JP2008015359A - Retroreflective material, projection apparatus, aircraft and simulator for aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a retroreflective material which can clearly display projected video while being hardly influenced by brightness of a real image and which is suitable for an optical projection apparatus obtained by applying a principle of a helmet-mounted projector (HMP), and to provide the optical projection apparatus using the retroreflective material, an aircraft and a simulator for the aircraft each using the projection apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The retroreflective material 13 comprises a light transmissive layer 131 which is formed of a light transmissive material and on one surface of which a retroreflective surface 13a is formed and a half mirror layer 132 which is arranged at a retroreflective surface 13a side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a retroreflective material, and more particularly, to a retroreflective material suitable for a projection device applying the principle of a helmet-mounted projector (HMP), a projection device using the same, an aircraft, and an aircraft simulator.

  Conventionally, there is a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) as a device that displays necessary information in front of an aircraft pilot without looking down to see an instrument. )reference). The principle of HMD is basically the same as the previous heads-up display (HUD: Heads-Up Display) (see Fig. 6 (b)), and the display device 1A installed in the front of the cockpit The combiner (generally, a half mirror) 2 is downsized and attached to a helmet (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). According to this HMD, since the combiner 2 is disposed immediately before the pilot's eye 3a, there is an advantage that a relatively large projection field can be obtained even if the combiner 2 is small.

  However, in the HMD, the display device 1A is disposed above the combiner 2, that is, in the frontal area of the pilot. The pilot focal distance to the display device 1A via the combiner 2 and the combiner 2 are used. In most cases, the focal length to the actual scene 9 is greatly different, and the image from the display device 1A having a different focal distance and the image of the actual scene 9 are superimposed and enter the pilot's eye 3a. Is big.

  Therefore, a so-called HMP (Helmet Mounted Projector) has been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 4). In the HMP, as shown in FIG. 6C, the image projected from the projector device 1B is reflected by the combiner 2 and is not directly put into the pilot's eye 3a but reflected in the direction of the actual scene. Then, the reflected image is reflected by the retroreflecting material 4 arranged in the direction of the actual scene, passes through the combiner 2, and enters the pilot's eye 3a. According to this HMP, all images from the projector device 1B enter the pilot's eyes 3a through the retroreflecting material 4.

  In HMP, the image is reflected in the pilot so that it is imaged by the retroreflecting material 4, so the distance from the pilot to the retroreflecting material 4 is the same as the focal length of the pilot and is relatively far from the pilot's eyes. Therefore, there are many advantages such as a small burden on the eyes and a long-time use.

  HMP is expected not only for aircraft but also for the following applications. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a retroreflecting material 4 is provided on the surface of a certain object A. Then, another object B is shielded from the user's field of view by the retroreflecting material 4 while the retroreflecting material 4 side is directed toward the user. In this state, the user's eyes 3a only see the object B shielded by the retroreflecting material 4 through the combiner 2 formed of a half mirror.

  In other words, the image from the projector device 1B is not projected on the part other than the retroreflecting material 4, and there is an advantage that the actual scene and the video can be separated with or without the retroreflecting material 4. .

  Then, when an image of a real scene is projected from the projector device 1B (an image of the object B when it is not shielded by the object A), this image is reflected by the combiner 2 in the direction of the retroreflecting material 4 and then retroreflected. Only the portion reflected by the material 4 passes through the combiner 2 and enters the user's eye 3a. That is, it is possible to make only the background object B visible to the user's eye 3a as if the object A did not exist there.

  In addition, as retroreflective materials in practical use, a bead-type retroreflective material 4A as shown in FIG. 8A and a corner cube type (prism type) as shown in FIG. ) Retroreflective material 4B.

In general, the bead-type retroreflecting material 4A has a configuration in which a reflective layer 42 is laminated on a base fabric 43, and a large number of spherical glass beads 41 are held on the reflective layer 42. On the other hand, the retroreflecting material 4B of the corner cube type generally has a configuration in which a backing layer 46 is provided by interposing an air layer 45 on a prism layer 44 whose lower surface is formed in a prism shape. Due to the difference in refractive index between the layer 44 and the air layer 45, this boundary surface is totally reflected as a retroreflecting surface.
JP-A-5-241539 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-215540 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-325265 JP 2000-10194

  However, when the conventional HMP described above is used as a substitute for an aircraft HUD, a retroreflective material is applied or pasted on a transparent material, but the image projected thereon is difficult to see due to the brightness of the real image. It is thought that it may become.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and relates to a retroreflective material capable of clearly displaying a projected image that is hardly affected by the brightness of a real image, and in particular, a helmet-mounted projector ( It is an object of the present invention to provide a retroreflecting material suitable for a projection apparatus applying the principle of (HMP), a projection apparatus using the same, an aircraft, and an aircraft simulator.

