CN115113403A

CN115113403A - Image forming apparatus and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN115113403A
Application number: CN202210779132.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 东强; 孙晓平
Original assignee: Shanghai Tianma Microelectronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Tianma Microelectronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-30
Filing date: 2022-06-30
Publication date: 2022-09-27

Abstract

The invention discloses an imaging device and a control method thereof, wherein the imaging device comprises: the system comprises an image generation module, a plane mirror and a free-form surface imaging mirror; the emergent light of the first light-emitting surface of the image generation module is projected to a plane mirror and reflected to a free-form surface imaging mirror through the plane mirror to form a virtual image; the image generation module comprises at least one first light sensing element and a dimming control circuit electrically connected with the first light sensing element; the external environment light is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror, reflected to the plane mirror through the free-form surface imaging mirror and reflected to the first light sensing element on the image generation module through the plane mirror; the dimming control circuit adjusts the brightness of the image generation module according to the measured value of the first light sensing element, and changes the imaging brightness of the virtual image. The control method of the image forming apparatus is applied to the image forming apparatus described above. The invention can not only detect the brightness of the incident environment light and realize the automatic dimming function of the imaging brightness, but also reduce the hardware resource requirement of the module and is beneficial to reducing the cost.

Description

Image forming apparatus and control method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of optical display technologies, and in particular, to an imaging apparatus and a control method thereof.

Background

With the development of optical technology, display devices including liquid crystal panels and light emitting diodes have been sufficiently used in various fields. Such display devices are more fully used in vehicles such as automobiles and locomotives to provide a more sophisticated aid to driving.

To increase comfort and safety in modern vehicles, more and more vehicles are equipped with a Head-Up Display (HUD). Generally, a head-up display is a virtual image (virtual image) that is formed by imaging driving information displayed on a small display screen through a reflective imaging system and is suspended above an engine cover. Because the driver can observe important driving information without lowering head and refocusing eyes, the sight line of the driver can be always kept on the road surface, and the driving safety is improved, the HUD is widely applied to vehicles and brings better visual experience to observers such as the driver and passengers in the vehicles.

Since different drivers perceive ambient light differently, the brightness requirements when looking at the virtual image of the HUD are also different. When needing to transfer luminance among the new line display that current vehicle was equipped with, mainly through driver's visual projection luminance to press the button to realize backlight unit's the dimming through manual, following problem appears easily in this kind of dimming scheme: if the stepping of key dimming is fine, people are easy to fatigue due to a large number of times of pressing the key; if the step size of the key dimming is large, it is easy to adjust the brightness to the optimum brightness. In addition, the process of dimming control needs the participation of a Micro Control Unit (MCU) of the vehicle itself, if the MCU is needed to perform analog-to-digital conversion, precious MCU resources are occupied, or the specification of the MCU needs to be improved to adjust the brightness, which results in a significant increase in the cost of the entire module.

Therefore, it is an urgent technical problem to provide an imaging device and a control method thereof that can not only detect the brightness of incident ambient light and realize the function of automatically adjusting the imaging brightness, but also reduce the hardware resource requirement for the module, thereby reducing the cost.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the present invention provides an imaging device and a control method thereof, so as to solve the problems in the prior art that the process of adjusting the imaging brightness along with the ambient light brightness is complex, the precise operation is not easy, and the ambient light brightness detection easily occupies the hardware resources of the module, resulting in increased cost.

The invention discloses an imaging device, comprising: the system comprises an image generation module, a plane mirror and a free-form surface imaging mirror; the image generation module comprises a first light-emitting surface, and emergent light rays of the first light-emitting surface are projected to a plane mirror and reflected to a free-form surface imaging mirror through the plane mirror to form a virtual image; the image generation module comprises at least one first light sensing element and a dimming control circuit electrically connected with the first light sensing element; the external environment light is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror, reflected to the plane mirror through the free-form surface imaging mirror and reflected to the first light sensing element on the image generation module through the plane mirror; the dimming control circuit adjusts the brightness of the image generation module according to the measured value of the first light sensing element, and changes the imaging brightness of the virtual image.

Based on the same invention concept, the invention also discloses a control method of the imaging device, which comprises a dimming method and an imaging method; the dimming method comprises the following steps: the external environment light is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror, reflected to the plane mirror through the free-form surface imaging mirror and reflected to the first light sensing element on the image generation module through the plane mirror; the dimming control circuit adjusts the brightness of the image generation module according to the measured value of the first light sensing element; the imaging method comprises the following steps: emergent light rays of a first light-emitting surface of the image generation module are projected to the plane mirror and are reflected to the free-form surface imaging mirror through the plane mirror to form a virtual image.

Compared with the prior art, the imaging device and the control method thereof provided by the invention at least realize the following beneficial effects:

the imaging device provided by the invention can change the propagation direction of light rays through the image generation module, the plane mirror and the free-form surface imaging mirror, so that a virtual image (virtual image) formed on an imaging structure at a preset position is seen by a user, and can be applied to the field of vehicle-mounted display. Because the driver need not bow, eyes need not refocus and can observe important driving information on the imaging structure of a default position, driver's sight can keep the road surface always, can improve driving safety, brings better visual experience for observers such as driver and passenger. The image generation module comprises at least one first light sensing element and a light dimming control circuit electrically connected with the first light sensing element, wherein the first light sensing element is used for sensing the intensity of external environment light, the external environment light is projected to a free-form surface imaging mirror, reflected to a plane mirror through the free-form surface imaging mirror and reflected to the first light sensing element on the image generation module through the plane mirror, and the first light sensing element is arranged on a light path through which the external environment light is projected to the image generation module. After first light sense component sensing external environment light's light intensity, the control circuit that adjusts luminance of image generation module can be according to this measured value that first light sense component sensing sensed, adjust the luminance of image generation module, and then can adjust the luminance of the demonstration image that image generation module self generated, after the light path cooperation of level crossing and free curved surface imaging mirror, the formation of image luminance of virtual image also can obtain the change, and then can make the formation of image luminance of virtual image can follow the real-time detection luminance of external environment light and come automatic light modulation, and then can adapt to the application environment under the different light intensities. The dimming control circuit in the image generation module can directly and automatically dim light according to the light intensity of the external environment light detected by the first light sensing element, such as analog-digital signal conversion, brightness change of the image generation module and other operations, and the operation of analog-digital conversion is not required by a micro control unit arranged in vehicle-mounted equipment, so that the workload of the micro control unit can be avoided being increased, a micro control unit with a higher specification is not required to be matched, the dimming operation of the light emitting brightness of the image generation module can be realized only by the dimming control circuit in the image generation module, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Of course, it is not necessary for any product in which the present invention is practiced to specifically achieve all of the above-described technical effects simultaneously.

Other features of the present invention and advantages thereof will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of an imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the image generation module shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the electrical connection between the backlight unit and the control module and the first light sensing element in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a circuit connection structure between the dimming control circuit and the first light sensing element in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another circuit connection structure between the dimming control circuit and the first light sensing element in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another structure of an image forming apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of another structure of an image forming apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of the housing of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic top view of the housing of FIG. 8;

fig. 11 is another schematic structural view of an image forming apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is another schematic structural view of an image forming apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is another schematic structural view of an image forming apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a structure to which the image forming apparatus of FIG. 13 is applied;

fig. 15 is a flowchart of a control method of an image forming apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is another flowchart of a control method of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that: the relative arrangement of the components and steps, the numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention unless specifically stated otherwise.

The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail but are intended to be part of the specification where appropriate.

