HEAD-UP DISPLAY DEVICE

Abstract

The present invention reduces distortions in a display image, and prevents decreases in visibility caused by reflected external light coming from a transmission-type screen. A head-up display device is provided with the following: a projector, for emitting display light which shows a display image; a transmission-type screen, having a light-receiving surface that receives the display light and an emission surface that emits the display light; and a second reflecting mirror that reflects the display light coming from the transmission-type screen. The transmission-type screen comprises, on one end of the emission surface, a bent section having a concave curved surface, the bent section reflecting external light, which arrives from the second reflecting mirror, in a direction different from that of the second reflecting mirror.

Claims

1. A head-up display device, comprising: a display light emitting part for emitting display light that shows a display image; a transmission-type screen, including a light receiving surface that receives the display light and an emission surface that emits the display light; and a reflecting mirror that reflects the display light from the transmission-type screen, wherein the transmission-type screen includes a concave curved portion on one end side of the emission surface, and the curved portion reflects external light reaching from the reflecting mirror in a direction different from that of the reflecting mirror.

2. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission-type screen is inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to an optical axis of the display light.

3. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the emission surface of the transmission-type screen is a smooth surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a HUD device in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the HUD device.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a side view showing a transmission-type screen of the HUD device.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a modified example of the transmission-type screen of the HUD device.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a view showing a display image displayed on the transmission-type screen shown in FIG. 3.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0018] A configuration, operation and effects of a HUD device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the HUD device 1 is provided in a dashboard of a vehicle 2 and reflects a display light L (see FIG. 2) representing a generated display image on a windshield 3 to allow a driver (viewer) to view a virtual image V of the display image representing vehicle information. The driver visually recognizes the display image as a virtual image V in Eyebox 4 that is a range (viewing area) where the display image is visible as a virtual image V. Eyebox 4 is an area defined as a range where the virtual image V is properly visible. It should be noted that the virtual image V in FIG. 1 is schematically shown in order to facilitate a sensory understanding. The same applies to the display light L in FIG. 2. In the following description, each part constituting the HUD device 1 will be explained as appropriate, assuming that an upward direction is up, a downward direction as down, a forward direction as front, and a rearward direction as rear (see arrows at both ends in FIGS. 1 and 2) as seen from a driver viewing a display image displayed by the HUD device 1.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the HUD device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a projector 10, a first reflecting mirror 20, a transmission-type screen 30, a second reflecting mirror 40, a concave mirror 50, a circuit board 60, and a housing 70.

[0021] The projector 10 is an example of a display light emitting part of the present invention which emits the display light L, indicating a display image under the control of a control unit. The projector comprises, for example, an LED or laser or the like for emitting illumination light, a display device composed of a transmissive display such as a TFT liquid crystal display, a reflective display such as a DMD (Digital Mirror Device) or LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon) for receiving illumination light from a light source to display a display image on a display surface, and a projection lens for emitting the display light L indicating a display image magnified from a display image of the display device.

[0022] The first reflecting mirror 20 is, for example, a plane mirror and reflects the display light L emitted from the projector 10 toward the transmission-type screen 30.

[0023] The transmission-type screen 30 receives the display light L generated by the projector 10 on the light receiving surface 31, and transmits, diffuses and emits the display light L as diffused light to the second reflecting mirror 40 from the emission surface 32. The transmission-type screen 30 is made of a transparent resin such as polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and is provided with a grain or microlens on the surface or dispersed diffusion beads inside to obtain a diffusion effect, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front. Further, the transmission-type screen 30 is formed and arranged to reflect the external light LO such as sunlight incident into the HUD device 1 in a direction different from that of the second reflecting mirror 40. Specific shapes and arrangements will be described in detail later.

[0024] The second reflecting mirror 40 is, for example, a plane mirror and reflects the display light L emitted from the transmission-type screen 30 toward the concave mirror 50. The second reflecting mirror 40 may be a convex mirror or a concave mirror.

[0025] The concave mirror 50 is formed by forming a reflective film on the surface of a concave base made of, for example, a synthetic resin material by means such as vapor deposition, and magnifies the display light L emitted from the transmission-type screen 30 and emits it in the direction of the windshield 3.

[0026] The circuit board 60 is a printed circuit board, in which a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a control unit (not shown) comprising a graphic display controller (GDC) or the like, are mounted on a plate-like substrate made of resin or the like including a glass fiber. The circuit board 60 and the projector 10 are conductively connected by a connecting member (not shown) such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) and a connector. The control unit acquires vehicle state information such as a vehicle speed and an engine speed transmitted from an external device (not shown) such as a vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) via a communication line, and drives the projector 10 according to the acquired information (that is, causes the projector 10 to display a predetermined display image).

