Head-up Display With Constant Orientation of the Virtual Image Plane in the Event of Eye-Box Adjustment

Abstract

A projection unit for a field-of-vision display device for a vehicle includes an imaging unit for generating a light beam bundle having a display content; a mirror which is disposed in the beam path of the light beam bundle and has a first adjustment apparatus configured to tilt the mirror for adjustment to different eye-box positions of different users; and a second adjustment apparatus configured to tilt the imaging unit or an additional optical component such that image orientation is maintained. The projection unit is configured to generate a virtual display image in a virtual image plane in the field of vision of the user by outputting the light beam bundle toward a reflective pane, by which the light beam bundle is reflected to the eye-box of the user. The tilt is configured such that the virtual image plane has the same predefined orientation for the different eye-box positions.

Claims

1.-10. (canceled)

11. A projection unit for a field-of-view display apparatus for use in a vehicle, the projection unit comprising: a picture-generating unit for generating a light beam with a display content; a mirror, arranged in a beam path of the light beam, having a first adjustment device, which is configured to tilt the mirror for adapting a beam propagation direction of the light beam to different eyebox positions of different users; and a second adjustment device, which is configured for an image-orientation-maintaining tilt of the picture-generating unit or of a further optical component in the beam path of the light beam, wherein: the projection unit is configured to generate a virtual display image in a virtual image plane in a field of view of a user by outputting the light beam in a direction of a reflection panel which is arranged in the field of view of the user and by which the light beam is reflected to the user's eyebox; and the image-orientation-maintaining tilt is configured such that the virtual image plane has a same predetermined orientation for different eyebox positions.

12. The projection unit according to claim 11, wherein: the second adjustment device is configured such that the picture-generating unit or the further optical component is tilted about its midpoint, from which a central ray of the light beam emanates or on which the central ray of the light beam is incident.

13. The projection unit according to claim 11, wherein: the first adjustment device is configured such that the mirror is tilted about its midpoint, on which a central ray of the light beam is incident.

14. The projection unit according to claim 11, wherein: the mirror that is tiltable by the first adjustment device is a concave mirror.

15. The projection unit according to claim 14, wherein: a folding mirror for folding the beam path of the light beam is arranged in the beam path of the light beam between the picture-generating unit and the concave mirror.

16. A method for operating the projection unit according to claim 11, the method comprising: performing a tilt of the mirror by the first adjustment device for adapting the beam propagation direction of the light beam to a current eyebox position of the user; and simultaneously therewith or subsequently thereto, performing the image-orientation-maintaining tilt of the picture-generating unit or of the further optical component by the second adjustment device.

17. A field-of-view display apparatus for use in a vehicle, the field-of-view display apparatus comprising: the projection unit according to claim 11; and a reflection panel, which is arranged in the field of view of the user and is configured to reflect the light beam output by the projection unit to the user's eyebox, intended for eyes of the user, for generating a virtual display image in front of or behind the reflection panel in the user's field of view.

18. A vehicle comprising: a windshield; an instrument panel arranged below the windshield; and the field-of-view display apparatus according to claim 17, wherein: the projection unit is arranged in the instrument panel, and the reflection panel is formed by the windshield or a combiner panel arranged in front of the reflection panel on an inside of the vehicle.

19. The vehicle according to claim 18, wherein: a same predetermined orientation of the virtual image plane in the different eyebox positions corresponds to a substantially horizontal plane in respectively different vertical poses.

20. The vehicle according to claim 18, wherein: the first adjustment device is configured to tilt the mirror about its horizontal axis to adapt the beam propagation direction of the light beam to different eyebox heights of the user in the vehicle.

21. The vehicle according to claim 18, wherein: the second adjustment device is configured for an image-orientation-maintaining tilt of the picture-generating unit or of the further optical component about its horizontal axis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a vehicle with a field-of-view display apparatus of the type presented herein, which is configured to generate virtual display images in a horizontal virtual image plane, using three different eyebox positions as examples.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows temporary intermediate states of the field-of-view display apparatus of FIG. 1, which are shown in isolation only for illustration purposes and would each be present after a tilt of a concave mirror for adapting the eyebox position.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a vehicle with a field-of-view display apparatus of the type presented here, as an alternative to FIG. 1, which field-of-view display apparatus is configured to generate virtual display images in a vertical virtual image plane.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] All different embodiments, variants and specific configuration features of the projection unit, of the field-of-view display apparatus, of the method and of the vehicle according to the aforementioned aspects of the invention, as mentioned further above in the description and in the following claims, can be implemented in the examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. For this reason, these will not be repeated below. The same is true analogously for the term definitions and effects relating to individual features, which are shown in FIGS. 1-3, as already indicated further above.

