CN117471687A

CN117471687A - Head-up display device, refraction piece and vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN117471687A
Application number: CN202211735407.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴慧军; 徐俊峰
Original assignee: Futurus Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Futurus Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-28
Filing date: 2022-12-30
Publication date: 2024-01-30
Also published as: CN117471686A

Abstract

The invention discloses a head-up display device, a refraction piece and a vehicle, wherein the head-up display device comprises an image source component and a refraction piece, wherein the image source component is configured to emit image light; the refraction piece is arranged on the light emergent side of the image source component and is configured to change the optical path length of at least part of image light rays so as to change at least part of imaging distance of a virtual image formed by the image light rays; and the amplifying assembly is arranged on the light emergent side of the refraction piece, and the image light of the amplifying assembly is processed to amplify a virtual image formed by the image light. In the invention, the refraction piece is arranged between the image source component and the virtual image, the optical path of the image light is changed, and the whole or partial imaging distance of the virtual image is adjusted, so that the virtual image is attached to the real scene. The refraction piece is arranged, so that a flexible installation mode can be provided for the image source assembly, the size of the head-up display device is reduced, and the head-up display device is convenient to install.

Description

Head-up display device, refraction piece and vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the field of heads-up display technology. More particularly, the present invention relates to a head-up display device, a refractive element, and a vehicle.

Background

The head-up display HUD (head up display) is designed by reflection optics, so that the light emitted from the image source is finally projected onto an imaging window (an imaging plate or a windshield, etc.), and a user can directly see the virtual image of the head-up display without lowering the head. The head-up display can avoid a driver from looking down at the instrument panel in the process of driving the vehicle, and the driving safety coefficient is improved.

The AR-HUD combines the AR augmented reality technology and the HUD head-up display, has a larger field angle and a longer imaging distance, and aims to directly superimpose a virtual image on a real scene. However, when the virtual image distance (Virtual Image Distance, abbreviated as VID) of the virtual image of the AR-HUD does not match the real scene, the user's gaze focus is caused to switch focus between the real scene and the virtual image, resulting in visual fatigue.

Because of the influence of various factors such as the curved condition of lane line, the change of vehicle orientation, the position of barrier, the appearance of real scene, it is difficult to laminate virtual image and real scene, need adjust HUD virtual image's imaging plane, form the imaging plane of buckling according to different real scenes, make virtual image's part can contain different virtual image distances to reach the effect of laminating more with real scene.

In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a head-up display device, a refractive element, and a vehicle for achieving a virtual image that is more closely matched to a real scene.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve at least one of the problems, the invention provides a head-up display device, a refraction element thereof and a vehicle, and the AR content is attached to an environmental object more closely. Moreover, the imaging distance of part or all of the formed virtual images is gradually changed, so that the parallax and visual convergence problems can be reduced, and the corresponding AR content can be displayed by adapting to environmental objects with different distances.

The technical scheme of the invention is suitable for the head-up display, or can be a non-head-up display device which can adopt the technical scheme.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a head-up display device comprising: an image source assembly 100 configured to emit image light; a refraction member 500, wherein the refraction member 500 is disposed on the light-emitting side of the image source assembly 100, and is configured to change at least the optical path length of a part of the image light, so as to change at least a part of the imaging distance of a virtual image formed by the image light; and an amplifying unit 300, wherein the amplifying unit 300 is disposed on the light emitting side of the refraction member 500, and the amplifying unit 300 processes the image light to amplify a virtual image formed by the image light.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the refractive index of the refractive element 500 is greater than that of air; the refractive index of the refractive element 500 is the same throughout or the difference between the refractive indices is less than a preset threshold; the refraction element 500 has a light incident surface and a light emergent surface, and distances from different positions in the light emergent surface of the refraction element 500 to corresponding positions in the light incident surface are matched with imaging distances of corresponding positions in the virtual image.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the thickness and/or refractive index of the refractive element 500 varies gradually in a direction from one side of the refractive element 500 to the other; and/or the thickness and/or refractive index of the refractive member 500 gradually varies in a direction from the inside of the refractive member 500 toward the edge.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the light incident surface of the refraction element 500 is a plane, and the light emergent surface is a curved surface; the light-emitting surface is provided with contour lines, and the contour lines are at least one of straight lines, curves and fold lines; the pitch of the contour lines is constant or gradually changed.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the refractive element 500 covers at least a portion of the image source assembly 100.

According to one embodiment of the invention, when the refractive element 500 covers a portion of the image source assembly 100, the thickness of the refractive element 500 decreases in a direction toward the portion of the image source assembly 100 that is not covered or the refractive index of the refractive element 500 decreases in a direction toward the portion of the image source assembly 100 that is not covered.

According to one embodiment of the invention, at least a portion of the refraction element 500 is disposed in the image source assembly 100; or, at least part of the refraction member 500 and the image source assembly 100 are provided with a light-transmitting protection element, the light-transmitting protection element is fixedly arranged on the bearing bracket, the refraction member 500 is fixedly arranged on the light-emitting surface of the light-transmitting protection element, the image source assembly 100 comprises a liquid crystal display screen, the liquid crystal display screen is attached to the light-entering surface of the light-transmitting protection element, and the bottom surface of the liquid crystal display screen is suspended.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the head-up display device further includes: a moving assembly configured to adjust the relative position and/or tilt angle of the refractive element 500 and the image source assembly 100.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refractive element 500 for use in a head-up display device, the refractive element 500 being positioned between an image source assembly 100 and a virtual image; the thickness and/or refractive index of the refractive element 500 is configured to change at least the optical path length of a portion of the image light emitted by the image source assembly 100 such that the image light forms a virtual image having at least a partial change in imaging distance.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle mounted with the head-up display device of any one of the foregoing.

By means of the head-up display device, the refraction piece is arranged between the image source component and the virtual image, the optical path of image light is changed, the whole or partial imaging distance of the virtual image is adjusted, and the fact that the virtual image is attached to a real scene is achieved. By setting the thickness or refractive index of the refractive member to gradually change, the imaging distance change of each part of the virtual image is kept continuous, and the effect of continuous zooming of the virtual image is formed. By setting the thickness or refractive index of the refractive element to gradually change from one side to the other side, the established virtual image is more attached to the road surface. Through setting up thickness or the refractive index of refraction spare and upwards gradual change in the direction towards the edge from inside, make the virtual image that holds more laminate in the reality scene of roadside both sides, top etc. position. By arranging the concave surface, the U shape, the dustpan shape and the like of the refraction piece, the virtual image can be attached to the special-shaped real scene. By setting the type of contour lines on the light-emitting surface of the refraction element 500 and the variation range of the plano distance, virtual images attached to different real scenes can be presented. In addition, correct image light orientation problem that image source subassembly slope or crooked caused through the refracting part, set up the refracting part and still can provide nimble mounting means for image source subassembly, reduce the volume of new line display device, easy to assemble. The damage of the refraction piece to the light emitting surface of the image source component is reduced by arranging the light-transmitting protection element.

Drawings

The above, as well as additional purposes, features, and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation, and like reference numerals refer to similar or corresponding parts and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a prior art head-up display;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a head-up display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a virtual image forming surface formed by a refractive element;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a refractive element of triangular configuration;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of another refractive element;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic top view of the light-emitting surface of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of yet another refractive element;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of a U-shaped refractive element;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of a dustpan-shaped refractive member;

FIG. 10 is a schematic top view of the light exit surface of various refractive elements;

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a contour linear pitch gradation of the light exit face of a refractive element;

FIG. 12 shows a schematic view of an image source;

FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of an image source for use in a display device;

Fig. 14 shows a schematic view of an image source in which the light source sections are arranged obliquely;

FIG. 15a shows a schematic view according to an image source comprising a tilted light source;

FIG. 15b shows a schematic view of an image source with the light source light deflection adjusted by a directional control;

FIG. 16 shows a schematic view of an image source including a light compensator;

FIG. 17a shows a schematic view of an image source in which the light compensator includes a deflection layer;

FIG. 17b shows a schematic structural view of a deflection layer;

FIG. 17c shows an enlarged schematic view of a tooth-like refractive structure;

fig. 18 shows a schematic view of an image source comprising a reflective element.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are some, but not all embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

It should be understood that the terms "comprises" and "comprising," when used in this specification and in the claims, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the specification and claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the term "and/or" as used in the present specification and claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes such combinations.

Specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a prior art head-up display.