In all examples shown and discussed herein, any particular value should be construed as merely illustrative, and not limiting. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, further discussion thereof is not required in subsequent figures.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an imaging device 000 according to an embodiment of the present invention, including: the imaging device comprises an image generation module 10, a plane mirror 20 and a free-form surface imaging mirror 30;

the image generation module 10 includes a first light emitting surface 10E, and an emergent light L1 of the first light emitting surface 10E is projected to the plane mirror 20 and reflected to the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 by the plane mirror 20 to form a virtual image M;

the image generation module 10 includes at least one first light sensing element 101, and a dimming control circuit 102 electrically connected to the first light sensing element 101;

the external environment light L2 (in the figure, the outgoing light L1 and the external environment light L2 of the image generation module 10 are distinguished by lines with different thicknesses) is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reflected to the plane mirror 20 by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and reflected to the first light sensing element 101 on the image generation module 10 by the plane mirror 20;

the dimming control circuit 102 adjusts the luminance of the image generation module 10 according to the measured value of the first light sensing element 101, and changes the imaging luminance of the virtual image M.

Specifically, the imaging device 000 provided in the present embodiment can change the propagation direction of the light rays through the image generation module 10, the plane mirror 20, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, so that a virtual image (virtual image) formed on the imaging structure at a predetermined position is seen by the user. Optionally, the imaging device 000 of this embodiment may be applied to a head-up display, as shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram after applying the imaging device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, and the imaging device 000 of this embodiment may be applied to the field of vehicle-mounted display, for example, the imaging device 000 provided by this embodiment may be used to implement a head-up display technology in vehicle-mounted display, that is, a virtual image M may be formed above an engine cover in front of an automobile front windshield 40 by matching optical paths of the image generation module 10, the plane mirror 20, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and driving information and the like displayed by a small display screen in the image generation module 10 is imaged as the virtual image M suspended on an imaging structure at a preset position (for example, above the engine cover in front of the automobile front windshield 40). Because the driver does not need to lean down and focus again, important driving information can be observed on the imaging structure at a preset position, the sight of the driver can be kept on the road surface all the time, the driving safety can be improved, and better visual experience is brought to observers such as the driver, passengers and the like.

The image generation module 10 of this embodiment includes a first light emitting surface 10E, where the first light emitting surface 10E may be understood as a light emitting surface of the image generation module 10 that displays a display image generated by itself, and when the display image is projected, it may be understood that a plurality of emergent rays are projected, that is, the emergent rays of the first light emitting surface 10E may be projected to the plane mirror 20, and then reflected to the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 by the plane mirror 20, and after being reflected by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reach a point a on the front windshield 40, and form a virtual image M on an imaging structure at a preset position (e.g., above an engine cover in front of the front windshield 40); the front windshield 40 reflects the light reflected by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 into an observation point K (e.g., human eyes of a driver's cab observer), and the observation point K finally sees a virtual image M formed by reversely extending the light reflected by the front windshield 40.

It should be understood that the outgoing light beam L1 illustrated in the figure of the present embodiment is only for showing the transmission light path, and does not show the number of actual light beams, the outgoing light beam L1 from the first light emitting surface 10E of the image generating module 10 is a surface light source, and the number of light beams is not countable. The external environment light L2 is only for showing the transmission optical path, and does not show the actual number of light rays, and the number of light rays of the external environment light L2 incident on the image generation module 10 from the external environment is not a definite number, and is a surface light source, and thus can be irradiated onto the first light sensing element 101 in the figure.

In this embodiment, the image generating module 10 includes at least one first light sensing element 101 and a dimming control circuit 102 electrically connected to the first light sensing element 101 (it is understood that only a connection line represents an electrical connection between the first light sensing element 101 and the dimming control circuit 102 in the figure, in an embodiment, the dimming control circuit 102 may be integrated in a control chip, and the first light sensing element 101 is electrically connected to the control chip to electrically connect the first light sensing element 101 and the dimming control circuit 102), wherein the first light sensing element 101 may be a light sensing sensor for sensing the intensity of the external ambient light, as shown in fig. 1, the external ambient light L2 is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reflected to the flat mirror 20 by the free-form imaging mirror 30, and reflected to the first light sensing element 101 on the image generating module 10 by the flat mirror 20, that is the first light sensing element 101 is disposed on the light path of the external ambient light L2 projected to the image generating module 10 (the light path is light energy) The process of converging, that is, the intensity of the external environment light converged to the position of the first light sensing element 101 may be used as the light intensity value of the external environment light). After the emergent light L1 of the image generating module 10 is projected, it is reflected by the plane mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 and then projected onto the front windshield 40 as an enlarged (scattered) image; when the external environment light L2 reaches the image generation module 10 through the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 and the plane mirror 20, the external environment light L2 converges on the image generation module 10, so that the first light sensor 101 disposed on the image generation module 10 can more accurately reflect the ambient light brightness in the light path of the external environment light L2.

After the first light sensing element 101 of this embodiment senses the intensity of the external environment light L2, the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 can adjust the brightness of the image generation module 10, such as the brightness of the middle backlight panel of the image generation module 10, and then the brightness of the display image generated by the image generation module 10 itself can be adjusted, and after the optical path matching of the plane mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, the imaging brightness of the virtual image M can also be changed, and further, the imaging brightness of the virtual image M can be automatically adjusted to follow the real-time detected brightness of the external environment light L2, for example, when the light intensity of the external environment light L2 is strong, the light-emitting brightness of the image generation module 10 can be increased, so that the imaging brightness of the virtual image M is enhanced and is easier to see by an observer; when external environment light L2's light intensity was less strong, can turn down the light-emitting luminance of image generation module 10 for virtual image M's formation of image luminance reduces, and because of external environment is darker, even virtual image M's formation of image luminance also can be seen by the observer less, and then can adapt to the application environment under the different light intensity.

And the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 of this embodiment can directly and automatically dim light according to the light intensity of the external environment light L2 detected by the first light sensing element 101, for example, perform conversion of analog-to-digital signals, change the operation such as the luminance of the image generation module 10 itself, the operation of analog-to-digital conversion and the like is not required to be performed by the micro control unit arranged in the vehicle-mounted device, and further, the workload of the micro control unit can be prevented from being increased, and the micro control unit with higher specification also does not need to be matched, and the dimming operation of the light emitting luminance of the image generation module 10 can be realized only by the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10, which is favorable for reducing the manufacturing cost.

It is to be understood that fig. 1 of the present embodiment only shows the setting positions and design shapes of the image generation module 10, the plane mirror 20, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 by way of example, in a specific implementation, the setting positions of the image generation module 10, the plane mirror 20, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 include, but are not limited to, these, and other design structures may also be adopted, only the effect of head-up display can be achieved, and the present embodiment is not particularly limited herein, and may be specifically understood with reference to the structure of the head-up display imaging device in the related art.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the curvature of the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 and the placement angle between the plane mirror 20 and the image generation module 10 are not specifically limited, the plane mirror 20 may also be replaced by a non-planar mirror, the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 may be a concave mirror, a convex mirror, or an aspheric mirror, and it is only necessary to satisfy that the reflection surface is a free-form surface, and the virtual image M can be formed by matching the optical path of the plane mirror 20 and the optical path of the image generation module 10. Alternatively, the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 of this embodiment may be a concave mirror, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 is recessed toward a direction away from the plane mirror 20 to form a concave mirror, so that the light projected by the plane mirror 20 can be reflected by the concave mirror formed by the recess toward the direction away from the plane mirror 20.

Fig. 1 of the present embodiment only illustrates the image generation module 10 as a block diagram, but does not show the specific structure of the image generation module 10, the structure of the image generation module 10 may include a display panel, and may further include a backlight component, a control chip (for the integrated dimming control circuit 102), and the like, in this embodiment, the specific circuit structure of the dimming control circuit 102 is not limited herein, and only needs to be able to detect the measured value of the first light sensing element 101 and identify the change of the light intensity, and to control the change of the light-emitting brightness of the image generation module 10.

