An Automotive Instrument Panel Employing Liquid Crystal Displays

An instrument panel cluster consisting of five twisted nematic liquid crystal displays has been installed and tested in a 1975 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The displays are: warning indicators, speedometer, clock/odometer, fuel gauge, and transmission indicator (PRNDL). Four modes of operation for the warning indicators have been evaluated: transmissive, color transmissive, reflective, and color transreflective. The remaining displays all operate in the reflective mode. A heater system allows operation over a -40°C to +80°C temperature range.