HUD Dynamic Map Contrast Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Head-up displays (HUDs) face challenges in maintaining a consistent contrast ratio due to varying real-world brightness across the field of view, particularly when flying through environments with significant changes like sunlight, clouds, or dark and light areas, leading to potential issues in image resolution and undesirable brightness levels.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that includes a HUD image combiner and projector, along with sensors and processors to acquire and process images of the field of view, generating a dynamic map with controllable cells to adjust backlight brightness and improve the average contrast ratio.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single sensor is used to determine average ambient light level, then the system complexity is reduced, but the contrast ratio control becomes insufficient when real-world brightness varies across the field of view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the field of view into multiple zones and uses multiple sensors to measure ambient light levels in each zone independently. This segmentation allows the system to capture spatial variations in real-world brightness, enabling precise local contrast ratio control while maintaining overall system effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality control by adjusting the backlight brightness in specific zones based on local ambient light measurements. Each zone's contrast ratio is optimized independently according to its specific lighting conditions, rather than applying a uniform adjustment across the entire display.
2Manufacturing precision
If the HUD brightness is increased to compensate for low contrast areas, then the contrast ratio in those areas improves, but the overall brightness becomes excessively high and undesirable
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality control by adjusting the backlight brightness in specific zones based on local ambient light measurements. Each zone's contrast ratio is optimized independently according to its specific lighting conditions, rather than applying a uniform adjustment across the entire display.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the backlight brightness parameter in response to measured ambient light conditions. By continuously monitoring and adjusting this parameter based on real-time environmental data, the system maintains optimal contrast ratios while avoiding excessive overall brightness.
3Manufacturing precision
If the backlight brightness is dynamically adjusted, then the average contrast ratio improves, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the backlight brightness parameter in response to measured ambient light conditions. By continuously monitoring and adjusting this parameter based on real-time environmental data, the system maintains optimal contrast ratios while avoiding excessive overall brightness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial adjustment to the backlight brightness, increasing power only in specific zones and only to the extent necessary to achieve target contrast ratios. This avoids the excessive energy consumption that would result from uniformly maximizing brightness across the entire display.
Data Source
AI summary
A head-up display (HUD) may include at least one HUD sensor configured to acquire one or more images of a field of view (FOV). The HUD may include a HUD image combiner configured to present HUD symbology to a user, a HUD image projector configured to project the HUD symbology onto or through the HUD image combiner, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one HUD sensor and the HUD image projector. The at least one processor may be configured to process the one or more images for luminance data of the FOV, generate a dynamic map including a grid with one or more controllable cells based on the luminance data of the FOV via a dynamic map generation unit, and configure the HUD image projector based on the generated dynamic map to improve an average contrast ratio of the HUD image projector.