In some optional embodiments, please refer to fig. 1 and fig. 2, fig. 3, and fig. 4 in combination, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the image generating module in fig. 1, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an electrical connection between the backlight unit, the control module, and the first light sensing element in fig. 3, in this embodiment, the image generating module 10 further includes a backlight unit 103, a display panel 104, and a control module 105, the backlight unit 103 is disposed opposite to the display panel 104, and the control module 105 is electrically connected to the backlight unit 103; the backlight unit 103 is configured to emit backlight light to the display panel 104, the display panel 104 is configured to generate a display image at the first light emitting surface 10E according to the backlight light, the display image forms a virtual image M after passing through the plane mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and the control module 105 is configured to control the light emitting brightness of the backlight unit 103;

the control module 105 includes a driving circuit board 1050, and the dimming control circuit 102 is fabricated on the driving circuit board 1050.

This embodiment explains that the structure of the image generating module 10 may include a backlight unit 103 and a display panel 104 that are oppositely disposed, a light emitting surface of the backlight unit 103 faces the display panel 104, where the backlight unit 103 may be a backlight panel and includes a plurality of backlights 1030 arranged in an array, the display panel 104 may be a liquid crystal display panel, the backlights 1030 in the backlight unit 103 emit backlight light, the display panel 104 generates a display image on a first light emitting surface 10E according to the backlight light, and the first light emitting surface 10E may be understood as a light emitting surface on a side of the display panel 104 away from the backlight unit 103. The backlight unit 103 emits backlight light to the display panel 104, and the display panel 104 generates a display image that forms a virtual image M after passing through the flat mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30. The image generating module 10 may further include a control module 105, the control module 105 is electrically connected to the backlight unit 103, and the control module 105 may control the light emitting brightness of the backlight unit 103. The control module 105 of this embodiment includes a driving circuit board 1050, the driving circuit board 1050 may be a printed circuit board or a driving chip, and the dimming control circuit 102 may be integrated on the driving circuit board 1050, that is, the dimming control circuit 102 and a driving circuit for driving the backlight unit 103 to emit light may be integrated on the driving circuit board 1050. When the first light sensing element 101 senses the light intensity of the external environment light L2, the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generating module 10 may adjust the light emitting brightness of the backlight unit 103 according to the measured value sensed by the first light sensing element 101, so that the brightness of the display image generated by the image generating module 10 itself changes, and after the light path matching between the plane mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, the imaging brightness of the virtual image M may also change, so that the imaging brightness of the virtual image M may automatically adjust the light according to the real-time detection brightness of the external environment light L2, for example, when the first light sensing element 101 senses the strong light intensity of the external environment light L2, because the control module 105 is electrically connected to the backlight unit 103, the light emitting brightness of the backlight unit 103 may be increased by the dimming control circuit 102 installed on the control module 105, that is, the light emitting brightness of the backlight source 1030 in the backlight unit 103 may be increased, the emergent light brightness of the image generation module 10 is enhanced, and the imaging brightness of the virtual image M is enhanced and is easier to be seen by an observer; and when first light sense element 101 sensed external environment light L2's light intensity was relatively weak, because control module 105 is connected with backlight unit 103 electricity, the light-adjusting control circuit 102 who installs on control module 105 can be through the light-adjusting control circuit of control module 105 come the light-emitting luminance of backlight unit 103 of turning down, the luminance of backlight 1030 in the backlight unit 103 of turning down promptly, the light-emitting luminance of image generation module 10 of turning down promptly, and then virtual image M's formation of image luminance reduces, because of external environment is darker, even virtual image M's formation of image luminance is less also can be seen by the viewer, and then can adapt to the application environment under the different light intensity. The dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 of this embodiment may be integrated in the control module 105 of the image generation module 10, and the light intensity of the external environment light L2 detected by the first light sensing element 101 may be directly adjusted automatically through the control module 105, for example, the dimming control circuit 102 of the control module 105 may perform conversion of an analog-to-digital signal, and change the luminance of the image generation module 10 itself, and the micro control unit set in the vehicle-mounted device is not needed to perform analog-to-digital conversion, so as to avoid increasing the workload of the micro control unit, and it is not needed to match a higher-specification micro control unit, and only the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 and electrically connected to the control module 105 itself is needed to implement the dimming operation of the light brightness of the image generation module 10, which is beneficial to reduce the manufacturing cost.

It can be understood that the structure of the image generation module 10 in this embodiment is only an example, and in the specific implementation, the configuration structures of the backlight unit 103 and the display panel 104 in the image generation module 10 may be understood with reference to the structure of the image generation module in the related head-up display technology, which is not described herein again, and it is only required that the image generation module 10 in this embodiment includes the first light sensing element 101 and the dimming control circuit 102, and the first light sensing element 101 is disposed on the light path where the external ambient light L2 is projected onto the image generation module 10, and the dimming control circuit 102 is integrally fabricated on the driving circuit board 1050 of the image generation module 10 itself, so that the ambient light detection is implemented, and the imaging brightness can be adjusted by the dimming control circuit 102 of the image generation module 10 itself.

In some optional embodiments, please refer to fig. 1-4 and 5 in combination, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a circuit connection structure between the dimming control circuit and the first light sensing element in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the dimming control circuit 102 includes an integrating circuit 1021, a comparing circuit 1022, and a resistor 1023;

the integrating circuit 1021 comprises a first input end 10211, a second input end 10212 and an output end 10213, the first input end 10211 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected with a square wave signal, the frequency of the square wave signal is a fixed value, the second input end 10212 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected with a ground signal, and the output end 10213 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected with the first input end 10221 of the comparing circuit 1022;

the second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022 is connected to the first light-sensing element 101 and the resistor 1023 respectively;

an output terminal 10223 of the comparison circuit 1022 is connected to the control module 105.

Optionally, the integrating circuit 1021 includes a first operational amplifier OP1 and a first capacitor C1, a positive input terminal of the first operational amplifier OP1 is a second input terminal 10212 of the integrating circuit 1021, a negative input terminal of the first operational amplifier OP1 is a first input terminal 10211 of the integrating circuit 1021, and an output terminal of the first operational amplifier OP1 is an output terminal 10213 of the integrating circuit 1021;

a first pole of the first capacitor C1 is connected to the negative input terminal (i.e., connected to the first input terminal 10211 of the integrating circuit 1021), and a second pole of the first capacitor C1 is connected to the output terminal of the first operational amplifier OP1 (i.e., connected to the output terminal 10213 of the integrating circuit 1021);

the comparison circuit 1022 includes a second operational amplifier OP2, a positive input terminal of the second operational amplifier OP2 is a second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022, a negative input terminal of the second operational amplifier OP2 is a first input terminal 10221 of the comparison circuit 1022, and an output terminal of the second operational amplifier OP2 is connected to the control module 105.

