Head-up display device

Abstract

To provide a head-up display device which can perform display without such a sense of discomfort that an actual scene does not match a virtual image.SOLUTION: A display unit 15 has a screen 15a that emits display light L. A reflection mirror 30 reflects the display light L so as to project the display light onto a combiner C or a windshield 13. A drive mechanism M adjusts an angle position of the reflection mirror 30. Control means 200 causes the display unit 15 to display an image by perspective having a vanishing point. The control means 200 displays an image enlarged or reduced in one of the vertical direction or lateral direction of the screen 15a in accordance with the angle position of the reflection mirror 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a head-up display device that displays a virtual image. [Background technology]

[0002] Various head-up display devices for vehicles that project display light onto the windshield of a vehicle to display a virtual image have been proposed, and are disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. Such head-up display devices for vehicles project display light emitted from a display onto the windshield via a reflecting mirror such as a concave mirror, to display vehicle information as a virtual image. The driver of the vehicle can view the virtual image superimposed on the actual view ahead of the vehicle.

[0003] The head-up display device for vehicles disclosed in Patent Document 1 displays a virtual image expressed using one-point perspective, with the vanishing point set according to the viewpoint position of the vehicle driver. Therefore, to the vehicle driver, the virtual image appears to match the actual view ahead of the vehicle, allowing the vehicle driver to intuitively understand what the virtual image shows. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-144889 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the above-described head-up display device for a vehicle requires a sensor for detecting the viewpoint position of the vehicle driver, which makes it difficult to provide the head-up display device at low cost. The present invention has been made in consideration of this problem, and provides a head-up display device that does not require a sensor for detecting the viewpoint position of the vehicle driver and can display a natural image without causing a sense of incongruity, such as a mismatch between the actual scene and the virtual image. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a head-up display device that displays a virtual image, comprising a display having a screen that emits display light, a reflecting mirror that reflects the display light and projects it onto a combiner or a windshield, a drive mechanism that adjusts the angular position of the reflecting mirror, and a control means that causes the display to display an image in perspective having a vanishing point, wherein the control means controls the enlargement or reduction of the screen in only one of the vertical direction or the horizontal direction according to the angular position of the reflecting mirror. By doing The image Perth of Adjust It is characterized by the following.

[0007] The present invention also provides a head-up display device that displays a virtual image, comprising a display having a screen that emits display light, a reflecting mirror that reflects the display light and projects it onto a combiner or windshield, a drive mechanism that adjusts the angular position of the reflecting mirror, and a control means that causes the display to display an image in perspective having a vanishing point, wherein the control means displays the image by changing the vertical magnification or reduction rate of the screen and the horizontal magnification or reduction rate of the screen depending on the angular position of the reflecting mirror.

[0008] The present invention is a head-up display device that displays a virtual image, comprising a display having a screen that emits display light, a reflecting mirror that reflects the display light and projects it onto a combiner or windshield, a drive mechanism that adjusts the angular position of the reflecting mirror, and a control means that causes the display to display an image in perspective having a vanishing point, wherein the control means adjusts the display position of the image on the screen so that the vanishing point of the virtual image approximately coincides with the vanishing point of the real scene.

[0009] The present invention is also characterized in that the image has a line image that resembles a lane boundary line.

[0010] In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the image has a first display content and a second display content, and a part of the second display content overlaps the first display content.

[0011] In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the control means causes the display device to display a second image that does not have a vanishing point.

[0012] In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the control means has a storage unit for storing the image. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] This reduces the sense of incongruity that occurs when the real scene and the virtual image do not match. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an angle range according to the embodiment; [Figure 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an image showing a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle head-up display device 11 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figures 1 to 7 show a first embodiment.

[0016] The vehicle head-up display device 11 is disposed in a dashboard 12 of a vehicle (see FIG. 2). Display light L projected by the vehicle head-up display device 11 is reflected by a combiner C toward a vehicle driver D. The combiner C is made of a plate-shaped semi-transparent member. The vehicle driver D can visually recognize a virtual image V superimposed on a real scene. The "real scene" refers to a scene in real space.

