Projection display device with cover
10746984 ยท 2020-08-18
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
B60R11/0229
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
H04N5/74
ELECTRICITY
G09F9/00
PHYSICS
G02B27/0006
PHYSICS
B60K2360/682
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
G03B21/00
PHYSICS
G02B2027/0141
PHYSICS
B60K35/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B60K35/10
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
G02B27/00
PHYSICS
B60K35/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
H04N5/74
ELECTRICITY
G09F9/00
PHYSICS
Abstract
A projection display device includes: a light modulation unit that spatially modulates, in accordance with image data that is input, light emitted by a light source; a housing that accommodates the light modulation unit; a projection optical system that is accommodated in the housing and projects the light that has been spatially modulated onto a projection surface of a vehicle through an opening portion of the housing; and a cover that closes the opening portion, the cover has a shape whose longitudinal direction is a direction extending from a driver's seat of the vehicle toward a passenger seat of the vehicle, and a front surface of the cover is closer to the projection surface than a reference plane and has a shape as defined herein.
Claims
1. A projection display device comprising: a light modulation unit that spatially modulates, in accordance with image data that is input, light emitted by a light source; a housing that accommodates the light modulation unit; a projection optical system that is accommodated in the housing and projects the light that has been spatially modulated onto a projection surface of a vehicle through an opening portion of the housing; and a cover that closes the opening portion, wherein the cover has a shape whose longitudinal direction is a direction extending from a driver's seat of the vehicle toward a passenger seat of the vehicle, a front surface of the cover is closer to the projection surface than a reference plane is, the reference plane passing through a passenger-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover and being parallel to the longitudinal direction, and has a shape in which a distance from the reference plane gradually decreases from a position other than the passenger-side end portion in the longitudinal direction toward the passenger-side end portion, and the position other than the passenger-side end portion is a position between a driver-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover and the passenger-side end portion.
2. The projection display device according to claim 1, wherein the distance to the front surface of the cover is constant from the position other than the passenger-side end portion to the driver-side end portion.
3. The projection display device according to claim 2, further comprising: a discharge unit to which an object adhered to the front surface of the cover and moved to the passenger-side end portion is to be discharged.
4. The projection display device according to claim 3, further comprising: an object removing unit that moves an object adhered to the front surface of the cover to the discharge unit to remove the object.
5. The projection display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a discharge unit to which an object adhered to the front surface of the cover and moved to the passenger-side end portion is to be discharged.
6. The projection display device according to claim 5, further comprising: an object removing unit that moves an object adhered to the front surface of the cover to the discharge unit to remove the object.
7. The projection display device according to claim 1, wherein the housing comprises the driver-side end portion and the passenger-side end portion respectively located at two opposite sides of the opening portion in the longitudinal direction, wherein the distance remains constant from the position other than the passenger-side end portion toward the driver-side end portion in the longitudinal direction.
8. A projection display device comprising: a light modulation unit that spatially modulates, in accordance with image data that is input, light emitted by a light source; a housing that accommodates the light modulation unit; a projection optical system that is accommodated in the housing and projects the light that has been spatially modulated onto a projection surface of a vehicle through an opening portion of the housing; and a cover that closes the opening portion, wherein the cover has a shape whose longitudinal direction is a direction extending from a driver's seat of the vehicle toward a passenger seat of the vehicle, a front surface of the cover is closer to the projection surface than a reference plane is, the reference plane passing through a passenger-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover and being parallel to the longitudinal direction, and has a shape in which a distance from the reference plane gradually decreases from a position other than the passenger-side end portion in the longitudinal direction toward the passenger-side end portion, and the projection display device further comprises a discharge unit to which an object adhered to the front surface of the cover and moved to the passenger-side end portion is to be discharged.
9. The projection display device according to claim 8, wherein the position other than the passenger-side end portion is a position of a driver-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover.
10. The projection display device according to claim 9, further comprising: an object removing unit that moves an object adhered to the front surface of the cover to the discharge unit to remove the object.
