Waveguide-Based Projection Display Device With a Dynamic Scattered Light Absorber for a Vehicle

Abstract

A projection display device includes an imaging unit; a planar waveguide with a light decoupling face for a light beam bundle produced by the imaging unit; an at least partially transparent reflection plate arranged in the field of view of a user and configured to reflect a light beam bundle decoupled from the waveguide to an eyebox predetermined for the user's eyes; an eye-tracking device configured to determine an eyebox window which is currently occupied by the user's eyes; and a dynamic scattered light absorber, which, to shadow the light decoupling face in a surface portion which is dynamically adjustable depending on a signal of the eye-tracking device and which extends starting from at least one of the edges of the light decoupling surface, is configured to at least partially limit the decoupled light beam bundle to the current eyebox window.

Claims

1.-10. (canceled)

11. A waveguide-based projection display device for use in a vehicle, the projection display device comprising: an imaging unit; a flat waveguide having a light output coupling surface formed in a flat side for a beam of light rays generated by the imaging unit, which are couplable into the waveguide laterally; an at least partially transparent reflection pane, which is arranged in a field of view of a user and is configured to reflect a beam of light rays coupled out from the waveguide toward an eyebox intended for eyes of the user, such that a virtual display image is formed in the field of view of the user behind the reflection pane; an eye tracking instrument, which is configured to ascertain an eyebox window currently occupied by the eyes of the user, and which has a predetermined size inside the eyebox; and a dynamic scattered light absorber, which is configured to shade a light output coupling surface in a surface segment that is dynamically adjustable as a function of a signal of the eye tracking instrument and extends respectively from at least one edge of edges of the light output coupling surface, so that the beam of light rays coupled out from the waveguide is restricted at least partially in its cross section to the eyebox window.

12. The projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the light rays are couplable into the waveguide through an end side of the waveguide.

13. The projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the reflection pane is a windshield of the vehicle.

14. The projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the surface segment shaded by the dynamic scattered light absorber extends at least from a near-user edge of the light output coupling surface inward along the light output coupling surface, so that an upper eyebox edge segment above the eyebox window is shaded.

15. The projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the dynamic scattered light absorber comprises at least one roller blind, which is extendable over and along the light output coupling surface from at least one edge of the edges of the light output coupling surface inward, to shade a corresponding cross-sectional segment of the beam of light rays coupled out from the waveguide.

16. The projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the dynamic scattered light absorber is configured as a matrix, arranged along the light output coupling surface at least in an edge region of the light output coupling surface, of elements that are switchable between a transmitting state and an absorbing state for the beam of light rays coupled out from the waveguide.

17. The projection display device according to claim 16, wherein the dynamic scattered light absorber is configured as a liquid-crystal matrix having a polarizer on its upper side facing toward the reflection pane, or an electrochromic matrix.

18. The projection display device according to claim 16, wherein individual switchable elements of the matrix have linear dimensions of between about 1 mm and about 40 mm.

19. The projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the eye tracking instrument comprises a camera, which is configured for optical recording of the eyebox.

20. A method for operating the projection display device according to claim 11, the method comprising: generating the beam of light rays by the imaging unit and coupling the beam of light rays into the waveguide; acquiring an eye tracking signal from the eye tracking instrument and ascertaining from the eye tracking signal the eyebox window currently occupied by the eyes of the user inside the eyebox; and adjusting the dynamic scattered light absorber as a function of the eye tracking signal or of the eyebox window, such that the beam of light rays coupled out from the waveguide is at least partially restricted in its cross section to the eyebox window.

21. A control unit for operating the projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the control unit is configured to automatically carry out a method comprising: generating the beam of light rays by the imaging unit and coupling the beam of light rays into the waveguide; acquiring an eye tracking signal from the eye tracking instrument and ascertaining from the eye tracking signal the eyebox window currently occupied by the eyes of the user inside the eyebox; and adjusting the dynamic scattered light absorber as a function of the eye tracking signal or of the eyebox window, such that the beam of light rays coupled out from the waveguide is at least partially restricted in its cross section to the eyebox window.

22. A vehicle comprising: a windshield; a dashboard arranged underneath the windshield; a projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the reflection pane is formed by a windshield or a combiner pane arranged in front of the windshield inside the vehicle, and the waveguide extends with the flat side, in which the light output coupling surface is formed, in or along an upper side of a dashboard; and a control unit configured to automatically carry out a method comprising: generating the beam of light rays by the imaging unit and coupling the beam of light rays into the waveguide; acquiring an eye tracking signal from the eye tracking instrument and ascertaining from the eye tracking signal the eyebox window currently occupied by the eyes of the user inside the eyebox; and adjusting the dynamic scattered light absorber as a function of the eye tracking signal or of the eyebox window, such that the beam of light rays coupled out from the waveguide is at least partially restricted in its cross section to the eyebox window.

