JP2015219389A - Virtual image display device and image forming element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a virtual image display device capable of appropriately suppressing distortion of a virtual image by a simple constitution.SOLUTION: A virtual image display device 100 is a device for making an image visually recognized as a virtual image IV, and includes a screen 11 and a combiner 13. The screen 11 has a spherical shape, and forms an image to be displayed. The combiner 13 causes the virtual image IV to display by reflecting the light emitted from the screen 11. The combiner 13 has a recessed shape toward the travel direction of the light emitted from the screen 11. The screen 11 is arranged in such a way that the center of curvature PS of the screen 11 is located on an axis Z passing through the focal point PC of the combiner 13 and parallel to the direction of a visual line in which the virtual image IV is visually recognized.

Description

  The present invention relates to a virtual image display device that visually recognizes an image as a virtual image.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a display device such as a head-up display that visually recognizes an image as a virtual image from the position (eye point) of a user's eyes is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a virtual image display device that displays a virtual image by reflecting light emitted from an exit-pupil expander (EPE) that generates an intermediate image by a combiner. A technique for reducing distortion of a virtual image by disposing a field lens and disposing an EPE so as to be perpendicular to the line-of-sight direction is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses a head-up display in which a virtual image can be visually recognized by projecting a display image onto a concave projection surface formed on a windshield. A technique for suppressing distortion of a virtual image by using it is disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 5214060 JP2013-025205A

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 requires a field lens and has a problem that it cannot be applied when it is difficult to use the field lens. Therefore, when a reflective screen is used as a screen for generating an intermediate image, or when a large screen is required, it becomes difficult to use a field lens. Need to be reduced. Further, Patent Document 2 does not specifically disclose what kind of convex surface the image forming surface of the screen should be.

  Examples of the problem to be solved by the present invention are as described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a virtual image display device capable of appropriately suppressing virtual image distortion with a simple configuration.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a virtual image display device, an image forming element that forms an image to be displayed, an optical element that displays a virtual image by reflecting light emitted from the image forming element, and The optical element has a concave shape toward the traveling direction of the light emitted from the image forming element, and the image forming element has a spherical shape and passes through the focal point of the optical element. And it arrange | positions so that the center of curvature of the said image forming element may be located on the line parallel to the visual line direction which visually recognizes the said virtual image through the said optical element.

  The invention according to claim 7 is an image forming element that emits light constituting the image to an optical element that forms an image to be displayed and reflects a light to display a virtual image. The forming element has a spherical shape, and the center of curvature of the image forming element is located on a line that passes through the focal point of the optical element and is parallel to the viewing direction in which the virtual image is viewed through the optical element. Features.

1 shows an overall configuration of a virtual image display apparatus according to a first embodiment. The structure of a laser projector is shown. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the combiner and a screen with respect to a gaze direction. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of a combiner and its focus position. The image displayed as a virtual image in simulation is shown. The whole structure of the virtual image display apparatus which concerns on 2nd Example is shown. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of 1st Example and 2nd Example. The whole structure of the virtual image display apparatus which concerns on the modification 1 is shown.

  In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a virtual image display device includes an image forming element that forms an image to be displayed, an optical element that displays a virtual image by reflecting light emitted from the image forming element, and The optical element has a concave shape toward the traveling direction of the light emitted from the image forming element, and the image forming element has a spherical shape and passes through the focal point of the optical element. In addition, the center of curvature of the image forming element is positioned on a line parallel to the line-of-sight direction in which the virtual image is viewed through the optical element.

  The virtual image display device is a device that visually recognizes an image as a virtual image, and includes an image forming element and an optical element. The image forming element has a spherical shape and forms an image to be displayed. The optical element displays a virtual image by reflecting the light emitted from the image forming element. Here, the optical element has a concave shape in the traveling direction of the light emitted from the image forming element. The image forming element is disposed so that the center of curvature of the image forming element is positioned on a line that passes through the focal point of the optical element and is parallel to the line-of-sight direction in which the virtual image is viewed. In other words, the center of curvature of the image forming element passes through the focal point of the optical element, and the center of curvature of the image forming element exists on a line parallel to the line-of-sight direction in which the virtual image is viewed. According to this aspect, the virtual image display device can suitably reduce the distortion of the bowed virtual image.

