Optical: systems and elements – Holographic system or element – Head up display
Patent
1996-05-29
1999-04-06
Spyrou, Cassandra
Optical: systems and elements
Holographic system or element
Head up display
359 34, 349 11, 345 7, E03H 100
Patent
active
058925988
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a head up display where, in a vehicle such as an automobile, a ship, and a railroad vehicle, forward external-scene information and various kinds of image and character information from the interior are superimposed and looked at by an operator (driver).
BACKGROUND ART
In vehicles, it is important from the point of view of safety that an operator operating (driving) with his or her eyes forwardly fixed to the front, when changing the visual point in an instant and looking at a display such as a velocity display, can accurately read out the displayed contents for the shortest possible time.
In recent years, in vehicles, particularly automobiles, there has been a strong movement to adopt a so-called "head up display (hereinafter referred to as a HUD)" which has been developed in aircraft. In this HUD, the displayed image of a CRT is projected on a combiner (semitransparent reflection plate) disposed at the front of a pilot's seat (or on a windshield) with an optical system such as lenses, mirrors, and holograms, and is displayed in a form superimposed upon the forward scene. As a result, the HUD becomes a unit which makes it possible to reduce movement of one's eyes or focusing as much as possible and to enhance visibility.
In the railroad vehicles, there is plenty of space for housing an image display section, and as shown for example in Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H4-110236, the image display section is comprised of considerably large-scale devices such as a CRT, a lens, a mirror, and a concave mirror.
On the other hand, in the automobiles, space for housing an image display section or an optical system is limited, and as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,780, U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,475 or "Development of Hologram Head-up Display" (SAE TECHNICAL PAPER SERIES 920600, (1992) by H. KATO et al.), liquid crystal or a LED is used as the image display section and is combined with an optical system such as a mirror, and the combined unit is housed in a compact form in an instrument panel. However, in order to form a focus at a great distance, the reflections at the mirrors are repeated to obtain a long optical path leading from the image display section to the combiner. For this reason, a certain space has become necessary. Thus, these optical systems are housed in the instrument panel, but it is desirable that the use of the space be avoided where various kinds of devices or wiring are close together, and if possible, it is desirable that the use of this space be avoided. That is, a conventional HUD such as this is an excellent display where the forward external scene and various kinds of image information and character information from the interior can be superimposed and viewed at front of the driver's seat, but in order to achieve this, the conventional HUD has a large problem that a considerable space must be occupied.
This problem originates in the fact that the HUD takes the projection type display structure that the image generated in the image display section is projected and displayed on the combiner surface. The HUD, as previously described, is originally a system which has been developed in aircraft, and various functions that had been required in that case, as they are, have been applied to vehicles, etc. Therefore, it is considered that the requirements which cannot always be said to be indispensable in vehicles have also been introduced as they are.
In aircraft, the forward view's space is a wide space where the field of view is not much obstructed, and the operator is operating focusing the visual point at the infinite point. Therefore, it is preferable that the image of the HUD be also focused at the infinite point. In addition, even if considerably complicated information were displayed on the display, it would not become an obstacle to the operation of the operator, and conversely, the operator does need such complicated information.
On the other hand, in vehicles, particularly automobiles, the driver is driving, viewing ab
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Asakawa Shiro
Okuda Eiichiro
Taketomi Yoshinao
Tsutsui Hiroshi
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Schuberg Darren E.
Spyrou Cassandra
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