Image generation device, reflector, and head-up display

Abstract

The present invention provides a reflector that expands the image display range, suppresses the influence of ambient or reflected light, and exhibits reduced substrate distortion during molding, as well as a head-up display using this reflector. [Solution] The image generation device (24) includes a light source substrate (110) on which a light source (111) is mounted, an optical member (120) that transmits light emitted from the light source (111), a display device (130) that forms light for generating a predetermined image using the light transmitted through the optical member (120), a heat sink (150) that dissipates heat generated from the light source substrate 110, and a lens holder (140) that holds the optical member (120). The lens holder (140) has a first engaging portion, and the heat sink (150) has a second engaging portion (152). By fixing the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion (152), the light source substrate (110) is positioned and fixed in a state sandwiched between the lens holder (140) and the heat sink (150).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image generation device and a head-up display including the image generation device.

[0002] Further, the present invention relates to a mirror and a head-up display including the mirror.

[0003] Further, the present invention relates to a head-up display.

Background Art

[0004] In a future automated driving society, it is expected that visual communication between vehicles and humans will become increasingly important. For example, it is expected that visual communication between a vehicle and the passengers of the vehicle will become increasingly important. In this regard, a head-up display (HUD) can be used to realize visual communication between a vehicle and its passengers. A head-up display projects an image or video onto a windshield or a combiner, and superimposes the image on the real space through the windshield or the combiner so that it can be visually recognized by the passengers, thereby realizing so-called AR (Augmented Reality).

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses a display device used for a head-up display device that displays information on a front glass or the like of a vehicle.

[0006] Patent Document 2 discloses an in-vehicle HUD device that displays predetermined content in a predetermined display area provided in front of the driver's seat.

[0007] Patent Document 3 discloses a vehicle head-up display device including a display and a reflection device, which displays a virtual image of display information in front of the driver's field of view. The vehicle head-up display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a concave mirror having a rectangular front shape, and the concave mirror has a holder portion disposed on the back side.

[0008] Patent Document 4 discloses a vehicle head-up display device that is mounted in a vehicle and displays a virtual image of display information in front of the driver's field of vision. The vehicle head-up display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 comprises a display unit, a reflector that reflects light emitted from the display unit, a stepper motor that rotates the reflector unit, and a control device that controls the rotation of the reflector unit by controlling the stepper motor.

[0009] In a head-up display, light emitted from an image generation device is reflected by a reflector and illuminated onto the vehicle's windshield or combiner. Generally, concave mirrors, such as those disclosed in Patent Documents 5 and 6, are known as reflectors. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-83593 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-119262 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-54966 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-46650 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-132990 [Patent Document 6] International application WO2017 / 208961 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0011] By the way, in existing head-up displays such as those described in Patent Document 1, there is a need to reduce the manufacturing cost of the substrate on which the light source of the display device is mounted.

[0012] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an image generation device capable of reducing manufacturing costs, and a head-up display equipped with the image generation device.

[0013] Furthermore, there is room for improvement in the configuration of existing head-up displays to expand the display range of specific content.

[0014] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an image generation device that can expand the display range of an image at low cost and suppress external light or reflected light from adversely affecting image generation, and a head-up display equipped with the image generation device.

[0015] Furthermore, concave mirrors like the one disclosed in Patent Document 3 have room for further improvement.

[0016] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a reflector that can be enlarged and whose moldability can be improved, and a head-up display equipped with the reflector.

[0017] Furthermore, there is room for improvement in the mounting structure of the reflective element in the housing of the head-up display.

[0018] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a head-up display that can be equipped with a reflective element in a low-cost and simple configuration.

[0019] Furthermore, in the general manufacturing method of concave mirrors, the substrate is molded from resin using a mold, and a reflective film is formed on the surface of the molded substrate by vapor deposition. When the substrate is molded, the corners of the substrate are more prone to cooling and solidification and less prone to molding shrinkage compared to other parts because the two surfaces constituting the corner are in contact with the mold. As a result, a difference in shrinkage occurs between the outer corners and other parts, which can cause the substrate to warp. When a warped concave mirror is used in a head-up display, there is a problem in that characters, especially around the edges of the image, are displayed distorted.

[0020] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a reflector with reduced distortion of a substrate during molding, and a head-up display using the same.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0021] To achieve one of the above objects, an image generation device according to one aspect of the present invention is an image generation device that generates an image for a head-up display, comprising a light source substrate on which a light source is mounted, an optical member that transmits the light emitted from the light source, a display device that forms light for generating a predetermined image by the light transmitted through the optical member, a heat sink that dissipates heat generated from the light source substrate, and a holder that holds the optical member, where the holder has a plurality of first engaging portions, and the heat sink has a plurality of second engaging portions provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of first engaging portions, and by fixing each of the plurality of first engaging portions and each of the plurality of second engaging portions, the light source substrate is sandwiched between the holder and the heat sink and positioned and fixed in a state of being accommodated in a space formed between the plurality of first engaging portions.

[0022] To achieve one of the above objects, an image generation device according to one aspect of the present invention is an image generation device that generates an image for a head-up display, comprising a changing image generation unit that generates a changing image that changes according to the situation of the vehicle among the images, and a fixed image generation unit that generates a fixed image that is fixed regardless of the situation among the images, where the changing image generation unit has a light source substrate on which a light source is mounted, an optical member that transmits the light emitted from the light source, and a display device that forms light for generating a predetermined image by the light transmitted through the optical member. The light source substrate is positioned at a certain angle inclined with respect to the first light-emitting surface of the display device. The second light emission surface of the fixed image generation unit is a surface parallel to the first light emission surface.

[0023] Furthermore, a head-up display according to one aspect of the present invention is One of the above image generation devices, The device includes at least one reflective section that reflects the light emitted by the image generating device so that the light is irradiated onto a windshield or combiner.

[0024] To achieve one of the above objectives, the reflector according to one aspect of the present invention is A reflector that can rotate around a rotation axis, A plate-shaped main body having a reflective surface for reflecting light, a first end surface, and a second end surface located on the opposite side of the reflective surface from the first end surface, A plate-shaped first projection extends from the first end face toward the back side of the reflective surface, A plate-shaped second projection that extends toward the rear side, continuous with the second end face, A first shaft portion is provided on the first protrusion to allow the main body to rotate around the rotation axis, The main body is provided with a second shaft portion on the second protrusion for rotating the main body around the aforementioned rotation axis, The tip of the first projection is located at a different position from the first end face in the direction along the axis of rotation and on the opposite side from the reflective surface.

[0025] To achieve one of the above objectives, the reflector according to one aspect of the present invention is A substrate having a first surface and a second surface located opposite to the first surface, A reflecting mirror comprising a reflective film formed on the first surface that reflects light, At least a portion of the edge of the substrate has a surface formed between the first surface and the second surface that forms at least three obtuse angles in the cross-section of the substrate in the thickness direction.

[0026] Furthermore, a head-up display according to one aspect of the present invention is A head-up display installed in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward the occupants of the vehicle, The above reflector, The system includes an image generating device that generates the predetermined image and emits light toward the reflecting mirror.

[0027] To achieve one of the above objectives, a head-up display according to one aspect of the present invention is: A head-up display installed in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward the occupants of the vehicle, An image generation unit that emits light for generating the predetermined image, A reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the image generation unit so that the light is irradiated onto the windshield or combiner, The system comprises a housing that accommodates the image generation unit and the reflection unit, The reflective portion comprises a main body, a first shaft portion protruding outward from one end of the main body, and a second shaft portion protruding outward from the other end of the main body. The housing has at least a first housing portion capable of accommodating the end of the first shaft portion, The aforementioned end is exposed to the outside from the first housing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0028] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image generation device that can reduce manufacturing costs, and a head-up display equipped with the image generation device.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image generation device that can expand the display range of an image at low cost and suppress external light or reflected light from adversely affecting image generation, and a head-up display equipped with the image generation device.

[0030] Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a reflector that can be enlarged and whose moldability can be improved, and a head-up display equipped with the reflector.

[0031] Furthermore, according to the reflecting mirror of the present invention, since at least three obtuse angles are formed on a portion of the edge of the substrate, the portion of the edge is less likely to cool and solidify compared to the case where an acute angle or 90 degrees is formed on a portion of the edge during molding. Therefore, distortion of the substrate during molding is suppressed.

[0032] Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a head-up display that can be equipped with a reflective element in a low-cost and simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0033] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle system equipped with a head-up display (HUD) according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the HUD. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the image generation device included in the HUD shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a front view of the image generation device shown in Figure 3. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of AA in Figure 4. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a rear perspective view of the lens holder. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a top view of the image generation device shown in Figure 3. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of BB in Figure 4. [Figure 9]Figure 9 is a block diagram of a vehicle system equipped with a HUD according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the HUD according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a perspective view showing a reflecting mirror, image generation device, and rotation mechanism according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a perspective view of the reflecting mirror shown in Figure 11. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a top view of the reflecting mirror. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a side view of the reflecting mirror. [Figure 15] Figure 15 is a perspective view showing the reflector with the rotation mechanism attached. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a side view of the state shown in Figure 15. [Figure 17] Figure 17 is a perspective view showing the housing containing the reflector and the image generating device in the second embodiment. [Figure 18] Figure 18 is a perspective view of the housing in the second embodiment with the reflector removed. [Figure 19] Figure 19 is a side view of the state shown in Figure 17. [Figure 20] Figure 20 is a perspective view of the reflector of the head-up display shown in Figure 2, in a third embodiment. [Figure 21] Figure 21 is a bottom view of the reflecting mirror shown in Figure 20. [Figure 22] Figure 22 is a magnified cross-sectional view of the end of the reflecting mirror. [Figure 23] Figure 23 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of the reflector during molding. [Figure 24] Figure 24 is a cross-sectional view showing a comparative example of Figure 23. [Figure 25] Figure 25 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a modified example of the end of a reflecting mirror. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0034] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this embodiment") will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of explanation, the dimensions of each component shown in these drawings may differ from the actual dimensions of each component.

[0035] Furthermore, in the description of this embodiment, for the sake of clarity, the terms "left-right direction," "up-down direction," and "front-back direction" may be referred to as appropriate. These directions are relative directions set for the HUD (Head-Up Display) 20 shown in Figure 2. Here, the "left-right direction" includes the "left direction" and the "right direction." The "up-down direction" includes the "up direction" and the "down direction." The "front-back direction" includes the "forward direction" and the "backward direction." The left-right direction is not shown in Figure 2, but it is a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-back direction.

[0036] Referring to Figure 1, the vehicle system 2 equipped with the HUD 20 according to this embodiment will be described below. Figure 1 is a block diagram of the vehicle system 2. The vehicle 1 on which the vehicle system 2 is installed is a vehicle (automobile) capable of driving in autonomous driving mode.

[0037] As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle system 2 comprises a vehicle control unit 3, a sensor 5, a camera 6, a radar 7, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 8, a GPS (Global Positioning System) 9, a wireless communication unit 10, and a storage device 11. The vehicle system 2 also comprises a steering actuator 12, a steering device 13, a brake actuator 14, a brake device 15, an accelerator actuator 16, and an accelerator device 17. Furthermore, the vehicle system 2 includes a HUD 20.

[0038] The vehicle control unit 3 is configured to control the driving of the vehicle 1. The vehicle control unit 3 is composed of, for example, at least one electronic control unit (ECU). The electronic control unit includes a computer system (e.g., a System on a Chip (SoC)) having one or more processors and memory, and an electronic circuit composed of active elements such as transistors and passive elements such as resistors. The processor includes, for example, at least one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit). The CPU may be composed of multiple CPU cores. The GPU may be composed of multiple GPU cores. The memory includes ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM may store a vehicle control program. For example, the vehicle control program may include an artificial intelligence (AI) program for autonomous driving. The AI ​​program is a program (trained model) built by supervised or unsupervised machine learning (especially deep learning) using a multi-layer neural network. The RAM may temporarily store vehicle control programs, vehicle control data, and / or peripheral environment information indicating the surrounding environment of vehicle 1. The processor may be configured to load a specified program from the various vehicle control programs stored in ROM onto the RAM and execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM. Furthermore, the computer system may use ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) or FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gates). The system may consist of non-von Neumann computers such as arrays. Furthermore, the computer system may consist of a combination of von Neumann computers and non-von Neumann computers.