11. The projection display device according to claim 8, wherein the position other than the passenger-side end portion is a position between a driver-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover and the passenger-side end portion.
12. The projection display device according to claim 11, wherein the distance to the front surface of the cover is constant from the position other than the passenger-side end portion to the driver-side end portion.
13. The projection display device according to claim 12, further comprising: an object removing unit that moves an object adhered to the front surface of the cover to the discharge unit to remove the object.
14. The projection display device according to claim 11, further comprising: an object removing unit that moves an object adhered to the front surface of the cover to the discharge unit to remove the object.
15. The projection display device according to claim 8, further comprising: an object removing unit that moves an object adhered to the front surface of the cover to the discharge unit to remove the object.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1)
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(3)
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(5)
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(12) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(13)
(14) The HUD 100 is mounted in an automobile 1, uses a range of a part of a windshield 2 of the automobile 1 as a projection surface, and enables a driver of the automobile 1 to visually recognize a virtual image or real image by using image light projected onto the projection surface. The HUD 100 may be used by being mounted in a vehicle, such as a train, a heavy machine, a construction machine, an aircraft, a ship, or an agricultural machine, as well as an automobile.
(15) The HUD 100 is built in a dashboard 4 inside the automobile 1 such that a part of the HUD 100 is exposed. The dashboard 4 is a member that contains, in its inside, built-in components including gauges for presenting information necessary for driving, such as a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, a water temperature gauge, an odometer, or the like of the automobile 1.
(16) The HUD 100 includes a box-shaped housing 3 accommodating a control unit 5 that includes a light source and a light modulation unit that spatially modulates, in accordance with image data, light emitted by the light source; and a diffusion member 6 and a concave mirror 7 that constitute a projection optical system that projects, onto the windshield 2, image light that has been spatially modulated by the light modulation unit. The configuration of the projection optical system is an example and is not limited to that illustrated in
(17) The diffusion member 6 is a member that diffuses the image light that has been spatially modulated by the light modulation unit of the control unit 5, thereby making a plane light source. As the diffusion member 6, a micromirror array having a fine structure on its surface, a diffusion mirror, a microlens-array (MLA) diffuser, a reflection holographic diffuser, or the like is used.
(18) The concave mirror 7 enlarges the image light diffused by the diffusion member 6 and reflects the image light toward the projection surface of the windshield 2. The housing 3 is provided with the opening portion 8, and the image light reflected by the concave mirror 7 passes through the opening portion 8 and is projected toward the projection surface of the windshield 2.
(19) The windshield 2 is processed so that the image light projected through the opening portion 8 is reflected in the direction of eyes E of the driver. The image light is reflected by the windshield 2 and enter the eyes E of the driver. Accordingly, the driver is able to visually recognize a virtual image or real image that is based on the image light.
(20) The opening portion 8 of the housing 3 is closed with the cover 9 formed of a transparent member allowing image light to pass therethrough, such as resin or glass. The opening portion 8 is an emission window for allowing image light reflected by the concave mirror 7 to be emitted from the housing 3. The cover 9 is a member that prevents the entry of a foreign object, such as dirt or liquid, into the housing 3 through the opening portion 8.
(21) As illustrated in
(22) The direction X extending from the driver's seat toward the passenger seat of the automobile 1 is the same as a direction substantially orthogonal to the driving direction of the automobile 1 when the automobile 1 drives straight. A state where two directions are substantially orthogonal to each other means that the angle between the two directions is in the range from 70 degrees to 110 degrees.
(23) The HUD 100 adopts a scheme of projecting image light onto the windshield 2. Alternatively, the HUD 100 may adopt a scheme of projecting image light onto a combiner (not illustrated) disposed before the windshield 2. In this case, the combiner constitutes a projection surface.