[0027] The housing 70 accommodates each member constituting the HUD device 1, and is provided in a hard resin or the like enclosure. The housing 70 includes a lower case 71 and an upper case 72. Above the upper case 72, there is provided an opening 72 a having a size capable of emitting the display light L reflected by the concave mirror 50 toward the windshield 3, and a cover glass 73 made of transparent resin is attached to the opening 72 a.

[0028] The above is a configuration of the HUD device 1 according to the present embodiment, and the display light L emitted from the HUD device 1 is projected on the windshield 3 of the vehicle 2 and incident on the eyes of a driver to allow the driver to visually recognize the virtual image V. In addition, in the HUD device 1, the transmission-type screen 30 has a characteristic configuration and suppresses degradation (washout) of visibility due to external light LO such as sunlight incident from the outside of the windshield 3. Hereinafter, the specific configuration and the like of the transmission-type screen 30 will be described in detail.

(Transmission-Type Screen 30)

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission-type screen 30 of the present embodiment is disposed to be inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to an optical axis AX of display light L. This angle is an angle at which distortion of a virtual image V is minimized (hereinafter also referred to as a minimum distortion angle) in optical design. For example, a minimum distortion angle is 5 to 13 in a HUD 1 with a wide angle of view and a distant display in which a field angle of a virtual image V is 10 or more in a horizontal direction and 5 or more in a vertical direction, and a display distance is about 5 to 10 m. As described above, when the transmission-type screen 30 is inclined with a minimum distortion angle, it is impossible to reflect all of the external light LO incident on the emission surface 32 of the transmission-type screen 30 from the second reflecting mirror 40 in a direction different from that of the second reflecting mirror 40. In detail, the external light LO that has reflected most of the light from the rear end side of the emission surface 32 is directed in a direction different from that of the second reflecting mirror 40. However, unless any measure is taken, the external light LO that has reflected a part of the front-end side (one side of a rectangle) surrounded by the circle A in FIG. 3 is directed toward the second reflecting mirror 40, causing degradation of the visibility of the virtual image V. Standing on this viewpoint, the inventor of the present application reached the idea of making the curved portion 32 a to incline only a part on the frontend side of the emission surface 32 more than the minimum distortion angle.

[0030] The curved surface of the curved portion 32 a is shaped such that the external light LO reaching from the second reflecting mirror 40 is reflected in a direction different from that of the second reflecting mirror 40. Specifically, it is shaped such that all of the normal N (one normal N is shown as an example in FIG. 3) in the curved portion 32 a are apart from the side end face of the second reflecting mirror 40 by a predetermined distance (for example, 5 mm) or more. As a result, all of the normal N on the emission surface 32 of the transmission-type screen 30 including the portions other than the curved portion 32 a do not intersect with the second reflecting mirror 40. For example, it is conceivable to design the curved surface shape such that all of the normal N in the curved portion 32 a passes through a point P having a distance d of 5 mm from the side end surface of the second reflecting mirror 40. According to this criterion, the curved surface shape of the curved portion 32 a may be a free curved surface, a quadratic curve shape such as a parabola, an ellipse or a hyperbola as viewed from the side. The curved portion 32 a of the transmission-type screen 30 and other planar portion (a portion inclined to the minimum distortion angle) are connected by tangent line continuation. Since distortion occurs in the virtual image V by the curved portion 32 a, it is desirable to minimize the inclination of the curved portion 32 a. Further, by forming the entire emission surface 32 of the transmission-type screen 30 into a concave curved surface, the curved portion 32 a may be provided on the front-end side. In this case, as an emission surface 32, a concave curved surface may be formed by moving an original curve in a direction orthogonal to a normal direction of the curve based on a quadratic curve, a cubic curve, or a free curve, or a free-form surface may be formed. FIG. 4 shows a modified example in which the entire transmission-type screen 30 is formed to have an elliptical concave curved surface when viewed from the side. Whichever case the shape of the transmission-type screen 30 is, it is preferable to compare the shapes by optical simulation and select the shape with the least distortion of the virtual image V.

