EP2954365A1

EP2954365A1 - Display for displaying a virtual image in the field of view of a vehicle driver and image-generating device for said display

Info

Publication number: EP2954365A1
Application number: EP13818255.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Richard GELOEN
Original assignee: Valeo Etudes Electroniques SAS
Current assignee: Valeo Comfort and Driving Assistance SAS
Priority date: 2012-12-28
Filing date: 2013-12-09
Publication date: 2015-12-16
Also published as: US20150332654A1; CN105408800A; JP6446368B2; WO2014102462A1; JP2016505894A; FR3000570A1; FR3000570B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a display (1) for displaying a virtual image (5) in the field of view (3) of a vehicle driver (4), said device (1) comprising: an image-generating device (7); and at least one light source (9), said display (1) being configured to produce, together with the image-generating device (7) and/or the light source (9), an image (5) comprising one or more items of information and/or a colour (13) attracting the driver's (4) attention. The invention also relates to an image-generating device for a display as described above, said device comprising the aforementioned light source (9).

Description

DISPLAY FOR DISPLAYING A VIRTUAL IMAGE IN THE FIELD OF VISION OF A VEHICLE DRIVER AND IMAGE GENERATING DEVICE FOR SAID DISPLAY The invention relates to a display device for displaying a virtual image in the field of vision of a vehicle driver. and an image generating device for said display.

Devices for emitting a light beam intended to form an image are known for applications in motor vehicles for informing the users of the vehicle, in particular its driver.

It is known in particular to equip vehicles with a display, said head-up display. Such a device displays in the field of vision of the automobile driver looking towards the windshield of the vehicle a virtual image comprising information relating to the state of the vehicle, traffic or other.

This display device generally comprises an image generation device, optical components specific to the architecture of the device and a management electronics of the device connected to the equipped vehicle. Such a device provides information of a general nature to the driver, for example the speed of the vehicle, the outside temperature, the direction of travel, the engine speed, etc.

The invention aims to improve such a display and proposes in this sense a display for displaying in the field of vision of a vehicle driver a virtual image, said device comprising:

an image generation device, and

at least one light source,

said display being configured to produce with said image generating device and / or said light source an image, including one or more information, in particular produced by said image generation device, and / or a coloration, in particular produced by said light source.

Said coloring is particularly intended to attract the attention of the driver.

Thus, the display according to the invention makes it possible, in one glance, either to pick up an alert, resulting from the coloration performed at the level of the image, or to have one or more information, or to highlight both an alert and one or more information. Said information makes it possible, in particular, to assess the nature of the danger. Said light source may in particular be activated when such information is displayed at said image by said image generation device. According to various embodiments of the invention that can be taken together or separately:

said display comprises a control unit for producing said image,

said light source is able to be activated by said control unit,

said display is configured to produce with said light source a colored background of said image,

said light source is an electroluminescent diode,

said light source is colored, for example red, to materialize the nature of a danger,

said light source comprises several colors, for example orange and red, which may each be called according to the nature of the hazard to be reported,

said colors are emitted by several light sources, alone or in combination,

said control unit is configured to vary the intensity of said color according to the imminence of the danger, for example from a pale red to a distance of the vehicle relatively far from the danger to a bright red at a distance from the vehicle relatively close to the danger,

said light source is arranged so as to emit a light beam in an optical path or path of the projection light beam of said image, in particular upstream and / or downstream of a diffuser in which the image is formed,

said display is provided with optical components defining all or part of said path or optical path,

said light source is positioned relative to one of the optical components so that its light beam is transmitted by said optical component in said path or optical path,

said image generation device comprises a housing, the housing projecting said image by one of said optical components located at a face of the housing,

said light source is disposed close to said optical component located at a face of the housing,

said optical component located at a face of the housing is said image diffuser,

one of said optical components defining all or part of said path or optical path is defined by a mirror reflecting the image transmitted by the image generation device,

said light source is positioned between the housing and said mirror,

said image generation device comprises one or more laser diodes. According to one aspect of the invention, the image generating device may comprise an image generation means comprising a monochrome light source, for example a single laser diode, to form a monochrome image, in color gradient. Said light source then advantageously has a color different from that of said monochrome light source. Thus, said colored image background clearly emerges from said degraded image by a simple color change effect of the image and it is not useful to provide the image generation means with a set of three sources. different colored bright, red, yellow, blue, to compose the image of the display, as conventionally used.