[0039] Sensor 5 includes at least one of an acceleration sensor, a velocity sensor, and a gyroscope sensor. Sensor 5 is configured to detect the driving state of vehicle 1 and output driving state information to vehicle control unit 3. Sensor 5 may further include a seating sensor to detect whether the driver is sitting in the driver's seat, a face orientation sensor to detect the direction of the driver's face, an external weather sensor to detect external weather conditions, and a human presence sensor to detect whether there are people inside the vehicle.

[0040] Camera 6 is a camera that includes an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary MOS). Camera 6 includes one or more external cameras 6A and an internal camera 6B. The external camera 6A is configured to acquire image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and then transmit the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. The vehicle control unit 3 acquires surrounding environment information based on the transmitted image data. Here, the surrounding environment information may include information about objects (pedestrians, other vehicles, signs, etc.) that exist outside the vehicle 1. For example, the surrounding environment information may include information about the attributes of objects that exist outside the vehicle 1 and information about the distance and position of the objects relative to the vehicle 1. The external camera 6A may be configured as a monocular camera or as a stereo camera.

[0041] The internal camera 6B is positioned inside the vehicle 1 and is configured to acquire image data representing the occupants. The internal camera 6B functions, for example, as an eye-tracking camera that tracks the occupant's viewpoint E (described later in Figure 2). The internal camera 6B is located, for example, near the rearview mirror or inside the instrument panel.

[0042] The radar 7 includes at least one of millimeter-wave radar, microwave radar, and laser radar (e.g., a LiDAR unit). For example, the LiDAR unit is configured to detect the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1. In particular, the LiDAR unit is configured to acquire 3D mapping data (point cloud data) showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and to transmit the 3D mapping data to the vehicle control unit 3. The vehicle control unit 3 identifies the surrounding environment information based on the transmitted 3D mapping data.

[0043] HMI8 consists of an input unit that receives input operations from the driver and an output unit that outputs driving information and other data to the driver. The input unit includes the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, and a driving mode selector switch for switching the driving mode of vehicle 1. The output unit is a display (excluding HUD) that displays various driving information.

[0044] The GPS 9 is configured to acquire the current location information of vehicle 1 and output the acquired current location information to the vehicle control unit 3.

[0045] The wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive information about other vehicles in the vicinity of vehicle 1 (e.g., driving information, etc.) from other vehicles and to transmit information about vehicle 1 (e.g., driving information, etc.) to other vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle communication). The wireless communication unit 10 is also configured to receive infrastructure information from infrastructure equipment such as traffic lights and marker lights and to transmit vehicle 1's driving information to the infrastructure equipment (vehicle-to-infrastructure communication). The wireless communication unit 10 is also configured to receive information about pedestrians from portable electronic devices (smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, etc.) carried by pedestrians and to transmit vehicle 1's own driving information to the portable electronic devices (vehicle-to-pedestrian communication). Vehicle 1 may communicate directly with other vehicles, infrastructure equipment, or portable electronic devices in ad-hoc mode, or it may communicate via an access point. Furthermore, vehicle 1 may communicate with other vehicles, infrastructure equipment, or portable electronic devices via a communication network (not shown). The communication network includes at least one of the following: the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and a wireless access network (RAN). Wireless communication standards include, for example, Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, LPWA, DSRC®, or Li-Fi. Vehicle 1 may also communicate with other vehicles, infrastructure equipment, or portable electronic devices using a fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G).

[0046] The storage device 11 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage device 11 may store two-dimensional or three-dimensional map information and / or vehicle control programs. For example, three-dimensional map information may consist of 3D mapping data (point cloud data). The storage device 11 is configured to output map information and vehicle control programs to the vehicle control unit 3 in response to requests from the vehicle control unit 3. The map information and vehicle control programs may be updated via a communication network with the wireless communication unit 10.

[0047] When vehicle 1 is driving in autonomous driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 automatically generates at least one of the steering control signal, accelerator control signal, and brake control signal based on driving state information, surrounding environment information, current location information, map information, etc. The steering actuator 12 is configured to receive the steering control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the steering device 13 based on the received steering control signal. The brake actuator 14 is configured to receive the brake control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the brake device 15 based on the received brake control signal. The accelerator actuator 16 is configured to receive the accelerator control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the accelerator device 17 based on the received accelerator control signal. In this way, the vehicle control unit 3 automatically controls the driving of vehicle 1 based on driving state information, surrounding environment information, current location information, map information, etc. In other words, in autonomous driving mode, the driving of vehicle 1 is automatically controlled by the vehicle system 2.

[0048] On the other hand, when vehicle 1 is running in manual driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 generates steering control signals, accelerator control signals, and brake control signals according to the driver's manual operations on the accelerator pedal, brake pedal, and steering wheel. Thus, in manual driving mode, the steering control signals, accelerator control signals, and brake control signals are generated by the driver's manual operations, and the driving of vehicle 1 is controlled by the driver.

[0049] As described above, the driving modes consist of an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode. The automatic driving mode consists of, for example, a fully automatic driving mode, an advanced driver assistance mode, and a driver assistance mode. In the fully automatic driving mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all driving controls, including steering, braking, and acceleration, and the driver is not in a position to drive the vehicle 1. In the advanced driver assistance mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all driving controls, including steering, braking, and acceleration, and the driver is in a position to drive the vehicle 1 but does not drive it. In the driver assistance mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs some of the driving controls, including steering, braking, and acceleration, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 with the assistance of the vehicle system 2. On the other hand, in the manual driving mode, the vehicle system 2 does not automatically perform driving controls, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 without the assistance of the vehicle system 2.

[0050] The HUD20 is configured to display predetermined information (hereinafter referred to as HUD information) as an image directed towards the occupant of the vehicle 1, such that the HUD information is superimposed on the real space outside the vehicle 1 (in particular, the surrounding environment in front of the vehicle 1). The HUD information displayed by the HUD20 is, for example, vehicle driving information related to the driving of the vehicle 1 and / or surrounding environment information related to the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 (in particular, information related to objects existing outside the vehicle 1). The HUD20 is an AR display that functions as a visual interface between the vehicle 1 and the occupant.

[0051] The HUD 20 includes an image generating unit (PGU) 24. The image generating unit 24 has a changing image generating unit 24A, a fixed image generating unit 24B, and a control unit 25. The image generation device 24 is configured to emit light for generating a predetermined image to be displayed to the occupants of the vehicle 1. The variable image generation unit 24A emits light for generating a variable image from the predetermined image that changes according to the status of the vehicle 1. The fixed image generation unit 24B emits light for generating a fixed image from the predetermined image that remains constant regardless of the status of the vehicle 1.

[0052] The control unit 25 controls the operation of each part of the HUD 20. The control unit 25 is connected to the vehicle control unit 3 and generates control signals to control the operation of the changing image generation unit 24A and the fixed image generation unit 24B based on vehicle driving information and surrounding environment information transmitted from the vehicle control unit 3, and transmits the generated control signals to the changing image generation unit 24A and the fixed image generation unit 24B. The control unit 25 is equipped with a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory, and the processor executes a computer program read from the memory to control the operation of the changing image generation unit 24A, the fixed image generation unit 24B, etc. In this embodiment, the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 25 are provided as separate components, but the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 25 may be configured as an integrated unit. For example, the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 25 may be configured by a single electronic control unit.

[0053] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the HUD20 as seen from the side of the vehicle 1. At least a portion of the HUD20 is located inside the vehicle 1. Specifically, the HUD20 is installed in a predetermined location inside the vehicle 1. For example, the HUD20 may be placed inside the dashboard of the vehicle 1.

[0054] As shown in Figure 2, the HUD 20 includes a HUD main body 21. The HUD main body 21 has a main body housing 22 and an output window 23. The output window 23 is made of a transparent plate that transmits visible light. Inside the main body housing 22, the HUD main body 21 has an image generation device 24 and a concave mirror 26 (an example of a reflector).

[0055] The concave mirror 26 is positioned on the optical path of light emitted from the image generation device 24 (changing image generation unit 24A, fixed image generation unit 24B). The concave mirror 26 is configured to reflect the light emitted from the image generation device 24 toward the windshield 18 (for example, the front windshield of the vehicle 1). The concave mirror 26 has a concavely curved reflective surface to form a predetermined image, and reflects the image of the light emitted from the image generation device 24 and formed at a predetermined magnification. The concave mirror 26 may have a drive (rotation) mechanism 27 and be configured to rotate its orientation based on a control signal transmitted from the control unit 25 (see Figure 1).

[0056] The image generation device 24 is installed inside the main housing 22 so as to face forward of the HUD 20. Light emitted from the image generation device 24 (changing image generation unit 24A, fixed image generation unit 24B) is reflected by the concave mirror 26 and emitted from the emission window 23 of the HUD main unit 21. The light emitted from the emission window 23 of the HUD main unit 21 is shone onto the windshield 18. A portion of the light shone onto the windshield 18 from the emission window 23 is reflected towards the occupant's viewpoint E. As a result, the occupant perceives the light emitted from the HUD main unit 21 as a virtual image (a predetermined image) formed at a predetermined distance in front of the windshield 18. In this way, the image displayed by the HUD 20 is superimposed onto the real space in front of the vehicle 1 through the windshield 18, allowing the occupant to perceive the virtual image object I formed by the predetermined image as floating on the road located outside the vehicle.

[0057] Here, the occupant's viewpoint E may be either the viewpoint of the occupant's left eye or the viewpoint of their right eye. Alternatively, viewpoint E may be defined as the midpoint of the line segment connecting the viewpoints of the left and right eyes. The position of the occupant's viewpoint E is determined, for example, based on image data acquired by the internal camera 6B. The position of the occupant's viewpoint E may be updated at predetermined intervals, or it may be determined only once when the vehicle 1 is started.

[0058] When forming a 2D image (planar image) as the virtual image object I, a predetermined image is projected to become a virtual image at a single, arbitrarily defined distance. When forming a 3D image (stereoscopic image) as the virtual image object I, multiple predetermined images, whether identical or different, are projected to become virtual images at different distances. Furthermore, the distance of the virtual image object I (the distance from the occupant's viewpoint E to the virtual image) can be adjusted as appropriate by adjusting the distance from the image generation device 24 to the occupant's viewpoint E (for example, by adjusting the distance between the image generation device 24 and the concave mirror 26).

[0059] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the image generation device 24. Figure 4 is a front view of the image generation device 24. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the image generation device 24 comprises a changing image generation unit 24A located in the center when viewed from the front, and fixed image generation units 24B located on both the left and right sides of the changing image generation unit 24A. The changing image generation unit 24A and the fixed image generation unit 24B are housed in a PGU housing 160. The PGU housing 160 is fitted with a circuit board 170 on which a control unit 25 for controlling the changing image generation unit 24A and the fixed image generation unit 24B is mounted, and a rear cover 180 that covers the back of the PGU housing 160.

[0060] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the image generation device 24 shown in Figure 4 along line AA, that is, a cross-sectional view of the changing image generation unit 24A in the image generation device 24. As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the changing image generation unit 24A includes a light source substrate 110 on which a light source 111 is mounted, a lens 120 (an example of an optical element) positioned in front of the light source 111, and a display device 130 positioned in front of the lens 120. The changing image generation unit 24A further includes a lens holder 140 positioned in front of the light source substrate 110 and a heat sink 150 positioned behind the light source substrate 110.

[0061] The light source 111 is, for example, a laser light source or an LED light source. The laser light source is, for example, an RGB laser light source configured to emit red laser light, green laser light, and blue laser light, respectively. The light source substrate 110 is, for example, a printed circuit board made of an insulator with electrical circuit wiring printed on the surface or inside the board. On the light source substrate 110, for example, a plurality (two in this example) of laser light sources are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. The light source substrate 110 also has at least one hole 112 formed therein for fixing the mounting position of the light source substrate 110 to the lens holder 140. In this embodiment, one hole 112 is formed on each of the left and right ends of the light source substrate 110.