The present embodiment explains that the dimming control circuit 102 includes an integration circuit 1021, a comparison circuit 1022, a resistor 1023, the integrating circuit 1021 can generate analog signals such as sawtooth wave signals or triangular wave signals from digital signals such as externally input clock signals or square wave signals with a certain frequency, that is, the first input terminal 10211 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected to a square wave signal, the second input terminal 10212 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected to a ground signal, the frequency of the square wave signal is constant, alternatively, the first input terminal 10211 of the integrating circuit 1021 may receive other digital signals such as a clock signal from the outside, and the integrating circuit 1021 may perform an integrating operation on the digital signal received from the front end to generate analog signals such as a sawtooth wave signal or a triangular wave signal, the generated analog signal such as a sawtooth wave signal or a triangular wave signal is input to a first input terminal 10221 of the comparator circuit 1022 through an output terminal 10213 of the integrating circuit 1021. The second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022 is connected to the first light-sensing element 101 and the resistor 1023, where the resistor 1023 may be a resistor with a fixed value or a resistor with a variable resistance value, and the first light-sensing element 101 and the resistor 1023 are used to form a series circuit, so that when the external ambient light L2 passes through the free-form surface imager mirror 30 and the plane mirror 20 in fig. 1 and is irradiated onto the first light-sensing element 101, the brightness change of the external ambient light L2 can be reflected as a change of the sensed value of the first light-sensing element 101, and since the sensed value of the first light-sensing element 101 changes, the voltage of the N1 node in fig. 5 (i.e., the voltage of the middle position where the first light-sensing element 101 and the resistor 1023 are connected in series) also changes, that is, the voltage of the second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022 also changes. Then, the comparison circuit 1022 compares the voltage value at the node N1 with the analog signal at the first input terminal 10221 of the comparison circuit 1022 (i.e., the output signal at the output terminal 10213 of the integration circuit 1021), and the digital signal generated at the output terminal 10223 of the comparison circuit 1022 is the detected ambient light level signal. The detected signal of the ambient light brightness is a digital signal with high and low levels, and the longer the high level is maintained in a unit time, the higher the ambient light brightness is.

The integrating circuit 1021 in this embodiment can perform an integrating operation on the digital signal input from the front end to generate analog signals such as sawtooth wave signals or triangular wave signals, and the analog signals generated by the integrating circuit 1021 are relatively stable, and can perform a stable comparison operation with the analog signals of the voltage value obtained at the second input terminal 10222 of the comparing circuit 1022, which is beneficial to improving the operation accuracy. The output terminal 10223 of the comparison circuit 1022 in this embodiment is connected to the control module 105, and the comparison circuit 1022 compares the voltage value of the node N1 represented by the sensing value of the first light sensing element 101 with the first input terminal 10221 of the comparison circuit 1022 (i.e., the sawtooth wave or triangle wave signal output by the output terminal 10213 of the integration circuit 1021), although two analog signals are compared, the output terminal 10223 of the comparison circuit 1022 may still output a digital signal to directly represent the measured ambient light level. The signal of the external environment light brightness of the digital signal can be directly read by the control module 105, analog-to-digital conversion is not required to be performed by the micro control unit, the control module 105 can directly read the brightness signal of the external environment light of the digital signal, and then the backlight unit 103 is controlled to adjust the light emitting brightness to perform automatic dimming.

It can be understood that the control module 105 may include a driving chip (LED driver IC, not shown in the figure) for driving the backlight source 1030 in the backlight unit 103 to emit light, the control module 105 may directly read the luminance signal of the external environment light of the digital signal, and according to the luminance signal of the external environment light, the driving chip may directly perform dimming control on the backlight source 1030 in the backlight unit 103, so as to realize free adjustment of the light-emitting luminance of the graphic generation module 10 by following the intensity of the external environment light, and further adjust the imaging luminance, so as to adapt to the use requirements in different environments.

In some other optional embodiments, the output terminal 10223 of the comparing circuit 1022 may also be connected to an I/O port of a Micro Control Unit (MCU), the I/O port connected to the output terminal 10223 of the comparing circuit 1022 is timed to sample a level state thereof, and binary conversion is performed on a level data value acquired in a specific time period to obtain data of the ambient light brightness. And then, the MCU transmits a command to a driving chip for driving the backlight 1030 in the backlight unit 103 to emit light, and optionally, a communication protocol I2C/SPI commonly used by the driving chip may be used to transmit a corresponding dimming command to the LED driver IC to adjust the overall brightness of the backlight unit 103.

The user's such as driver's participation is not needed in the light modulation of this embodiment, the cooperation of first light sense component 101 and dimming control circuit 102 is after the light intensity change of sensing external environment light automatically, can automatic transmission control instruction to MCU or direct intensity signal transmission with the ambient light to the driver chip of control backlight 1030 luminance, make the luminance of the light-emitting luminance of the unit 103 that is shaded change along with the luminance change of ambient light, can realize the automatic dimming function, need not the artificial operation of doing the button and adjusting luminance, make the fineness of adjusting luminance higher, and then be favorable to promoting the user and use the satisfaction.

In some alternative embodiments, please refer to fig. 1-5 and fig. 6 in combination, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of another circuit connection structure of the dimming control circuit and the first light sensing element in fig. 1, in this embodiment, the resistor 1023 includes a slide rheostat R2, and the first light sensing element 101 includes a light-sensitive resistor R1;

one end of the photo resistor R1 is connected to the positive power supply signal Vcc, and the other end of the photo resistor R1 is connected to the second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022;

one end of the sliding resistor R2 is connected to the second input 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022, and the other end of the sliding resistor R2 is grounded.

This embodiment explains that the first light sensing element 101 includes the photo resistor R1, and the external environment light L2 is irradiated onto the first light sensing element 101, and the change of the light intensity can be reflected as the change of the resistance value of the photo resistor R1, because the photo resistor R1 and the slide rheostat R2 form a series circuit, that is, when the external environment light L2 passes through the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 and the plane mirror 20 in fig. 1 and then is irradiated onto the first light sensing element 101, the change in the brightness of the external ambient light L2 can be embodied as a change in the resistance of the photo resistor R1, further, the comparison circuit 1022 compares the voltage value at the node N1 with the analog signal at the first input terminal 10221 of the comparison circuit 1022 (i.e., the sawtooth wave or triangular wave signal outputted from the output terminal 10213 of the integration circuit 1021) to express the change in the voltage value at the node N1, the digital signal generated at the output 10223 of the comparison circuit 1022 is the detected ambient light level signal.

The resistor 1023 in this embodiment includes a slide rheostat R2, optionally a slide rheostat R2 may be externally connected to a knob, when the light intensity of the external environment light L2 changes, the resistance value of the slide rheostat R2 can be adjusted and controlled through the adjusting knob, so that the voltage value of the node N1 changes, the changed voltage value at the node N1 is compared with the analog signal at the first input terminal 10221 of the comparator 1022 (i.e., the sawtooth wave or triangular wave signal at the output terminal 10213 of the integrator circuit 1021) by the comparator 1022, so that the digital signal generated at the output terminal 10223 of the comparator 1022 is changed, and further the dimming command sent to the driver chip controlling the brightness of the backlight 1030 is also changed, and the resistance value of the slide rheostat R2 can be changed through an externally connected adjusting knob to realize the operation of adjusting the imaging brightness. Since the perception of the ambient light brightness is different for each person, the provision of the sliding rheostat R2, the brightness adjustment of the manual key of the driver can be retained, that is, after the first light sensing element 101 and the dimming control circuit 102 cooperate to automatically sense the light intensity change of the external environment light, after the brightness of the output light of the backlight unit 103 changes with the change of the brightness of the ambient light to realize the automatic dimming function, because of the difference of each person's perception of the ambient light brightness, if the driver feels that the imaging brightness after automatic dimming is too dark or too bright, the use satisfaction is affected, the resistance value of the slide rheostat R2 can be further changed through an adjusting knob externally connected with the slide rheostat R2, so that the dimming instruction is changed, and then adjust to the formation of image luminance that this driver is satisfied with, be favorable to better realizing the humanized design of dimming process and realize higher user satisfaction.

In some alternative embodiments, referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is another schematic structural diagram of the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the image generating module 10 includes a housing 100, and the first optical sensing element 101 is fixedly disposed on a side of the housing 100 facing the plane mirror 20.