[0017] The head-up display device 11 for a vehicle has a liquid crystal display 15 and a reflector 16 housed in a housing 17. The liquid crystal display 15 has a liquid crystal display panel 19, light-emitting diodes 20, and a case body 21, and emits display light L from a screen 15a. The screen 15a of the liquid crystal display 15 is rectangular, and the vertical direction of the screen 15a corresponds to the up-down direction of the virtual image V. The liquid crystal display panel 19 has a liquid crystal cell 23, polarizing plates 24 and 25, and is fixed to the case body 21.

[0018] The case body 21 has a generally rectangular cylindrical shape, and the liquid crystal display panel 19 is held at the front end of the case body 21. The rear end of the case body 21 is fixed to a heat dissipation member, which will be described later. The light emitting diode 20 is disposed behind the liquid crystal display panel 19 and transmits light to illuminate the liquid crystal display panel 19. The light emitting diode 20 is mounted on a circuit board 27.

[0019] The reflector 16 has a concave mirror 30, a holding member 31, and a stepping motor 32. The concave mirror 30 is made of resin (e.g., polycarbonate) on which a metal (e.g., aluminum) is vapor-deposited to form a reflective surface 30a. The reflective surface 30a is concave, and the display light L emitted by the liquid crystal display 15 is magnified to display a virtual image V. The concave mirror 30 is adhered to the holding member 31 with double-sided adhesive tape. The holding member 31 is made of resin (e.g., ABS), and a gear portion 34 and a shaft portion 35 are formed integrally. The shaft portion 35 of the holding member 31 is journaled to the housing 17.

[0020] A gear 37 is attached to the rotation shaft of the stepping motor 32, and this gear 37 is meshed with a gear portion 34 of the holding member 31. The concave mirror 30 is supported in a rotatable state together with the holding member 31, and the concave mirror 30 can be rotated by the stepping motor 32 to adjust the projection direction of the display light L. The vehicle driver D operates push button switches 51 and 52 to adjust the angular position of the concave mirror 30 so that the display light L is reflected to the position of the eyes (i.e., so that the virtual image V can be viewed). The drive mechanism M consists of the stepping motor 32 and the gear 37.

[0021] Reference numeral 40 denotes a heat dissipation member, which is disposed in an opening 17a of the housing 17. The heat dissipation member 40 is fixed to the housing 17 at a flange portion 40a with screws (not shown). The heat dissipation member 40 dissipates heat from the light-emitting diodes 20 to the outside of the housing 17 via a heat conduction sheet 41 made of an elastic material such as silicone rubber. The heat dissipation member 40 has a large number of flat plate-shaped heat dissipation fins 40b.

[0022] The heat dissipation member 40 has rectangular parallelepiped-shaped protrusions 40c formed thereon. The heat conduction sheet 41 has recesses 41a corresponding to the protrusions 40c of the heat dissipation member 40, thereby increasing the contact area between the heat conduction sheet 41 and the heat dissipation member 40. Reference numeral 42 denotes a rectangular annular packing member, which blocks the gap between the heat dissipation member 40 and the opening 17a of the housing 17, thereby preventing dust from entering the housing 17.

[0023] The housing 17 accommodates the liquid crystal display 15 and the reflector 16. The housing 17 is provided with a window 44 through which the display light L is emitted. The window 44 is made of a light-transmitting resin (e.g., acrylic) and has a curved shape. The housing 17 is provided with a light-shielding wall 17c, which prevents a phenomenon (washout) in which external light such as sunlight enters the liquid crystal display 15 and makes it difficult to see the virtual image V. The light-shielding wall 17c has a flat plate shape and is formed to hang down obliquely from the top of the housing 17.

[0024] 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the vehicle head-up display device 11. The control means 200 has a control unit 210, an image generation unit 220, and an image memory 230. The control means 200 drives the liquid crystal display panel 19 to display an image on the liquid crystal display panel 19. The control means 200 is connected to an in-vehicle communication bus 300 such as a CAN (Controller Area Network). The in-vehicle communication bus 300 is connected to a vehicle ECU 340, an external communication unit 360, and a navigation system 370.