[0031] Further, it is desirable to use a flexible material such as the aforementioned transparent resin material in a base of the transmission-type screen 30 to provide the curved portion 32 a. In this case, a fixing portion (not shown) provided in the housing 70 for fixing the transmission-type screen 30 is formed in a concave curved shape for curving the transmission-type screen 30 into an arbitrary shape, whereby the curved portion 32 a can be easily provided by fixing the transmission-type screen 30 to the fixing portion. In addition, the curved portion 32 a may be formed by curving at least a part of the transmission-type screen 30 by molding such as thermal processing using a hard-transparent material such as inorganic glass as a base material.

[0032] Further, the emission surface 32 of the transmission-type screen 30 is preferably a smooth surface. In the case where one surface of the transmission-type screen 30 is made rough by surface processing to obtain a diffusion effect, the rough surface serves as the light receiving surface 31 and the smooth surface as the emission surface 32. If the emission surface 32 is a rough, the external light LO reflected on the emission surface 32 is diffused and the distortion of the virtual image V is increased because of occurrence of the need to increase the inclination angle of the transmission-type screen 30 or to increase the inclination angle of the curved portion 32 a not to direct the light to the second reflecting mirror 40.

[0033] In a display image G displayed on the transmission-type screen 30 by projecting the display light L from the projector 10, distortion occurs in the curved portion 32 a of the transmission-type screen 30 as shown by the hatched portion in FIG. 5 (a). On the other hand, the display image displayed by the projector 10 can be corrected by warping which previously distorts the display image in an opposite direction by the amount distorted by the curved portion 32 a. FIG. 5 (b) shows the display image G, corrected by the warping. As described above, since the warping is a method of correcting the distortion of an image viewed from a specific viewpoint, when a driver's viewpoint moves, the display image G (the virtual image V) returns to the state where the distortion by the curved portion 32 a is not corrected, but since the distortion only in the hatched portion, that is, in a portion of the display image G is changed, correction by the warping acts relatively effectively.

[0034] The HUD device 1 of the present embodiment is a head-up display device comprises a projector 10 for emitting display light L that indicates a display image, a transmission-type screen 30 including a light receiving surface 31 for receiving the display light L and an emission surface 32 for emitting the display light L, and a second reflecting mirror 40 for reflecting the display light L from the transmission-type screen 30, wherein the transmission-type screen 30 includes a concave curved portion 32 a on one end side of the emission surface 32, and the curved portion 32 a reflects external light LO reaching from the second reflecting mirror 40 in a direction different from that of the second reflecting mirror 40.

[0035] According to this, there is no need to incline the transmission-type screen 30 largely with respect to an optical axis AX of the display light L, and it is possible to reduce distortion of a virtual image V and to prevent degradation of visibility due to the reflected external light LO from the transmission-type screen 30.

[0036] Further, in the HUD device 1, the transmission-type screen 30 is disposed to be inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the optical axis AX of the display light L.

[0037] According to this, it is possible to minimize the distortion of the virtual image V by inclining the transmission-type screen 30 to an optically ideal angle.

[0038] Further, in the HUD device 1, the emission surface 32 of the transmission-type screen 30 is a smooth surface.

[0039] According to this, the reflected external light LO of the transmission-type screen 30 does not diffuse, and it is possible to suppress the distortion of the virtual image V by reducing the inclination angle of the curved portion 32 a and the inclination angle of the entire transmission-type screen 30.

[0040] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that various modifications (including addition and deletion of constitutional elements) are possible within a range not changing the gist of the invention. In the present embodiment, although the transmission-type screen 30 is disposed sideways and the curved portion 32 a is provided on the front-end side of the emission surface 32, one end forming a curved portion is determined by the arrangement of the transmission-type screen and positional relationship with the reflecting mirror, and is not limited to this embodiment. For example, when the transmission-type screen 30 is arranged in a vertical direction, the curved portion is formed on an upper-end side. Further, in the present embodiment, the second reflecting mirror 40 is provided as a reflecting mirror for reflecting the display light L from the transmission-type screen 30, but the reflecting mirror is not limited thereto. For example, in a configuration without the second reflecting mirror 40, the concave mirror 50 serves as a reflecting mirror that reflects the display light L from the transmission-type screen 30.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0041] The present invention is suitable for a head-up display device using a transmission-type screen.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0042] 1 Head-up display device [0043] 10 Projector (Display light emitting part) [0044] 20 First reflecting mirror [0045] 30 Transmission-type screen [0046] 31 Light receiving surface [0047] 32 Emission surface [0048] 32 a Curved portion [0049] 40 Second reflecting mirror (reflector) [0050] 50 Concave mirror [0051] G Display image [0052] L Display light [0053] V Virtual image