The embodiment explains that the structures (such as the backlight unit 103, the display panel 104, the control module 105, and the like) included in the image generation module 10 may all be disposed in one housing 100, and the housing 100 may be used to protect the overall structure of the image generation module 10, and may also be beneficial to ensuring the overall integrity of the image generation module 10. This embodiment sets up first light sense element 101 fixedly in one side of casing 100 towards level crossing 20, first light sense element 101 is fixed to be set up in the outside of casing 100 promptly, illumination intensity is sensed by better sensing when can guaranteeing external environment light L2 shines image generation module 10, and the first light sense element 101 of this embodiment sets up in one side of casing 100 towards level crossing 20, can also make first light sense element 101 be located external environment light L2 and throw the whole light path to image generation module 10, can make the light intensity of the ambient light that first light sense element 101 sensed more accurate, be favorable to promoting the light intensity detection precision of ambient light.

In some optional embodiments, please refer to fig. 8-10, fig. 8 is another structural schematic diagram of the imaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 9 is a top-view structural schematic diagram of the housing in fig. 8, and fig. 10 is another top-view structural schematic diagram of the housing in fig. 8, in the embodiment, the image generating module 10 includes a plurality of first light sensing elements 101, and the plurality of first light sensing elements 101 are uniformly disposed on the housing 100.

The embodiment explains that the image generating module 10 may include a plurality of first light sensing elements 101, that is, the plurality of first light sensing elements 101 are all disposed on a surface of a side of the housing 100 facing the plane mirror 20, and the plurality of first light sensing elements 101 may be uniformly disposed on the housing 100, for example, when the housing 100 is square, the image generating module 10 may include four first light sensing elements 101, as shown in fig. 9, the four first light sensing elements 101 may be respectively disposed at four vertex positions of the side of the housing 100 facing the plane mirror 20, or as shown in fig. 10, the four first light sensing elements 101 may be respectively disposed at edge positions of the four sides of the side of the housing 100 facing the plane mirror 20. The plurality of first light sensing elements 101 of the image generation module 10 are uniformly disposed on the housing 100, and when the first light sensing elements 101 sense the light intensity of the external ambient light L2, the measured values of the plurality of first light sensing elements 101 can be compared by averaging, which is beneficial to further improving the accuracy of the light intensity detection of the ambient light.

It should be understood that the housing 100 in the present embodiment is only illustrated as a square, and the housing 100 may also be other shapes that protect the image generating module 10, and the present embodiment is not limited to this, and it is only necessary that the plurality of first optical sensing elements 101 may be uniformly disposed on the surface of the housing 100 facing the plane mirror 20.

In some alternative embodiments, please refer to fig. 11 and 12 in combination, fig. 11 is another schematic structural diagram of the imaging apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 12 is another schematic structural diagram of the imaging apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention (it can be understood that, for clarity, fig. 12 is filled with transparency), in this embodiment, at least one temperature sensor 50 is further fixedly disposed on a side of the housing 100 facing the plane mirror 20;

the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 is connected with a first motor 60, the first motor 60 controls the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 to rotate, and the temperature sensor 50 and/or the first light sensing element 101 are electrically connected with the first motor 60. It should be understood that, although the electrical connection relationship between the temperature sensor 50 and/or the first light sensing element 101 and the first motor 60 is not shown in the drawings, in a specific implementation, the electrical connection between the temperature sensor 50 and/or the first light sensing element 101 and the first motor 60 can be realized through an internal circuit of the imaging device, which is not described herein again.

The present embodiment explains that at least one temperature sensor 50 may be further fixedly disposed on a side of the housing 100 facing the plane mirror 20, and the temperature sensor 50 is used for sensing the temperature of the surface of the housing 100. The free-form surface imaging mirror 30 is connected to a first motor 60, and the first motor 60 can control the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 to rotate. The temperature sensor 50 of this embodiment may be electrically connected to the first motor 60, when the image generation module 10 is not used, that is, not in a working state, the temperature sensor 50 may sense the temperature of the surface of the housing 100, and if the sensed temperature exceeds a certain preset value, the first motor 60 may control the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 to rotate, so that the external ambient light L2 is projected onto the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reflected to the plane mirror 20 by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and reflected by the plane mirror 20 and then does not irradiate onto the image generation module 10 (as shown in fig. 12, the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 indicated by a dotted line in fig. 12 is an original position thereof, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 indicated by a solid line controls a position after rotating by the first motor 60), the external ambient light L2 may be reflected back to the external environment after being reflected by the rotated free-form imaging mirror 30 and may also irradiate other positions, but can avoid shining the position that image generation module 10 is located, and then can protect equipment when image device 000 is not started, avoid external high temperature light to shine image generation module 10 for a long time and cause equipment ageing, and then be favorable to improving life. Alternatively, when the imaging device 000 is started, i.e., the image generation module 10 starts to operate, the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 may be controlled by the first motor 60 to rotate to the original state (as shown in fig. 11). Or, the first light sensing element 101 in this embodiment may be electrically connected to the first motor 60, when the image generation module 10 is not used, that is, not in a working state, the first light sensing element 101 may sense light intensity of the external environment light L2 irradiated onto the housing 100, and if the sensed light intensity exceeds a certain preset value, the first motor 60 may control the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 to rotate, so that the external environment light L2 is projected onto the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reflected to the plane mirror 20 by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and reflected by the plane mirror 20 and then does not irradiate onto the image generation module 10 (as shown in fig. 12), so as to protect the device when the imaging device 000 is not started, thereby preventing the external high-temperature light from irradiating the image generation module 10 for a long time to cause device aging, and further facilitating to improve the service life. Alternatively, when the imaging device 000 is started, i.e., the image generation module 10 starts to operate, the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 may be controlled by the first motor 60 to rotate to the original state (as shown in fig. 11). Or temperature sensor 50 and first light sense element 101 in this embodiment can all be connected with first motor 60 electricity, the cooperation through the temperature sensing to casing 100 and light intensity sensing, if the light intensity and the temperature that sense all exceed certain default, can control free-form surface imaging mirror 30 through first motor 60 and rotate, make external environment light L2 throw to free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reflect to level crossing 20 through free-form surface imaging mirror 30, can not shine on image generation module 10 after the reflection of level crossing 20 (as shown in fig. 12), and then can be at imaging device 000 protective apparatus when not being started, avoid external high temperature light to shine image generation module 10 for a long time and cause equipment ageing, and then be favorable to improving life. Alternatively, when the imaging device 000 is started, i.e., the image generation module 10 starts to operate, the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 may be controlled by the first motor 60 to rotate to the original state (as shown in fig. 11). The arrangement of the first motor 60 and the temperature sensor 50 in this embodiment is beneficial to protecting the device when the imaging device 000 is idle or not started for use, so as to prevent the aging of the device caused by the long-term irradiation of the image generation module 10 by external high-temperature light, thereby being beneficial to prolonging the service life of the whole module.

Optionally, the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 in this embodiment may be provided with a fixed block at the position illustrated in fig. 12, the fixed block is fixed to the bottom of the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, the fixed block is connected to the first rotating shaft 301, the first rotating shaft 301 is provided with a first gear (not numbered in the figure), the first motor 60 is connected to the second rotating shaft 601, the second rotating shaft 601 is provided with a second gear (not numbered in the figure), the rotation of the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 in this embodiment is engaged with the second gear on the second rotating shaft 601 through the first gear on the first rotating shaft 301, the first motor 60 drives the second rotating shaft 601 to rotate, so that the first rotating shaft 301 rotates along with the first rotating shaft, and further drives the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 to rotate in the direction of arrow G illustrated in fig. 12, so that the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 is controlled to rotate by the first motor 60, and the external environment light L2 is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, the light is reflected to the plane mirror 20 by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and is reflected by the plane mirror 20 and then does not irradiate the image generation module 10, so that the device can be protected when the imaging device 000 is not started, and the device aging caused by the long-term irradiation of the image generation module 10 by external high-temperature light rays is avoided.