As shown in fig. 1, the head-up display of the conventional vehicle includes an image source assembly 100, a reflecting member 200, an amplifying assembly 300, and an imaging window 400, forming a complete light path. The image source assembly 100 is configured to emit image light, reflect from the reflective element 200, amplify from the magnifying element 300, and finally reflect from the imaging window 400 (e.g., windshield) toward the user, and enter the user's eye box area to enable the user to see the virtual image. The eyebox area refers to the frontal line of sight of the user when using the heads-up display.

If some contents corresponding to the environmental objects need to be displayed in the virtual image formed by the imaging window 400, such as an arrow for identifying a roadside restaurant or an arrow for identifying the turning direction of an intersection, good visual perception is provided for the user when the contents are matched with the position of the real environmental objects. However, the inventor finds that the virtual image formed by the existing HUD is perpendicular to the road surface and the imaging distance is fixed, so that the virtual image is difficult to keep good fusion between the content and the environmental object, for example, the virtual image formed by the HUD with a single imaging distance is difficult to be closely attached to the real environment due to the difference of the bending degree of the road, the change of the orientation of the vehicle, the appearance of the obstacle and the like, and the problems of parallax, visual convergence and the like occur, which affect the use experience of a user.

The parallax problem of the HUD arises because there is a positional deviation between the virtual image and the corresponding environmental object, so that the position of the virtual image seen by at least one of the left and right eyes of the user is not aligned with the environmental object. For example, when it is desired to project content associated with an environmental object (i.e., AR content) as a virtual image, only a virtual image having a single imaging distance makes the AR content not closely fit to a real scene.

The reason for the generation of the vergence is that in the case where the virtual image is not aligned with the environmental object, there is a difference between the actual physical focal length of the eye viewing the virtual image and the focal length of the environmental object, and the perceived distance of the brain-perceived virtual image is different from the actual physical focal length, resulting in that the vergence and focusing cannot be synchronously cooperated, causing discomfort to the user.

In view of this, the embodiment of the present invention provides a head-up display device, in which the refraction element 500 is disposed on the light-emitting side of the image source assembly 100, so that the optical path length of at least part of the image light is changed, so that the imaging distance of at least part of the virtual image is changed, thereby adapting to the requirement of the application environment, and the imaging distance of the content displayed on the virtual image can be matched with the distance of the user relative to the environmental object, so as to achieve the effect that the display content of the virtual image is closely attached to the environmental object all the time.

In the present invention, the optical path means: the optical distance that the image light rays emanating from the image source assembly 100 travel to the magnification assembly 300 is the product of the geometric path the light travels and the refractive index of the propagation medium. In the case where the refractive element 500 is provided, the geometric path of the image light rays exiting the image source assembly 100 to the magnification assembly 300 includes the portion thereof passing through the refractive element 500 and the portion passing through the air. The optical path in the refractive element 500 is the product of the geometric path of the image light rays passing through the refractive element 500 and the refractive index of the refractive element 500 passing through it, and is adjusted by virtue of the refractive index of the refractive element 500 being different from that of air, relative to the case of propagation in the same shape, volume of air.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a head-up display device according to an embodiment of the invention.

As shown in fig. 2, the head-up display device includes: the image source assembly 100 is configured to emit image light. And a refraction member 500, wherein the refraction member 500 is disposed on the light emitting side of the image source assembly 100, and is configured to change at least the optical path length of a part of the image light, so as to change at least a part of the imaging distance of the virtual image formed by the image light. The amplifying component 300 is disposed on the light emitting side of the refraction element 500, and the amplifying component 300 processes the image light to amplify a virtual image formed by the image light.

The image source assembly 100 may be any device capable of forming image light, may be a monochromatic image source, may be a color image source, and may further include auxiliary devices other than an image source, such as a filter, a correction filter, an optical path compensator, and the like. The invention is not limited to a particular type of image source assembly 100.

For example, an image source, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), etc. that can emit RGB mixed light. As another example, the image source assembly 100 includes a backlight and a display screen, which may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Thin Film Transistor (TFT), a digital light processing Device (DLP), or a Liquid Crystal On Silicon (LCOS) that emits a virtual or real image.

The reflecting member 200 as an optional component includes at least one of a flat mirror, a curved mirror, an aspherical mirror and a spherical mirror, which mainly functions to reflect the image light emitted from the image source assembly 100 to the magnifying assembly 300, and one or more reflecting members 200 may be provided so that the volume of the HUD may be reduced, but the reflecting member 200 is not necessarily omitted.

Magnification unit 300 the magnification unit 300 may be formed of a single or multiple optical components such as a reflective optical component, a refractive optical component, a diffractive optical component, etc., and may appropriately magnify and project a virtual image displayed by the image source unit 100 toward the windshield so that a user can see the magnified virtual image. The magnifying element 300 may be any optical structure capable of magnifying an image, and the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the magnification assembly 300 may be a concave mirror, a free-form mirror, or the like. Preferably, the magnification assembly 300 employs a concave mirror that cooperates with the imaging window 400 (e.g., a windshield) to eliminate distortion of the virtual image caused by the imaging window 400.

The refraction element 500 may be a transparent solid medium, such as a transparent plastic medium, a transparent crystal, or a liquid or a colloid capable of producing a refraction effect, and materials capable of changing the optical path may be selected.

The function of the refractive element 500 is to change the optical path length of the image light as it passes through the refractive element 500. The virtual image with the close fitting characteristic required requires a more complex surface shape and/or inclination angle due to the difference of environmental objects in the real scene, and the required surface shape and/or inclination angle can be formed by changing the optical path by providing the refractive element 500 with a refractive index different from that of air.

For example, the broken line in fig. 2 indicates the image light refracting element 500 that has not been changed by the refracting element 500, and the solid line indicates the image light refracting element 500 that has undergone the change of the refracting element 500, together forming a virtual image shape different from that of fig. 1. The shape of the light exit surface of the refractive element 500, the thickness variation of the refractive element 500 at each location, the refractive index variation, and the like are combined to determine the plane shape and/or the inclination angle of the virtual image. The virtual image formed by the refractive member 500 may include a tiled portion that fits the ground, and at least one left or right portion, and may include a vertical portion in front, a sky portion, and the like, which may be formed of the same image source or may be formed of a plurality of image sources.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of a virtual image forming surface formed by refractive elements.

As shown in fig. 3, the imaging surface of the virtual image is deformed by the refractive member 500. The deformation of the imaging surface of the virtual image can be changed into a curved surface by a plane, such as a curved surface image, a U shape, a dustpan shape or other arc shapes, or can be changed into a plane by a curved surface, or changed into different bending degrees, bending directions and the like.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the refractive index of the refractive element 500 is greater than the refractive index of air. The refractive index is the same throughout the refractive element 500 or the difference between the refractive indices is less than a preset threshold, which may be determined as desired, for example, 0.5. The refraction element 500 has a light incident surface and a light emergent surface, and distances from different positions in the light emergent surface of the refraction element 500 to corresponding positions in the light incident surface are matched with imaging distances of corresponding positions in the virtual image.

The deviation of the refractive index of the refractive member 500 is controlled within a certain reasonable range by the preset threshold value of the refractive member 500, and the refractive index of the refractive member 500 can be considered to be uniform within the reasonable range. The manner in which the refractive element 500 affects the image light may be controlled by using different thicknesses. When the refractive element 500 has different thicknesses at different positions, the influence on the optical path length of the image light is different, and the thicknesses at different positions of the refractive element 500 can be set according to the requirement that the virtual image is attached to the real scene. The thicknesses of the refraction element 500 at different positions include thicknesses perpendicular to the light incident surface or the light emergent surface and thicknesses along the light path, for example: the distances from different positions on the light-emitting surface to the corresponding positions on the light-entering surface of the refraction element 500. The matching means that the imaging distance of the corresponding position in the virtual image is influenced, so that the surface type and/or the inclination angle of the virtual image can meet the requirement, and then when the virtual image is attached to a real scene, corresponding contents can be displayed at the corresponding position according to the distance and the angle of the real scene relative to a user, or the corresponding contents can be displayed at the position deviating from a smaller position, and the problems of parallax and visual convergence are solved.

The refractive element 500 may be a transparent solid medium such as a transparent plastic medium, transparent crystal, etc., or may be a liquid or gel capable of producing refraction so long as the optical path length can be changed without affecting imaging. The material of the refractive member 500 may be at least one of an inorganic material, an organic material, and a composite material. The inorganic material may include glass, quartz, etc., the organic material may include, for example, a high molecular material such as a resin material, etc., and the composite material may include metal oxide doped-polymethyl methacrylate, etc. The material of the refractive element 500 is not limited to the above-listed materials, and may have a light transmittance and a difference in refractive index from air.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the refractive index of the refractive member 500 is different from that of air, and the refractive index of the refractive member 500 is greater than that of air, i.e., greater than 1. The transmittance of the light rays by the refraction element 500 is 60% -100%. For example, the refractive element 500 has a light transmittance of 80% to 99% for light. For example, the refractive element 500 has a light transmittance of 90% to 99% for light.

