates light at a peak wavelength of 505 nm. The cathode wire to which

1392-520: The Oldsmobile Curved Dash , got its name from its dashboard, which was curved like that of a sleigh. Where the dashboard originally included an array of simple controls (e.g., the steering wheel ) and instrumentation to show speed, fuel level and oil pressure, the modern dashboard may accommodate a broad array of gauges, and controls as well as information, climate control and entertainment systems. Contemporary dashboards may include

1450-531: The Oldsmobile Toronado , Buick Riviera and Buick Reatta . When accelerating, digital speedometers generally step through a freeze frame of whole numbers at a constant sample rate . It is as precise as the number displaced, whereas a gauged speedometer pointer could sweep through an infinite range between its major markings at 10 mph or 20 km/h intervals. The latter provides a sense of continuous acceleration albeit with less precision :

1508-409: The speedometer , tachometer , odometer , engine coolant temperature gauge, and fuel gauge , turn indicators, gearshift position indicator, seat belt warning light, parking-brake warning light, and engine-malfunction lights. Heavy vehicles that feature air brakes , such as trucks and buses will also have gauges to indicate the available air pressure in the braking system. Other features may include

1566-467: The (far heavier) engine itself. The third generation Range Rover (L322) also introduced the first use and largest TFT LCD displays used on a production luxury SUV for the facelifted 2010, and end of the cycle model. A trend setter that would follow further adaptation from other manufacturers. In 2014, Audi launched its ' virtual cockpit ' on Audi TT , and has later introduced it to several other models. The technology has been developed together with

1624-405: The 1990s, and have been replaced with traditional analog gauges in most vehicles (with notable exceptions from French manufacturers Renault and Citroën ), including those from luxury divisions. However, many vehicles are made today with a standard or optional trip computer located independently from the speedometer. Digital units received information from a variety of sensors installed throughout

1682-551: The Finnish company Rightware, using its Kanzi software suite. Electronic instrument clusters are being increasingly common features on railway vehicles , in which individual instruments are replaced by various forms of digital readouts. Early uses of instrument clusters often employed LEDs to display analog-type or numeric readings for pressure gauges , electrical gauges , and other displays. They have been increasingly integrated with various cab signalling systems and together with

1740-577: The VFD was the first to be developed. VFD and LED displays were used in early handheld calculators. LED displays were an alternative to VFDs in this use as they had simpler power requirements, not requiring the high voltages. Choice of display technology varied through commercial decisions by the manufacturer, with companies such as Casio, Canon & Sharp dropping LED displays in preference to VFDs and early LCDs, whereas Texas Instruments and Hewlett Packard, both manufacturers of LED displays, continued with LED technology for much longer. Later, once LCD technology

1798-471: The advent of the VFD , LED and LCD in consumer electronics, some manufacturers used instruments with digital readouts to make their cars appear more up to date. Some cars use a head-up display to project the speed of the car onto the windscreen in imitation of fighter aircraft, but in a far less complex display. In recent years, spurred on by the growing aftermarket use of dash kits, many automakers have taken

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1856-484: The arrow and the other two for the digits). In addition to the widely used fixed character VFD, a graphic type made of an array of individually addressable pixels is also available. These more sophisticated displays offer the flexibility of displaying arbitrary images, and may still be a useful choice for some types of consumer equipment. Multiplexing may be used in VFDs to reduce the number of connections necessary to drive

1914-437: The car employs a vacuum fluorescent display to indicate the speed, RPM, fuel level, odometer, etc. For the 2011 model year, Chrysler began using a common dashboard across their model line that has an integrated trip computer in addition to the analog gauges. This trip computer can also be used to show a digital speedometer, making these hybrid digital-analog dashboards. the speedometer needle to be too wide, they are relying on

1972-581: The case using Nixie tubes or Panaplex neon digits or for LED displays on pocket calculators. In the UK the Philips designs were made and marketed by Mullard (almost wholly owned by Philips even before WWII). The Russian IV-15 VFD tube is very similar to the DM160. The DM160, DM70/DM71 and Russian IV-15 can (like a VFD panel) be used as triodes . The DM160 is thus the smallest VFD and smallest triode valve. The IV-15

2030-441: The cathode. Phosphors that contain sulfur are more susceptible to fading. Emission may usually be restored by raising filament voltage. Thirty-three percent voltage boost can rectify moderate fade, and 66% boost severe fade. This can make the filaments visible in use, though the usual green-blue VFD filter helps reduce any such red or orange light from the filament. Of the three prevalent display technologies – VFD, LCD, and LED –