[0062] The lens 120 is composed of, for example, a plano-convex lens. Instead of using the lens 120, a prism, diffuser, magnifying glass, etc., may be used. The lens 120 is mounted on the lens holder 140. The lens 120 is configured to transmit or reflect light emitted from the light source 111 and emit it toward the display device 130. In this embodiment, two plano-convex lenses are provided in parallel in the left-right direction, corresponding to two light sources 111.

[0063] The display device 130 is a liquid crystal display, a DMD (Digital Mirror Device), etc. The drawing method of the changing image generation unit 24A may be a raster scan method, a DLP method, or an LCOS method. If a DLP method or an LCOS method is adopted, the light source 111 of the changing image generation unit 24A may be an LED light source. If a liquid crystal display method is adopted, the light source 111 of the changing image generation unit 24A may be a white LED light source. The display device 130 is mounted on the front of the PGU housing 160. The display device 130 is mounted on the PGU housing 160 with its light-emitting surface 130a for emitting light to generate the changing image facing forward of the changing image generation unit 24A. The display device 130 is configured to be mounted on the PGU housing 160 from the front side of the PGU housing 160, for example. An FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) 131 connecting the display device 130 and the control unit 25 is connected to the display device 130. The display device 130 is configured to generate light for producing a predetermined changing image using light from the light source 111 that has passed through the lens 120.

[0064] Figure 6 is a rear perspective view of the lens holder 140. As shown in Figures 3 to 6, the lens holder 140 has a pair of holder mounting portions 141, each having a plurality of mounting holes 142 (an example of a first engaging portion), and a fixing recess 143 provided between the pair of holder mounting portions 141.

[0065] The holder mounting portion 141 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape. The mounting surface 141a (an example of the first surface) of the flat plate-shaped holder mounting portion 141 is formed to be parallel to the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 attached to the PGU housing 160. In this specification, "parallel" does not necessarily mean only perfectly parallel, but includes directions within ±5 degrees from the perfectly parallel direction. In this embodiment, two mounting holes 142 of the holder mounting portion 141 are formed in parallel in the vertical direction on each holder mounting portion 141.

[0066] The fixing recess 143 is formed in a recessed state in front of the pair of holder mounting portions 141. The fixing recess 143 has an inclined surface 143a (an example of a second surface) that is inclined with respect to the mounting surface 141a of the holder mounting portion 141. The inclined surface 143a is formed such that the upper side of the inclined surface 143a is inclined forward with respect to the mounting surface 141a.

[0067] The fixing recess 143 has an opening 144 in the center, and a frame portion 145 is formed around the opening 144. The opening 144 is sized and shaped such that the periphery of the light source substrate 110, which is positioned behind the lens holder 140, overlaps with the frame portion 145, and the light source 111 mounted on the light source substrate 110 is housed inside the opening 144. In this embodiment, two openings 144 are formed in the left-right direction.

[0068] On the inclined back surface 143a1, which is the rear side of the fixing recess 143 of the inclined surface 143a, a pin 147 is provided on the frame portion 145. The pin 147 is provided so as to protrude rearward from the frame portion 145. The pin 147 is positioned so as to be insertable into the hole 112 of the light source substrate 110. In this example, one pin 147 is provided on each of the left and right frame portions 145 of the inclined back surface 143a1. The height of the protruding portion of the pin 147 that protrudes rearward from the frame portion 145 is formed to be less than or equal to the thickness of the light source substrate 110.

[0069] A lens 120 is attached to the inclined front surface 143a2, which is the front side of the inclined surface 143a that has a fixing recess 143. The lens 120 attached to the inclined front surface 143a2 is held in the PGU housing 160 at an angle with respect to the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130.

[0070] Returning to Figure 3, the heat sink 150 is made of a material with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or copper. The heat sink 150 is provided so as to be in contact with the back surface of the light source substrate 110 in order to dissipate the heat generated from the light source substrate 110. The heat sink 150 has a pair of heat sink mounting parts 151 in which a plurality of mounting holes 152 (an example of a second engagement part) are formed, and a fixing projection 153 provided between the pair of heat sink mounting parts 151.

[0071] The heat sink mounting portion 151 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape. The mounting surface 151a (an example of a third surface) of the flat heat sink mounting portion 151 is formed to be parallel to the mounting surface 141a of the lens holder 140 when the heat sink 150 is attached to the PGU housing 160 together with the lens holder 140. The mounting holes 152 of the heat sink mounting portion 151 are formed at locations corresponding to the mounting holes 142 formed on the mounting surface 141a of the lens holder 140. In this embodiment, each of the pair of heat sink mounting portions 151 has two mounting holes 152 arranged in parallel in the vertical direction.

[0072] The fixing projection 153 is formed to protrude forward from the pair of heat sink mounting portions 151. The fixing projection 153 has an inclined surface 153a (an example of a fourth surface) that is inclined with respect to the mounting surface 151a of the heat sink mounting portion 151. The inclined surface 153a is formed so that its upper side is inclined forward with respect to the mounting surface 151a. In addition, the inclined surface 153a is formed to be parallel to the inclined surface 143a of the lens holder 140.

[0073] Multiple heat dissipation fins 154 are formed on the inclined back surface 153a1, which is the rear side of the fixing protrusion 153 of the inclined surface 153a. The inclined front surface 153a2, which is the front side of the fixing protrusion 153 of the inclined surface 153a, is formed in a planar shape as the surface that contacts the light source substrate 110.

[0074] The heat sink 150 is screwed to the PGU housing 160 via mounting holes 152 in the heat sink mounting portion 151 using mounting screws 155. The lens holder 140 is also screwed to the PGU housing 160 via mounting holes 142 in the mounting surface 141a using mounting screws 155. The heat sink 150 is screwed to the PGU housing 160 together with the lens holder 140 using common mounting screws 155, with the mounting protrusion 153 of the heat sink mounting portion 151 fitted into the mounting recess 143 of the lens holder 140, and the mounting surface 151a of the heat sink mounting portion 151 facing the mounting surface 141a of the holder mounting portion 141 of the lens holder 140.

[0075] Figure 7 is a top view of the image generation device 24. Figure 7 shows the assembled state of the image generation device 24 as shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figures 3, 6, and 7, the light source substrate 110 is attached to the PGU housing 160 while sandwiched between the inclined back surface 143a1 of the fixing recess 143 of the lens holder 140 and the inclined front surface 153a2 of the fixing protrusion 153 of the heat sink 150. In other words, the light source substrate 110 is mounted inward from the pair of holder mounting portions 141 of the lens holder 140 and the pair of heat sink mounting portions 151 of the heat sink 150 in the left-right direction of the lens holder 140 and the heat sink 150.

[0076] The depth of the fixing recess 143 of the lens holder 140 is greater than the height of the fixing protrusion 153 of the heat sink 150. Specifically, the depth of the fixing recess 143 is about the thickness of the light source substrate 110 greater than the height of the fixing protrusion 153. Therefore, when the fixing protrusion 153 of the heat sink 150 is fitted into the fixing recess 143 of the lens holder 140, a space 148 about the thickness of the light source substrate 110 is formed between the inclined back surface 143a1 of the lens holder 140 and the inclined front surface 153a2 of the heat sink 150 (see Figures 5 and 7). The light source substrate 110 is housed in this space 148 formed between the fixing recess 143 of the lens holder 140 and the fixing protrusion 153 of the heat sink 150. Specifically, the light source substrate 110 is placed on the frame portion 145 of the fixing recess 143, and is housed in the space 148 with pins 147 provided on the frame portion 145 inserted through holes 112 in the light source substrate 110.

[0077] By housing the light source substrate 110 in space 148, its movement in the left-right and up-down directions is restricted by the pins 147 inserted through the holes 112. Furthermore, by housing the light source substrate 110 in space 148, its movement in the front-back direction is restricted by the fixing recess 143 of the lens holder 140 and the fixing protrusion 153 of the heat sink 150. In this way, by housing the light source substrate 110 in space 148, the position of the light source substrate 110 relative to the lens 120 and the display device 130 is fixed. Note that by housing the light source substrate 110 in space 148, the light source 111 mounted on the light source substrate 110 is positioned within the opening 144 of the fixing recess 143.

[0078] The light source substrate 110 is mounted on the PGU housing 160 so as to be parallel to the inclined surface 143a of the fixing recess 143 in the lens holder 140 and the inclined surface 153a of the fixing protrusion 153 in the heat sink 150, that is, at a constant angle inclination with respect to the light emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 mounted on the PGU housing 160. The lens 120, which is positioned in front of the light source substrate 110, is also mounted on the PGU housing 160 at a constant angle inclination with respect to the light emitting surface 130a of the display device 130, similar to the light source substrate 110.

[0079] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the image generation device 24 shown in Figure 4 along line BB, that is, a cross-sectional view of the fixed image generation unit 24B in the image generation device 24. As shown in Figure 8, the fixed image generation unit 24B includes a light source substrate 510 on which a light source 511 is mounted, a lens 520 positioned in front of the light source 511, a diffuser plate 530 positioned in front of the lens 520, and a light shielding member 540 positioned in front of the diffuser plate 530.

[0080] The light source 511 is, like the light source 111 described above, for example, a laser light source or an LED light source. The light source substrate 510 is, for example, a printed circuit board made of an insulator with electrical circuit wiring printed on the surface or inside of the board. The lens 520 is formed in a predetermined shape that can increase the utilization efficiency of the light emitted from the light source 511. The lens 520 is configured to transmit or reflect the light emitted from the light source 511 and emit it uniformly toward the diffuser plate 530. Alternatively, at least one of a prism, diffuser plate, magnifying glass, reflector, etc., may be used instead of the lens 520. The diffuser plate 530 is, for example, formed by providing fine steps for light diffusion on the front surface of a synthetic resin film. Alternatively, the diffuser plate 530 may be, for example, a film to which a light diffusing agent for diffusing light has been added. The light shielding member 540 is, for example, composed of a synthetic resin film and a light shielding film (shade) formed on at least one side of the synthetic resin film.

[0081] The diffuser plate 530 is mounted on the PGU housing 160 so as to be parallel to the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 which is mounted on the PGU housing 160. Furthermore, the diffuser plate 530 is mounted on the PGU housing 160 so as to be in parallel with the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 which is mounted on the PGU housing 160. In this embodiment, the diffuser plate 530 is mounted on the PGU housing 160 in parallel with the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 in the left-right direction.

[0082] As shown in Figure 3, the circuit board 170 of the image generation device 24 is mounted to the PGU housing 160 so as to be positioned between the heat sink 150 and the rear cover 180. The circuit board 170 has a plurality of mounting holes 171 for mounting the circuit board 170 to the PGU housing 160. In this embodiment, the mounting holes 171 are formed one at each of the opposing corners of the rectangular circuit board 170. The PGU housing 160 has bosses 161 for mounting the circuit board 170. The bosses 161 are formed to protrude toward the rear of the PGU housing 160. The circuit board 170 is screwed to the bosses 161 of the PGU housing 160 by mounting screws 172 through the mounting holes 171.

[0083] The boss 161 is formed perpendicular to the inclined surface 153a of the fixing projection 153 of the heat sink 150 attached to the PGU housing 160. Therefore, the circuit board 170 attached to the boss 161 is mounted to the PGU housing 160 so as to be parallel to the inclined surface 153a of the fixing projection 153 of the heat sink 150, that is, inclined with respect to the mounting surface 151a of the heat sink mounting portion 151 of the heat sink 150. As a result, the circuit board 170 is mounted with a certain distance from the heat dissipation fins 154 formed on the inclined back surface 153a1 of the fixing projection 153 so as not to come into contact with the fins 154. The circuit board 170 is connected to the changing image generation unit 24A and the fixed image generation unit 24B via the FPC 131. The display device 130 and the light source substrates 110, 210, etc. are controlled by the control unit 25 mounted on the circuit board 170.