Optionally, the number of the temperature sensors 50 in this embodiment may be multiple, and the multiple temperature sensors 50 may also be uniformly disposed on the casing 100, which is beneficial to ensuring the accuracy of temperature sensing.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the type and the operating voltage of the first motor 60 are not specifically limited, and in specific implementation, the setting may be selected according to the set volume and the operating state, and it only needs to be satisfied that the first motor 60 can drive the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 to rotate.

In some optional embodiments, please refer to fig. 13 and 14, fig. 13 is another structural schematic diagram of the imaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 14 is a structural schematic diagram after the imaging device of fig. 13 is applied, the imaging device 000 in the embodiment further includes a second light sensing element 70, and the second light sensing element 70 is disposed on the light path where the external ambient light L2 is projected to the image generation module 10.

Optionally, the imaging device 000 further includes a complete machine housing 001, and the image generation module 10, the plane mirror 20, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 are all fixed in the complete machine housing 001;

the second light sensing element 70 is disposed on the whole casing 001.

The embodiment explains that the imaging device 000 may further include a second light sensing element 70, the second light sensing element 70 may be used as a spare light sensing element, the second light sensing element 70 is also disposed on the light path of the external environment light L2 projected to the image generation module 10, but the arrangement position of the second light sensing element is different from that of the first light sensing element 101, optionally, a whole casing 001 is disposed outside the imaging device 000, the image generation module 10, the plane mirror 20, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 are all fixed in the whole casing 001, and the whole casing 001 is used to protect the whole imaging device. The second light sensing element 70 used as a standby light sensing element may be disposed on the light path of the image generating module 10 projected by the external environment light L2 on the casing 001, and the second light sensing element 70 may be activated when the first light sensing element 101 is damaged or failed, so as to avoid the situation that the whole imaging device 000 cannot be used when the first light sensing element 101 in the imaging device 000 fails or data errors occur, and further, the use performance of the whole device is favorably ensured.

It can be understood that the electrical connection structure of the second light sensing element 70 and the dimming control circuit 102 in the present embodiment is the same as the first light sensing element 101, and the detailed understanding can be made by referring to the arrangement and the electrical connection structure of the first light sensing element 101 in the above embodiments, which is not repeated herein. A gating switch may be disposed between the optional second light sensing element 70 and the dimming control circuit 102, and when the first light sensing element 101 is damaged or fails, the gating switch may be turned on to electrically connect the second light sensing element 70 and the dimming control circuit 102, and when the first light sensing element 101 is in normal use, the gating switch may be turned off to electrically connect the second light sensing element 70 and the dimming control circuit 102, so as to avoid waste of resources and reduce cost.

It should be noted that, in the drawings of this embodiment, the shape of the entire casing 001 is only exemplarily shown, and in the specific implementation, the shape of the entire casing 001 may be specifically set according to the curvature of the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, the arrangement angle of the plane mirror 20 and the image generation module 10, and the like, and it is only necessary that the image generation module 10, the plane mirror 20, and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 are all fixed in the entire casing 001, and the entire casing 001 may play a role in protecting the entire imaging device.

In some optional embodiments, please refer to fig. 1 to 14 and fig. 15 in combination, fig. 15 is a flowchart of a control method of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the control method according to this embodiment may be applied to the imaging apparatus 000 in the above embodiments to perform dimming and imaging operations. The control method provided by the embodiment comprises a dimming method and an imaging method;

the dimming method comprises the following steps:

s11: the external ambient light L2 is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reflected to the plane mirror 20 by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and reflected to the first light sensing element 101 on the image generation module 10 by the plane mirror 20;

s12: the dimming control circuit 102 adjusts the brightness of the image generation module 10 according to the measured value of the first light sensing element 101;

the imaging method comprises the following steps:

s13: the outgoing light L1 from the first light-emitting surface 10E of the image generation module 10 is projected to the plane mirror 20, and is reflected to the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 by the plane mirror 20, so as to form a virtual image M.

The control method of the imaging device 000 provided in the present embodiment includes a dimming method that can be used in the dimming process of the imaging device and an imaging method that can be used in the imaging process after dimming. The image generating module 10 includes at least one first light sensing element 101, and a dimming control circuit 102 electrically connected to the first light sensing element 101, where the first light sensing element 101 may be a light sensing sensor for sensing an intensity of the external environment light, and when the imaging device 000 senses a light intensity of the external environment light L2 for dimming, a dimming method may be adopted, the external environment light L2 is projected onto the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, reflected to the flat mirror 20 by the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, and reflected to the first light sensing element 101 on the image generating module 10 by the flat mirror 20, that is, the first light sensing element 101 is disposed on a light path through which the external environment light L2 is projected onto the image generating module 10 (a light energy of the light transmission light path is a light converging process, that is, an intensity of the external environment light converging to a position of the first light sensing element 101 may be a light intensity value of the external environment light). After the first light sensing element 101 senses the light intensity of the external environment light L2, the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 may adjust the light emitting brightness of the image generation module 10 according to the measured value sensed by the first light sensing element 101, for example, adjust the light emitting brightness of the middle backlight panel of the image generation module 10, and further adjust the brightness of the display image generated by the image generation module 10 itself. After the light emitting brightness of the image generation module 10 is adjusted according to the light intensity of the external environment light L2, an imaging method may be adopted to image the virtual image M, so that an observer sees the virtual image M of the display image generated by the image generation module 10. For example, when the light intensity of the external environment light L2 is strong, the light-emitting brightness of the image generation module 10 may be increased, and then in the imaging process, after the increased light-emitting brightness of the image generation module 10 is matched with the light path of the plane mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, the imaging brightness of the virtual image M may also be increased, so that the imaging brightness of the virtual image M may be automatically adjusted according to the real-time detection brightness of the external environment light L2, and the imaging brightness of the virtual image M is enhanced and is more easily seen by an observer; when external environment light L2's light intensity is less strong, can turn down the light-emitting luminance of image generation module 10, the light-emitting luminance of image generation module 10 after turning down passes through the light path cooperation back of level crossing 20 and free curved surface imaging mirror 30, the formation of image luminance of virtual image M also can be weakened, make the formation of image luminance of virtual image M reduce, because of external environment is darker, even the less also can be seen by the observer of formation of image luminance of virtual image M, and then can adapt to the application environment under the different light intensity. In the dimming method adopted in this embodiment, the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 may directly and automatically dim the light according to the light intensity of the external environment light L2 detected by the first light sensing element 101, for example, perform analog-to-digital signal conversion, change the light emitting brightness of the image generation module 10 itself, and do not need a micro control unit arranged in the vehicle-mounted device to perform analog-to-digital conversion, so as to avoid increasing the workload of the micro control unit, and also do not need to match with a micro control unit with a higher specification, and only the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 itself is needed to implement the dimming operation on the light emitting brightness of the image generation module 10, which is beneficial to reducing the manufacturing cost.