2088-466: The color of the (usually light blue) light emitted by the phosphors. High power consumption and high manufacturing cost contributed to the demise of the VFD as a videogame display. LCD games could be manufactured for a fraction of the price, did not require frequent changes of batteries (or AC adapters) and were much more portable. Since the late 1990s, backlit color active-matrix LCD displays have been able to cheaply reproduce arbitrary images in any color,

2146-472: The digital speedometer more than the analog gauge. The French manufacturer Citroën , is using digital indicators as speedometer for many models in its range, including the C2 , C3 , C4 and C6 . The 2007 Lamborghini Reventon introduced one of the first high resolution LCD displays used on a production vehicle. A trend setter that would be taken seriously by mainstream manufacturers on years to come and become

2204-518: The display. Several radio amateurs have experimented with the possibilities of using VFDs as triode amplifiers . In 2015, Korg released the Nutube , an analogue audio amplifier component based on VFD technology. The Nutube is used in applications such as guitar amplifiers from Vox and the Apex Sangaku headphone amplifier. The Nutube is sold by Korg but made by Noritake Itron. Fading

2262-477: The drive voltage and its timing. The choice of color (which determines the nature of the phosphor) and display brightness significantly affect the lifetime of the tubes, which can range from as low as 1,500 hours for a vivid red VFD to 30,000 hours for the more common green ones. Cadmium was commonly used in the phosphors of VFDs in the past, but the current RoHS -compliant VFDs have eliminated this metal from their construction, using instead phosphors consisting of

2320-430: The driver and allow the manufacturer to use the same hardware in different models while retaining differentiation between models. Automotive head-up displays have seen applications in several cars, augmenting analog gauges with a digital readout on the windshield glass. Vehicle instruments have been augmented by software-powered display panels conveying information on display panels. Digital instruments present data in

2378-543: The engine and transmission, while traditional analog units were attached to a cable that provided information from the transmission. Modern analog displays receive information in the same manner as the digital units, with very few manufacturers still using the speedometer cable method. In the 2000s, digital speedometers were produced in some hybrid vehicles , including the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight . Most digital speedometers have had green numbers displayed on

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2436-402: The form of numeric parameters, textual messages, or graphical gauges. Unlike the electro-mechanical instrument clusters of the past, these interactive displays are much more versatile and flexible. Many modern motorcycles are now equipped with digital speedometers, most often these are sports bikes. Toyota is using electronic instruments for showing the cars parameters for its Yaris/Vitz model,

2494-444: The high-end Subaru cars made in the early 1980s (referred to by Subaru enthusiasts as a digi-dash , or digital dashboard ). The brightness of VFDs makes them well suited for use in cars. The Renault Espace Mk4 and Scenic Mk2 used VFD panels to show all functions on the dashboard including the radio and multi message panel. They are bright enough to read in full sunlight as well as dimmable for use at night. This panel uses four colors;

2552-602: The initiative to add more stylistic elements to their dashboards. One prominent example of this is the Chevrolet Sonic which offers both exterior (e.g., a custom graphics package) and interior cosmetic upgrades. In addition to OEM dashboard trim and upgrades a number of companies offer domed polyurethane or vinyl applique dash trim accent kits or "dash kits". Manufacturers such as BMW , Honda , Toyota and Mercedes-Benz have included fuel-economy gauges in some instrument clusters, showing fuel mileage in real time, which

2610-437: The installation of multi-function displays , have simplified the cab layout and improved user interaction with the engineer . Vacuum fluorescent display A vacuum fluorescent display ( VFD ) is a display device once commonly used on consumer electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders , car radios , and microwave ovens . A VFD operates on the principle of cathodoluminescence , roughly similar to

2668-404: The motor in front of the driver, the dashboard became a panel that protected vehicle occupants from the heat and oil of the engine. With gradually increasing mechanical complexity, this panel formed a convenient location for the placement of gauges and minor controls, and from this evolved the modern instrument panel, although retaining its archaic common name. The first mass-produced automobile,

2726-507: The outdoor temperature, travel direction, fuel economy and distance to empty ( DTE ). In 1983, the Renault 11 Electronic was the first European hatchback to have a digital dashboard. Many vehicles made today have an analog speedometer paired with the latter in digital form. In the late 1980s into the early 1990s, General Motors had touch-screen CRTs with features such as date books and hands-free cell phone integration built into cars such as