[0084] As shown in Figure 3, the rear cover 180 of the image generation device 24 is attached to the PGU housing 160 so as to cover the back of the circuit board 170 when the circuit board 170 is attached to the rear side of the heat sink 150. The rear cover 180 has a rear portion 181 and a side portion 182 that rises forward from the rear portion 181.

[0085] Mounting holes 183 (an example of engagement holes) are formed in the rear portion 181 for attaching the rear cover 180 to the PGU housing 160. The area of ​​the rear portion 181 in which the mounting holes 183 are formed is formed as a recess 184 that is recessed in the direction of attachment of the rear cover 180 to the PGU housing 160 (forward direction) compared to other areas of the rear portion 181. In this embodiment, the recess 184 is formed at each of the four corners of the rectangular rear portion 181. Bosses 162 are formed in the PGU housing 160 for attaching the rear cover 180. The bosses 162 are formed to protrude from the PGU housing 160 toward the rear cover 180 (rearward). The rear cover 180 is screwed to the bosses 162 of the PGU housing 160 by mounting screws 185 via the mounting holes 183.

[0086] The boss 162 is formed to be perpendicular to the mounting surface 151a of the heat sink mounting portion 151 of the heat sink 150 attached to the PGU housing 160. The area on the back portion 181 of the back cover 180 in which the recess 184 is formed is formed to be parallel to the mounting surface 151a of the heat sink mounting portion 151 of the heat sink 150 when the back cover 180 is attached to the PGU housing 160. In contrast, the area on the back portion 181 of the back cover 180 other than the recess 184, that is, in this embodiment, the area on the back portion 181 other than the four corners is formed to be parallel to the inclined surface 153a of the fixing protrusion 153 of the heat sink 150 when the back cover 180 is attached to the PGU housing 160.

[0087] Therefore, when the rear cover 180 is attached to the PGU housing 160, the area of ​​the rear portion 181 where the recess 184 is formed is screwed in a direction perpendicular to the boss 162 of the PGU housing 160. On the other hand, the area of ​​the rear portion 181 of the rear cover 180 other than the recess 184 is attached so as to be parallel to the back of the circuit board 170 when the rear cover 180 is attached to the PGU housing 160.

[0088] As described above, the image generation apparatus 24 according to this embodiment includes a light source substrate 110 on which a light source 111 is mounted, a lens 120 that transmits light emitted from the light source 111, a display device 130 that forms light for generating a predetermined image using the light transmitted through the lens 120, a heat sink 150 that dissipates heat generated from the light source substrate 110, and a lens holder 140 that holds the lens 120. The lens holder 140 has a plurality of mounting holes 142 (first engagement parts), and the heat sink 150 has a plurality of mounting holes 152 (second engagement parts) provided at locations corresponding to the plurality of mounting holes 142. By fixing each of the plurality of mounting holes 142 and each of the plurality of mounting holes 152, the light source substrate 110 is sandwiched between the lens holder 140 and the heat sink 150 and positioned and fixed in a state where it is housed in the space 148 formed between the plurality of mounting holes 142. With this configuration, there is no need to form mounting holes on the light source substrate 110, compared to the case where mounting holes similar to those formed on the lens holder 140 and heat sink 150 (142, 152) are formed on the light source substrate 110 and these mounting holes are fixed together. Therefore, the size of the light source substrate 110 can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the light source substrate 110 in the image generation device 24 can be reduced.

[0089] In the image generation device 24, the lens holder 140 has a pair of mounting surfaces 141a parallel to the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130, and an inclined surface 143a formed between the pair of mounting surfaces 141a and inclined with respect to the pair of mounting surfaces 141a. Each of the pair of mounting surfaces 141a is provided with a mounting hole 142. The inclined surface 143a is provided with an opening 144 and a frame portion 145 surrounding the opening 144. The light source substrate 110 is then attached to the frame portion 145, so that the light source 111 is positioned inside the opening 144. With this configuration, the light-emitting surface of the light source 111 is inclined with respect to the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130. Therefore, it is possible to suppress stray light from being reflected by the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 and thus suppress adverse effects on the virtual image. In addition, it is possible to prevent reflected light from the light source 111 from directly entering the light source 111. Furthermore, by sandwiching and fixing the light source substrate 110 between the lens holder 140 and the heat sink 150 in this configuration, the light source 111 can be easily assembled with the light emitting surface of the light source 111 tilted relative to the light emitting surface 130a of the display device 130.

[0090] In the image generation device 24, the light source substrate 110 has at least one hole 112, and at least one pin 147 that can be inserted into at least one hole 112 protrudes from the frame portion 145. Therefore, the light source substrate 110 can be accurately positioned by sandwiching it between the lens holder 140 and the heat sink 150 and inserting at least one pin 147 into at least one hole 112.

[0091] In the image generation apparatus 24, the heat sink 150 has a pair of mounting surfaces 151a parallel to the pair of mounting surfaces 141a of the lens holder 140, each having a plurality of mounting holes 152, and an inclined surface 153a formed between the pair of mounting surfaces 151a and parallel to the inclined surface 143a of the lens holder 140. The light source substrate 110 is housed in the space 148 formed between the inclined surfaces 143a and 153a. In this way, by providing the heat sink 150 with mounting surfaces 151a and inclined surface 153a having different inclinations, the light source substrate 110, which needs to have a different inclination than the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130, can be stably held between the lens holder 140 and the heat sink 150 while having different inclinations.

[0092] The image generation device 24 further includes a PGU housing 160 on which a display device 130 can be mounted. The lens holder 140 and heat sink 150 are attached to the PGU housing 160 by mounting screws 155 via multiple mounting holes 142 and multiple mounting holes 152. Therefore, the miniaturized light source substrate 110 can be easily sandwiched and fixed between the lens holder 140 and the heat sink 150.

[0093] The image generation device 24 further includes at least a circuit board 170 for controlling the display device 130, and a rear cover 180 that covers the back of the PGU housing 160. The rear cover 180 is attached to the PGU housing 160 with the circuit board 170 mounted so that it is positioned between the heatsink 150 and the rear cover 180. This allows the circuit board 170, which has the circuit for controlling the display device 130, to be integrated into a single unit. Therefore, assembly workability can be improved compared to assembling the image generation device 24 and the circuit board 170 to the HUD main unit 21 separately. In addition, by pre-assembling and fixing the circuit board 170 to the PGU housing 160, the connection work of the FPC 131 that connects the circuit board 170 and the display device 130 becomes easier. Furthermore, the length of the FPC 131 can be shortened compared to assembling the image generation device 24 and the circuit board 170 to the HUD main unit 21 separately, leading to cost reduction.

[0094] In the image generation device 24, the rear cover 180 comprises a rear portion 181 and a side portion 182 rising from the rear portion 181. The rear portion 181 has at least one mounting hole 183 formed therein, which can be screwed into a boss 162 that protrudes from the PGU housing 160 toward the rear cover 180. The area in which at least one mounting hole 183 is formed is recessed in the direction of mounting the rear cover 180 to the PGU housing 160 compared to other areas of the rear portion 181. As a result, the distance from the area in which the mounting hole 183 of the rear cover 180 is formed to the boss 162 of the PGU housing 160 can be shortened, and the length of the mounting screws 185 and boss 162 for attaching the PGU housing 160 and the rear cover 180 can be shortened as much as possible.

[0095] Furthermore, in the image generation device 24, the light source substrate 110 of the changing image generation unit 24A is positioned at a certain angle inclined with respect to the light emission surface 130a (an example of the first light emission surface) of the display device 130. Also, the diffuser plate 230 (an example of the second light emission surface) of the fixed image generation unit 24B is a surface parallel to the light emission surface 130a. With this configuration, the fixed image generated by the fixed image generation unit 24B can be properly generated in addition to the changing image generated by the changing image generation unit 24A. Therefore, the image display range can be expanded by adding the image from the fixed image generation unit 24B without increasing the size of the costly changing image generation unit 24A. Furthermore, since the light source substrate 110 is positioned such that the light emission surface of the light source 111 is inclined with respect to the light emission surface 130a of the display device 130, ambient light and light emitted from the light source 111 are reflected by the display device 130, respectively, and the adverse effects of this reflected light on image generation can be suppressed.

[0096] Incidentally, if the light-emitting surfaces of the changing image generation unit 24A and the fixed image generation unit 24B are not parallel, it becomes necessary to adjust the reflective surface by providing a step in the concave mirror, which can complicate the deposition process for forming a reflective film by depositing aluminum or the like onto the concave mirror. In contrast, with the image generation apparatus 24 of this embodiment, since the light-emitting surface 130a of the changing image generation unit 24A and the diffuser plate 230, which is the light-emitting surface of the fixed image generation unit 24B, are parallel, the concave mirror 26 can be configured as a single continuous surface without requiring a complex configuration. This simplifies the deposition process.

[0097] In the image generation device 24, the diffuser plate 230 of the fixed image generation unit 24B is mounted on the PGU housing 160 so as to be in parallel with the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 of the variable image generation unit 24A, which is attached to the PGU housing 160. Therefore, the light-emitting surface 130a of the display device 130 of the variable image generation unit 24A and the diffuser plate 230 of the fixed image generation unit 24B can be kept parallel with a simple configuration.

[0098] The HUD 20 of this embodiment includes an image generation device 24 with the above configuration, and at least one concave mirror 26 (an example of a reflecting part) that reflects light so that the light emitted by the image generation device 24 is irradiated onto the windshield 18. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the image generation device 24 in the HUD 20 can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a HUD 20 that can expand the display range of the image at a low cost and suppress the adverse effect of ambient light or reflected light on the generation of virtual images.

[0099] (Second embodiment) The HUD according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 9 to 19. Figure 9 is a block diagram of a vehicle system equipped with a HUD according to the second embodiment. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the HUD according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, components similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0100] As shown in Figure 9, the HUD 1020 comprises an image generation device 1024 and a control unit 25. The image generation device 1024 has a changing image generation unit 24A and a fixed image generation unit 24B. In the second embodiment of the HUD 1020, the image generation device 1024 and the control unit 25 are provided separately, but similar to the HUD 20 of the first embodiment (Figure 1), the control unit 25 may be provided within the image generation device 1024.

[0101] As shown in Figure 10, the HUD 1020 includes a HUD main unit 21. The HUD main unit 21 has a main housing 22 and an output window 23. The output window 23 is made of a transparent plate that transmits visible light. Inside the main housing 22, the HUD main unit 21 has an image generation device 1024 (an example of an image generation unit), a concave mirror 26 (an example of a reflector), a rotation mechanism 27 for rotating the concave mirror 26, and a flat mirror 28.

[0102] The image generating device 1024 is installed inside the main housing 22 so as to emit light upwards. The plane mirror 28 is positioned in the optical path of the light emitted from the image generating device 1024. Specifically, the plane mirror 28 is positioned above the image generating device 1024 and is configured to reflect the light emitted from the image generating device 1024 toward the concave mirror 26.

[0103] The concave mirror 26 is positioned in the optical path of light emitted from the image generating device 1024 and reflected by the plane mirror 28. Specifically, the concave mirror 26 is positioned in front of the image generating device 1024 and the plane mirror 28 within the main housing 22. The concave mirror 26 is configured to reflect light emitted from the image generating device 1024 toward the windshield 18 (for example, the front windshield of the vehicle 1). The concave mirror 26 has a concavely curved reflective surface to form a predetermined image, and reflects the image of the light emitted from the image generating device 1024 and formed at a predetermined magnification.

[0104] The rotation mechanism 27 is configured to change the orientation of the concave mirror 26 by rotating the concave mirror 26. The rotation mechanism 27 is housed in the main body housing 22 so as to be parallel to the image generation device 1024 in the left-right direction. The detailed configuration of the main body housing 22 will be described later in Figures 17 to 19. The rotation mechanism 27 is connected to the control unit 25 (see Figure 9) and rotates the concave mirror 26 based on control signals transmitted from the control unit 25. The rotation mechanism 27 may also be connected to an external control unit of the HUD main body 21. The position of the concave mirror 26 may be changed by the rotation mechanism 27 or another component.