The invention also relates to an image generation device for a display as described above, said device comprising said light source.

These features and advantages of the invention and others will emerge more clearly from the following description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic elevational view of an image display device according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a view of an example of a virtual image produced by the display device of Fig. 1, as seen by the driver of the vehicle when displaying security information.

In the following description, identical references are used to designate similar or identical elements.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the invention relates to a display 1, also called a head-up display, for displaying a virtual image 5 in the field of view 3 (FIG. 2) of a driver 4 of a vehicle observing a trajectory of movement of the motor vehicle through the windshield.

The display 1 comprises an image generation device 7. Said device comprises, for example, a scanning projector 29 provided with one or more light sources each emitting a beam of the laser type. This is, for example, laser sources, typically laser diodes, each laser source emitting a monochromatic beam, that is to say consisting of a single color. Said device may typically comprise three sources, said device being configured to form a light beam by pooling by combining the beams individually emitted by each of said sources. Specifically, it may be sources emitting a beam of a different color from one source to another. Colors are, for example, red, green, or blue (RGB).

The optical power of each of the sources is controlled, independently, using the power supply of the laser source or sources. At a given optical power, the color of the light beam is determined by the way in which a power ratio is established between the different laser diodes. For example, to obtain a white light, the optical powers, in proportion, must be established according to the following distribution: 60 for the green diode, 30 for the blue diode, 10 for the red diode. The optical power of each of the sources can also be controlled to modulate the optical power of the light beam.

The beams emitted by each of the sources are oriented, for example, parallel to each other and reflects in the same direction to form by combination a common light beam. Said device comprises in this sense semi-transparent optical elements over a wavelength range, such as dichroic mirrors or combination blades, intercepting the beams emitted by each of said sources and combining them according to the direction of said beam.

More generally, said device is configured to form said light beam from said laser beam or beams, regardless of the number of sources involved. In case of a single source, the light beam is composed of the laser beam emitted by the only source used and the resulting image will then be monochrome, composed of the different levels of optical power applied to each of the points that compose it, according to a gradient of said color. In the case of a plurality of sources, typically the three sources mentioned above, said common beam which then forms said light beam will allow the establishment of an image according to a color spectrum whose resolution will correspond to the fineness of control of the power supply. said sources.

Said device may further comprise means for controlling the power supply of said sources. As mentioned above, they may allow a choice of the color of the light beam. Said scanning projector 29 furthermore comprises, for example, a scanning generator whose function is to move horizontally and vertically the light beam emitted by the light source (s) in order to perform a scanning according to a frequency, in particular equal to 60 Hz. , as a non-limiting example. The scanning generator comprises, in particular, a scanning mirror with a micro-electro-mechanical system (hereinafter referred to as the MEMS mirror) on which the light beam emitted by the light source (s) is reflected in a scanning beam (10). MEMS mirror has for example a diameter of 1 mm ² . The MEMS mirror is able to rotate about two axes of rotation to perform a scan, for example at the refresh rate of 60 Hz, a diffuser screen 25 of said device. Said image is then formed on said diffuser 25. Alternatively, the MEMS mirror can be replaced by two plane and movable mirrors, whose movements are associated. One of these mirrors can be dedicated to a scan along a horizontal axis while the other mirror can be dedicated to a scan along a vertical axis.

The diffuser 25 where the image is formed may be a transparent projection screen with a complex structure for projection by transparency. It can alternatively be translucent. It is made, for example, of glass, especially frosted, or polycarbonate. By way of example, the diffuser screen 25 is of the exit pupil type ("Exit Pupil Expander"). It allows to have an expanded observation cone. It extends in a plane crossed by the light beam, the resulting image of this scanning beam 10 being formed in the plane of a face of the diffuser screen 25.

