AUTOMOTIVE DISPLAY SYSTEM AND DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20100157430A1
• Filed: 09/28/2009
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ogawa, Masatoshi, Sasaki, Takashi, Okumura, Haruhiko, Hotta, Aira, Okada, Naotada, Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi, Nagahara, Osamu, Horiuchi, Kazuo
• Application Number:
  US12/568,038
• Publication Number:
  US 20100157430A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/630
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/365 Guidance using head up displays or projectors, e.g. virtual vehicles or arrows projected on the windscreen or on the road itself
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/012 comprising devices for attenuating parasitic image effects
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0129 comprising devices for correcting parallax
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• 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 27/01 Head-up displays

Abstract

An automotive display system includes a frontward information acquisition unit, a position detection unit and an image projection unit. The frontward information acquisition unit acquires frontward information. The frontward information includes information relating to a frontward path of a vehicle. The position detection unit detects a position of one eye of an image viewer riding in the vehicle. The image projection unit generates a first virtual image at a corresponding position in scenery of the frontward path based on the frontward information acquired by the frontward information acquisition unit and projects a light flux including an image including the generated first virtual image toward the one eye of the image viewer based on the detected position of the one eye. The first virtual image has a size corresponding to at least one of a vehicle width and a vehicle height.

Claims

1. An automotive display system, comprising:

a frontward information acquisition unit configured to acquire frontward information, the frontward information including information relating to a frontward path of a vehicle;

a position detection unit configured to detect a position of one eye of an image viewer riding in the vehicle; and

an image projection unit configured to generate a first virtual image at a corresponding position in scenery of the frontward path based on the frontward information acquired by the frontward information acquisition unit and project a light flux including an image including the generated first virtual image toward the one eye of the image viewer based on the detected position of the one eye, the first virtual image having a size corresponding to at least one of a vehicle width and a vehicle height.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the frontward information acquired by the frontward information acquisition unit includes a width of at least one of a passable horizontal direction and a passable perpendicular direction of a road where the vehicle is estimated to travel, and

the first virtual image is generated at a predetermined depth set position in the scenery of the frontward path in the case where the width is not less than a predetermined first width.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the width is ascertained based on at least one of an obstacle existing in the road and another vehicle moving toward the vehicle.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein a depth target position where the first virtual image is generated is disposed more distally as viewed by the image viewer than a depth position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path in the case where the width is not less than a predetermined first width and a distance from the vehicle to the depth position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path is not less than a preset distance.

5. The system according to claim 2, wherein a target position where the first virtual image is generated in the image is disposed on an outer side of a position in the image corresponding to a position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path as viewed from a center of the image in the case where the width is not less than a predetermined first width and a distance from the vehicle to the depth position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path is not less than a preset distance.

6. The system according to claim 2, wherein

the first virtual image is generated at a position more distal than the depth set position as viewed by the image viewer in the case where the width is less than the first width and not less than a predetermined second width, the second width being less than the first width, and

the first virtual image is generated at a position based on a position where the road is less than the second width in the case where the width is less than the second width.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the first virtual image is generated to move away from the depth set position as viewed by the image viewer in the case where the width is less than the first width and not less than the second width.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein a depth target position where the first virtual image is generated is disposed more proximally as viewed by the image viewer than a depth position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path in the case where the width is less than the first width and not less than the second width and a distance from the vehicle to the depth position where the first virtual image is generated in scenery of the frontward path is not less than a preset distance.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein a target position where the first virtual image is generated in the image is disposed on an inner side of a position in the image corresponding to a position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path as viewed from a center of the image in the case where the width is less than the first width and not less than the second width and a distance from the vehicle to the depth position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path is not less than a preset distance.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first virtual image is generated at a size of the vehicle perceived by the image viewer when viewing the vehicle in the case where the vehicle exists at a depth position where the first virtual image is generated in the scenery of the frontward path.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first virtual image is generated at a depth position of a leading vehicle in the case where the frontward information includes information that the leading vehicle exists within a predetermined distance in the frontward path.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the image projection unit further generates a second virtual image at a corresponding position in the scenery of the frontward path in the image in the case where the frontward information includes information that another vehicle exists in a region obstructed as viewed by the image viewer and is moving toward the vehicle within a predetermined distance from the vehicle, the second virtual image corresponding to the detected other vehicle.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first virtual image is generated based further on the detected position of the one eye.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the image projection unit includes:

an image data generation unit configured to generate image data including the first virtual image;

an image formation unit configured to form the image including the first virtual image based on the image data generated by the image data generation unit;

a projection unit configured to project the light flux including the image formed by the image formation unit onto the one eye of the image viewer; and

a control unit configured to adjust at least one of a projection area and a projection position of the light flux by controlling the image projection unit.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the frontward information acquisition unit acquires frontward information from data relating to pre-stored frontward information.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the frontward information acquisition unit includes a frontward information detection unit configured to detect the frontward information of the vehicle, the frontward information acquisition unit acquiring the frontward information detected by the frontward information detection unit.

17. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a route generation unit configured to generate a route where the vehicle is conjectured to travel, the first virtual image being generated based on the route generated by the route generation unit.

18. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle position detection unit configured to detect a position of the vehicle, the corresponding position in the scenery of the frontward path where the first virtual image is correspondingly generated being determined based on the position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection unit.

19. A display method, comprising:

generating a first virtual image at a corresponding position in scenery of a frontward path of a vehicle and generating a light flux including an image including the generated first virtual image based on frontward information including information relating to the frontward path, the first virtual image having a size corresponding to at least one of a vehicle width and a vehicle height; and

detecting a position of one eye of an image viewer riding in the vehicle and projecting the light flux toward the one eye of the image viewer based on the detected position of the one eye.