[0105] Light emitted from the image generation device 1024 is reflected by the plane mirror 28 and the concave mirror 26 and emitted from the emission window 23 of the HUD main unit 21. The light emitted from the emission window 23 of the HUD main unit 21 is shone onto the windshield 18. A portion of the light shone onto the windshield 18 from the emission window 23 is reflected towards the occupant's viewpoint E. As a result, the occupant perceives the light emitted from the HUD main unit 21 as a virtual image (a predetermined image) formed at a predetermined distance in front of the windshield 18. In this way, the image displayed by the HUD 1020 is superimposed onto the real space in front of the vehicle 1 through the windshield 18, allowing the occupant to perceive the virtual image object I formed by the predetermined image as floating on the road located outside the vehicle 1.

[0106] Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the image generation device 1024, concave mirror 26, and rotation mechanism 27 with the main housing 22 of the HUD 1020 removed. The planar mirror 28 is not shown in Figure 11. Figure 12 is a perspective view of the concave mirror 26 from the surface (reflective surface) side. Figure 13 is a view of the concave mirror 26 from above. Figure 14 is a view of the concave mirror 26 from the left side.

[0107] As shown in Figure 11, the image generation device 1024 in this example has a changing image generation unit 24A and a pair of fixed image generation units 24B, 24B arranged in parallel so as to sandwich the changing image generation unit 24A in the left-right direction. The light-emitting surface of the changing image generation unit 24A and the light-emitting surfaces of the pair of fixed image generation units 24B, 24B are positioned upward so as to emit light to a plane mirror 28 (see Figure 10) located above the image generation device 1024.

[0108] As shown in Figures 11 to 14, the concave mirror 26 is rotatable around a rotation axis D extending in the left-right direction. The concave mirror 26 has a main body 31, a first projection 33, a second projection 34, a first shaft portion 35, and a second shaft portion 36. The main body 31 is formed in the shape of a plate. In this embodiment, the main body 31 is formed in the shape of a horizontally elongated rectangular plate, for example. The main body 31 is made of a resin such as polycarbonate. The main body 31 has a first surface 261 (an example of a reflective surface) on which a reflective film 32 is formed, and a second surface 262 on the opposite side of the first surface 261 (the back side of the main body 31). The first surface 261 is formed in a concave shape, and the second surface 262 is formed in a convex shape. The concave mirror 26 is positioned so that the concave first surface 261 faces the image generation device 1024 and the plane mirror 28.

[0109] The main body portion 31 has four faces between the first face 261 and the second face 262: a first end face 263, a second end face 264, a third end face 265, and a fourth end face 266. The second end face 264 is located on the opposite side of the first end face 263 to the first face 261. The fourth end face 266 is located on the opposite side of the third end face 265 to the first face 261. The first to fourth end faces 263 to 266 are formed so that their area is smaller than the area of ​​the first face 261. The first end face 263 and the second end face 264 are formed so that their area is smaller than the area of ​​the third end face 265 and the fourth end face 266. That is, the third end face 265 and the fourth end face 266 constitute the end faces in the longitudinal direction A (direction of arrow A in Figures 12 and 13) of the horizontally elongated rectangular main body portion 31. The first end face 263 and the second end face 264 constitute the end faces in the shorter direction B (direction of arrow B in Figures 12 and 14) of the horizontally elongated rectangular main body portion 31.

[0110] The reflective film 32 is formed on the surface of the first surface 261 of the main body 31. The reflective film 32 is made of a material that reflects light. The reflective film 32 is formed, for example, by depositing a metal such as aluminum onto the surface of the first surface 261 of the main body 31. Alternatively, instead of forming the reflective film 32 on the first surface 261 by aluminum deposition or the like, the main body 31 itself may be made of a light-reflecting white resin material.

[0111] The first projection 33 is a plate-shaped member formed at the end of the main body 31 on the side of the first end face 263. The first projection 33 is provided to project from the first surface 261 toward the second surface 262, continuous with the first end face 263 of the main body 31. The tip of the first projection 33 is located in a position different from the first end face 263 in the direction along the axis of rotation D, and on the opposite side from the first surface 261, which is a reflective surface, i.e., it is located outside the first end face 263. Specifically, the first projection 33 is provided to extend in a direction inclined by an angle θ1 outward from a direction C (direction of arrow C in Figures 13 and 14) that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction A and the short direction B of the main body 31. The angle θ1 is, for example, 15 degrees.

[0112] As shown in Figure 14, the first projection 33 has a first continuous surface 231 that is continuous with the first end face 263. The first continuous surface 231 is formed in a so-called flared shape, where the width in the short-side direction B of the main body 31 widens as it approaches the first end face 263. The inclinations on both sides of the flared first continuous surface 231 are formed such that the inclination angle θ2 is, for example, 15 degrees or more with respect to direction C, which is the direction in which the first projection 33 protrudes approximately perpendicularly from the first end face 263. The rising portions 232 that rise from the first end face 263 on both sides of the first continuous surface 231 are formed in an arc shape.

[0113] The second projection 34 is a plate-shaped member formed at the end of the main body 31 on the side of the second end face 264. The second projection 34 is provided to project from the first surface 261 toward the second surface 262, continuous with the second end face 264 of the main body 31. The tip of the second projection 34 is located in a position different from the second end face 264 in the direction along the rotation axis D, and on the opposite side from the first surface 261, which is the reflective surface, i.e., it is located outside the second end face 264. The second projection 34 is provided to extend in a direction inclined by an angle θ1 outward from direction C, similar to the first projection 33.

[0114] The second projection 34 has a second continuous surface 241 that is continuous with the second end surface 264. Similar to the first continuous surface 231, the second continuous surface 241 is formed in a flared shape, with its width in the short-side direction B of the main body 31 increasing as it approaches the second end surface 264. The shape of the second continuous surface 241 is the same as that of the first projection 33, so it is not shown in the illustration.

[0115] The first shaft portion 35 is provided on the first continuous surface 231 of the first projection portion 33, that is, on the surface opposite to the side facing the second projection portion 34. The first shaft portion 35 is formed to extend along the rotation axis D from the first continuous surface 231 toward the opposite side of the main body portion 31, that is, toward the left outward. The first shaft portion 35 has a fitting shaft portion 35a and a fitting target shaft portion 35b which is the object into which the fitting shaft portion 35a fits. The fitting shaft portion 35a is formed integrally with the first projection portion 33 and is formed continuously from the first continuous surface 231. On the other hand, the fitting target shaft portion 35b is a separate part from the main body portion 31 and is attached to the main body portion 31 by fitting with the fitting shaft portion 35a.

[0116] The fitting shaft portion 35a is formed in a D-shape with a portion of its outer surface cut out. The shaft portion to be fitted 35b has a circular outer surface. The diameter of the fitting shaft portion 35a is smaller than the diameter of the shaft portion to be fitted 35b. The shaft portion to be fitted 35b has a fitting hole into which the fitting shaft portion 35a fits. Although not shown in the illustration, the fitting hole of the shaft portion to be fitted 35b is D-shaped, similar to the shape of the fitting shaft portion 35a, and is formed to have approximately the same diameter as the fitting shaft portion 35a. The shaft portion to be fitted 35b is attached to the main body portion 31 by fitting with the fitting shaft portion 35a, and together with the fitting shaft portion 35a, constitutes the first shaft portion 35. The first shaft portion 35 functions as a shaft for rotating the main body portion 31 around the rotation axis D.

[0117] The second shaft portion 36 is provided on the second continuous surface 241 of the second projection portion 34, that is, on the surface opposite to the side facing the first projection portion 33. The second shaft portion 36 is formed to extend along the rotation axis D from the second continuous surface 241 toward the opposite side of the main body portion 31, that is, toward the right outward. The second shaft portion 36 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The diameter of the second shaft portion 36 is formed to be approximately the same as the diameter of the shaft portion 35b that the first shaft portion 35 is fitted to. Together with the first shaft portion 35, the second shaft portion 36 functions as a shaft for rotating the main body portion 31 around the rotation axis D.

[0118] As shown in Figure 13, the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 are positioned such that their rotation axes D pass on the side of the first surface 261 rather than the apex P of the convex second surface 262, which is the back side of the main body portion 31. Alternatively, the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 may be positioned so as to be in contact with the apex P.

[0119] Figure 15 is a perspective view of the concave mirror 26 and the rotating mechanism 27 attached to the concave mirror 26, as seen from the surface side of the concave mirror 26. Figure 16 is a side view of the state shown in Figure 15. As shown in Figures 15 and 16, the rotating mechanism 27 has a fitting target shaft portion 35b, an arm portion 251, and a drive portion 252.

[0120] The fitted shaft portion 35b is a part of the first shaft portion 35 that constitutes the concave mirror 26 described above. When fitted with the fitted shaft portion 35a of the concave mirror 26, the fitted shaft portion 35b extends along the rotation axis D. The fitted shaft portion 35b has a flange 271 at the end of the main body portion 31 on the side of the first projection portion 33. The flange 271 is provided so as to project radially on the outer circumference of the fitted shaft portion 35b. In this embodiment, a disc-shaped flange 271 is provided around the entire circumference of the fitted shaft portion 35b.

[0121] The arm portion 251 is a plate-shaped member that extends from the fitted shaft portion 35b toward the drive portion 252. One end of the arm portion 251 is integrally formed with the fitted shaft portion 35b. The drive portion 252 is attached to the other end of the arm portion 251. The drive portion 252 is composed of, for example, a worm gear and a DC motor. The drive portion 252 has an extendable shaft portion 253, and the extension and retraction of the shaft portion 253 operates the arm portion 251. The rotation mechanism 27 rotates the concave mirror 26 around the rotation axis D by moving the arm portion 251 in a direction along the radial direction of the fitted shaft portion 35b (first shaft portion 35) by the drive portion 252. This changes the orientation of the first surface 261, which is the reflective surface of the concave mirror 26.

[0122] Figure 17 is a perspective view showing the concave mirror 26 and the rotating mechanism 27 housed in the main housing 22. Figure 18 is a perspective view of the main housing 22 with the concave mirror 26 and the rotating mechanism 27 removed. Figure 19 is a side view of the main housing 22 in the state shown in Figure 18. As shown in Figures 17 to 19, the main housing 22 has a first housing portion 310 capable of accommodating the first shaft portion 35 of the concave mirror 26, a second housing portion 320 capable of accommodating the second shaft portion 36 of the concave mirror 26, and a restricting portion 360 for restricting the movement of the concave mirror 26.

[0123] The first housing section 310 is located at the left end of the main housing 22, and the second housing section 320 is located at the right end of the main housing 22. The restricting section 360 is provided between the first housing section 310 and the second housing section 320. That is, the first housing section 310, the second housing section 320, and the restricting section 360 are arranged in a straight line in the left-right direction of the main housing 22.

[0124] In this example, the first housing section 310 is provided on the left side wall 340 of the main housing 22. The first housing section 310 has a circular hole 311 in which the first shaft section 35 is housed, and a deformed section 312 provided diagonally above and in front of the hole 311 so as to form a part of the shape of the hole 311. The shaft section 35b to be fitted with the first shaft section 35 is housed in the hole 311. The shaft section 35b to be fitted with has its tip portion housed in the hole 311, while its tip surface 272 is exposed to the outside of the first housing section 310 from the hole 311.

[0125] The deformable portion 312 is defined in a substantially rectangular shape by a pair of slits 313a and 313b provided in the left side wall 340 of the main housing 22. The pair of slits 313a and 313b are provided so as to be continuous with the hole 311. That is, one end of the deformable portion 312 is continuous with the left side wall 340 of the main housing 22, and the other end forms a part of the shape of the hole 311. The deformable portion 312 is elastically deformable and is configured to easily deform along the left-right direction of the main housing 22.

[0126] The second housing section 320 has a recess 321 into which the second shaft section 36 is housed. The recess 321 is formed to have the same diameter as the second shaft section 36 or a diameter slightly larger than the second shaft section 36 so that the housed second shaft section 36 can rotate within the recess 321. The recess 321 of the second housing section 320 is formed in a substantially U-shape, for example, having an opening into which the second shaft section 36 can be inserted and removed.