This diffuser screen receives the scanning beam 10. It is arranged to cause a dispersion of this scanning beam 10 according to an angular sector, for example, equal to 30 ° with respect to the direction of the scanning beam 10 at the moment when it comes striking the diffuser screen 25. To do this, according to a non-limiting example, a face of the diffuser screen is rough, in that it has asperities that cause the dispersion of the scanning beam. The rough face corresponds to that by which the beam emerges, that is to say the face on which the image is formed.

Downstream of the image generation device 7, according to the direction of movement of the light beam, said display comprises here at least one semi-reflecting plate 15 and, optionally, a reflection device 21 interposed on the path of the image between the diffuser screen 25 and the semi-reflective plate 15. In this figure, the image-forming ray path 20 is symbolized by arrows which are reflected on mirrors 21a, 21b of the reflection device 21 before display through the semi-reflecting plate 15. The latter allows a magnification and / or, by transparency, a display of the image 5 beyond said semi-reflective plate, in particular beyond the windshield of the equipped vehicle at the level of a virtual screen, obtained using said semi-reflecting plate 15. This transparent plate has a reflection power at least equal to

20%, which allows the user to see through the blade the route taken by the vehicle, while enjoying a high contrast to see the image displayed. Alternatively, the display of the image can be achieved through the windshield of the vehicle equipped with said display.

That being so, according to the invention, the display 1 comprises at least one light source 9 which can be activated, in particular when, for example, danger such as the presence of an obstacle, a pedestrian, a braking situation, a reduced speed condition etc, are detected. Said light source 9 emits a light beam 17 here. The display 1 is furthermore configured to produce, with said light source 9, at the level of said image 5, lighting which draws the driver's attention to the said danger conditions so that highlight to the driver of the vehicle the occurrence of a hazard and / or information allowing, in particular, to assess the nature of the hazard.

Said image generation device 7 may comprise a control unit 1 1 to produce said image 5, this unit being connected to the vehicle to receive for example information from various security sensors equipping it, such as detection radar of obstacle, continuous lane warning device, vehicle tracking device, etc. Said light source 9 is here connected to said control unit 11 and is made capable of being activated by the latter when danger information is detected. Said control unit 11 may comprise said means for controlling the power supply of the scanning projector 29.

Said display 1 is advantageously configured to produce with said light source 9 a colored background 13 of said image, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2. Said image 5 is here an indication that the speed of the vehicle is 70 km / h and the bottom is illuminated by said light source 9 because the limit speed in the portion followed by the vehicle is 50 km / h. The information on the speed limit may come from the combined information of the vehicle location device and a map, the resulting set of different data processed by said control unit 1 1 to cause the activation of said light source.

Said light source 9 is in the example an electroluminescent diode, which is advantageously colored, for example red, to materialize the nature of the danger. It thus makes it possible to display the information by said colored background 13, which is intended to warn the driver of a danger.

Said light source can comprise several colors, for example orange and red, which can be called each on the image according to the nature of the danger to report. The red color means a significant danger, for example a pedestrian on the roadway while the orange color indicates a danger of low pregnancy, for example a slippery road. Said colors can still be emitted by several light sources mounted on the display, alone or in combination. Thus, two different colored backgrounds corresponding to two different hazard information can be made alternately and in different durations.

Said control unit 11 may also be configured to vary the intensity of the one or more colors depending on the imminence of the danger, for example from a pale red at a distance from the vehicle relatively far from the danger to a bright red to a distance from the vehicle relatively close to the danger.

Said light source is advantageously arranged in such a way as to emit the light beam 17 in an optical path or path 1 of the projection light ray 20 of said image 5.

Said display 1 is advantageously provided with optical components, such as reflecting mirrors 21a, 21b, to display said image 5 in the field of view 3 of the conductor 4, said optical components defining said path or optical path 1g.

