Image display device

• US 9,462,214 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
• Original Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Manabu
• Primary Examiner(s): Hon, Ming
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tswei, Yu-Jang
• Application Number:
  US14/476,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20140368544A1
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/011 comprising device for correcting geometrical aberrations, distortion
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/013 comprising a combiner of particular shape, e.g. curvature
• 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: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/74 Projection arrangements for image reproduction, e.g. using eidophor

Abstract

An image display device includes: a projection port that projects image display light generated based on an image signal; and a combiner that presents a virtual image by reflecting the image display light projected from the projection port. With respect to a specific direction along a reflection surface of the combiner, the curvature of the combiner in the specific direction becomes smaller as a distance from the projection port becomes larger. The reflection surface of the combiner may be formed by a biconic surface.

Claims

1. An image display device comprising:

a projection port that projects image display light generated based on an image signal; and

a combiner that presents a virtual image by reflecting the image display light projected from the projection port;

wherein;

with respect to a specific direction along a reflection surface of the combiner, the curvature of the combiner in the specific direction becomes smaller as a distance from the projection port becomes larger; and

the reflection surface of the combiner is formed by a biconic surface,

wherein, when a visual-line direction in which the virtual image is visually recognized via the combiner is set to be a z-axis direction, a direction that is perpendicular to the z-axis direction is set to be an x-axis direction, and a direction that is perpendicular to the z-axis direction and the x-axis direction is set to be a y-axis direction,

the combiner is provided at a position where a projection position at which a projection axis of the image display light projected from the projection port intersects with the reflection surface is different from a vertex position at which both the curvature in the x-axis direction and the curvature in the y-axis direction of the biconic surface forming the reflection surface become maximum, and

wherein the combiner is shaped into a form such that a line of intersection of the biconic surface forming the reflection surface and the x-z plane is an ellipsoid line and such that a line of intersection of the biconic surface forming the reflection surface and the y-z plane is a hyperbolic curve.

2. The image display device according to claim 1 wherein the projection position on the reflection surface and the vertex position on the reflection surface are different from each other in the y-axis direction in the combiner.

3. The image display device according to claim 1,

wherein the reflection surface of the combiner is formed by a shape that is asymmetrical using the lower half of a biconic surface.