[0127] The restricting portion 360 is formed in a plate shape and is provided to extend in substantially the same direction as the extending direction of the pair of slits 313a and 313b. The restricting portion 360 is provided between the first housing portion 310 and the second housing portion 320, at a position close to the first housing portion 310. The restricting portion 360 has a recess 361 capable of accommodating the first shaft portion 35. The recess 361 accommodates the shaft portion 35b to be fitted with the first shaft portion 35, similar to the first housing portion 310. The recess 361 is formed to have the same diameter as the shaft portion 35b to be fitted with, or slightly larger in diameter than, the shaft portion 35b to be fitted with, so that the accommodated shaft portion 35b can rotate within the recess 361. The recess 361 of the restricting portion 360 is formed in a substantially U-shape, for example, having an opening from which the shaft portion 35b to be fitted with can be inserted and removed. The shaft portion 35b to be fitted is housed in the recess 361 such that the flange 271 provided on the first protruding portion 33 side is positioned on the inside of the restricting portion 360 (closer to the second housing portion 320). When the concave mirror 26 is housed in the main body housing 22, that is, when the shaft portion 35b to be fitted is housed in the recess 361 of the restricting portion 360, the flange 271 of the shaft portion 35b comes into contact with the restricting portion 360, thereby restricting the movement of the concave mirror 26 toward the first housing portion 310 (leftward).

[0128] The concave mirror 26 is attached to the main housing 22 as follows. First, the worker inserts the second shaft portion 36 of the concave mirror 26 into the recess 321 of the second housing portion 320 of the main housing 22, thereby housing the second shaft portion 36 into the recess 321. Next, the worker houses the shaft portion 35b to be fitted into the recess 361 of the restricting portion 360, such that the flange 271 of the shaft portion 35b is positioned inside the restricting portion 360. Furthermore, the worker uses the tip of the shaft portion 35b to push the deformable portion 312 of the first housing portion 310 of the main housing 22 outwards (to the left), causing elastic deformation, and moves the end of the shaft portion 35b to the hole 311 of the first housing portion 310. By moving the end of the shaft portion 35b to be fitted into the hole 311, the deformed portion 312, which had been pushed outwards from the main housing 22, returns to its original position and is positioned on the front side of the hole 311, forming a part of the shape of the hole 311. The shaft portion 35b to be fitted into the hole 311 is housed in the hole 311 with its tip surface 272 exposed to the outside of the first housing portion 310. As a result, the concave mirror 26 is housed inside the main housing 22 in a position relative to the main housing 22, and is also rotatable around the rotation axis D.

[0129] The rotating mechanism 27 is housed behind the first shaft portion 35 of the concave mirror 26, that is, at the left rear end of the main housing 22. The arm portion 251 of the rotating mechanism 27 is positioned between the first housing portion 310 (left side wall 340) and the regulating portion 360. The drive unit 252 of the rotating mechanism 27 is positioned on the side of the PGU housing portion 350 in which the image generation device 1024 (PGU) is housed, specifically on the left side of the PGU housing portion 350.

[0130] As described above, the concave mirror 26 according to the second embodiment is rotatable about a rotation axis D and comprises a plate-shaped main body 31 having a first surface 261, a first end surface 263, and a second end surface 264 on which a reflective film 32 that reflects light is formed; a plate-shaped first projection 33 that is continuous with the first end surface 263 and projects toward the second surface 262, which is the back surface of the first surface 261; and a plate-shaped second projection 34 that is continuous with the second end surface 264 and projects toward the second surface 262. The concave mirror 26 further comprises a first shaft portion 35 provided on the first projection 33 and a second shaft portion 36 provided on the second projection 34 for rotating the main body 31 about the rotation axis D. The tip of the first projection 33 is located at a different position from the first end surface 263 and on the opposite side from the first surface 261 in the direction along the rotation axis D. Similarly, the tip of the second projection 34 is located at a different position from the second end face 264 in the direction along the rotation axis D and on the opposite side from the first face 261. With this configuration, the first projection 33 and the second projection 34, which project from both ends of the main body 31 toward the second face 262, extend outward from the main body 31, making it easy to manufacture the concave mirror 26 by mold molding. As a result, a large concave mirror 26 can be molded as a single part using a mold. Thus, the moldability of the concave mirror 26 can be improved. Furthermore, with this configuration, when the concave mirror 26 is attached to the main body housing 22, sufficient space is ensured between the main body 31 and the main body housing 22 by the outwardly inclined first projection 33 and second projection 34. As a result, even when the concave mirror 26 is rotated, the main body 31 does not directly touch the main body housing 22, thus preventing the reflective film 32 formed on the first face 261 of the main body 31 from being damaged by contact with the main body housing 22.

[0131] Furthermore, in the concave mirror 26 of the second embodiment, the first surface 261 is formed in a concave shape, and the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 are arranged such that their rotation axes D either contact the top P on the back side of the concave first surface 261 or pass through the front side of the top P. In this way, by increasing the curvature of the main body portion 31, the surface area of ​​the curved first surface 261 becomes larger than the surface area of ​​the first surface when the distance between the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 is the same as in this example and the main body portion is made flat. This makes it possible to increase the effective area of ​​light reflected by the concave mirror 26.

[0132] Furthermore, in the concave mirror 26 of the second embodiment, the fitting shaft portion 35a of the first shaft portion 35 is formed in a D-shape with a part of its outer surface cut out. Therefore, when the fitting shaft portion 35a is fitted to the fitting target shaft portion 35b, which is the fitting target of the rotation mechanism 27, the rotation direction of the fitting shaft portion 35a and the fitting target shaft portion 35b can be easily restricted. As a result, the fitting shaft portion 35a of the concave mirror 26 can be smoothly rotated by the rotation mechanism 27, and the position and angle of the concave mirror 26 can be accurately adjusted.

[0133] Furthermore, in the concave mirror 26 of the second embodiment, the first continuous surface 231 that is continuous with the first end face 263 of the first projection 33, and the second continuous surface 241 that is continuous with the second end face 264 of the second projection 34, are formed in a flared shape that widens as they approach the first end face 263 and the second end face 264, respectively. Specifically, it is preferable that the inclination on both sides of the first continuous surface 231 and the second continuous surface 241 has an inclination of 15 degrees or more with respect to direction C. With this configuration, it is possible to ensure the mold release angle when forming the concave mirror 26. In addition, by widening the base portions of the first projection 33 and the second projection 34 that are continuous with the first end face 263 and the second end face 264, the strength of the first projection 33 and the second projection 34 can be increased.

[0134] Furthermore, in the concave mirror 26 of the second embodiment, the portion rising from the first end face 263 of the first projection 33 and the portion rising from the second end face 264 of the second projection 34 are formed in an arc shape. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of burrs on the rising portions of the first projection 33 and the second projection 34 during the molding of the concave mirror 26.

[0135] Furthermore, the HUD 1020 according to the second embodiment includes an image generation device 1024 (an example of an image generation unit) that emits light for generating a predetermined image, a concave mirror 26 (an example of a reflecting unit) that reflects the light emitted by the image generation device 1024 so that it irradiates the windshield, and a main body housing 22 that houses the image generation device 1024 and the concave mirror 26. The concave mirror 26 has a main body 31, a first shaft portion 35 that protrudes outward from one end of the main body 31, and a second shaft portion 36 that protrudes outward from the other end of the main body 31. Both the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 are attached to the main body housing 22. Furthermore, the main body housing 22 has at least a first housing portion 310 capable of accommodating the end of the first shaft portion 35, and the tip surface 372 of the end of the first shaft portion 35 is exposed to the outside from the first housing portion 310. This configuration allows for a reduction in the number of parts because the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 of the concave mirror 26 are directly attached to the main body housing 22. As a result, the concave mirror 26 can be mounted on the HUD 1020 in a low-cost and simple configuration.

[0136] Furthermore, according to the HUD1020, the first housing portion 310 has a hole portion 311 and a deformable portion 312 defined by a pair of slits 313a and 313b provided continuously with the hole portion 311, which are capable of elastic deformation. The concave mirror 26 is attached to the main housing 22 when the second shaft portion 36 is housed in the second housing portion 320, and the shaft portion 35b to be fitted moves to the hole portion 311 while elastically deforming the deformable portion 312 and is housed in the hole portion 311. As a result, the shaft portion 35b to be fitted can be housed in the hole portion 311 with a simple operation of pressing the end of the shaft portion 35b to elastically deform the deformable portion 312, and a portion of the outer circumference of the shaft portion 35b housed in the hole portion 311 can be surrounded by the deformable portion 312 which has returned to its original state. This ensures that the concave mirror 26 housed in the main housing 22 is securely positioned and fixed.

[0137] Furthermore, according to the HUD1020, the main housing 22 has a restricting portion 360 for restricting the movement of the concave mirror 26 along a predetermined one direction, and the fitting target shaft portion 35b has a flange 271 protruding from its outer circumference. When the concave mirror 26 is housed in the main housing 22, the flange 271 comes into contact with the restricting portion 360, thereby restricting the movement of the concave mirror 26 in one direction. As a result, rattling of the concave mirror 26 when it is attached to the main housing 22 can be suppressed with a simple configuration.

[0138] Furthermore, according to the HUD1020, the rotation mechanism 27 for rotating the concave mirror 26 consists of a fitting target shaft portion 35b, an arm portion 251 extending from the fitting target shaft portion 35b along the radial direction of the fitting target shaft portion 35b, and a drive unit 252 connected to the end of the arm portion 251 opposite to the fitting target shaft portion 35b. This allows the drive unit 252 for rotating the concave mirror 26 to be positioned, for example, on the side of the PGU housing portion 350 in which the image generation device 1024 is housed. As a result, the rotation mechanism 27 does not interfere with the installation work when attaching the concave mirror 26 to the main body housing 22, improving the ease of installation of the concave mirror 26.

[0139] Furthermore, according to HUD1020, the fitting target shaft portion 35b of the first shaft portion 35 is provided as a separate part from the main body portion 31 and can be attached to the fitting shaft portion 35a of the first shaft portion 35 that protrudes from the end of the main body portion 31. Therefore, the reflective film 32 can be vapor-deposited onto the first surface 261 of the main body portion 31 with the fitting target shaft portion 35b removed from the main body portion 31, improving the workability during aluminum vapor deposition.

[0140] (Third embodiment) The concave mirror according to the third embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 20 to 25. Figure 20 is a perspective view of a concave mirror 326 according to the third embodiment. As shown in Figure 20, the concave mirror 326 comprises a substrate 330 having a first surface 331 and a second surface 332 located on the opposite side of the first surface 331. In addition to the substrate 330, the concave mirror 326 comprises a reflective film 333 formed on the first surface 331 that reflects light emitted from the image generation device 24. In this embodiment, the first surface 331 and the reflective film 333 are located on the rear side of the substrate 330, and the second surface 332 is located on the front side of the substrate 330.

[0141] The substrate 330 is a base component for defining the shape of the concave mirror 326. The substrate 330 is injection molded using a mold, for example, from a polycarbonate resin. A metal such as aluminum is deposited onto the first surface 331 of the molded substrate 330 to form a reflective film 333. The reflective film 333 is configured to reflect light emitted from the image generation device 24 and direct that light toward the windshield 18. In this embodiment, the material of the substrate 330 is resin, but glass may also be used.

[0142] The shape of the substrate 330 is rectangular when viewed from the direction in which light emitted from the image generation device 24 is incident on the substrate 330. In this embodiment, one long side (upper) of the substrate 330 is defined as the upper end 334, the other long side (lower) as the lower end 335, one short side (right) as the right end 336, and the other short side (left) as the left end 337. The entire outer circumference of the substrate 330 includes all of these upper end 334, lower end 335, right end 336, and left end 337. The reflective film 333 may also be deposited on each end of the substrate 330.

[0143] Figure 21 is a bottom view of the concave mirror 326. As shown in Figure 21, the concave mirror 326 includes a pair of ribs 338 configured to hold the substrate 330. One rib 338 is located on the second surface 332 at the right end 336, and the other rib 338 is located on the second surface 332 at the left end 337. The pair of ribs 338 reinforce the strength of the substrate 330. Although not shown, the concave mirror 326 may also be supported by the main body housing 22 via the pair of ribs 338.