Said light source g is advantageously positioned relative to one of the optical components, for example the first reflection mirror 21a of the light beam emitted by the image generation device 7, so that its light ray 17 is transmitted by said optical component 21a in said optical path or path 1 of the image forming light beam 20. The image generation device 7 here comprises a housing 23, the housing 23 comprising an optical component, for example the image diffuser 25, integral with the housing 23, from which the light beam 20 of image transmission is emitted. Said light source 9 is disposed near said optical component 25, in particular outside said housing 23. Said light source 5 is, for example, mounted integral with said housing 23.

Alternatively, the light source 9, as illustrated by a broken line, can still be positioned, for example, on a plate 27 integral with the housing 23 of the image generation device 7, between the housing 23 and said mirror 21a.

As a variant, the light source 9 can still be positioned, for example, on a plate integral with an envelope (not shown) of the display 1. This envelope constitutes the general housing of the display 1 and may comprise non-limiting manner and by way of example the image-generating device 7 and the different optical devices such as the mirrors and the semi-reflecting blade 15. In this case, the light source 9 can be arranged between the housing 23 and the mirror 21a or at any other place provided that the light from the source 9 intercepts at least the optical element 15 semi-reflective to produce a coloration 13 at the virtual image 5.

Alternatively, the light source 9 can be positioned in the scanning projector 29, thus within said housing 23, so that the light produced by the light source 9 belongs to the scanning beam 10 which strikes the light. 25. The scanning beam 10 may thus comprise either the single laser beam, or the light from the light source 9 alone, or both sets. It will also be noted that the image generation device 7 may comprise a laser scanning projector 29 itself comprising a single monochromatic light source 30, for example a single laser diode monochrome, to form a monochrome image, by color gradient, in a different color from that of said light source 9. The display will then combine, in case of danger, the degraded image with said colored background to produce the image complete. The technique used will thus be simpler with only one emission diode of the beam forming the image and the same for the control unit producing the image.

Alternatively the image forming device may be a TFT type screen or the like. Said light source can then be located on an edge of said screen.

The invention thus provides a vehicle display that increases the attention and control of the driver of a vehicle in the face of danger.

Claims

claims

A display (1) for displaying in the field of view (3) of a vehicle driver (4) a virtual image (5), said device (1) comprising:

an image generation device (7), and

at least one light source (9),

said display (1) being configured to produce with said image generating device (7) and / or said light source (9) an image (5), comprising one or more information and / or coloring (3).

2. Display (1) according to claim 1, comprising a control unit (11) for producing said image (5) and wherein said light source (9) is adapted to be activated by said control unit ().

3. Display (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, configured to produce with said light source (9) a colored background of said image.

4. Display (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said light source (9) is a light emitting diode.

5. Display (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said light source (9) is colored to materialize the nature of a hazard.

6. Display (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said light source comprises a plurality of colors which may each be called according to the nature of the hazard to report.

7. Display (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said colors are emitted by several light sources (9), alone or in combination.

8. Display (1) according to one of claims 5 to 7, wherein said control unit (11) is configured to vary the intensity of said color according to the imminence of danger.

9. Display according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said light source (9) is arranged so as to emit a light beam (17) in an optical path or path (19) of the light beam (20). projecting said image (5).

10. Display (1) according to claim 9, being provided with optical components (21) defining all or part of said path or optical path (19).

The display (1) according to claim 10, wherein said light source (9) is positioned relative to one of the optical components (21) so that its light beam (17) is transmitted by said optical component. (21) in said path or optical path (19).

The display (1) according to any one of claims 10 or 11, wherein said image generating device (7) comprises a housing (23), the housing (23) projecting said image by one of said components. optical located at a face of the housing, said light source (9) being disposed near said optical component.

The display (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said image generating device comprises one or more laser diodes.

A display (1) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said image generating device (7) comprises a monochrome light source (30) for forming a monochrome image (5), said light source (9) having a different color; that of said monochrome light source (30).

15. "Image generating device (7) for a display according to any one of the preceding claims, said device comprising said light source (9).