[0025] The control means 200 drives the stepping motor 32 to displace the angular position of the concave mirror 30 within the range of α1 to α4. That is, when the push button switch 51 is operated, the stepping motor 32 is driven and the display position of the virtual image V moves upward, and when the push button switch 52 is operated, the stepping motor 32 is driven and the display position of the virtual image V moves downward.

[0026] The control means 200 displays images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, G2c, G3a, G3b, and G3c on the screen 15a of the liquid crystal display 15. The images G1a, G1b, and G1c imitate road markings painted on the road surface, and include images imitating linear lane boundary lines and arrows that limit the course of each lane. Note that "lane" refers to a lane. Also, "lane boundary lines" refer to linear road markings painted on the road surface.

[0027] Images G2a, G2b, and G2c are arrow-shaped navigation images indicating a left turn at the next guidance point. Images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, and G2c are perspective images expressed using perspective. Images G3a, G3b, and G3c digitally display the vehicle speed. Image data of images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, G2c, G3a, G3b, and G3c are stored in the image memory 230 of the control means 200.

[0028] Images G1a and G2a are drawn using one-point perspective and have a vanishing point P1 (see FIG. 5). Images G1b and G2b are drawn using one-point perspective and have a vanishing point P2 (see FIG. 6). Images G1c and G2c are drawn using one-point perspective and have a vanishing point P3 (see FIG. 7). Vanishing points P1, P2, and P3 are not images displayed on screen 15a of LCD display 15. Images G3a, G3b, and G3c are not drawn using perspective and do not have a vanishing point.

[0029] The control means 200 displays the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, and G2c while adjusting the strength of the perspective according to the angular position of the concave mirror 30. Furthermore, the control means 200 adjusts the display positions of the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, and G2c on the screen 15a so that the vanishing point of the virtual image V displayed by the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, and G2c coincides with the vanishing point of the real scene.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 5, for a vehicle driver with a relatively high viewpoint, the angular position of the concave mirror 30 is in the range of α1 to α2, and images G1a and G2a with relatively weak perspective are displayed. As shown in Fig. 6, for a vehicle driver with a standard viewpoint, the angular position of the concave mirror 30 is in the range of α2 to α3, and images G1b and G2b with standard perspective are displayed.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 7, for a vehicle driver with a relatively low viewpoint, the angular position of the concave mirror 30 is in the range of α3 to α4, and images G1a and G2a with relatively strong perspective are displayed. The magnitude relationship between α1 and α4 is α1<α2<α3<α4. The strength of the perspective of the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, and G2c is set so that the vanishing point of the virtual image V and the vanishing point of the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G2a, G2b, and G2c approximately coincide.

[0032] The width W1 of image G1a, the width W1 of image G1b, and the width W1 of image G1c are constant. That is, the horizontal enlargement / reduction ratio is 0 (zero). The height H1 of image G1a is larger than the height H3 of image G1b. The height H5 of image G1c is smaller than the height H3 of image G1b. The width W2 of image G2a, the width W2 of image G2b, and the width W2 of image G2c are constant. That is, the horizontal enlargement / reduction ratio is 0 (zero). The height H2 of image G2a is larger than the height H4 of image G2b. The height H6 of image G2c is smaller than the height H4 of image G2b.

[0033] That is, images G1a and G2a are images that are enlarged vertically without changing the widths W1 and W2 of images G1b and G2b, and images G1a and G2a have weaker perspective than images G1b and G2b. Also, images G1c and G2c are images that are reduced vertically without changing the widths W1 and W2 of images G1b and G2b, and images G1c and G2c have stronger perspective than images G1b and G2b.

[0034] 8 to 10 show a second embodiment. The electrical configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Display light L projected by a vehicle head-up display device 11 is reflected by a windshield 13 toward vehicle drivers D1 and D2.

[0035] 9 shows a state in which a vehicle driver D1, whose viewpoint is relatively high, is viewing virtual images V1a, V2a, and V3a superimposed on a real scene. The virtual images V1a, V2a, and V3a are displayed in a virtual image display range S. The virtual image V1a is a virtual image in the shape of two straight lines that mimic lane boundary lines. The virtual image V1a is two perspective lines drawn using one-point perspective, and has a vanishing point P4.