[0144] A gate portion 339, which is the resin pouring spout during injection molding of the substrate 330, is provided at the lower end 335 of the substrate 330. In this embodiment, the gate portion 339 is located in the center of the substrate 330 in the left-right direction. In this embodiment, one gate portion 339 is provided at the lower end 335, but it may also be provided at the upper end 334. Alternatively, gate portions 339 may be provided at both the upper end 334 and the lower end 335.

[0145] In the thickness direction of the substrate 330, the shape of the gate portion 339 is, for example, a hexagonal shape extended in the left-right direction. As shown in Figure 21, the hexagonal shape of the gate portion 339 is composed of a first gate surface 91, a second gate surface 92, a third gate surface 93, a fourth gate surface 94, a fifth gate surface 95, and a sixth gate surface 96. The first gate surface 91 is a surface that extends downward from the first surface 331. The second gate surface 92 is a surface that extends downward from the second surface 332. The third gate surface 93 is a surface that extends from the first gate surface 91 and defines the upper left of the hexagonal shape. The fourth gate surface 94 is a surface that extends from the second gate surface 92 and defines the lower left of the hexagonal shape. The fifth gate surface 95 is a surface that extends from the first gate surface 91 and defines the upper right of the hexagonal shape. The sixth gate surface 96 is a surface that extends from the second gate surface 92 and defines the lower right corner of the hexagonal shape.

[0146] All angles defining the hexagonal shape of the gate portion 339 are obtuse angles. In other words, the angle between the first gate face 91 and the third gate face 93 is obtuse. The angle between the second gate face 92 and the fourth gate face 94 is obtuse. The angle between the first gate face 91 and the fifth gate face 95 is obtuse. The angle between the second gate face 92 and the sixth gate face 96 is obtuse. The angle between the third gate face 93 and the fourth gate face 94 is obtuse. The angle between the fifth gate face 95 and the sixth gate face 96 is obtuse. In this disclosure, an obtuse angle is an angle greater than 90 degrees. The angles defining the hexagonal shape of the gate portion 339 are, for example, 120 degrees.

[0147] Because the gate portion 339 has a hexagonal shape, the resin injection pressure at the corners of the spout is distributed more evenly compared to when the gate portion has a square shape. Therefore, the resin is injected more uniformly. Furthermore, because the angle defining the hexagonal shape of the gate portion 339 is obtuse, the area around these obtuse angles is less likely to cool and solidify during molding compared to when the angle is acute or 90 degrees, and is more prone to molding shrinkage. Therefore, the difference in molding shrinkage is less pronounced in the area around these obtuse angles compared to areas other than the obtuse angles, and distortion of the gate portion 339 during molding is suppressed.

[0148] Figure 22 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the lower end portion 335 of the concave mirror 326 shown in Figure 21, in the thickness direction of the substrate 330. The substrate 330 shrinks slightly when molded. In Figure 22, the hypothetical position of the substrate 330 if it does not shrink during molding, i.e., if it is the size of the mold, is shown by a dashed line. The first surface 331 and the second surface 332 are the rear and front surfaces of the substrate 330 after molding shrinkage.

[0149] As shown in Figure 22, at least a portion of the lower end portion 335 is provided with a third surface 343 and a fourth surface 344 between the first surface 331 and the second surface 332. The third surface 343 is a surface that extends from the outermost tip 341 of the lower end portion 335 to the first surface 331. The fourth surface 344 is a surface that extends from the outermost tip 341 of the lower end portion 335 to the second surface 332. The outermost tip 341 is located on the center C1 in the thickness direction of the substrate 330. The third surface 343 and the fourth surface 344 are formed symmetrically with respect to the center C1 in the thickness direction of the substrate 330.

[0150] The third surface 343 and the fourth surface 344 are provided on the lower end 335, which is one of the long sides of the substrate 330. In addition to the lower end 335, the upper end 334, which is the other long side, is also formed. The shape of the upper end 334 is the same as that of the lower end 335, so no explanation is given. Furthermore, the third surface 343 and the fourth surface 344 are formed on the lower end 335 in at least the portion other than the gate portion 339, but they may also be formed on the gate portion 339.

[0151] The angle θ1 between the first surface 331 and the third surface 343 is obtuse. The angle θ2 between the second surface 332 and the fourth surface 344 is obtuse. The angle θ3 between the third surface 343 and the fourth surface 344 is obtuse. In other words, at least three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 are formed in the cross-section of the substrate in the thickness direction at the upper end 334 and the lower end 335, respectively.

[0152] Next, the injection molding of the substrate 330 will be described. Figure 23 shows a cross-sectional view of the substrate 330 during molding. As shown in Figure 23, the resin 50 of the substrate 330 is injected into the cavities of a pair of molds 61 and 62. The parting lines P of the pair of molds 61 and 62 coincide with the center C1 of the substrate 330 in the thickness direction.

[0153] In Figure 23, of the resin 50 injected into the cavities of a pair of molds 61 and 62, the surface corresponding to the first surface 331 of the substrate 330 is surface 51, the surface corresponding to the second surface 332 is surface 52, the surface corresponding to the third surface 343 is surface 53, and the surface corresponding to the fourth surface 344 is surface 54. The pair of molds 61 and 62 are formed such that the angles θ1' between surface 51 and surface 53, θ2' between surface 52 and surface 54, and θ3' between surface 53 and surface 54 are obtuse angles. Angles θ1', θ2', and θ3' correspond to obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3, respectively. The angles θ1', θ2', and θ3' are, for example, approximately 120 degrees each.

[0154] The resin 50 passes through the gate portion 339 and is injected into the cavities of the pair of molds 61 and 62, after which it is cooled through the pair of molds 61 and 62. The resin 50 is gradually cooled from the surface in contact with the pair of molds 61 and 62 toward the center. The cooling and solidification process at this time will be explained with reference to a comparative example shown in Figure 24.

[0155] Figure 24 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate in which the corners of the substrate edges are formed at a 90-degree angle instead of an obtuse angle, as a comparative example. As shown in Figure 24, the resin 50 is injected into the cavities of a pair of molds 61' and 62'. In the cross-sectional view, the angle between adjacent surfaces of the injected resin 50 is 90 degrees. When the angle is 90 degrees, the resin 50 is cooled from both surfaces because the two surfaces constituting the angle are in contact with the mold. As a result, the corners cool and solidify faster than other parts and are less prone to molding shrinkage. On the other hand, other parts are not cooled from two directions, so they cool more slowly than the corners and are less prone to solidification and are more prone to molding shrinkage. Therefore, a difference in molding shrinkage occurs between the corners and other parts, which can cause the substrate to warp. When the angle of the corners is acute, the cooling is more rapid compared to the case where the angle is 90 degrees, and therefore a greater difference in molding shrinkage is likely to occur.

[0156] In contrast, in this embodiment, the substrate 330 is molded such that at least three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 are formed in the thickness-direction cross-section of the substrate 330 at least a portion of the edges of the substrate 330. For example, near angle θ3', it is cooled from both sides of surfaces 53 and 54, but because angle θ3' is obtuse, it cools more slowly and solidifies less easily compared to the case where the angle is 90 degrees. Similarly, near angle θ1', it is cooled from both sides of surfaces 51 and 53, and near angle θ2', it is cooled from both sides of surfaces 52 and 54, but it cools more slowly and solidifies less easily compared to the case where the angle is 90 degrees. As a result, molding shrinkage is more likely near angles θ1', θ2', and θ3'. Even when comparing the areas near angles θ1', θ2', and θ3' with areas other than angles θ1', θ2', and θ3', there is little difference in molding shrinkage.

[0157] Thus, according to the third embodiment, since surfaces forming at least three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 are generated at the lower end 335 of the substrate 330, the area near these obtuse angles is less likely to cool and solidify compared to the case where the angle of the corner portion is acute or 90 degrees. Therefore, distortion of the substrate 330 during molding is suppressed. The concave mirror 26, which is equipped with the substrate 330 and has a concave curved surface, can reflect light emitted from the image generation device 24 while suppressing the effect of distortion of the substrate 330. In the head-up display 20 equipped with the concave mirror 26, distortion of the displayed image is suppressed. Furthermore, since third surfaces 343 and fourth surfaces 344, which constitute the obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3, are generated at the lower end 335, some of the light emitted from the image generation device 24 is reflected by these third surfaces 343 and fourth surfaces 344 in a different direction from the emission window 23. Since the light from areas where distortion during molding is likely to occur is reflected in a different direction, distortion of the displayed image is further suppressed.

[0158] In the third embodiment, the three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 are generated at the upper end 334 and lower end 335, respectively, corresponding to the long sides of the rectangular substrate 330. Therefore, a substrate 330 can be formed in which the distortion of the upper end 334 and lower end 335 is suppressed.

[0159] Furthermore, if the third surface 343 and the fourth surface 344 (three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3) are not formed symmetrically, a cross-sectional view of one end face may show areas that cool rapidly and areas that cool more slowly, potentially causing distortion during molding. However, in this embodiment, the third surface 343 and the fourth surface 344 (three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3) are formed symmetrically with respect to the center of the substrate 330 in the thickness direction. Therefore, the resin 50 of the substrate 330 is cooled evenly from the third surface 343 and the fourth surface 344, further suppressing distortion of the substrate 330 during molding.

[0160] In the third embodiment, the three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 are formed on each long side of the rectangular substrate 330, but the three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 may be formed around the entire circumference of the substrate 330. That is, they may also be formed at the right end 336 and left end 337 where the pair of ribs 338 are formed. By forming the three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 around the entire circumference, distortion of the substrate 330 during molding is further suppressed.

[0161] Furthermore, in the third embodiment, three obtuse angles θ1, θ2, and θ3 are formed, but the number of obtuse angles is not limited to three. Figure 25 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of a modified example of the lower end portion 335. As shown in Figure 25, in this modified example, four obtuse angles θ4, θ5, θ6, and θ7 are formed in the lower end portion 335'. ​​Specifically, a fifth surface 345, a sixth surface 346, and a seventh surface 347 are provided between the first surface 331 and the second surface 332. The fifth surface 345 is a surface extending from the first surface 331 to the seventh surface 347. The sixth surface 346 is a surface extending from the second surface 332 to the seventh surface 347. The seventh surface 347 is a surface extending from the fifth surface 345 to the sixth surface 346. The fifth surface 345, the sixth surface 346, and the seventh surface 347 are formed symmetrically with respect to the center C1 in the thickness direction of the substrate 330. The fifth surface 345, the sixth surface 346, and the seventh surface 347 are provided on the lower end 335', ​​which is one of the long sides of the substrate 330, but the upper end 334', which is the other long side, is also formed therein. Furthermore, the fifth surface 345, the sixth surface 346, and the seventh surface 347 may be formed around the entire outer circumference of the substrate 330.

[0162] The angle θ4 between the first surface 331 and the fifth surface 345 is obtuse. The angle θ5 between the second surface 332 and the sixth surface 346 is obtuse. The angle θ6 between the fifth surface 345 and the seventh surface 347 is obtuse. The angle θ7 between the sixth surface 346 and the seventh surface 347 is obtuse. In other words, on each of the two long sides of the substrate 330, four obtuse angles θ4, θ5, θ6, and θ7 are formed in the cross-section in the thickness direction of the substrate. The injection molding method for this modified example is the same as the method in Figure 23, except for the shape of the mold, so the explanation is omitted.

[0163] According to this modified example, since four obtuse angles θ4, θ5, θ6, and θ7 are formed at the lower end 335' of the substrate 330, the area around these obtuse angles is less likely to cool and solidify compared to the case where the angle of the corner is acute or 90 degrees. Therefore, distortion of the substrate 330 during molding is suppressed.

[0164] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the above description of embodiments. The above embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications to the embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention as described in the claims. The technical scope of the present invention should be determined based on the scope of the invention as described in the claims and the scope of its equivalents.