(24)
(25) As illustrated in
(26) The system control unit 47 includes a processor, a read only memory (ROM) storing a program or the like executed by the processor, and a random access memory (RAM) functioning as a work memory of the processor.
(27) The light source unit 40 includes a light source control unit 46, an R light source 41r serving as a red light source that emits red light, a G light source 41g serving as a green light source that emits green light, a B light source 41b serving as a blue light source that emits blue light, a dichroic prism 43, a collimator lens 42r provided between the R light source 41r and the dichroic prism 43, a collimator lens 42g provided between the G light source 41g and the dichroic prism 43, and a collimator lens 42b provided between the B light source 41b and the dichroic prism 43. The R light source 41r, the G light source 41g, and the B light source 41b constitute a light source of the HUD 100.
(28) The dichroic prism 43 is an optical member for guiding rays of light emitted by the R light source 41r, the G light source 41g, and the B light source 41b to an identical light path. The dichroic prism 43 allows red light collimated by the collimator lens 42r to pass therethrough and emits the red light to the light modulation element 44. In addition, the dichroic prism 43 allows green light collimated by the collimator lens 42g to be reflected thereby and emits the green light to the light modulation element 44. Furthermore, the dichroic prism 43 allows blue light collimated by the collimator lens 42b to be reflected thereby and emits the blue light to the light modulation element 44. The optical member having such a function is not limited to the dichroic prism. For example, a cross dichroic mirror may be used.
(29) A light emitting element, such as a laser or a light emitting diode (LED), is used as each of the R light source 41r, the G light source 41g, and the B light source 41b. The light source of the HUD 100 is not limited to the three light sources, that is, the R light source 41r, the G light source 41g, and the B light source 41b, and may be constituted by one light source, two light sources, or four or more light sources.
(30) The light source control unit 46 controls each of the R light source 41r, the G light source 41g, and the B light source 41b, and performs control to cause light to be emitted by each of the R light source 41r, the G light source 41g, and the B light source 41b.
(31) The light modulation element 44 spatially modulates, in accordance with image data received from the system control unit 47, the rays of light emitted by the R light source 41r, the G light source 41g, and the B light source 41b and emitted from the dichroic prism 43.
(32) As the light modulation element 44, for example, liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), a digital micromirror device (DMD), a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) element, a liquid crystal display element, or the like may be used.
(33) The driving unit 45 drives the light modulation element 44 in accordance with image data received from the system control unit 47 and causes image light that has been spatially modulated in accordance with the image data (red image light, blue image light, and green image light) to be emitted from the light modulation element 44 to the diffusion member 6 of the projection optical system. The light modulation element 44 and the driving unit 45 constitute a light modulation unit of the HUD 100.
(34) The projection optical system constituted by the diffusion member 6 and the concave mirror 7 illustrated in
(35) The system control unit 47 controls the light source control unit 46 and the driving unit 45 and causes image light that has been spatially modulated in accordance with image data to be emitted to the diffusion member 6.
(36)
(37) As illustrated in
(38) The shape of a rear surface (the surface facing the inside of the housing 3) of the cover 9 is not specified. In the example in
(39) The cover 9 illustrated in
(40) With the configuration of the cover 9 illustrated in
(41) In addition, with the configuration of the cover 9 illustrated in
(42)
(43) The front surface of the cover 9 illustrated in
(44) With the configuration of the cover 9 illustrated in
(45) In addition, with the configuration of the cover 9 illustrated in
(46) For example, the front surface of the cover 9 illustrated in
(47)
(48) The front surface of the cover 9 illustrated in
(49) With the configuration of the cover 9 illustrated in
(50) In this configuration, with the cover 9 illustrated in
(51)
(52) The front surface of the cover 9 illustrated in
(53) With the configuration of the cover 9 illustrated in
(54)
(55) The front surface of the cover 9 illustrated in
(56) With the configuration of the cover 9 illustrated in
(57) The cover 9 illustrated in
(58) With such a line-symmetric shape of the cover 9, it becomes easy to design the projection optical system of the HUD 100 to fit the shape of the cover 9 or to correct image data to fit the shape of the cover 9.