[0036] The virtual image V1b is an arrow-shaped virtual image that indicates that the vehicle is changing lanes. The virtual image V1b overlaps with a portion of the virtual image V1a. The virtual image V1b is a perspective figure drawn using one-point perspective, and has a vanishing point P4 that is common to the virtual image V1a. The vanishing point P4 of the virtual image V1b approximately coincides with the vanishing point of the lane boundary line R, which is the actual scene. The virtual image V1c is a virtual image that digitally displays the vehicle speed. The virtual image V1c is not expressed using perspective, and does not have a vanishing point.

[0037] 10 shows a state in which a vehicle driver D2, whose viewpoint is relatively low, is viewing virtual images V2a, V2b, and V2c superimposed on a real scene. The virtual images V2a, V2b, and V2c are displayed in a virtual image display range S. The virtual image V2a is a virtual image in the shape of two straight lines that mimic lane boundary lines. The virtual image V2a is two perspective lines drawn using one-point perspective, and has a vanishing point P5.

[0038] The virtual image V2b is an arrow-shaped virtual image indicating that the vehicle is changing lanes. The virtual image V2b overlaps with a portion of the virtual image V2a. The virtual image V2b is a perspective figure drawn using one-point perspective, and has a common vanishing point P5 with the virtual image V2a. The vanishing point of the virtual image V2b approximately coincides with the vanishing point of the lane boundary line R, which is the actual scene. The virtual image V2c is a virtual image that digitally displays the vehicle speed. The virtual image V2c is not expressed using perspective, and does not have a vanishing point.

[0039] 11 is a comparative example, showing a state in which a vehicle driver D2 with a relatively low viewpoint position is viewing virtual images V3a, V3b, and V3c superimposed on a real scene. The virtual images V3a, V3b, and V3c are displayed in a virtual image display range S. The virtual image V3a is a virtual image in the shape of two straight lines that mimic lane boundary lines. The virtual image V3a is two perspective lines drawn using one-point perspective projection, and has a vanishing point P6.

[0040] The virtual image V3b is an arrow-shaped virtual image indicating that the vehicle is changing lanes. The virtual image V3b is a perspective figure drawn using one-point perspective and has the same vanishing point P6 as the virtual image V3a. The virtual image V3c is a virtual image that digitally displays the vehicle speed. The virtual images V3a and V3b appear not to be parallel to the road surface in the real scene, which creates an unnatural appearance. Furthermore, the vanishing point P6 of the virtual images V3a and V3b does not coincide with the vanishing point P7 of the lane boundary line R in the real scene, which also creates an unnatural appearance.

[0041] 12 to 14 show a third embodiment. The electrical configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0042] The control means 200 displays images G1d, G1e, G1f, G2d, G2e, G2f, G3d, G3e, and G3f on the screen 15a of the liquid crystal display 15. The images G1d, G1e, and G1f imitate road markings painted on the road surface, and include images imitating straight lane boundary lines and arrows that limit the course of each lane.

[0043] Images G2d, G2e, and G2f are arrow-shaped navigation images indicating a left turn at the next guidance point. Images G1d, G1e, G1f, G2d, G2e, and G2f are perspective images expressed using perspective. Images G3d, G3e, and G3f digitally display the vehicle speed.

[0044] Images G1d and G2d are drawn using one-point perspective and have a vanishing point P8 (see FIG. 12). Images G1e and G2e are drawn using one-point perspective and have a vanishing point P9 (see FIG. 13). Images G1f and G2f are drawn using one-point perspective and have a vanishing point P10 (see FIG. 14). Vanishing points P8, P9, and P10 are not images displayed on screen 15a of LCD display 15. Images G3d, G3e, and G3f are not drawn using perspective and do not have a vanishing point.

[0045] The control means 200 displays the images G1d, G1e, G1f, G2d, G2e, and G2f while adjusting the strength of the perspective according to the angular position of the concave mirror 30. Furthermore, the control means 200 adjusts the display positions of the images G1d, G1e, G1f, G2d, G2e, and G2f on the screen 15a so that the vanishing point of the virtual image V displayed by the images G1d, G1e, G1f, G2d, G2e, and G2f coincides with the vanishing point of the real scene.