In some optional embodiments, please refer to fig. 1 to 14 and fig. 16 in combination, fig. 16 is another flow chart of the control method of the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the control method according to the embodiment may be applied to the imaging apparatus 000 in the above embodiments to perform the dimming and imaging operations. In the imaging device 000 applied in the control method of the embodiment, the image generating module 10 further includes a backlight unit 103, a display panel 104 and a control module 105, the backlight unit 103 is disposed opposite to the display panel 104, and the control module 105 is electrically connected to the backlight unit 103; the control module 105 includes a driving circuit board 1050, and the dimming control circuit 102 is fabricated on the driving circuit board 1050. The dimming control circuit 102 includes an integrating circuit 1021, a comparing circuit 1022, and a resistor 1023; the integrating circuit 1021 includes a first input terminal 10211, a second input terminal 10212, and an output terminal 10213, the first input terminal 10211 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected to a square wave signal, the frequency of the square wave signal is a fixed value, the second input terminal 10212 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected to a ground signal, and the output terminal 10213 of the integrating circuit 1021 is connected to the first input terminal 10221 of the comparing circuit 1022; the second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022 is connected to the first light-sensing element 101 and the resistor 1023 respectively; an output terminal 10223 of the comparison circuit 1022 is connected to the control module 105.

The control method provided by the embodiment comprises a dimming method and an imaging method; the dimming method comprises a detection process and a dimming process, and the imaging method comprises an imaging process;

s21: in the detection process, a square wave signal with a constant frequency is accessed to a first input terminal 10211 of the integrating circuit 1021, a corresponding sawtooth wave signal or triangular wave signal is generated by the integrating circuit 1021, and the sawtooth wave signal or the triangular wave signal is input to a first input terminal 10221 of the comparing circuit 1022;

s22: when the external ambient light L2 irradiates the first photo sensor 101, the voltage value at the second input terminal 10222 of the comparator 1022 changes;

s23: comparing the voltage value at the second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022 with the sawtooth wave signal or the triangular wave signal at the first input terminal 10221 of the comparison circuit 1022 to generate a digital signal, i.e., a brightness signal of the external environment light;

s24: during the dimming process, the control module 105 adjusts the light output brightness of the backlight unit 103 according to the detected brightness signal of the external environment light L2;

s25: in the imaging process, the backlight unit 103 emits the backlight light with the adjusted light emitting brightness to the display panel 104, the display panel 104 generates a display image on the first light emitting surface 10E according to the backlight light, and the display image passes through the plane mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 to form a virtual image M.

In the imaging device 000 to which the control method provided in this embodiment is applied, the structure of the image generation module 10 may include a backlight unit 103 and a display panel 104 that are oppositely disposed, and a light emitting surface of the backlight unit 103 faces the display panel 104, where the backlight unit 103 may be a backlight panel and includes a plurality of backlight sources 1030 arranged in an array, the display panel 104 may be a liquid crystal display panel, the backlight sources 1030 in the backlight unit 103 emit backlight light, the display panel 104 generates a display image on a first light emitting surface 10E according to the backlight light, and the first light emitting surface 10E may be understood as a light emitting surface on a side of the display panel 104 away from the backlight unit 103. The backlight unit 103 emits backlight light to the display panel 104, and the display panel 104 generates a display image that forms a virtual image M after passing through the flat mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30. The image generating module 10 may further include a control module 105, the control module 105 is electrically connected to the backlight unit 103, and the control module 105 may control the light emitting brightness of the backlight unit 103. The control module 105 of this embodiment includes a driving circuit board 1050, the driving circuit board 1050 may be a printed circuit board or a driving chip, and the dimming control circuit 102 may be integrated on the driving circuit board 1050, that is, the dimming control circuit 102 and a driving circuit for driving the backlight unit 103 to emit light may be integrated on the driving circuit board 1050.

The dimming method adopted in this embodiment includes a detection process and a dimming process, in the detection process of the dimming method, when the external ambient light L2 passes through the free-form surface imaging mirror 30 and the plane mirror 20 in fig. 1 and is irradiated onto the first light sensing element 101, the luminance change of the external ambient light L2 can be reflected as a change of the sensing value of the first light sensing element 101, and as the sensing value of the first light sensing element 101 changes, the voltage of the N1 node in fig. 5 (i.e., the voltage value of the middle position where the first light sensing element 101 and the resistor 1023 are connected in series, and an optical signal is converted into an electrical signal) also changes, that is, the voltage value of the second input terminal 10222 of the comparison circuit 1022 also changes. Then, the comparison circuit 1022 compares the voltage value at the node N1 with the analog signal at the first input terminal 10221 of the comparison circuit 1022 (i.e., the output signal at the output terminal 10213 of the integration circuit 1021), and the digital signal generated at the output terminal 10223 of the comparison circuit 1022 is the detected ambient light level signal. The detected signal of the ambient light brightness is a digital signal with high and low levels, and the longer the high level is maintained in a unit time, the higher the ambient light brightness is. The integrating circuit 1021 can perform an integrating operation on the digital signal input from the front end to generate an analog signal such as a sawtooth wave signal or a triangular wave signal, and the analog signal generated by the integrating circuit 1021 is relatively stable, and can perform a stable comparison operation with the analog signal of the voltage value obtained at the second input terminal 10222 of the comparing circuit 1022, which is beneficial to improving the operation accuracy. An output terminal 10223 of the comparing circuit 1022 is connected to the control module 105, and the comparing circuit 1022 compares the voltage value of the node N1 represented by the sensing value of the first light sensing element 101 with the first input terminal 10221 of the comparing circuit 1022 (i.e. the sawtooth wave or triangular wave signal output by the output terminal 10213 of the integrating circuit 1021), although two analog signals are used for comparison, the output terminal 10223 of the comparing circuit 1022 can still output a digital signal to directly represent the measured ambient light brightness. The signal of the external environment light brightness of the digital signal can be directly read by the control module 105, analog-to-digital conversion is not required to be performed by the micro control unit, and the control module 105 can directly read the brightness signal of the external environment light of the digital signal, so as to control the backlight unit 103 to adjust the light emitting brightness and perform automatic dimming.

In the dimming process of the dimming method, after the first light sensing element 101 senses the intensity of the external environment light L2, the dimming control circuit 102 in the image generation module 10 may adjust the brightness of the light emitted from the backlight unit 103 according to the measured value sensed by the first light sensing element 101, so that the brightness of the display image generated by the image generation module 10 itself changes.

Then, in the imaging process, the backlight unit 103 emits the backlight light with adjusted light emitting brightness to the display panel 104, the display panel 104 generates a display image on the first light emitting surface 10E according to the backlight light, and after the backlight light is matched with the light path of the plane mirror 20 and the free-form surface imaging mirror 30, the imaging brightness of the virtual image M can be changed, so that the imaging brightness of the virtual image M can be adjusted automatically along with the real-time detection brightness of the external environment light L2, for example, when the first light sensing element 101 senses that the light intensity of the external environment light L2 is strong, because the control module 105 is electrically connected to the backlight unit 103, the light emitting brightness of the backlight unit 103 can be increased by the dimming control circuit 102 installed on the control module 105, that is, the light emitting brightness of the backlight source 1030 in the backlight unit 103 is increased, so that the light emitting brightness of the image generation module 10 is increased, and the imaging brightness of the virtual image M is increased, is easier to be seen by the observer; and when first light sense element 101 senses external environment light L2's light intensity is relatively weak, because control module 105 is connected with backlight unit 103 electricity, the light-adjusting control circuit 102 that can install on control module 105 reduces backlight unit 103's light-emitting luminance, reduce backlight unit 103's luminance of giving a poor light 1030 promptly, reduce image generation module 10's light-emitting luminance promptly, and then the formation of image luminance of virtual image M reduces, because of external environment is darker, even the formation of image luminance of virtual image M is less also can be seen by the observer, and then can adapt to the application environment under the different light intensity.