  A retroreflective material according to the present invention includes a light transmissive layer formed of a light transmissive material and having a retroreflective surface formed on one surface thereof, and a half mirror layer disposed on the retroreflective surface side. It is characterized by that.

  Since the retroreflective material according to the present invention has the half mirror layer, transmission of light from the outside can be suppressed.

  The light transmission layer can be composed of a prism or a corner cube. In this case, it is easy to form a half mirror layer.

  The light transmission layer can be composed of beads. In this case, the retroreflective surface can be formed by applying beads to the target surface.

  The half mirror layer can be formed on the retroreflecting surface by metal vapor deposition. In this case, the light transmittance of the half mirror layer can be adjusted by the length of the vapor deposition time or the like.

  The retroreflective material may further include a light transmittance adjusting layer. In this case, the light transmittance can be increased or decreased by the light transmittance adjusting layer. An example of the light transmittance adjusting layer is, for example, a liquid crystal that can increase or decrease the light transmittance by applying a voltage.

  Further, the retroreflecting material projects the projector device by projecting an image of an object to be observed by the user from the projector device by arranging the projector device at a position conjugate to the position of the user's eyes. The present invention can be applied to a projection device (for example, a helmet-mounted projector (HMP)) that projects an image on a retroreflecting surface through a combiner. In this case, it is possible to realize a projection apparatus that can clearly display a projected image that is hardly affected by the brightness of the real image.

  The projection apparatus may further include a combiner different from the combiner, and the retroreflective surface may be arranged to be substantially orthogonal to the user's line of sight. In this case, by arranging the second combiner at the same position as the combiner of the head-up display (HUD), it is possible to realize the HMP in the HUD mode that is hardly affected by the brightness of the real image.

  If the retroreflecting surface in the above projection apparatus is disposed at least in an area corresponding to a canopy, an image can be projected onto a larger area than a conventional HUD or the like.

  In this case, the instrument can be simulated or hidden by arranging the retroreflective surface in the area corresponding to the instrument.

  In addition, if the retroreflecting surface in the above projector is placed in at least the area corresponding to the canopy of the simulated cockpit, a wider field of view can be secured compared to conventional dome type, wide screen type, display type and other simulators. The equipment itself can be downsized, and there is no lack of realism.

  If a retroreflecting surface is also arranged in an area corresponding to instruments in this simulator, actual instruments can be simulated.

  The present invention relates to a retroreflective material that can clearly display a projected image that is hardly affected by the brightness of a real image, and in particular, to a projection device that applies the principle of a helmet-mounted projector (HMP). A suitable retroreflective material, a projection device using the same, an aircraft, and an aircraft simulator can be provided.

  Hereinafter, a retroreflecting material according to the present invention, a projection apparatus using the same, and an aircraft and an aircraft simulator using the projection apparatus will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the retroreflective member 13 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a prism layer 131 having the same material and shape as a conventional corner cube type. Yes. Further, in the retroreflecting material 13 of the present embodiment, a half mirror layer 132 is formed on a prism-shaped retroreflecting surface 13a formed on the lower surface of the prism layer 131. In the present embodiment, the half mirror layer 132 is formed by metal deposition, but may be a half mirror film that can be attached to the retroreflecting surface 13a, for example.

  As a result, the retroreflecting material 13 does not require an air layer unlike the conventional retroreflecting material, and as shown by arrows in FIG. Can be done. At the same time, since the retroreflective surface 13a is half-mirror processed, light from the lower side can be transmitted to some extent. The light transmittance of the half mirror layer 132 can be adjusted, for example, by changing the thickness of the vapor deposition film depending on the length of the vapor deposition time when formed by metal vapor deposition as described above.

  In addition, since the retroreflecting material 13 does not substantially require an air layer adjacent to the retroreflecting surface 13a, a backing material for holding the air layer is also unnecessary.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the retroreflective member 13 may include a light transmittance adjusting layer 133 capable of appropriately adjusting the light transmittance in real time. In the present embodiment, the light transmittance adjusting layer 133 is made of liquid crystal. Thereby, by applying a voltage to the light transmittance adjusting layer 133, it is possible to adjust a desired portion of the light transmittance adjusting layer 133 to a desired light transmittance.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the projection apparatus 10 using the retroreflecting material 13 as described above. This projection device 10 is a so-called helmet-mounted projector (HMP), which uses the retroreflecting material 13 according to the present embodiment instead of the retroreflecting material normally used in the HMP. In addition to the retroreflecting material 13, a projector device 11 and a combiner 12 are provided.