[0046] As shown in Fig. 12, images G1d and G2d with relatively weak perspective are displayed to a vehicle driver with a relatively high viewpoint, while images G1e and G2e with standard perspective are displayed to a vehicle driver with a standard viewpoint, as shown in Fig. 13.

[0047] 14, images G1f and G2f with relatively strong perspective are displayed to a vehicle driver with a relatively low viewpoint. The strength of the perspective of the images G1d, G1e, G1f, G2d, G2e, and G2f is set so that the vanishing point of the virtual image V and the vanishing point of the images G1d, G1e, G1f, G2d, G2e, and G2f approximately coincide with each other.

[0048] The vertical width H7 of image G1d, the vertical width H7 of image G1e, and the vertical width H7 of image G1f are constant. That is, the vertical enlargement / reduction ratio is 0 (zero). The horizontal width W3 of image G1d is smaller than the horizontal width W5 of image G1e. The horizontal width W7 of image G1f is larger than the horizontal width W5 of image G1e. The vertical width H8 of image G2d, the vertical width H8 of image G2e, and the vertical width H8 of image G2f are constant. That is, the vertical enlargement / reduction ratio is 0 (zero). The horizontal width W4 of image G2d is smaller than the horizontal width W6 of image G2e. The horizontal width W8 of image G2f is larger than the horizontal width W6 of image G2e.

[0049] That is, images G1d and G2d are images that have been reduced in the horizontal direction without changing the vertical widths H7 and H8 of images G1e and G2e, and images G1d and G2d have weaker perspective than images G1e and G2e. Also, images G1f and G2f are images that have been expanded in the horizontal direction without changing the vertical widths H7 and H8 of images G1e and G2e, and images G1f and G2f have stronger perspective than images G1e and G2e.

[0050] According to each embodiment, the strength of the perspective of the virtual images V, V1, and V2 can be changed depending on the angular positions α1 to α4 of the concave mirror 30, thereby reducing the sense of discomfort that the real scene and the virtual images V, V1, and V2 do not match.

[0051] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications are possible. For example, by differentiating the vertical magnification or reduction ratio of the screen 15a from the horizontal magnification or reduction ratio of the screen 15a, it is possible to impart different strengths of perspective to the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G1d, G1e, G1f, G2a, G2b, G2c, G2d, G2e, and G2f. The vertical and horizontal widths of the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G1d, G1e, G1f, G2a, G2b, G2c, G2d, G2e, and G2f do not necessarily need to be constant. Furthermore, the strength of perspective of the images G1a, G1b, G1c, G1d, G1e, G1f, G2a, G2b, G2c, G2d, G2e, and G2f may be changed in two stages, or in four or more stages. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 11 Head-up display for vehicles 13 Windshield 15 Liquid crystal display (display) 15a screen 30 Concave mirror (reflecting mirror) 200 Control Means 230 Image memory (storage section) L display light C Combiner D. Vehicle driver D1 Vehicle driver D2 Vehicle driver V Virtual Image M Drive Mechanism P1~P7 Vanishing point G1a~G1f images G2a~G2f images G3a~G3f images

Claims

1. A head-up display device that displays a virtual image, comprising: a display having a screen that emits display light; a reflecting mirror that reflects the display light and projects it onto a combiner or a windshield; a drive mechanism that adjusts the angular position of the reflecting mirror; and control means that causes the display to display an image based on a perspective method having a vanishing point, A head-up display device characterized in that the control means adjusts the perspective of the image by enlarging or reducing the screen in only one of the vertical or horizontal directions depending on the angular position of the reflecting mirror.

2. The head-up display device according to claim 1 , wherein the image has a linear image that resembles a lane boundary line.

3. 2. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the image has a first display content and a second display content, and a portion of the second display content overlaps the first display content.

4. 2. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the control means causes the display device to display a second image that does not have a vanishing point.

5. 2. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes a storage unit for storing the image.

Images