As can be seen from the foregoing embodiments, the imaging apparatus and the control method thereof provided by the present invention at least achieve the following beneficial effects:

the imaging device provided by the invention can change the propagation direction of light through the image generation module, the plane mirror and the free-form surface imaging mirror, so that a virtual image (virtual image) formed on the imaging structure at a preset position can be seen by a user, and the imaging device can be applied to the field of vehicle-mounted display. Because the driver does not need to lean down and focus again, important driving information can be observed on the imaging structure at a preset position, the sight of the driver can be kept on the road surface all the time, the driving safety can be improved, and better visual experience is brought to observers such as the driver, passengers and the like. The image generation module comprises at least one first light sensing element and a light dimming control circuit electrically connected with the first light sensing element, wherein the first light sensing element is used for sensing the intensity of external environment light, the external environment light is projected to a free-form surface imaging mirror, reflected to a plane mirror through the free-form surface imaging mirror and reflected to the first light sensing element on the image generation module through the plane mirror, and the first light sensing element is arranged on a light path through which the external environment light is projected to the image generation module. After first light sense component sensing external environment light's light intensity, the control circuit that adjusts luminance of image generation module can be according to this measured value that first light sense component sensing sensed, adjust the luminance of image generation module, and then can adjust the luminance of the demonstration image that image generation module self generated, after the light path cooperation of level crossing and free curved surface imaging mirror, the formation of image luminance of virtual image also can obtain the change, and then can make the formation of image luminance of virtual image can follow the real-time detection luminance of external environment light and come automatic light modulation, and then can adapt to the application environment under the different light intensities. The dimming control circuit in the image generation module can directly and automatically dim light according to the light intensity of the external environment light detected by the first light sensing element, such as the operations of converting an analog-digital signal and changing the brightness of the image generation module, and the operations of analog-digital conversion and the like are not needed by a micro control unit arranged in the vehicle-mounted equipment, so that the workload of the micro control unit can be avoided being increased, the micro control unit with higher specification is not needed to be matched, the dimming operation of the light emitting brightness of the image generation module can be realized only by the dimming control circuit in the image generation module, and the manufacturing cost is favorably reduced.

Although some specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail by way of examples, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: the system comprises an image generation module, a plane mirror and a free-form surface imaging mirror;

the image generation module comprises a first light-emitting surface, and emergent light rays of the first light-emitting surface are projected to the plane mirror and reflected to the free-form surface imaging mirror through the plane mirror to form a virtual image;

the image generation module comprises at least one first light sensing element and a dimming control circuit electrically connected with the first light sensing element;

external environment light is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror, reflected to the plane mirror through the free-form surface imaging mirror and reflected to the first light sensing element on the image generation module through the plane mirror;

the dimming control circuit adjusts the brightness of the image generation module according to the measured value of the first light sensing element, and changes the imaging brightness of the virtual image.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1,

the image generation module also comprises a backlight unit, a display panel and a control module, wherein the backlight unit is arranged opposite to the display panel, and the control module is electrically connected with the backlight unit; the backlight unit is used for emitting backlight light to the display panel, the display panel is used for generating a display image on the first light emitting surface according to the backlight light, the display image forms a virtual image after passing through the plane mirror and the free-form surface imaging mirror, and the control module is used for controlling the light emitting brightness of the backlight unit;

the control module comprises a driving circuit board, and the dimming control circuit is manufactured on the driving circuit board.

3. The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein the dimming control circuit includes an integration circuit, a comparison circuit, a resistor;

the integrating circuit comprises a first input end, a second input end and an output end, wherein the first input end of the integrating circuit is connected with a square wave signal, the frequency of the square wave signal is a fixed value, the second input end of the integrating circuit is connected with a ground signal, and the output end of the integrating circuit is connected with the first input end of the comparing circuit;

the second input end of the comparison circuit is respectively connected with the first light sensing element and the resistor;

and the output end of the comparison circuit is connected with the control module.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the integrating circuit comprises a first operational amplifier and a first capacitor, a positive input terminal of the first operational amplifier is a second input terminal of the integrating circuit, a negative input terminal of the first operational amplifier is a first input terminal of the integrating circuit, and an output terminal of the first operational amplifier is an output terminal of the integrating circuit;

a first pole of the first capacitor is connected with the negative input end, and a second pole of the first capacitor is connected with the output end of the first operational amplifier;

the comparison circuit comprises a second operational amplifier, the positive input end of the second operational amplifier is the second input end of the comparison circuit, the negative input end of the second operational amplifier is the first input end of the comparison circuit, and the output end of the second operational amplifier is connected with the control module.

5. The imaging device of claim 3, wherein the resistor comprises a sliding varistor, the first photosensitive element comprises a photoresistor;

one end of the photoresistor is connected with a positive power supply signal, and the other end of the photoresistor is connected with a second input end of the comparison circuit;

one end of the slide rheostat is connected with the second input end of the comparison circuit, and the other end of the slide rheostat is grounded.

6. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image generating module comprises a housing, and the first light sensing element is fixedly disposed on a side of the housing facing the plane mirror.

7. The imaging device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the image generating module comprises a plurality of first photo sensors, and the plurality of first photo sensors are uniformly disposed on the housing.

8. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one temperature sensor is further fixedly disposed on a side of the housing facing the plane mirror;

the free-form surface imaging mirror is connected with a first motor, the first motor controls the free-form surface imaging mirror to rotate, and the temperature sensor and/or the first light sensing element are/is electrically connected with the first motor.

9. The imaging device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second light sensing element disposed on a light path of the ambient light projected to the image generating module.

10. The imaging device according to claim 9, further comprising a whole housing, wherein the image generation module, the plane mirror, and the free-form surface imaging mirror are fixed in the whole housing;

the second light sensing element is arranged on the whole machine shell.

11. A control method of an imaging apparatus, characterized in that the control method includes a dimming method and an imaging method;

the dimming method comprises the following steps: external environment light is projected to the free-form surface imaging mirror, reflected to the plane mirror through the free-form surface imaging mirror and reflected to the first light sensing element on the image generation module through the plane mirror; the dimming control circuit adjusts the brightness of the image generation module according to the measured value of the first light sensing element;

the imaging method comprises the following steps: the emergent light of the first light-emitting surface of the image generation module is projected to the plane mirror and reflected to the free-form surface imaging mirror through the plane mirror to form a virtual image.

12. The control method according to claim 11,

the image generation module also comprises a backlight unit, a display panel and a control module, wherein the backlight unit is arranged opposite to the display panel, and the control module is electrically connected with the backlight unit;

the dimming control circuit comprises an integrating circuit, a comparison circuit and a resistor, wherein the integrating circuit comprises a first input end, a second input end and an output end, the first input end of the integrating circuit is connected with a square wave signal, the second input end of the integrating circuit is connected with a ground signal, the output end of the integrating circuit is connected with the first input end of the comparison circuit, the second input end of the comparison circuit is connected with the first light sensing element and the resistor, and the output end of the comparison circuit is connected with the control module;

the dimming method comprises a detection process and a dimming process, and the imaging method comprises an imaging process;

in the detection process, a square wave signal with a constant frequency is accessed to a first input end of the integrating circuit, a corresponding sawtooth wave signal or a corresponding triangular wave signal is generated by the integrating circuit and is input to a first input end of the comparing circuit;

the external environment light irradiates the first light sensing element, and the voltage value of the second input end of the comparison circuit changes;

comparing the voltage value of the second input end of the comparison circuit with the sawtooth wave signal or the triangular wave signal of the first input end of the comparison circuit to generate a digital signal, namely a brightness signal of the external environment light;

in the dimming process, the control module adjusts the light-emitting brightness of the backlight unit according to the detected brightness signal of the external environment light;

in the imaging process, the backlight unit emits backlight light after the light emitting brightness is adjusted to the display panel, the display panel generates a display image according to the backlight light on the first light emitting surface, and the display image passes through the plane mirror and the free-form surface imaging mirror to form the virtual image.