(59)
(60) The HUD 100 illustrated in
(61)
(62) As illustrated in
(63) One end in the direction X of an inner surface of the hole portion 10A is in contact with the passenger-side end portion in the direction X of the front surface of the cover 9, and the other end in the direction X thereof has a slope surface 10B that is in contact with a bottom surface 10C of the hole portion 10A. An object OB adhered to the front surface of the cover 9 and moved on the front surface moves to the bottom surface 10C via the slope surface 10B, thereby being discharged from the front surface of the cover 9.
(64) As described above, according to the HUD 100 having the discharge unit 10, when an object is adhered to the front surface of the cover 9, retention of the object on the front surface of the cover 9 can be prevented. Thus, display of an image based on image light projected onto the windshield 2 on not only the driver side but also the passenger side can be maintained.
(65) Preferably, the HUD 100 illustrated in
(66) Preferably, the HUD 100 illustrated in
(67)
(68) The object removing unit 11 is constituted by a wind sending mechanism that blows wind in the direction X. When the wind sending mechanism sends wind, an object adhered to the front surface of the cover 9 quickly moves on the front surface of the cover 9 and is discharged from the discharge unit 10.
(69) As described above, according to the HUD 100 illustrated in
(70) In the description given above, the cover 9 is fitted to the opening portion 8, but it is sufficient that the cover 9 be able to close the opening portion 8. For example, the cover 9 may be fixed to an outer peripheral surface of the housing 3 and the entire opening portion 8 may be covered with the rear surface of the cover 9, so as to close the opening portion 8.
(71) As described above, this specification discloses the followings.
(72) (1) A projection display device including: a light modulation unit that spatially modulates, in accordance with image data that is input, light emitted by a light source; a housing that accommodates the light modulation unit; a projection optical system that is accommodated in the housing and projects the light that has been spatially modulated onto a projection surface of a vehicle through an opening portion of the housing; and a cover that closes the opening portion, wherein the cover has a shape whose longitudinal direction is a direction extending from a driver's seat toward a passenger seat of the vehicle, and a front surface of the cover is closer to the projection surface than a reference plane is, the reference plane passing through a passenger-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover and being parallel to the longitudinal direction, and has a shape in which a distance from the reference plane gradually decreases from a position other than the passenger-side end portion in the longitudinal direction toward the passenger-side end portion.
(73) (2) The projection display device described in (1), wherein the position is a position of a driver-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover.
(74) (3) The projection display device described in (1), wherein the position is a position between a driver-side end portion in the longitudinal direction of the front surface of the cover and the passenger-side end portion.
(75) (4) The projection display device described in (3), wherein the distance to the front surface of the cover is constant from the position to the driver-side end portion.
(76) (5) The projection display device described in any one of (1) to (4), further including a discharge unit to which an object adhered to the front surface of the cover and moved to the passenger-side end portion is to be discharged.
(77) (6) The projection display device described in (5), further including an object removing unit that moves an object adhered to the front surface of the cover to the discharge unit to remove the object.
(78) The present invention is able to increase the product value of an automobile when applied to the automobile.
(79) The present invention has been described above based on a specific embodiment. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various changes are possible without deviating from the technical spirit of the disclosed invention.
(80) The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application (JP2016-184697) filed on Sep. 21, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporated herein.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
(81) 100 HUD 1 automobile 2 windshield 3 housing 4 dashboard 5 control unit 6 diffusion member 7 concave mirror 8 opening portion 9 cover 10 discharge unit 10A hole portion 10B slope surface 10C bottom surface 11 object removing unit 40 light source unit 41r R light source 41g G light source 41b B light source 42r, 42g, 42b collimator lens 43 dichroic prism 44 light modulation element 45 driving unit 46 light source control unit 47 system control unit E eyes H steering wheel OB object X direction