  The projector device 11 is disposed at a position conjugate with the eye 3a of the user 3. The projector device 11 can typically use the same projector device as a conventional HMP projector device. The projector device 11 is attached to the head of the user 3 via a helmet 35 (see FIG. 4), for example.

  The combiner 12 is composed of a half mirror, and is attached to the head of the user 3 via a helmet 35 (see FIG. 4; however, the combiner is not shown in FIG. 4). .

  The retroreflecting material 13 is disposed on a surface having an arbitrary shape. However, in the application of the present invention, it is desirable to dispose the retroreflecting material 13 on a surface where the light transmittance is not zero. The retroreflecting material 13 is arranged with the upper surface of FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B facing the user 3 side.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a control system of the projection apparatus 10 configured as described above. The image projected by the projector device 11 includes, for example, data on the motion of the aircraft such as the attitude and speed of the own device / other devices (image data expressed in numerical values, figures, etc.) and data on the image of the scenery corresponding to the motion of the aircraft ( Field of view display data from user 3). These data are configured to change according to the detection results of various sensors attached to the airframe.

  The image generation device 14 is given a detection result from the sensors, generates a video based on the detection result, and gives the generated video to the projector device 11. In the present embodiment, the image generation device 14 has a function of generating two images at the same time, generates a video that matches each of the left and right eyes 3a of the user 3, and Is possible.

  The projector device 11 includes two projectors, and the images that are given to the left and right eyes 3a of the user 3 given from the image generation device 14 are retroreflected via the combiner 12 (see FIG. 2). Project onto the material 13.

  A head position detection sensor (HMS: Head Motion Sensor) 15 is attached to the head of the user 3 (or the helmet 35 shown in FIG. 4) and measures the position of the head. The detection result by the head position detection sensor 15 is fed back to the motion sensor processing unit 16.

  The motion sensor processing unit 16 calculates the position of the eye 3a of the user 3 and the direction of the line of sight (gaze direction) from the fed back position of the user 3 and sends the information to the image generation device 14. give.

  The image generation device 14 calculates the relative position of the retroreflecting material 13 and the position of the user 3 so as to obtain the viewpoint of the user 3 with respect to the target object so that the video according to the viewpoint is obtained. Correct the generated image.

  Here, the follow-up performance is improved by correcting the deviation of the viewpoint of the user 3 not by the image irradiation angle of the projector device 11 but by correcting the luminance and distortion of the image. Of course, the control of the image irradiation angle of the projector device 11 can be combined.

  In addition, when the retroreflective material 13 includes a liquid crystal layer, for example, an imager that captures the field of view of the user 3 is provided separately, and it corresponds to a position with extremely high luminance according to the luminance distribution of the captured image. By applying a voltage to the retroreflecting material 13 so as to reduce the light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer, it is possible to avoid the influence of backlight or the like.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a cockpit 90 in which such a retroreflecting material 13 is arranged. In this cockpit 90, the retroreflective material 13 is disposed by applying or pasting the light transmitting material (tempered glass, reinforced plastic, etc.) such as the instrument panel 91 and the canopy 92 inside the cockpit 90. In FIG. 4, the retroreflecting material 13 is indicated by a hatched region for clarity of illustration.

  With such a configuration, for example, from the canopy 92, the canopy 92 and the retroreflecting material 13 can be transmitted and a real scene outside the cockpit 90 can be seen. Video can be superimposed and projected. Since an image can be projected on the retroreflecting material 13 of the entire canopy 92, a very large viewing angle can be provided to the user 3 as compared with the conventional HUD.

  The retroreflecting material 13 can not only project an image but also control the light transmittance from the outside of the cockpit 90 that transmits the canopy 92 and the retroreflecting material 13. The light transmittance of the retroreflecting material 13 can be changed uniformly throughout, or only the light transmittance of a specific portion can be changed.

  For example, when the sun is backlit and the user 3 such as a pilot is dazzling and it is difficult to see the image projected on the retroreflector 13, only the part of the retroreflector 13 that is backlit is darkened. Thus, it is possible to prevent the user 3 such as the pilot from being dazzled and to make the contrast between the image projected on the retroreflecting material 13 and the actual scene of the background stand out.

  In this configuration, since the image superimposed with the actual scene can be projected on the entire canopy 92, the entire canopy 92 serves as a combiner in the conventional HUD. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, if a conventional HUD combiner is used, the user 3 can view the actual scene in the second scene compared to the normal HMP configuration shown in FIG. View through combiner 12B. A conventional HUD combiner can be used as it is for the second combiner 12B, and there is no need to change the position.