[0165] In the above embodiment, the light emitted from the image generation devices 24,1024 is reflected by the concave mirror 26 and irradiated onto the windshield 18, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the light reflected by the concave mirror 26 may be irradiated onto a combiner (not shown) provided inside the windshield 18. The combiner is made of, for example, a transparent plastic disc. A portion of the light irradiated onto the combiner from the image generation devices 24,1024 of the HUD main unit 21 is reflected towards the occupant's viewpoint E, similar to when the light is irradiated onto the windshield 18.

[0166] Furthermore, although the above embodiment described the vehicle's driving modes as including a fully automated driving mode, an advanced driver assistance mode, a driver assistance mode, and a manual driving mode, the vehicle's driving modes should not be limited to these four modes. The vehicle's driving modes may include at least one of these four modes. For example, the vehicle's driving modes may be limited to only one of these modes.

[0167] Furthermore, the classification and display format of the vehicle's driving modes may be modified as appropriate in accordance with laws or regulations concerning autonomous driving in each country. Similarly, the definitions of "fully autonomous driving mode," "advanced driving assistance mode," and "driving assistance mode" described in this embodiment are merely examples, and these definitions may be modified as appropriate in accordance with laws or regulations concerning autonomous driving in each country.

[0168] In the second embodiment described above, both the tip of the first projection 33 and the tip of the second projection 34 are located outside the first end face 263 and the second end face 264, respectively, in the direction along the rotation axis D, but the invention is not limited to this example. The tip of the first projection 33 may be located outside the first end face 263 in the direction along the rotation axis D, and the tip of the second projection 34 may be located at the same position as the second end face 264 in the direction along the rotation axis D. Alternatively, the opposite configuration may be used. In this configuration as well, the mold release angle can be secured, so that the main body 31 can be enlarged while maintaining the moldability of the concave mirror 26.

[0169] Furthermore, in the second embodiment described above, the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 of the concave mirror 26 are directly attached to the first housing portion 310 and the second housing portion 320 of the main housing 22, respectively, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, a mounting member, which is a separate component from the concave mirror 26, may be provided on the second shaft portion 36 side of the concave mirror 26, and the concave mirror 26 may be indirectly attached to the main housing 22 via this mounting member. In this way, if at least one of the first shaft portion 35 and the second shaft portion 36 is directly attached to the main housing 22, the effect of reducing the number of parts can be expected.

[0170] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-55742, filed March 26, 2020; Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-55743, filed March 26, 2020; Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-77611, filed April 24, 2020; Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-77612, filed April 24, 2020; and Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-88272, filed May 20, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. An image generation device that generates images for a head-up display, A light source substrate on which a light source is mounted, An optical member that transmits light emitted from the aforementioned light source, A display device that generates light for creating a predetermined image using light transmitted through the optical element, A heat sink for dissipating heat generated from the light source substrate, The system comprises a holder for holding the optical member, The holder has a plurality of first engaging portions, and the heat sink has a plurality of second engaging portions provided at locations corresponding to the plurality of first engaging portions. An image generating apparatus in which the light source substrate is positioned and fixed in a state where it is sandwiched between the holder and the heat sink and housed in the space formed between the multiple first engaging portions, by fixing each of the multiple first engaging portions and each of the multiple second engaging portions.

2. The holder has a pair of first surfaces parallel to the light-emitting surface of the display device, and a second surface formed between the pair of first surfaces and inclined with respect to the pair of first surfaces. The plurality of first engaging portions are holes formed on the pair of first surfaces, The second surface has an opening and a frame surrounding the opening, The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source substrate is attached to the frame portion and the light source is positioned within the opening.

3. The light source substrate has at least one hole, The image generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one pin that can be inserted into the at least one hole protrudes from the frame portion.

4. The heat sink has a pair of third surfaces parallel to the pair of first surfaces, on which the plurality of second engagement portions are formed, and a fourth surface formed between the pair of third surfaces and parallel to the second surface. The image generating apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the light source substrate is housed in a space formed between the second surface and the fourth surface.

5. The housing further comprises the aforementioned display device, The image generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the holder and the heat sink are attached to the housing by the plurality of first engaging portions and the plurality of second engaging portions.

6. A circuit board that controls the display device, The housing further comprises a rear cover that covers the back of the housing, The image generating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circuit board is mounted to the housing such that it is positioned between the heat sink and the rear cover, and the rear cover is then attached to the housing.

7. The aforementioned rear cover comprises a rear portion and a side portion that rises from the rear portion. The image generating apparatus of claim 6, wherein the rear portion has at least one engagement hole that can be screwed to a boss protruding from the housing toward the rear cover, and the region in which the at least one engagement hole is formed is recessed toward the direction in which the rear cover is attached to the housing compared to other regions of the rear portion.

8. An image generation device that generates images for a head-up display mounted on a vehicle, A change image generation unit generates a change image from the aforementioned image that changes according to the condition of the vehicle, The system includes a fixed image generation unit that generates a fixed image from the aforementioned images regardless of the aforementioned circumstances, The aforementioned changing image generation unit comprises a light source substrate on which a light source is mounted, an optical member that transmits light emitted from the light source, and a display device that generates light for generating a predetermined image using the light transmitted through the optical member. The light source substrate is positioned at a certain angle inclined with respect to the first light-emitting surface of the display device. An image generating apparatus in which the second light emission surface of the fixed image generating unit is a surface parallel to the first light emission surface.

9. The aforementioned changing image generation unit further comprises a holder for holding the optical element and a housing on which the display device can be mounted. The holder has a pair of first surfaces parallel to the first light-emitting surface of the display device mounted on the housing, and a second surface formed between the pair of first surfaces and inclined with respect to the pair of first surfaces. The pair of first surfaces have a plurality of first engagement portions, The second surface has an opening and a frame surrounding the opening, The image generating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the light source substrate is attached to the frame portion and the light source is positioned within the opening.

10. The aforementioned change image generation unit further includes a heat sink that dissipates heat generated from the light source substrate, The heat sink has a pair of third surfaces parallel to the pair of first surfaces on which a plurality of second engagement portions are formed, and a fourth surface formed between the pair of third surfaces and parallel to the second surface. The image generating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the light source substrate is housed in a space formed between the second surface and the fourth surface.

11. The image generating apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the second light emitting surface is mounted on the housing in parallel with the first light emitting surface mounted on the housing.

12. An image generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, A head-up display comprising: at least one reflective section that reflects the light emitted by the image generating device so that the light is irradiated onto a windshield or combiner.

13. A reflector that can rotate around a rotation axis, A plate-shaped main body having a reflective surface for reflecting light, a first end surface, and a second end surface located on the opposite side of the reflective surface from the first end surface, A plate-shaped first projection extends from the first end face toward the back side of the reflective surface, A plate-shaped second projection that extends toward the rear side, continuous with the second end face, A first shaft portion is provided on the first protrusion to allow the main body to rotate around the rotation axis, The main body is provided with a second shaft portion on the second protrusion for rotating the main body around the aforementioned rotation axis, A reflector wherein the tip of the first projection is located at a position different from the first end face in the direction along the axis of rotation and on the opposite side from the reflective surface.

14. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein the tip of the second projection is located at a different position from the second end face in the direction along the axis of rotation and on the opposite side from the reflecting surface.

15. The reflective surface is formed in a concave shape, The reflector according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the first shaft portion and the second shaft portion are arranged such that the rotation axis contacts the top of the back side of the concave reflecting surface, or passes on the reflecting surface side of the top.

16. Either the first shaft portion or the second shaft portion is formed in a D-shape with a part of its outer surface cut out. A reflector according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein a rotating mechanism for rotating the main body can be connected to either the first shaft portion or the second shaft portion which is formed in a D shape.

17. The reflecting mirror according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the first continuous surface of the first projection that is continuous with the first end surface of the first projection and the second continuous surface of the second projection that is continuous with the second end surface of the second projection are each formed in a flared shape that widens as they approach the first end surface and the second end surface, respectively.

18. The reflecting mirror according to claim 17, wherein the portion rising from the first end face of the first continuous surface and the portion rising from the second end face of the second continuous surface are arc-shaped.

19. A substrate having a first surface and a second surface located opposite to the first surface, A reflecting mirror comprising a reflective film formed on the first surface that reflects light, A reflecting mirror, wherein at least a portion of the edge of the substrate has a surface formed between the first surface and the second surface that forms at least three obtuse angles in the cross-section of the substrate in the thickness direction.

20. The aforementioned substrate is rectangular in shape. The reflector according to claim 19, wherein each long side of the substrate has a surface formed to form at least three obtuse angles.

21. The reflector according to claim 20, wherein the surfaces forming the at least three obtuse angles are formed over the entire circumference of the outer edge of the substrate.

22. The reflecting mirror according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the surfaces forming the at least three obtuse angles are formed symmetrically with respect to the center in the thickness direction.

23. The first surface has a concave curved surface, as described in any one of claims 19 to 22.

24. A head-up display installed in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward the occupants of the vehicle, A reflector according to any one of claims 13 to 23, A head-up display comprising an image generating device that generates the predetermined image and emits light toward the reflector.

25. A head-up display installed in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward the occupants of the vehicle, An image generation unit that emits light for generating the predetermined image, A reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the image generation unit so that the light is irradiated onto the windshield or combiner, The system comprises a housing that accommodates the image generation unit and the reflection unit, The reflective portion comprises a main body, a first shaft portion protruding outward from one end of the main body, and a second shaft portion protruding outward from the other end of the main body. The housing has at least a first housing portion capable of accommodating the end of the first shaft portion, The aforementioned end portion is a head-up display exposed to the outside from the first housing.

26. The first housing portion has a hole and a deformable portion defined by a pair of slits provided continuously with the hole, which is elastically deformable. The head-up display according to claim 25, wherein the second shaft portion is directly or indirectly attached to the housing, and the end of the first shaft portion moves to the hole portion while elastically deforming the deformable portion and is housed in the hole portion, thereby positioning the reflective portion relative to the housing.

27. A head-up display installed in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward the occupants of the vehicle, An image generation unit that emits light for generating the predetermined image, A reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the image generation unit so that the light is irradiated onto the windshield or combiner, The system comprises a housing that accommodates the image generation unit and the reflection unit, The reflective portion comprises a main body, a first shaft portion provided at one end of the main body, and a second shaft portion provided at the other end of the main body. A head-up display in which both the first shaft portion and the second shaft portion are attached to the housing.

28. The housing has a first housing portion capable of accommodating the first shaft portion and a second housing portion capable of accommodating the second shaft portion. The first housing portion has a hole and a deformable portion defined by a pair of slits provided continuously with the hole, which is elastically deformable. The head-up display according to claim 27, wherein, with the second shaft portion housed in the second housing portion, the end of the first shaft portion moves to the hole portion while elastically deforming the deformable portion and is housed in the hole portion, thereby attaching the reflective portion to the housing.

29. The housing has a restricting portion for restricting the movement of the reflecting portion along a predetermined one direction, The first shaft portion is provided with a flange protruding from its outer circumference. The head-up display according to any one of claims 25 to 28, wherein when the reflective portion is housed, the flange abuts against the restricting portion, thereby restricting the movement of the reflective portion.

30. The aforementioned reflective part is rotatable around the axis of rotation, The head-up display according to any one of claims 25 to 29, wherein the rotation mechanism for rotating the reflective portion comprises the first shaft portion, an arm portion extending from the first shaft portion, and a drive unit connected to the end of the arm portion opposite to the first shaft portion.

31. The first shaft portion is composed of a separate component from the main body portion. The head-up display according to any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein the first shaft portion can be attached to the end of the main body portion.

32. The aforementioned reflective part is rotatable around the axis of rotation, The reflective portion further comprises a plate-shaped first projection that protrudes toward the rear side from the end of the main body on the first shaft side, and a plate-shaped second projection that protrudes toward the rear side from the end of the main body on the second shaft side, The first shaft portion is provided on the first protrusion, and the second shaft portion is provided on the second protrusion. The head-up display according to any one of claims 25 to 31, wherein the tip of the first projection and the tip of the second projection are located outward from the end of the reflector in the direction along the axis of rotation.

Images