The refraction member 500 may be an integrally formed structure, or may be formed by splicing or stacking a plurality of sheet-shaped sub-refraction members 500, where the plurality of sub-refraction members 500 are sequentially arranged to form one refraction member 500, and the refraction member 500 may be a plurality of stacked sub-refraction members 500, and the plurality of sub-refraction members 500 may have the same or different refractive indexes. The materials of the plurality of sub-refractive members 500 may be different to have different refractive indexes, or the distances from the light incident surface to the light emergent surface of each sub-refractive member 500 may be different to have different refractive indexes.

The light incident surface of the refraction element 500 is close to the lower surface of the image source assembly 100, and the light emergent surface is far from the upper surface of the image source assembly 100. Of course, the concepts of up, down, and left and right are related to the arrangement position of the refractive element 500, and are merely exemplary in this embodiment.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the thickness and/or refractive index of the refractive element 500 varies gradually in a direction from one side of the refractive element 500 to the other. And/or the thickness and/or refractive index of the refractive member 500 gradually varies in a direction from the inside of the refractive member 500 toward the edge. For example, the left-right direction of the drawing sheet in fig. 2 is defined as the longitudinal direction of the image source device 100, the direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet is defined as the width direction of the image source device 100, and the up-down direction of the drawing sheet is defined as the thickness (also referred to as the height) direction of the image source device 100. The thickness of the refraction element 500 may be gradually increased along the length direction and/or the width direction of the image source assembly 100, or gradually decreased after gradually increased, or gradually increased after gradually decreased, etc.

The refractive 500 may adjust only the inclination angle of the virtual image; alternatively, the refractive element 500 adjusts only the shape of the image plane, such as adjusting the planar virtual image to a curved virtual image; alternatively, the curved virtual image may be adjusted to a planar virtual image, or the curved virtual image may be adjusted to another curved virtual image, or the like.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of a refractive element of triangular configuration.

As shown in fig. 4, the light exit surface and the light entrance surface of the refraction element 500 are both plane surfaces. The thickness in the vertical direction gradually becomes thinner along the direction from one end to the other end of the refractive element 500, and the effect of the gradual change on the incident image light is continuous, so that the formed virtual image surface is inclined, and the continuous zooming effect is formed.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of another refractive element. Fig. 6 shows a schematic top view of the light emitting surface of fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the light incident surface of the refraction element 500 is a plane, and the light emergent surface is a concave surface. The thickness in the vertical direction gradually becomes thinner in the direction from one end to the other end of the refractive element 500, and this gradual change is suitable for a scene in which portions of the virtual image corresponding to both sides of the refractive element 500 extend to be bent. The light exit surface of the planar-view refractor 500 may have a tapered shape, a trapezoid shape, or the like.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic view of a further refractive element.

As shown in fig. 7, the thickness of the refractive element 500 gradually increases from the inside toward the edge. That is, the middle portion of the refractive element 500 is depressed downward, and a three-dimensional virtual image gradually bent in the direction from the middle to the peripheral edge is formed by the influence of the image light, so that the three-dimensional virtual image is attached to the corresponding real scene. The refractive element 500 may be thin in the center and gradually increase in thickness to the periphery, or thin in the edge and gradually increase in thickness to the center.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of a U-shaped refractive element.

As shown in fig. 8, the thickness of the refractive element 500 gradually increases from the middle toward both sides. By affecting the image light, a three-dimensional virtual image is formed which is gradually bent in the direction from the middle to the two sides, and is attached to the corresponding real scene.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic view of a dustpan-shaped refractive element.

As shown in fig. 9, the refraction member 500 has a dustpan structure, one side and the top surface of the refraction member 500 have openings, and the thickness of the other three sides is gradually reduced from the periphery toward the center.

Fig. 10 is a schematic top view of the light-emitting surface of various refractive elements.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram of the contour linear pitch gradation of the light exit surface of the refractive element.

As shown in fig. 10, the light incident surface of the refraction element 500 is a plane, and the light emergent surface is a curved surface. And the light-emitting surface is provided with contour lines, and the contour lines are at least one of straight lines, curved lines and folding lines. The straight distance H of the contour line is constant or gradually changed.

The contour lines of the refractive element 500 are understood to be lines connecting locations of the same thickness on the refractive element 500. Typically, the contour line pitch H refers to the horizontal distance between two adjacent contour lines on the topography. In the present invention, the smaller the pitch of the contour line, the more remarkable the thickness variation is explained. The constant and gradual progression of the plano-focal length results in the formation of a continuous zoom effect for the virtual image being formed.

As shown in fig. 10 and 11, at least part of the contour lines of the refractive member 500 are at least one of straight lines, curved lines, and broken lines. The shape and thickness of the light-emitting surface of the refraction element 500 can meet the requirement of fitting the virtual image with the real scene. For example, based on the imaging principle, the imaging distance of the image light rays incident on the same contour line of the refractive element 500 is the same at the corresponding positions on the virtual image.

At least part of the contour lines of the refractive element 500 are straight lines and are equally spaced or variable spaced along the first direction or the second direction. The first direction may be one of a length direction or a width direction of the image source assembly 100, and the second direction may be the other of the length direction or the width direction of the image source assembly 100.

Alternatively, at least a portion of the contour of the refractive element 500 is a closed curve and is equally or variably spaced along the first or second direction.

Alternatively, at least a portion of the contour of the refractive element 500 is a non-closed curve and is equally or variably spaced along the first or second direction.

Alternatively, at least part of the contour lines of the refractive element 500 are broken lines, and are equally spaced or variable spaced along the first direction or the second direction.

When the equal-pitch distribution of the contour lines on the light-emitting surface of the refraction element 500 is performed, the imaging distance of the virtual image is uniformly changed, and when the equal-pitch distribution is performed, the imaging distance of the virtual image is unevenly changed, so that the virtual image can be attached to different reality scenes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be a combination of different contour lines on the light-emitting surface of the refraction element 500, and the refraction element 500 is used to form a desired virtual image, so as to meet the surface type and/or inclination angle requirements of different virtual images.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the refractive index of at least a portion of the refractive element 500 is gradually changed in at least one direction. Even if the thickness of the refraction element 500 at different positions is not changed, the optical path lengths of the light rays at different positions can be made different, so that a virtual image with the shape of an image plane and the inclination angle required to be attached to a real scene can be obtained. Of course, the thickness variation and refractive index variation of the refractive element 500 may be adjusted in combination, so that the fitting of the virtual image and the real scene may be further satisfied.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the light incident surface of the refraction element 500 is a plane and is parallel to the light emergent surface of the image source assembly 100, and the light emergent surface of the refraction element 500 is a plane and is parallel to the light incident surface, and the refractive index of the refraction element 500 gradually changes along the direction perpendicular to the light incident surface and/or the direction parallel to the light incident surface, and the gradually changes include, but are not limited to, gradually increases, gradually decreases, or a combination of gradually decreases and gradually increases.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the light incident surface of the refraction element 500 is a plane and is parallel to the light emergent surface of the image source assembly 100, and the refractive indexes of at least two regions of the refraction element 500 are different along the direction perpendicular to the light incident surface and/or the direction parallel to the light incident surface, and the distances from at least two regions of the light emergent surface of the refraction element 500 to the light incident surface are different, so long as the gradual change of the optical path along with the position can be realized. Gradual changes include, but are not limited to, gradual increases, gradual decreases, or a combination of gradual decreases and gradual increases.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the refractive element 500 covers at least a portion of the image source assembly 100. In this embodiment, besides adjusting the imaging plane of the virtual image by using the refraction element 500, the refraction element 500 may be used to implement flexible setting of the position of the image source assembly 100, where the image source assembly 100 may be horizontally set, and may be set to any other angle, and by adding the corresponding refraction element 500, the required virtual image is implemented, so as to reduce the requirement on the installation angle of the image source assembly 100, thereby reducing the volume of the head-up display device or reasonably using the space of the vehicle driver's cab position.