  Under the second combiner 12B (that is, the position where the display device is arranged in the conventional HUD, see FIG. 6B), the recursive property is almost orthogonal to the user 3's line of sight. A reflector 13 is arranged.

  In addition, by disposing the retroreflecting material 13 on the instrument panel 91, the appearance of the instrument panel 91 can be changed. For example, it is possible to display as if the instrument panel 91 is not actually operated, but is operated.

  Furthermore, the light transmittance of the retroreflecting material 13 disposed on both the canopy 92 and the instrument panel 91 can be selectively made zero, that is, black. For example, by making the entire canopy 92 black, it is possible to play a role of the canopy 92 during nighttime instrument flight training. At this time, it is possible to make only the side where the trainee is sitting black. Furthermore, the instrument panel 91 can be made black and hidden in the same manner, and visual field flight training without using the instrument panel 91 can also be performed.

  In addition to the instrument panel 91 and canopy 92 in the cockpit 90 as described above, the retroreflecting material 13 can be disposed on all surfaces in the cockpit 90 such as walls and columns. By configuring in this way, it is possible to project the scenery outside the aircraft on all sides of the cockpit 90, and to provide the user 3 with a virtually omnidirectional field of view with almost no blind spots. It is.

  In addition to the seat and control stick, it is possible to arrange the retroreflecting material 13 in the helmets and clothes of the user 3 and other users so as to eliminate the blind spot as much as possible.

  Further, when the retroreflective material 13 is applied to the canopy 92 and arranged, the superimposition degree between the image of the actual scene and the image from the projector device 11 can be adjusted according to the thickness of the application, so that GPWS ( Effective alarm display is possible by linking with Ground Proximity Warning System (Traffic alert & Collision Avoidance System) and TCAS (Traffic alert & Collision Avoidance System).

  Furthermore, it goes without saying that the configuration of the cockpit 90 as described above can be similarly applied to a simulated cockpit for a flight simulator.

  As described above, the projection apparatus according to the present invention is required to realize a retroreflective material capable of clearly displaying a projected image that is not easily affected by the brightness of a real image. The present invention can also be applied to the use of a projection device applying the principle of a mounted projector (HMP), an aircraft using the projection device, and an aircraft simulator.

(A) is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the retroreflective material which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) adds the light transmittance adjustment layer (here liquid crystal layer) to the structure shown to (a). It is a schematic diagram which shows another structure added. It is a schematic diagram which shows the basic composition of the projection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the projection apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example which applied the projector shown in FIG. 2 to the cockpit of an actual aircraft. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the projection apparatus which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the principle of the conventional projector, (a) is HMD, (b) is HUD, (c) has shown HMP. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating another example of the effect | action of the conventional HMP. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the conventional retroreflection material, (a) shows the retroreflective material of a glass bead type, (b) has shown the retroreflective material of the corner cube type.

Explanation of symbols

3 User
3a eye
10 Projector
11 Projector device
12 Combiner (half mirror)
12B Second combiner (half mirror)
13 Retroreflective material
13a Retroreflective surface
90 cockpit (or simulated cockpit)
91 Instruments
92 Canopy
131 Prism layer
132 Half mirror layer
133 Light transmittance adjustment layer (liquid crystal layer)

Claims (11)

A light transmissive layer formed of a light transmissive material and having a retroreflective surface formed on one surface;
A retroreflective material comprising: a half mirror layer disposed on the retroreflective surface side.   The retroreflective material according to claim 1, wherein the light transmission layer includes a prism or a corner cube.   The retroreflective material according to claim 1, wherein the light transmission layer is made of beads.   The retroreflective member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the half mirror layer is formed on the retroreflective surface by metal deposition.   The retroreflective material according to claim 1, further comprising a light transmittance adjusting layer capable of adjusting the light transmittance. The projector apparatus is arranged at a position conjugate to the position of the user's eye, the image of the object to be observed by the user is projected from the projector apparatus, and the projected image is retroreflected through the combiner. A projection device for projecting onto a surface,
A projection apparatus using the retroreflective surface of the retroreflective material according to any one of claims 1 to 5 as the retroreflective surface.   The projection apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a combiner different from the combiner, wherein the retroreflective surface is disposed so as to be substantially orthogonal to the line of sight of the user. A projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
An aircraft comprising: a cockpit in which the retroreflective surface is disposed at least in a region corresponding to a canopy.   The aircraft according to claim 8, wherein the retroreflective surface is arranged in a region corresponding to an instrument. A projection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
An aircraft simulator comprising: a simulated cockpit in which the retroreflecting surface is disposed at least in a region corresponding to a canopy.   11. The aircraft simulator according to claim 10, wherein the retroreflective surface is arranged in a region corresponding to an instrument.

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