2784-403: The oxides are applied is made of tungsten or ruthenium-tungsten alloy. The oxides in the cathodes are not stable in air, so they are applied to the cathode as carbonates, the cathodes are assembled into the VFD, and the cathodes are heated by passing a current through them while inside the vacuum of the VFD to convert the carbonates into oxides. The principle of operation is identical to that of

2842-407: The phosphor-coated anode plates, they fluoresce , emitting light. Unlike the orange-glowing cathodes of traditional vacuum tubes, VFD cathodes are efficient emitters at much lower temperatures, and are therefore essentially invisible. The anode consists of a glass plate with electrically conductive traces (each trace is connected to a single indicator segment), which is coated with an insulator, which

2900-562: The same multiplexed strategy as the real digits. Some of these extra indicators may use a phosphor that emits a different color of light, for example, orange. The light emitted by most VFDs contains many colors and can often be filtered to enhance the color saturation providing a deep green or deep blue, depending on the whims of the product's designers. Phosphors used in VFDs are different from those in cathode-ray displays since they must emit acceptable brightness with only around 50 volts of electron energy, compared to several thousand volts in

2958-404: The shape of phosphor on the anode(s). The first VFD was the single indication DM160 by Philips in 1959. The first multi-segment VFD was a 1967 Japanese single-digit, seven-segment device made by Ise Electronics Corporation. The displays became common on calculators and other consumer electronics devices. In the late 1980s hundreds of millions of units were made yearly. The device consists of

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3016-417: The surface is commonly either polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or leather in the case of luxury models. In the early and mid-1990s, airbags became a standard feature of steering wheels and dashboards. In the 1940s through the 1960s, American car manufacturers and their imitators designed aesthetically shaped instruments on a dashboard accented with chrome and transparent plastic, which could be less readable, but

3074-517: The usual blue/green as well as deep blue, red and yellow/orange. This technology was also used from 1979 to the mid-1980s in portable electronic game units. These games featured bright, clear displays but the size of the largest vacuum tubes that could be manufactured inexpensively kept the size of the displays quite small, often requiring the use of magnifying Fresnel lenses . While later games had sophisticated multi-color displays, early games achieved color effects using transparent filters to change

3132-855: Was limited mainly to luxury vehicles and later, hybrids. Following a focus on increasing fuel economy in the late 2000s along with increased technology, most vehicles in the 2010s now come with either real-time or average mileage readouts on their dashboards. The ammeter was the gauge of choice for monitoring the state of the charging system until the 1970s. Later it was replaced by the voltmeter . Today most family vehicles have warning lights instead of voltmeters or oil pressure gauges in their dashboard instrument clusters, though sports cars often have proper gauges for performance purposes and driver appeasement along with larger trucks, mainly to monitor system function during heavy usage such as towing or off-road usage. In an automobile, an electronic instrument cluster , digital instrument panel or digital dash for short,

3190-476: Was often thought to be more stylish. Sunlight could cause a bright glare on the chrome, particularly for a convertible. On North American vehicles in particular, this trend lingered on until the late-1980s, which still featured dashboards with wood and fake chrome embellishment along with square instruments – long after European and Japanese manufacturers had long embraced a plainer, more functional and austere approach for dashboard and instrument panel design. With

3248-472: Was the 1978 Cadillac Seville with available Cadillac Trip Computer. In the United States they were an option in many motor vehicles manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s, and were standard on some luxury vehicles at times, including some models made by Cadillac , Chrysler and Lincoln . They included not only a speedometer with a digital readout, but also a trip computer that displayed factors like

3306-553: Was the single indication DM160 by Philips in 1959. It could easily be driven by transistors, so was aimed at computer applications as it was easier to drive than a neon and had longer life than a light bulb. The 1967 Japanese single digit seven segment display in terms of anode was more like the Philips DM70 / DM71 Magic Eye as the DM160 has a spiral wire anode. The Japanese seven segment VFD meant that no patent royalties needed to be paid on desk calculator displays as would have been

3364-412: Was well established, it displaced LED displays and VFDs in handheld calculators, offering lower power requirements at lower cost. More recently, outside the education sector, calculator applications on mobile phones have for many replaced the pocket calculator, and there is progression from LED backlit LCDs back to full LED displays in the form of Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays. The first VFD

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