23. The vehicle according to claim 22, wherein the vehicle is a motor vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a vehicle having a waveguide-based projection display device according to the prior art, a beam path of the scattered light being shown in addition to the beam path of the useful light.

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a useful light region and a scattered light region from the viewpoint of a driver of the vehicle of FIG. 1.

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a vehicle having a waveguide-based projection display device of the type presented here, in which the beam path of the scattered light is blocked by a dynamic scattered light absorber starting from the near-user edge of the waveguide.

[0035] FIG. 4 shows a useful light region and a scattered light region from the viewpoint of a driver of the vehicle of FIG. 3, a scattered light region above the horizon being eliminated by the dynamic scattered light absorber.

[0036] FIG. 5 shows a plan view of a light output coupling surface of a waveguide of a further waveguide-based projection display device of the type presented here, in which the beam path of the scattered light is blocked by a dynamic scattered light absorber in the form of a matrix of switchable elements.

[0037] FIG. 6 shows a useful light region and a scattered light region from the viewpoint of a driver of a vehicle having a waveguide-based projection display device according to FIG. 5, a scattered light region around the HUD image being blocked on all sides by the dynamic scattered light absorber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] All the various embodiments, variants and specific configuration features of the projection display device, of the method, of the control unit and of the vehicle according to the above aspects of the invention, which are mentioned above in the description and in the following claims, may be implemented in the examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 6. They are therefore not all repeated in what follows. The same applies accordingly for the term definitions and effects already indicated above in relation to individual features that are shown in FIG. 1-6.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a highly simplified schematic lateral cross-sectional view of an example of a motor vehicle 17 having a waveguide-based projection display device 100 according to the prior art. It may in particular be a head-up display (HUD) for augmented reality applications (AR-HUD).

[0040] The motor vehicle 17 comprises a windshield 2 and a dashboard arranged underneath, in the upper side of which the projection display device 100 is arranged.

[0041] The projection display device 100 of FIG. 1 comprises, in a manner known per se, a planar waveguide 3 (optical waveguide) which, in its flat side facing toward the windshield, has a light output coupling surface 4 for light that is coupled into the waveguide 3 laterally, in particular at an end side of the waveguide 3. For this purpose, the projection display device 100 comprises a picture generating unit (or PGU), not separately represented in FIG. 1, which is configured to generate a beam of light rays with a desired display content and to couple it into the waveguide 3.

[0042] The windshield 2 is used in the projection display device 100 as a reflection pane, which reflects a beam of light rays L coupled out from the waveguide 3 through the light output coupling surface 4 of the latter toward an eyebox 6 intended for the eyes of a user 5 (here a driver of the motor vehicle), so that a virtual display image V (indicated schematically in FIG. 2) is formed in the field of view of the user 5 behind the windshield 2. The eyebox 6 is to be understood here as a two-dimensional spatial region perpendicular to the beam propagation direction. Even in the event of head movements of the user 5 through, for example, about 10-15 cm forward or backward in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from the eyebox position shown, they can see the virtual display image V well. A corresponding three-dimensional spatial region 7 around the eyebox 6 is indicated in FIG. 1. This region also accommodates different physical sizes and seat positions of the various users in a vertical direction.

[0043] As described in the introduction, in a conventional waveguide HUD there are two sources of scattered light: on the one hand the imaging unit and on the other hand the waveguide 3 itself. This additional source of scattered light may be particularly strongly pronounced in a waveguide 3 with holographic structures that are used for light steering and, because of their material properties, typically have a tendency toward increased scattering.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 according to the prior art, in conventional projection display devices 100 this leads to a negative effect, namely that the entire light output coupling surface 4 of the waveguide 3 appears as a diffusely luminous surface, which is reflected via the windshield 2 into the eye of the user 6 (here the driver) and therefore covers the road scene in front around the useful light region 9, in which the virtual display image V is represented, in the form of a luminous scattered light region 8.

[0045] FIG. 1 shows with the aid of marginal rays the beam volume NL of the useful light, which is used to generate the virtual display image V for the user 5. FIG. 1 furthermore shows the total beam volume GL of the beam of light rays L coupled out, which illuminates the entire eyebox 6, as well as an upper marginal ray SL of the scattered light, which in this case travels starting from the light output coupling surface 4 of the waveguide 3 via the windshield 2 to the eyes of the user 5 and leads to the formation of the scattered light region 8 around the useful light region 9 in which the virtual display image V is represented.

[0046] During the day, this scattered light generally does not represent a problem. At night, however, especially when driving cross country on flat terrain, the scattered light may have a disruptive effect. The scattered light region 8a below the horizon H is illuminated by the low beam of the vehicle, so that the driver is more tolerant to scattered light of the HUD in this region. The scattered light region 8b above the horizon H, however, is much more critical: this is because the driver often has a particularly dark background here, in which the scattered light is particularly conspicuous to them. In the worst case, the driver may even have the impression of driving through fog. Especially for short and medium-height drivers, the scattered light region 8b may be raised far beyond the horizon H.