When the refraction element 500 covers a portion of the image source assembly 100, only a portion of the image light is adjusted, so that the imaging distance of the partial virtual image is adjusted, and the whole virtual image is attached to the real scene.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, when the refractive member 500 covers a portion of the image source assembly 100, the thickness of the refractive member 500 decreases toward the portion of the image source assembly 100 that is not covered or the refractive index of the refractive member 500 decreases toward the portion of the image source assembly 100 that is not covered. When the refractive element 500 covers a part of the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 or covers a part of the light emitting surface of the light-transmitting protective element, the light emitting surface of the refractive element 500 gradually transitions to the uncovered light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 in the thickness direction. That is, in the case of covering a portion of the light-emitting surface, the light-emitting surface of the refractive element 500 gradually transitions to the uncovered light-emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 in the thickness direction, so as to achieve continuity of deformation of the virtual image, and avoid splitting or breaking of the virtual image.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least part of the refraction member 500 is attached to the image source assembly 100, or a light-transmitting protection element is disposed between at least part of the refraction member 500 and the image source assembly 100, the light-transmitting protection element is fixedly disposed on the bearing bracket, the refraction member 500 is fixedly disposed on the light-emitting surface of the light-transmitting protection element, the image source assembly 100 includes a liquid crystal display screen, and the liquid crystal display screen is attached to the light-entering surface of the light-transmitting protection element; the bottom surface of the liquid crystal display screen is suspended or provided with a stress buffer structure. The refraction element 500 and the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 may be adhered and connected by transparent optical cement.

The bottom surface of the display screen is suspended, so that the liquid crystal display screen is prevented from being deformed due to additional stress, and the contrast is reduced. In addition, the stress buffer structure can be arranged to absorb the stress generated in the working process, so that the contrast of the liquid crystal display screen is ensured. The stress buffering structure may be foam, rubber pad, etc., which is not limited.

The refraction element 500 may be directly bonded to the light exit surface of the image source module 100 or indirectly bonded to the light exit surface of the image source module 100 through other structures, and may be considered to be bonded to the light exit surface of the image source module 100 when there is no gaseous medium between the light entrance surface of the refraction element 500 and the light exit surface. When the refraction element 500 is attached to the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100, the image light is adjusted from the source of the image light, and the image light to be adjusted can be accurately covered by adopting the refraction element 500 with a smaller area.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a gaseous medium layer is present between at least a portion of the refractive element 500 and the image source assembly 100. The gas medium layer separates the refraction member 500 from the image source assembly 100, so that damage to the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 caused by the refraction member 500 can be avoided. Preferably, the distance between the light incident surface of the refraction element 500 and the light emergent surface of the image source assembly 100 is less than or equal to 50mm, or less than 30mm, or less than 10mm. If the light incident surface of the refraction element 500 and the light emergent surface of the image source assembly 100 are parallel to each other, the distance between the two may be the distance between any corresponding points between the two, and if the two are inclined relatively, the distance between the two may be the minimum distance or the maximum distance between the two, or the distance between certain selected positions. When a gap exists between the refractive element 500 and the image source assembly 100, the refractive element 500 may be mounted by a support structure to be spaced apart from the image source assembly 100.

When a part of the refraction element 500 is attached to the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100, a light-transmitting protection element may be further disposed between the refraction element 500 and the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100, and the refraction element 500 is carried by the light-transmitting protection element to prevent the refraction element 500 from damaging the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100. When the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 is a liquid crystal display, the light transmitting protection element can prevent the liquid crystal display from being stressed or deformed to influence the display effect of the liquid crystal display. The transparent protective member may be made of any transparent member such as glass, quartz or resin capable of carrying the refractive member 500. The light-transmitting protective element may have substantially equal refractive index and thickness throughout, so that the inclination angle and the surface shape of the virtual image are not adversely affected even if the light-transmitting protective element is provided.

The light-transmitting protective element may be mounted on a support frame or other support structure, and the support frame or support structure carries the light-transmitting protective element, and the support frame or support structure adapts to the deformation when the light-transmitting protective element deforms, so as to prevent the compression on the light-emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 caused by the deformation of the light-transmitting protective element.

When the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 is a liquid crystal display, the liquid crystal display can be adhered to the light-transmitting protective element through transparent glue, and the edge of the image source assembly 100 is supported and limited through another frame so as to keep the stability of the liquid crystal display.

In addition, if the refractive element 500 covers the entire light exit surface of the image source assembly 100, a light-transmitting protection element may be provided between the refractive element 500 and the image source assembly 100 or omitted.

For the case where the light-transmitting protective element is provided, the thickness of the light-transmitting protective element is greater than or equal to 0.5% of the diagonal length of the light-emitting surface of the image source assembly 100. If no light-transmitting protective element is provided, the minimum thickness of the refractive element 500 is greater than or equal to 0.5% of the diagonal length of the lcd. The light-transmitting protective element or the refractive element 500 can be made to have a better rigidity, reducing deformation.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the head-up display device further includes: a moving assembly configured to adjust the relative position and/or tilt angle of the refractive element 500 and the image source assembly 100.

The moving assembly may include a driving means and a guiding means, and may adjust only the position and angle of the refractive member 500, or may adjust both the position and angle of the refractive member 500 and the image source assembly 100. Through the regulation of moving the subassembly, make refracting part 500 switch the regulation mode of image light, can be adapted to different reality scenes, reach the purpose that virtual image and reality scene laminate mutually.

In one possible manner, the apparatus may include at least two image source assemblies 100, wherein one image source assembly 100 is an image source assembly 100 having an naked eye 3D effect. The image source assembly 100 with the naked eye 3D effect comprises a display screen for displaying images and a light ray adjusting structure arranged outside the display screen, wherein a part of pixels in the display screen are used for displaying a first image, another part of pixels are used for displaying a second image, the light ray adjusting structure enables a left eye of a user to only see the first image, and a right eye of the user only sees the second image, so that the naked eye 3D effect is realized.

According to another aspect of the present invention, since the magnifying module 300 of the present invention is a free-form surface mirror adapted to the windshield, the free-form surface mirror functions to adapt to the windshield to eliminate distortion caused by the windshield, and to reflect light to the windshield, and to reflect light from the windshield to reach the eye box area, thereby avoiding light waste and ensuring energy efficiency ratio. Based on this, after the refractive element 500 is added between the amplifying element 300 and the image source element 100, a part of light cannot reach the eye box area due to a certain influence of the refractive element 500 on the propagation direction of the outgoing light, so that the imaging effect is affected.

To solve this problem, the image source assembly 100 having a backlight compensation function is used, and the backlight compensation can be understood as that the backlight of the image source assembly 100 has a deflection angle for compensating for the additional deflection of the light due to the refractive member 500.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image source comprising: an imaging layer for emitting image source light based on the incident light source light; the light source part is arranged on one side of the light incident surface of the imaging layer and is used for emitting light rays of the light source, and at least part of the emitted light rays of the light source form deflection angles with the light incident surface of the imaging layer.

In some embodiments, the image source is used in a display device, and the display device includes a refraction element, where the refraction element is located on a side close to the light emitting surface of the imaging layer, and a deflection angle of the light source light emitted from the light source portion is used to compensate for an additional deflection of the refraction element caused by a propagation direction of the image source light emitted from the imaging layer, so that the image source light emitted from the refraction element is incident into a set eye box area.

In other embodiments, the light source part includes: the light source assembly is used for emitting light rays of the light source; and a light compensation member disposed between the light source assembly and the imaging layer or disposed within the light source assembly, for deflecting at least a portion of the light source light by the deflection angle.

In still other embodiments, the light compensator comprises at least one of a refractive layer, a fresnel lens, and a reflective element.

In some embodiments, the refractive element has a first incident surface and a first exit surface, the deflecting layer includes a plurality of tooth-shaped refractive structures, the tooth-shaped refractive structures include a second incident surface and a second exit surface, an included angle is formed between the second incident surface and the second exit surface, and an angle value of the included angle is matched with an angle value of the included angle between the first exit surface and the first incident surface at a corresponding position on the refractive element.

In other embodiments, the reflective element comprises a first sub-reflective element and a second sub-reflective element, the first sub-reflective element being disposed obliquely with respect to the light source assembly to reflect at least a portion of the light source light rays to the second sub-reflective element; the second sub-reflecting element is obliquely arranged relative to the first sub-reflecting element and is used for reflecting the light source rays reflected by the first sub-reflecting element to the imaging layer so that the reflected light source rays are deflected.

In still other embodiments, the shape of the light compensator is complementary to the shape of the refractor.

In other embodiments, the light source portion is disposed at a first angle with respect to the imaging layer, such that at least a portion of light source light emitted by the light source portion enters the light incident surface of the imaging layer at the deflection angle.

