Head-up display device and vehicle

• US 10,120,188 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2017
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuzaki, Keiichi, Yamagata, Michihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Flores, Leon
• Application Number:
  US15/671,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20170357088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 455 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/23 using reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/22 Display screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/23 Head-up displays [HUD] optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/53 Movable instruments, e.g. slidable
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12104 Mirror; Reflectors or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0154 with movable elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0159 with mechanical means other than scaning means for positioning the whole image
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0183 Adaptation to parameters characterising the motion of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0185 Displaying image at variable distance
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/10 Scanning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0149 characterised by mechanical features G02B27/0176 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/10 Beam splitting or combining systems polarising systems G02B27/28; mixing and splitting light signals using optical waveguides G02B6/28; beam shaping, e.g. changing the cross-sectional area, by dividing or superposing multiple light beams G02B27/0905
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/123 The splitting element being a lens or a system of lenses, including arrays and surfaces with refractive power
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/28 for polarising used in stereoscopes G02B30/25
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/40 Optical focusing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/30 : Polarising elements light-modulating devices with active elements G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3512 : the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3516 : the reflective optical element moving along the beam path, e.g. controllable diffractive effects using multiple micromirrors within the beam
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/74 : Projection arrangements for image reproduction, e.g. using eidophor

Abstract

A head-up display device includes a display element, a beam splitter, a movable mirror, first and second mirrors, and a movable unit. The display element emits light to form a display image. The beam splitter being an optical member that reflects light or through which light is transmitted, reflects light emitted from the display element. The movable mirror reflects light reflected off the beam splitter. The first and second mirrors that reflect light movable mirror, or through which the light transmitted through the beam splitter is transmitted, project a virtual image. The movable unit adjusts a distance between the movable mirror and the beam splitter to adjust a projection distance of the virtual image.

Claims

1. A head-up display device comprising:

a display that emits light to form a display image;

a light separator being an optical member that reflects light or through which light is transmitted, and that reflects light emitted from the display;

a first optical member that reflects light reflected off the light separator;

a second optical member, wherein the light reflected off the first optical member is transmitted through the light separator directly to the second optical member, which then reflects or transmits the light, to project a virtual image; and

an adjuster that moves the first optical member relative to the second optical member and that adjusts a distance between the first optical member and the light separator to adjust a projection distance of the virtual image.

2. The head-up display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image processor that adjusts the display image in the display,

the image processor adjusting display magnification of the display image in accordance with a projection distance of the virtual image.

3. The head-up display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image processor that adjusts display image information in the display,

the image processor correcting image distortion of the display image in accordance with a projection distance of the virtual image.

4. The head-up display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one wavelength plate provided between the display and the light separator, or between the light separator and the first optical member, wherein the light separator is a wire grid polarizing element.

5. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the second optical member includes a spherical concave mirror, a spherical convex mirror, a non-spherical concave mirror, a non-spherical convex mirror, or a free-form surface mirror.

6. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the second optical member includes a spherical lens, an aspherical lens, or a free-form surface lens.

7. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the display is a liquid crystal display element.

8. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the display includes a plurality of laser beam sources, a scan unit that scans a beam emitted from the laser beam source, and a screen on which scanned light from the scan unit forms an image.

9. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the adjuster adjusts a distance between the first optical member and the light separator according to location information on a vehicle.

10. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the adjuster adjusts a distance between the first optical member and the light separator according to travel information on the vehicle.

11. The head-up display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third optical member that reflects light reflected off the light separator,

wherein the second optical member reflects light transmitted through the light separator after being reflected off the third optical member, or allows the light transmitted through the light separator to be transmitted through the second optical member, to project a virtual image different from the virtual image described above.

12. A vehicle comprising the head-up display device according to claim 1.