[0047] FIG. 3 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a vehicle having a waveguide-based projection display device 1 of the type presented here, in which the beam path of the scattered light is blocked by a dynamic scattered light absorber 10 starting from the near-user edge 11 of the light output coupling surface 4. The elements of the device 1 that are denoted by the same references may in this case be configured in a similar way as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0048] FIG. 4 shows the useful light region 9 and the scattered light region 8 from the viewpoint of the user 5 (a driver of the vehicle) of FIG. 3, a scattered light region 8b that lies above the horizon H being eliminated by the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 by the corresponding shading of the beam path of the scattered light.

[0049] The scattered light problem (above the horizon H) is in this case resolved by a dynamically adjustable scattered light absorber 10, which, as represented in FIG. 3 by an arrow, is dynamically displaceable along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle in order always to achieve optimal shading of the scattered light, without clipping the HUD image V. The correct position of a front edge 12 of the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 is in this case determined by the position of the eyes of the user 5, which is detected by way of a camera 13 of a suitable eye tracking instrument 14.

[0050] One possible embodiment of the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 is, for example, as a roller blind that is located on a near-user rear edge 15 of the projection display device 1 and can be extended over and along the light output coupling surface 4 inward from the near-user edge 11 of the latter.

[0051] In this way, an upper eyebox edge segment 6b above an eyebox window EF actually being used by the eyes of the user 5 is shaded. At the same time, however, the beam path of the scattered light with the marginal ray SL is also blocked, which is indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4 by being deleted (that is to say no longer present).

[0052] The scattered rays are thus blocked by the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 during the operation of the device 1 as a function of a respectively current signal of the eye tracking instrument 14. The camera 13 of the latter delivers the required data basis by way of the eye tracking in order to correctly adjust the position of the front absorber edge 12 (away from the user) so that the eyebox window EF currently being used by the user 5 is not clipped. Automatic performance of these steps may be implemented in a suitable control unit 18, which receives signals of the eye tracking instrument 14 during operation and drives the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 accordingly.

[0053] The positive effect on the scattered light may be seen in FIG. 4. Depending on the accuracy of the position detection of the eyes, the upper scattered light region 8b may in the best case be reduced to the useful light region 9, in which the virtual display image V is represented (HUD image region).

[0054] FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 of a waveguide-based projection display device 1 of the type presented here. In this case, the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 constitutes a matrix of elements 16 that can be switched to be light-transmitting (16a) or light-absorbing (16b), for example an LC matrix with a polarizer. The matrix in this example covers the entire light output coupling surface 4 of the waveguide 2, which is shown in a plan view. In other regards, the projection display device 1 may for example be configured in a similar way to that of FIG. 3.

[0055] This embodiment of the dynamic scattered light absorber 10 may have the advantage over FIG. 3 that not only the scattered light region 8b above the HUD image can be freed from the scattered light, but also the scattered light could be eliminated in the entire scattered light region 8 around the useful light region 9 currently being used for the virtual display image V, as shown in FIG. 6 from the viewpoint of the user 5.

[0056] The LC-based embodiment with a polarizer on the upper side also has further advantages, such as known technology, rapid switching times or good transmission. As an alternative to an LC matrix, an electrochromic matrix may also be employed. The individual switchable matrix elements 16 may, for example, have linear dimensions of about more than 1 mm to about less than 40 mm in FIG. 5.

LIST OF REFERENCES

[0057] 1, 100 waveguide-based projection display device [0058] 2 windshield [0059] 3 waveguide [0060] 4 light output coupling surface [0061] 5 user [0062] 6 eyebox (two-dimensional) [0063] 7 three-dimensional spatial region from which the virtual display image may be seen [0064] 8 scattered light region from the viewpoint of the user [0065] 9 useful light region from the viewpoint of the user [0066] L beam of light rays coupled out [0067] V virtual display image [0068] NL beam volume of the useful light, which contributes to the display image generation for the user [0069] GL the total beam volume of the beam of light rays coupled out, which illuminates the entire eyebox [0070] SL upper marginal ray of the scattered light [0071] H horizon [0072] EF eyebox window which is currently occupied by the eyes of the user [0073] 8a scattered light region below the horizon [0074] 8b scattered light region above the horizon [0075] 10 dynamic scattered light absorber [0076] 11 near-user edge of the light output coupling surface [0077] 12 front edge of the dynamic scattered light absorber in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle [0078] 13 camera [0079] 14 eye tracking instrument [0080] 15 near-user rear edge of the projection display device [0081] 16 matrix element [0082] 16a light-transmitting [0083] 16b light-absorbing [0084] 17 motor vehicle [0085] 18 control unit