The inventors have also found that the refractive element, while changing the optical path of the image source light, also deflects the direction of propagation of the image source light to some extent. Such deflection may prevent at least some of the source light from reaching the target location on the imaging volume, such that the source light may not be reflected to the user's eye box area, resulting in darkening of the brightness of the resulting virtual image, lack of images, and the like, thereby affecting the imaging performance. The inventor provides a new image source, which can solve the problem of loss of at least part of image source light caused by a refraction element.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic view of an image source.

As shown in fig. 12, the image source 100 may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source portion 120, where the light source portion 120 may be disposed on a light incident surface 211 side of the imaging layer 110, the light source portion 120 may be configured to emit light source light 10, and at least a portion of the emitted light source light 10 may form a deflection angle α with the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110; the imaging layer 110 may be configured to emit the image source light 30 based on the incident source light 10.

The light source section 120 is preferably a display screen, such as an LCD display screen. The light source part 120 may emit the light source light 10 based on an electroluminescence principle. In some embodiments, the Light source part 120 may include at least one of an electroluminescent element such as a Light Emitting Diode (Light Emitting Diode, LED), an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED), a Mini Light Emitting Diode (Mini LED), a Micro LED (Micro LED), a Cold cathode fluorescent lamp (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp, CCFL), an LED Cold Light source (Cold LED Light, CLL), an electro-luminescence (Electro Luminescent, EL), an electron emission (Field Emission Display, FED), a Quantum Dot Light (QD), and the like. In other embodiments, the light source 120 may further include an RGB three primary color laser module, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), and the like, for example, in a laser scanning projection (LBS) technology. In still other embodiments, the light source portion 120 may be disposed on a side close to the light incident surface 211, so that the emitted light source light 10 can be accurately incident on the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110.

In some embodiments, all the light source light rays 10 emitted by the light source portion 120 may form a deflection angle α with the light incident surface 211. In other embodiments, a portion of the light source light 10 emitted from the light source portion 120 may have a deflection angle α, and another portion of the light source light may not have a deflection angle but may be perpendicularly incident to the light incident surface 211. In still other embodiments, at least some light source light rays emitted by the light source portion 120 may have the same or different deflection angles, i.e., at least some light source light rays may have at least one deflection angle. In some examples, it may be desirable for the light rays incident into the refractive element to have a deflection angle.

The deflection angle α may be an angle between the light source light 10 (or a principal optical axis of the light source light) and a normal line of the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110. When the light source light 10 is coincident with the normal line of the light incident surface 211, the light is vertically incident to the light incident surface 211. In some embodiments, the light source portion 120 may be disposed obliquely with respect to the imaging layer 110 for the purpose of deflecting at least a portion of the emitted light source light rays 10. In other embodiments, a deflecting device may be included in the light source portion 120 for deflecting at least a portion of the light source light rays 10.

In other embodiments, imaging layer 110 may include a light modulating layer for converting incident source light 10 into image source light 30 that can be imaged. In still other embodiments, the light modulation layer may include a liquid crystal panel or the like. The liquid crystal panel may form the incident light source light 10 into an image source light having a predetermined pattern or an unpatterned pattern in at least a part of the area. The preset pattern may be any pattern to be displayed, for example, a pattern with driving information such as navigation, fuel amount, mileage or road conditions of the surrounding environment of the driving vehicle, but is not limited thereto. The unpatterned source light may be source light that displays a pure background color. The liquid crystal panel may include, but is not limited to, a thin film transistor liquid crystal panel, a twisted nematic liquid crystal panel, a multi-domain vertical alignment liquid crystal panel, a planar switching liquid crystal panel, or an advanced super-dimensional field switching liquid crystal panel, etc. In some embodiments, the imaging layer 110 may include a Diffuser or curtain, or the like. In other embodiments, the exit angle of the image source light 30 exiting the imaging layer 110 may be substantially the same as the incident angle of the light source light 10 entering the imaging layer 110, i.e. the propagation direction of the incident light may not be changed, but is not limited thereto.

In some application scenarios, the image source 100 may be used in a display device including a refraction element, and when the refraction element is used for emitting a refraction light after refraction processing is performed on the image source light 30, the deflection angle α may be used for adjusting an emitting angle of the refraction light with respect to an emitting surface of the imaging layer 110, so as to correct deflection of at least part of the image source light caused by refraction processing of the refraction element to a certain extent, so that at least part of the refraction light can enter a target area (for example, an eye box area of a user) after the emitting angle is adjusted, thereby being beneficial to adjusting brightness of a virtual image and reducing loss of an image, and further being beneficial to improving an imaging effect.

For ease of understanding, further exemplary description will be provided below in connection with fig. 13.

Fig. 13 shows a schematic diagram of an image source for use in a display device.

As shown in fig. 13, the image source may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source part 120, and the image source may be used in a display device, and the display device may include a refractive element 500, and the refractive element 500 may be disposed on a light emitting surface 320 side of the imaging layer 110 and perform refraction processing on incident image source light. In some applications, the refractive element 500 may be located near the light-emitting surface 320 of the imaging layer 110. The image source according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to an application scene where the refractive element 500 entirely covers or partially covers the light emitting surface 320.

In a scene where the refraction element 500 entirely covers the light-emitting surface 320, all light source light emitted by the light source portion 120 may be deflected. In a scene where the refractive element 500 partially covers the light emitting surface 320, a portion of the light source light emitted by the light source unit 120 may be deflected. It is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto, and in a scenario where the refraction element 500 entirely covers the light-emitting surface 320, a portion of the light source light emitted by the light source portion 120 may be deflected, for example, only the light source light corresponding to the image source light incapable of entering the target area may be deflected, and other light source light corresponding to the image source light capable of entering the target area although being deflected may not be deflected. Similarly, in a scene where the refractive element 500 partially covers the light-emitting surface 320, all light source rays emitted by the light source 120 may be deflected, as long as the image source rays formed by the deflected light source rays can enter the target area.

For convenience of description, the following description will be given by taking an example in which the light emitting surface 320 is partially covered by the refraction element 500, and a portion of the light source light 11 emitted by the light source portion 120 is deflected by an angle α, and another portion of the light source light 12 is perpendicularly incident to the imaging layer 110. As shown in fig. 13, a part of the image source light rays 11 form image source light rays 40 after being refracted by the refractor 500, and another part of the light source light rays 12 form image source light rays 30 after being incident on the imaging layer 110 from the light emitting surface 320. Since no refractive element is provided on the optical path of the image source light ray 30, the propagation direction thereof is not changed.

As further shown in fig. 13, assuming that the light source portion 120 emits the light source light 13 (shown by a dot-dash line in the drawing) to vertically enter the imaging layer 110, an additional deflection β of the image source light emitted from the imaging layer 110 compared to the normal line of the light emitting surface 320 will occur after the refraction process of the refraction element 500, and the refracted light 41 (shown by a dot-dash line in the drawing) formed by the additional deflection β may not enter the target area. In contrast, a portion of the light source light 11 emitted from the light source portion 120 in the image source according to the embodiment of the disclosure may be incident on the imaging layer 110 at the deflection angle α, so that the refracted light 40 refracted by the refraction element 500 can at least reduce the included angle with the normal of the light emitting surface 320. In other words, the deflection angle α of at least part of the light source light 11 emitted from the light source 120 may be used to at least partially compensate for the additional deflection β of the refraction element 500 caused by the propagation direction of the image source light emitted from the imaging layer 110. The additional deflection β may be an angle of the image source light 30 exiting the light exit surface 320 when the refraction element 500 is not present and the light source light is not deflected.

In this embodiment, since the refractive element deflects the principal optical axis of the passing light, an additional deflection β exists between the refractive element and the planned principal optical axis, and the backlight compensation mode compensates the light needing to pass through the refractive element by making the backlight have a deflection angle α, so that the included angle between the principal optical axis of the light actually exiting after passing through the refractive element F and the planned principal optical axis satisfies θ1+.arctanh/2D, θ2+.arctanh'/2D, thereby ensuring that the compensated light can enter the eye box region. Wherein, θ1 is the included angle between the real main optical axis and the planned main optical axis in the horizontal direction, h is the length of the eye box area in the horizontal direction, D is the total optical distance between the image source and the eye box, θ2 is the included angle between the real main optical axis and the planned main optical axis in the vertical direction, and h' is the length of the eye box area in the vertical direction. By deflecting the backlight in such a way that the extra deflection beta caused by the refractive element is compensated, it is ensured that light passing through the refractive element can be incident on the eye-box area. Further, in a preferred embodiment, when the angle α of the deflection angle α is equal to the angle β of the additional deflection angle β, the deflection angle α can be offset from the additional deflection angle β, so that the light loss caused by the additional deflection angle β can be compensated to a greater extent, so that the image source light (i.e. the refractive light 40) exiting from the refractive element 500 can exit at a predetermined exit angle with respect to the light exit surface 320 of the imaging layer, for example, perpendicular (or approximately perpendicular) to the light exit surface 320 of the imaging layer 110. In this embodiment, the deflection angle α may be determined according to the refractive index of the refractive element 500 and the normal direction of the exit surface of the refractive element 500. In some embodiments, the predetermined exit angle may be an exit angle when the light source light without deflection compensation does not undergo refraction of the refraction element.

