Bifocal head-up display system

• US 9,030,749 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2012
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microvision, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Microvision, Inc.
• Inventors: Lescure, Alban N., Duelli, Markus, Miller, Joshua O., Evans, Lansing B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Stephone B
• Assistant Examiner(s): THOMAS, BRANDI N
• Application Number:
  US13/564,138
• Publication Number:
  US 20140036374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,014 Days
• Field of Search: 359619-630
• US Class Current: 359/630
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0127 comprising devices increasing the depth of field
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0145 creating an intermediate image
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence

Abstract

A bifocal head-up display system includes a projector, at least one projection surface in an intermediate image plane, and relay optics to direct a display image to a reflector in a vehicle operator'"'"'s field of view. The display image includes two image portions focused at different distances from the vehicle operator. A first image portion focused at a first distance may include information related to vehicle operation, and a second image portion focused at a second distance may include to information related to extra-vehicular objects.

Claims

1. A head-up display device to display an image in a vehicle operator'"'"'s field of view, the head-up display device having a bifocal projection apparatus to focus a first portion of the image at a first distance from the vehicle operator, and to focus a second portion of the image at a second distance further from the vehicle operator than the first distance, wherein the bifocal projection apparatus comprises a projector, relay optics, and a movable projection surface that occupies an intermediate image plane between the projector and the relay optics, and wherein the projection surface is operable to move through a calibrated distance faster than a refresh rate of the projector to enable imaging of the intermediate image plane at different virtual image planes through the relay optics.

2. The head-up display device of claim 1 wherein the bifocal projection apparatus displays the first portion of the image below the second portion of image.

3. The head-up display device of claim 1 wherein the first portion of the image displays information related to vehicle operation.

4. The head-up display device of claim 1 wherein the second portion of the image displays augmented reality information related to extra-vehicular objects.

5. The head-up display device of claim 1 wherein the second portion of the image is inset in the first portion of the image.

6. The head-up display device of claim 1 wherein the bifocal projection apparatus comprises a scanning laser projector.

7. A head-up display device comprising:

a projector to project an image in a vehicle operator'"'"'s field of view, wherein the image includes vehicle operation data and augmented reality data; and

a bifocal focusing apparatus to focus the vehicle operation data at a first distance from the vehicle operator and to focus the augmented reality data at a second distance from the vehicle operator, wherein the bifocal focusing apparatus comprises relay optics and a movable projection surface that occupies an intermediate image plane between the projector and the relay optics, and wherein the projection surface is operable to move through a calibrated distance faster than a refresh rate of the projector to enable imaging of the intermediate image plane at different virtual image planes through the relay optics.

8. The head-up display device of claim 7 wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance.

9. The head-up display device of claim 8 wherein a difference between the first distance and the second distance is greater than one meter.

10. The head-up display device of claim 8 wherein a difference between the first distance and the second distance is greater than five meters.

11. The head-up display device of claim 7 wherein the augmented reality data comprises information related to vehicle navigation.