[0034] FIG. 1 shows, in a greatly simplified, schematic lateral cross-sectional view, an example of a field-of-view display apparatus 1 of the type presented herein for a vehicle 2, which in this example is a motor vehicle.

[0035] The field-of-view display apparatus 1 in this example is configured in the form of a head-up display (HUD) and comprises a projection unit 3 of the type presented herein. The vehicle 2 is illustrated in FIG. 1 by its windshield 4 and, arranged therebelow, an instrument panel 5 (indicated only schematically) with the projection unit 3 that is disposed therein.

[0036] The projection unit 3 comprises a picture-generating unit 6, which in this case is configured in the form of a display merely by way of example. The picture-generating unit 6 is designed to generate a light beam L with a desired display content.

[0037] The light beam L in FIGS. 1-3 is illustrated, for the purposes of explaining its beam path, by way of a central ray, which emanates from a display center and leads into a center of an eyebox 7. The eyebox 7 is here understood to be a two-dimensional spatial region transversely to the beam propagation direction, and which is intended for the eyes of a user of the field-of-view display apparatus 1 (in the present case a driver of the motor vehicle, who is not shown). The light beam L (its central ray) and the eyebox 7 are illustrated schematically in each case for three different users with mutually differing eye heights.

[0038] The projection unit 3 furthermore comprises, for optically folding the light beam L generated by the picture-generating unit 6, a folding mirror 8, which is configured in the form of a plane mirror in this example. A concave mirror 9, which additionally shapes the light beam L in a suitable manner and steers it in the direction of the windshield 4 of the vehicle 2, is additionally arranged in the beam path of the light beam L, which is redirected by the folding mirror 8, in the projection unit 3.

[0039] To adapt the beam propagation direction of the light beam L to different eyebox positions, a first adjustment device M1 in the form of a motor is provided in the projection unit 3. The motor is configured to tilt the concave mirror 9 about its centrally located horizontal axis 10. FIG. 1 schematically shows three different tilt poses of the concave mirror 9, which produce the illustrated three different positions of the eyebox 7 for three drivers of different height.

[0040] The windshield 4 in the field-of-view display apparatus 1 serves as a reflection panel reflecting the light beam L emitted by the projection unit 3 to the respective eyebox 7 of the driver, with the result that a virtual display image (not illustrated further) behind the windshield 4 is produced in the driver's field of view. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the field-of-view display apparatus 1 is configured and set up to generate the virtual display image in each case in a horizontal virtual image plane 11.

[0041] As is illustrated in FIG. 2 in a temporary intermediate state of the field-of-view display apparatus 1, or in such an intermediate state viewed in isolation, the stated tilt of the concave mirror 9 (viewed in isolation) results in a change in height of the virtual image plane 11, which is typically not disturbing for the applications. In addition, however, the stated tilt of the concave mirror 9 also changes the orientation of the virtual image plane 11, which means that the desired horizontal pose of the virtual image plane 11 in FIG. 2 is present only for the central eyebox position. For the eyebox positions lying above and below, the orientation of the virtual image plane 11, by contrast, differs significantly from the horizontal orientation.

[0042] As is shown in FIG. 1, to solve this problem the projection unit has a second adjustment device M2 in the form of a further motor, which is configured to tilt the picture-generating unit 6 so as to maintain the image orientation. As is illustrated schematically in the enlarged section of FIG. 1, at the same time or immediately afterward, the picture-generating unit 6 is also tilted about its central horizontal axis 12 matching every tilt of the concave mirror 9 in this example, with the result that the virtual image plane 11 has the predetermined same orientation (in this example horizontal) in all three different eyebox positions.

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a vehicle 2 with a field-of-view display apparatus 1 of the type presented here, which is an alternative to FIG. 1 and is configured to generate virtual display images in a vertical virtual image plane 11. What was stated above in relation to FIG. 1 can apply analogously to the rest in this case too.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0044] 1 Field of view display apparatus [0045] 2 Vehicle [0046] 3 Projection unit [0047] 4 Windshield [0048] 5 Instrument panel [0049] 6 Picture-generating unit [0050] 7 Eyebox (two-dimensional) [0051] 8 Folding mirror [0052] 9 Concave mirror [0053] 10 Horizontal axis of the concave mirror [0054] 11 Virtual image plane [0055] 12 Horizontal axis of the picture-generating unit [0056] L Light beam [0057] M1 First adjustment device [0058] M2 Second adjustment device