While an exemplary application of an image source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to a display device has been described above with reference to fig. 13, it is to be understood that the above description is exemplary and not limiting, and for example, the display device may not be limited to include only an image source and a refractive element, but may also include a reflective element and/or an amplifying element, etc., which will not be described herein. For example, the shape of the refractive element may be not limited to the triangular cross section in the drawing, but may be other polygonal cross section. The exit surface of the refractive element may be not limited to a flat surface, but may be a curved surface or the like. For example, the light source section 120 may be disposed not only in parallel with the imaging layer but also obliquely with respect to the imaging layer in the drawing. In order to better understand the specific implementation manner of the light source portion of the embodiments of the present disclosure to emit the light source light with the deflection angle, the image source of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to a plurality of embodiments.

Fig. 14 shows a schematic view of an image source in which the light source sections are arranged obliquely.

As shown in fig. 14, the image source may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source part 120, wherein the light source part 120 may be disposed obliquely with respect to the imaging layer 110, for example, may be disposed at a first angle γ with respect to the imaging layer 110, so that at least part of the light source light 10 emitted from the light source part 120 may be incident on the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 at a deflection angle α; imaging layer 110 may emit image source light 30 based on at least a portion of the incident light source light 10.

In some embodiments, the first angle γ may be an acute angle. The light source 120 may be disposed at a first angle γ with respect to the imaging layer 110, and may be disposed at an angle with respect to the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 on a side of the light source 120 from which the light source light 10 is emitted (i.e., the light emitting surface of the light source 120). The angular value of the first angle gamma may be determined according to the desired deflection angle alpha. When the principal ray (or called principal optical axis) of the light source light 10 emitted by the light source portion 120 is perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the light source portion 120, since the light source portion 120 has the first angle γ with respect to the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110, the light source light 10 can have a certain deflection with respect to the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110, so that the light source light 10 can be incident on at least one position on the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 at least one deflection angle. By adjusting the first angle γ, the effect of adjusting the deflection angle α can be achieved. The deflection angle α may be an angle between the light source light 10 and a normal line of the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110.

In other embodiments, the light source part 120 may include: a light source for emitting light source light; and a light processing member for performing at least one of a converging process, a diffusing process, a collimating process, and the like on light source light emitted from the light source. In some embodiments, the light treatment member may include an optical element such as a convex lens that can be used to focus light. In other embodiments, the light treatment may include optical elements and/or film structures for diffusing light, etc. In still other embodiments, the light treatment may include a lamp cup or the like for collimating light.

The number of light sources may be one or more. The number of light treatment elements may be one or more. In some embodiments, the light treatment members may be in one-to-one correspondence with the light sources, and each light treatment member is configured to treat light source light emitted by a corresponding light source. In still other embodiments, the light treatment may not change the direction of propagation of the light source light emitted by the light source. In some embodiments, the light source portion 120 may not be limited to the illustrated arrangement in which it is inclined as a whole, but the effect of controlling the deflection of the light source may be achieved by adjusting elements in the light source portion, such as a light source and/or a direction control member, etc.

An exemplary description will be made below with reference to fig. 15a and 15 b.

Fig. 15a shows a schematic diagram according to an image source comprising a tilted light source.

As shown in fig. 15a, the image source may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source part 120 (shown by a dotted line frame), wherein the light source part 120 may include a light source 510 and a direction control member 520, the light source 510 may be disposed at a first angle γ with respect to the imaging layer 110, so that light source light 10 emitted from the light source 510 may be incident on the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 at least one deflection angle α, and the imaging layer 110 may process the incident light source light 10 to emit image source light 30 deflected with respect to the light emitting surface of the imaging layer 110.

In some embodiments, the light source 510 may include at least one of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), mini light emitting diodes (Mini LEDs), micro light emitting diodes (Micro LEDs), cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs), LED Cold Light Sources (CLLs), electro-luminescence (ELs), electron emission (FED), quantum dot light Sources (QDs), etc., or may include, for example, RGB three primary color laser modules, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), etc.

By arranging the light source 510 in the light source section 120 obliquely with respect to the imaging layer 110, the light source light 10 having the deflection angle α with respect to the imaging layer 110 can be emitted without tilting other elements in the light source section 120. The scheme has simple structure and is easy to realize and manufacture. Further, it is understood that the light source 510 in the light source portion 120 may not be limited to be inclined to emit the light source light 10 deflected relative to the imaging layer 110, and the effect of deflecting the light source light 10 may be achieved by, for example, adjusting the light emitting direction of the direction control member 520. This will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 15 b.

Fig. 15b shows a schematic view of an image source with the light source light deflection adjusted by the direction control.

As shown in fig. 15b, the image source may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source portion, wherein the light source portion may include a light source 510 and a direction control member, and the direction control member may be used to adjust a propagation direction of the light source light 10 emitted from the light source 510, so that the light source light 10 may be incident on the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 at least one deflection angle α, and the imaging layer 110 may perform an imaging process on the incident light source light 10 to emit the image source light 30 deflected with respect to the light emitting surface of the imaging layer 110.

In some embodiments, the directional control may include light cups that may be in a one-to-one correspondence with the light sources 510 such that each light cup may direct light source light from a respective light source. In other embodiments, the direction control member may include a reflective wall 521, and the reflective wall 521 may extend in a direction at a first angle γ with respect to the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110, so that the light source light reflected by the reflective wall is deflected.

Specifically, the reflective wall 521 of the direction control member may receive an initial light emitted from the light source 510, and the initial light may change an original propagation direction after being reflected by the reflective wall 521, thereby forming the light source light 10 having a deflection angle. By adjusting the first angle γ between the reflective wall 521 of the direction control member and the imaging layer 110, the light emitting angle of the light source section, that is, the deflection angle α of the light source light 10 can be adjusted. In some embodiments, the reflective wall 521 may include a mirror or the like.

Fig. 16 shows a schematic view of an image source comprising a light compensator.

As shown in fig. 16, an image source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source part 120 (shown in dotted line), wherein the light source part 120 may include a light source assembly 610 and a light compensation member 620, the light source assembly 610 may be used to emit light source light 10, and the light compensation member 620 may deflect at least part of the light source light 10 into light deflected at an angle α. The light compensating member 620 may be disposed between the light source assembly 610 and the imaging layer 110, or may be disposed inside the light source assembly 610.

In some embodiments, the light source assembly 610 may include at least one of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), mini light emitting diodes (Mini LEDs), micro light emitting diodes (Micro LEDs), cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs), LED Cold Light Sources (CLLs), electro-luminescence (ELs), electron emission (FEDs), quantum dot light Sources (QDs), etc., or may include RGB three primary color laser modules and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), etc., such as in laser scanning projection (LBS) technology. In some embodiments, the light source assembly 610 may include: a light source for emitting light source light; and a light ray processing member for performing at least one of a converging process, a diffusing process, a collimating process, and the like on light source light rays emitted from the light source; and the light compensating member 620 may be disposed between the light source and the light treating member; or the light compensation member 620 may be disposed between the light treatment member and the imaging layer 110.

When the light compensation member 620 is disposed between the light processing member and the imaging layer 110, the light emitted from the light processing member is deflected by the light compensation member 620 and then enters the imaging layer 110, so as to achieve the purpose of backlight compensation. When the light compensation member 620 is disposed between the light source and the light processing member, the light emitted by the light source is deflected by the light compensation member 620 and then enters the light processing member, and then is emitted after at least one of the converging process, the diffusing process, the collimating process and the like is performed by the light processing member, and the light processing member can process the light without affecting the deflecting direction of the light source.

In some embodiments, the light treatment may not change the propagation direction of the light source light, and the light compensator 620 may be used to deflect the light source light. In other embodiments, the light management member may be configured to change the direction of propagation of the light from the light source, thereby eliminating the need for a light compensation member. In still other embodiments, the light processing element and the light compensation element may be configured to change the propagation direction of the light source light according to requirements, so as to meet application requirements, such as that multiple light source light rays are incident on the imaging layer at different deflection angles.

