Display system for vehicle and display method

• US 7,952,808 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2009
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sasaki, Takashi, Okumura, Haruhiko, Hotta, Aira
• Primary Examiner(s): Ben; Loha
• Application Number:
  US12/412,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20100073773A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 359630-633, 340/425.5, 340435-438, 340/905, 340/932.2, 340/961, 340/980, 340/990, 340/995, 345/7, 345/8, 345/32, 353/13, 353/81, 348/46, 348/115, 348/143, 715/764, 715/771
• 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 2027/0129 comprising devices for correcting parallax
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence

Abstract

A display system for vehicle includes an outside information-obtaining section configured to obtain outside information of a moving object; a position-detecting section configured to detect a position of one eye of an image viewer getting on the moving object; and an image-projecting section. The image-projecting section is configured to obtain a position of a target in the outside information obtained by the outside information-obtaining section, to generate a display object on the basis of the obtained position of the target, and to project a light flux including an image having the generated display object toward the one eye of the image viewer on the basis of the detected position of the one eye.

Claims

1. A display system for vehicle, comprising:

an outside information-obtaining section configured to obtain outside information of a moving object;

a position-detecting section configured to detect a position of one eye of an image viewer getting on the moving object; and

an image-projecting section configured to obtain a position of a target in the outside information obtained by the outside information-obtaining section, to generate a display object on the basis of the position of the target, and to project a light flux including an image having the generated display object toward the one eye of the image viewer on the basis of the position of the one eye.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the display object is further generated on the basis of the position of the one eye.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the outside information-obtaining section obtains the outside information from data concerning the outside information that is preliminarily stored.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the outside information-obtaining section has an outside information-detecting section configured to detect the outside information around the moving object, and the outside information-obtaining section obtains the outside information detected by the outside information-detecting section.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the display object is generated on the basis of a distance between the position of the target and the moving object.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the target is determined on the basis of the pathway in which the moving object is presumed to travel.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a pathway-generating section configured to generate a pathway in which the moving object is presumed to travel,

the target being determined on the basis of the pathway generated in the pathway-generating section.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a moving object position-detecting section configured to detect a position of the moving object,

the target being determined on the basis of the position of the moving object detected by the moving object position-detecting section.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the image-projecting section generates the display object in a depth target position at which the display object is disposed on the basis of a depth position of the position of the target in the outside information.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the image-projecting section generates the display object at a depth target position that is farther than a depth position of the position of the target in the outside information as viewed from the image viewer.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the position at which the display object is disposed in the image accords with a position to which a position in the outside information of the target corresponds in the image.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the position at which the display object is disposed in the image is disposed at a position farther than a position in the image corresponding to a position in the outside information of the target from a center in the image.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein

when a distance between the position of the target in the outside information and the moving object is shorter than a preliminarily set distance, a depth target position at which the display object is disposed accords with a depth position of the position of the target in the outside information, and

when the distance between the position of the target in the outside information and the moving object is the preliminarily set distance or larger, the depth target position at which the display object is disposed is disposed farther than the depth position of the position of the target in the outside information as viewed from the image viewer.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the preliminarily set distance includes any one of 45 meters and 60 meters.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein

when a distance between the position of the target in the outside information and the moving object is shorter than a preliminarily set distance, a position at which the display object is disposed in the image accords with a position to which a position in the outside information of the target corresponds in the image, and

when the distance between the position of the target in the outside information and the moving object is the preliminarily set distance or larger, the position at which the display object is disposed in the image is disposed at a position farther than a position in the image corresponding to a position in the outside information of the target from a center in the image.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the preliminarily set distance includes any one of 45 meters and 60 meters.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least any one of gradient and size of the display object can be varied on the basis of the position of the target.

18. The system according to claim 1, wherein the image-projecting section includes:

an image data-generating section configured to generate the image data including the display object;

an image-forming section configured to form an image including the display object on the basis of the image data generated in the image data-generating section;

a projection section configured to project the light flux including the image formed in the image-forming section to the one eye of the image viewer; and

a control section configured to adjust at least one of a projection range and a projection position of the light flux by controlling the image-projecting section.

19. The system according to claim 1, wherein the image projecting-section projects the light flux toward the one eye of the image viewer by reflecting the light flux by a transparent plate compartmenting a space into a space housing the image viewer of the moving object and a space outside the moving object.

20. A display method comprising:

obtaining a position of a target in outside information of a moving object;

generating a display object on the basis of the obtained position of the target;

generating a light flux including an image having the generated display object;

detecting a position of one eye of an image viewer getting on the moving object; and

projecting the light flux toward the one eye of the image viewer on the basis of the position of the one eye.