In other embodiments, the light compensator 620 may be disposed proximate to the light entrance surface 211 of the imaging layer 110. In still other embodiments, the light compensator 620 may be disposed to contact the light entrance surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 or not contact the light entrance surface 211 of the imaging layer 110. In some embodiments, the light compensator 620 may also be disposed proximate to the light source assembly 610 and may or may not be in contact with the light source assembly 610.

In some embodiments, the imaging layer 110 may be configured to convert the incident light source light into the image light 20 and emit the image light 20 from the light-emitting surface 320 of the imaging layer 110 to form the image source light 30, where the light source light may be incident on different positions of the light-incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 at least one deflection angle. For ease of description herein, light propagating in imaging layer 110 is referred to as image light 20, which may be understood as an intermediate state of conversion of light source light into image source light. In other embodiments, the imaging layer 110 may be configured to not change the propagation direction of the incident light source light, i.e., the exiting image source light is substantially the same as the propagation direction of the incident light source light.

In still other embodiments, the shape of the light compensator 620 can be complementary to the shape of the refractive element 500. In particular, when the image source according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to a display device including the refractive member 500, the shape of the light compensation member 620 may be determined according to the shape of the refractive member 500, particularly, the shape of the exit surface of the refractive member 500. The complementation of the shape is understood herein to mean that the entrance surface of the light compensator 620 is complementarily shaped to the exit surface of the refractive element 500.

For example, when the exit surface of the refractive element 500 is an inclined plane, a first angle θ1 between the incident surface of the light compensation element 620 and the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 may be complementary to a second angle θ2 between the exit surface of the refractive element 500 and the light emergent surface 320 of the imaging layer 110. Also, for example, when the exit surface of the refractive element 500 is a curved surface, a first angle θ1 between a tangent line at each position on the incident surface of the optical compensation element 620 and the light incident surface 211 is complementary to a second angle θ2 between a tangent line at the corresponding position on the exit surface of the refractive element 500 and the light emergent surface 320. The corresponding position may be a position where the same path of light passes through as a position on the incident surface of the light compensator 620. In some embodiments, the refractive indices of the light compensator 620 and the refractive element 500 may be the same. It is understood that, after the light passes through the light compensating element 620 and the refraction element 500, the light incident on the light compensating element 620 is parallel to the light exiting from the refraction element, and in other embodiments, the shape of the exit surface of the refraction element 500 and the shape of the incident surface of the light compensating element 620 may be bonded, and the bonded refraction element 500 and the light compensating element 620 may be combined into a rectangular body.

As further shown in fig. 16, the light source light 10 is deflected by the deflection angle α when passing through the light compensation element 620, so that deflected light source light can be formed and incident on the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110, and then the image source light 30 exits from the light emergent surface 320 of the imaging layer 110. Because the image source light rays 30 have a deflection angle, the additional deflection of the refractive element 500 can be at least partially counteracted. It can be seen that when the shape of the light compensating member 620 is configured to be complementary to the shape of the refractive member 500, the additional deflection of the refractive member 500 can be completely or approximately cancelled by the deflection effect of the light compensating member 620, so that the refracted light rays 40 can be emitted at a desired emission angle (e.g., perpendicular to the light emitting surface 320) when the refractive member 500 and the light compensating member 620 are not configured, thereby achieving the purposes of backlight compensation and image enhancement.

While an image source including a light compensator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to fig. 16, it is to be understood that the light compensator 620 shown in the figures is exemplary and not limiting, e.g., in some embodiments, the light compensator may include at least one of a refractive layer, a fresnel lens, a reflective element, and the like. In other embodiments, the light compensator 620 may be implemented as a fresnel lens, with the texture on the base of the fresnel lens having a refractive effect on the light, and the light passing through the fresnel lens may be deflected by a desired deflection angle by adjusting the texture on the base of the fresnel lens. In still other embodiments, the fresnel lens may be an off-center fresnel lens.

Fig. 17a shows a schematic view of an image source in which the light compensator comprises a deflection layer.

As shown in fig. 17a, an image source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source part 120 (shown in dashed boxes), wherein the light source part 120 may include a light source assembly 610 and a light compensator, where the light compensator may include a deflection layer 720. In some embodiments, the deflection layer 720 may be disposed proximate to the light source assembly 610. In other embodiments, the deflection layer 720 may be disposed in contact with the light source assembly 610 or out of contact. The light source light 10 emitted from the light source assembly 610 can be deflected by the deflecting layer 720 to emit light with a deflecting angle α, and the imaging layer 110 converts the incident deflected light into the image light 20 and emits the image light 30. The image source light 30 is refracted by the refractor 500 and then exits the refracted light 40.

In some embodiments, the refractive element 500 may have a first incident surface 711 and a first exit surface 712, and the deflecting layer 720 may include a plurality of tooth-like refractive structures, which may include a second incident surface and a second exit surface, and an included angle may be formed between the second incident surface and the second exit surface, and an angle value of the included angle matches an angle value of the included angle between the first exit surface 712 and the first incident surface 711 at a corresponding position on the refractive element 500. The corresponding position on the refractive element 500 refers to the position where the same beam of light passes. In some embodiments, the angle value matches may be the same angle value. According to such an arrangement, the deflection of the light source light by the deflection layer 720 may be made to compensate for the additional deflection caused by the refractive element 500.

To facilitate an understanding of the structure of the deflection layer, an exemplary description will be given below in connection with fig. 17b and 17 c.

Fig. 17b shows a schematic structural diagram of the deflection layer.

As shown in fig. 17b, the deflecting layer 720 may include a plurality of tooth-shaped refractive structures 721, and the light source light emitted from the light source assembly is deflected after passing through the tooth-shaped refractive structures 721 as shown in fig. 17 b. The angles between the second incident surface and the second emergent surface at different positions of the tooth-shaped refraction structure 721 may be different, so that the light source rays incident at different positions may be deflected at different angles. For example, the deflection angle of each tooth in the tooth-like refractive structure 721 is varied by adjusting at least one of the height, length, width, refractive index, and the like of the tooth to deflect the incident light of the light source. In other embodiments, the angles between the second incident surface and the second exit surface at different positions of the tooth-shaped refractive structure 721 may be set to be the same, so that the incident light source light rays may be deflected by the same deflection angle.

As further shown in fig. 17b, the deflection layer 720 may also include a substrate 722. The plurality of tooth-shaped refraction structures 721 may be disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 722, so that the light emitted from the light source assembly is deflected after passing through the tooth-shaped refraction structures 721 on the upper surface of the substrate 722. The portion shown in the circle in fig. 17b is enlarged below for a clearer understanding of the shape of the tooth-like refractive structure, and is presented in fig. 17 c.

Fig. 17c shows an enlarged schematic view of the tooth-like refractive structure.

As shown in fig. 17c, the tooth-like refractive structures 721 may have a certain inclination angle and height. The toothed refractive structure may preferably be a right triangle, but is allowed to be a non-right triangle because of machining errors and the like. The inclination angle and the height of the second exit surface of the tooth-shaped refractive structure 721 may be determined according to a desired deflection angle, which is not limited. In other embodiments, the light source light rays exiting at least some different positions of the second exit surface of the deflecting layer 720 may have different deflecting angles. For example, the deflecting layer may receive and refract one or more light source light rays, and the deflecting angle of different positions of the deflecting layer may be adjusted so that light source light rays exiting at least some different positions of the second exit surface of the deflecting layer have different deflecting angles. Therefore, the adaptive targeted adjustment can be carried out on the light rays of the light sources at different positions, and the accuracy of light compensation is improved.

The junction between the tooth-shaped refraction structure 721 and the substrate 722 may be a second incident surface of the tooth-shaped refraction structure 721, and the inclined surface of the tooth-shaped refraction structure 721, which is inclined with respect to the upper surface of the substrate 722, may be a second emergent surface, that is, a position where the light source light rays are emitted from the tooth-shaped refraction structure 721. In some embodiments, the tooth-shaped refraction structure 721 may have a right triangle shape, and the plane on which the hypotenuse of the right triangle is located is the second exit plane. It is to be understood that the toothed refractive structures 721 shown in fig. 17c are exemplary and not limiting, and that the toothed refractive structures 721 may be not limited to right triangle shapes in the illustration, but may be, for example, acute triangle shapes, and any slope of the acute triangle may be the second exit surface. The tooth-like refractive structures 721 may also be provided in an obtuse triangular shape as desired.

As shown in fig. 18, the image source may include an imaging layer 110 and a light source part, wherein the light source part may include a light source assembly 610 and a light compensator, which may include a reflective element 810 (shown in a dashed box). In some embodiments, reflective element 810 may include a first sub-reflective element 811 and a second sub-reflective element 812, the first sub-reflective element 811 may be disposed obliquely with respect to light source assembly 610 to reflect at least a portion of light source light rays 10 to the second sub-reflective element 812; the second sub-reflecting element 812 may be disposed obliquely with respect to the first sub-reflecting element 811, and the second sub-reflecting element 812 may be configured to reflect the light source light reflected by the first sub-reflecting element 811 to the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110, so as to deflect the reflected light source light, for example, by a deflection angle α. The imaging layer 110 may emit deflected image source light based on incident deflected light source light, such that when the image source is used in a display device including a refractive element, the additional deflection caused by the refractive element is at least partially counteracted to allow more image source light to enter the target area.

The reflecting element 810 has the effect of changing the direction of propagation of the light source. The reflection element 810 deflects the light source light according to the light path reflection principle, and can make the light source light 10 incident to different positions of the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 at least one deflection angle, so that the light source light is deflected.

By setting the optical path positions of the first sub-reflecting element 811 and the second sub-reflecting element 812, the first sub-reflecting element 811 receives the light source light 10 emitted from the light source assembly 610 and reflects the light source light 10 to the second sub-reflecting element 812. The second sub-reflecting element 812 receives and reflects the light source light reflected by the first sub-reflecting element 811, such that the light source light reflected by the second sub-reflecting element 812 is deflected with respect to the initial light source light 10 emitted from the light source assembly 610, and is incident on different positions of the light incident surface 211 of the imaging layer 110 at least one deflected angle. The arrangement positions and arrangement manners of the first sub-reflecting element 811 and the second sub-reflecting element 812 can be adjusted as needed, which is not limited in this embodiment.

While an exemplary description of an image source in which a light compensator includes reflective elements is described above in connection with fig. 18, it is to be understood that the description above is exemplary, and that reflective elements may not be limited to include only a first sub-reflective element and a second sub-reflective element, and that a greater number of sub-reflective elements may be provided as desired for reflecting light source light more times to achieve a desired deflection angle, or that different reflection paths may be provided for light source light emitted from different locations to achieve different deflection angles, for example.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art from the above description of the technical solution and the embodiments according to the present disclosure with reference to the several drawings, the image source according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may emit at least part of the light source light at the deflection angle by providing the light source portion, so that when the image source is applied to the display device including the refraction element, the deflection of the refraction element to the light of the image source is at least partially counteracted, so as to reduce the light loss caused by the deflection of the refraction element to the light of the image source, thereby realizing light compensation and improving the imaging effect of the display device. By carrying out compensation adjustment on the light source light, the incidence condition of the image source light relative to the eye box area is better than the incidence condition of the image source light relative to the eye box area under the condition of no compensation adjustment, so that the imaging effect is improved.

Further, in some embodiments, by arranging the optical compensation element, particularly when the shape of the optical compensation element is complementary to the shape of the refraction element, the extra deflection caused by the refraction element can be offset to the greatest extent, so that more image source light can enter the target area, and the problems of low imaging brightness, low imaging uniformity, low contrast, image deletion and the like caused by that part of the image source light cannot reach the eye box area are effectively avoided, so that the imaging effect can be significantly improved.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle mounted with the aforementioned head-up display device.

The windshield of the vehicle is used as the imaging window 400. The light of the display device is projected onto the windshield to display an image. The light is reflected by the windshield and then enters the eye box area. The eye-box region is located on one side of the windscreen and the user may consider the imaged virtual image displayed by the display device to be located on the other side of the windscreen. The display device improves the fusion degree of the display image and the actual environment, and avoids parallax and visual convergence adjustment conflict of a user when the vehicle is used.

The windshield includes a windshield made of glass, or a reflective film inside the windshield, which can reflect imaging light without affecting the driver's view of things or scenes outside the vehicle through the reflective film.

In the present invention, the refraction member 500 is disposed between the image source assembly 100 and the virtual image, so as to change the optical path length of the image light, and adjust the imaging distance of the whole or part of the formed virtual image, so as to achieve that the formed virtual image is attached to the real scene. By setting the thickness or refractive index of the refractive member 500 to gradually change, the imaging distance change of each portion of the virtual image is kept continuous, resulting in the effect of continuous zooming of the virtual image. By providing the refractive element 500 with a thickness or refractive index that gradually changes from one side to the other, the virtual image that is established is made to more closely fit the road surface. By providing the refractive element 500 with a thickness or refractive index gradually changing from the inside toward the edge, the virtual image is made to more fit the real scene at the positions of the roadside side, the top, and the like. By providing the concave surface, the U-shape, the dustpan shape, etc. of the refraction member 500, it is possible to realize that the established virtual image is attached to the special-shaped real scene. By setting the type of contour lines on the light-emitting surface of the refraction element 500 and the variation range of the plano distance, virtual images attached to different real scenes can be presented. In addition, the refraction member 500 corrects the problem of image light direction caused by inclination or bending of the image source assembly 100, and the refraction member 500 can provide a flexible installation mode for the image source assembly 100, so that the volume of the head-up display device is reduced, and the installation is convenient. The damage of the refraction member 500 to the light emitting surface of the image source assembly 100 is reduced by providing the light-transmitting protection element.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous modifications, changes, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. The appended claims are intended to define the scope of the invention and are therefore to cover all equivalents or alternatives falling within the scope of these claims.

Claims

1. A head-up display device, comprising:

an image source assembly (100) configured to emit image light;

a refractive element (500), the refractive element (500) being arranged on the light exit side of the image source assembly (100) and configured to change at least a portion of the optical path length of the image light, such that at least a portion of the imaging distance of a virtual image formed by the image light is changed;

and the amplifying component (300) is arranged on the light emitting side of the refraction piece (500), and the amplifying component (300) processes the image light to amplify a virtual image formed by the image light.

2. The head-up display device of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a display device,

the refractive index of the refractive element (500) is greater than the refractive index of air;

the refractive index of each part of the refractive element (500) is the same or the difference of the refractive indexes between each part is smaller than a preset threshold value; the refraction piece (500) is provided with a light incident surface and a light emergent surface, and the distances from different positions in the light emergent surface of the refraction piece (500) to the corresponding positions of the light incident surface are matched with the imaging distances of the corresponding positions in the virtual image.

3. The head-up display device of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a display device,

the thickness and/or refractive index of the refractive element (500) varies gradually in a direction from one side of the refractive element (500) to the other side;

and/or the number of the groups of groups,

the thickness and/or refractive index of the refractive element (500) varies gradually in a direction from the inside of the refractive element (500) towards the edge.

4. The head-up display device of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a display device,

the light incident surface of the refraction piece (500) is a plane, and the light emergent surface is a curved surface;

the light-emitting surface is provided with contour lines, and the contour lines are at least one of straight lines, curves and fold lines;

the straight distance H of the contour line is constant or gradually changed.

5. The head-up display device of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a display device,

The refractive element (500) covers at least part of the image source assembly (100).

6. The head-up display device of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a display device,

when the refraction member (500) covers a part of the image source assembly (100), the thickness of the refraction member (500) decreases in a direction toward the part of the image source assembly (100) that is not covered or the refractive index of the refraction member (500) decreases in a direction toward the part of the image source assembly (100) that is not covered.

7. The head-up display device of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a display device,

at least part of the refraction piece (500) is adhered to the image source assembly (100);

or, at least part of the refraction piece (500) and the image source component (100) are provided with a light-transmitting protection element, the light-transmitting protection element is fixedly arranged on the bearing bracket, the refraction piece (500) is fixedly arranged on the light-emitting surface of the light-transmitting protection element, and the image source component (100) comprises a liquid crystal display screen, and the liquid crystal display screen is attached to the light-entering surface of the light-transmitting protection element;

the bottom surface of the liquid crystal display screen is suspended, or the bottom surface of the liquid crystal display screen is provided with a stress buffer structure.

8. The head-up display device of claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a display device,

The head-up display device further includes: and a moving assembly configured to adjust the relative position and/or tilt angle of the refractive element (500) and the image source assembly (100).

9. A refractive element (500) for use in a head-up display device, characterized in that,

the refraction element (500) is positioned between the image source component (100) and the virtual image;

the refractive element (500) has a thickness and/or refractive index configured to change at least an optical path length of a portion of image light emitted by the image source assembly (100) such that the image light forms a virtual image having at least a partial change in imaging distance.

10. A vehicle is characterized in that,

the vehicle is mounted with the head-up display device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.