  In a preferred example of the virtual image display device, the image forming element forms the image based on light irradiated by a light source.

  In one aspect of the virtual image display device, the image forming element has a concave shape toward the light source and transmits light incident from the light source. According to this configuration, the difference in the optical path distance of each light beam from the light source until it enters the image forming element is small, and the difference in the incident angle of each light beam to the image forming element is also small. Therefore, the virtual image display device can reduce the difference in spot size of each pixel and allow a viewer to visually recognize a clear image as a virtual image.

  In another aspect of the virtual image display device, the image forming element has a convex shape toward the light source and reflects light incident from the light source. With this configuration, since the light source and the optical element exist on the same side with respect to the image forming element, the virtual image display device can be easily reduced in size.

  In another aspect of the virtual image display device, the image forming element is an exit pupil enlarging element that expands an exit pupil of light emitted from a light source. For example, the exit pupil enlarging element is a microlens array in which a plurality of microlenses are arranged.

  In a preferred example of the virtual image display device, the image forming element is disposed at a position where the light reflected by the optical element is not irradiated.

  In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an image forming element that emits light constituting the image to an optical element that forms an image to be displayed and reflects a light to display a virtual image, The image forming element has a spherical shape, and the center of curvature of the image forming element is located on a line that passes through the focal point of the optical element and is parallel to the visual line direction in which the virtual image is viewed through the optical element. . According to this aspect, the image forming element can preferably reduce the bow-like distortion of the virtual image visually recognized through the optical element.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(1) Schematic Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a virtual image display device 100 according to the first embodiment. Here, the outline | summary of each component of the virtual image display apparatus 100 is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the virtual image display device 100 according to the first embodiment mainly includes a laser projector 1, a screen 11, and a combiner 13. The virtual image display device 100 is a device that visually recognizes an image as a virtual image “IV” from the position (eye point) “PE” of the user's eyes. The virtual image display device 100 is used as a head-up display or a head-mounted display, for example.

  The laser projector 1 includes red, green, and blue laser light sources, a scan mechanism (scanning mechanism) that scans laser light emitted from the laser light source, and a control unit that controls these. Light emitted from the laser projector 1 enters the screen 11. Details of the laser projector 1 will be described later.

  The screen 11 is irradiated with light from the laser projector 1 to form an intermediate image of an image to be presented to the user. For example, the screen 11 is an exit pupil enlarging element (EPE), and is a microlens array in which a plurality of microlenses are arranged. The light emitted from the screen 11 enters the combiner 13. Note that an image without distortion is formed on the screen 11 as an intermediate image when viewed from the same angle as an axis parallel to the line-of-sight direction, which will be described later, from the light emission side. The screen 11 has a spherical shape that is concave toward the direction of the laser projector 1, and the center of curvature is determined according to the focal position of the combiner 13 as will be described later. Thereby, distortion of virtual image IV is controlled suitably. The screen 11 corresponds to an example of an “image forming element” in the present invention.

  The combiner 13 is a half mirror that displays the image corresponding to the incident light as an enlarged virtual image by reflecting the light incident from the screen 11. Specifically, the combiner 13 is configured to have a concave surface with a surface on which light from the screen 11 is incident (that is, an incident surface). Thus, by the light reflected by the combiner 13, the user observes the virtual image IV from the eye point PE that is a predetermined distance away from the combiner 13. The combiner 13 corresponds to an example of the “optical element” in the present invention.

  For example, the screen 11 is configured integrally with the laser projector 1. That is, in the virtual image display device 100, the laser projector 1 and the screen 11 are not configured separately, and the laser projector 1 and the screen 11 are configured as an integrated device.

(2) Configuration of Laser Projector Next, the configuration of the laser projector 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the laser projector 1 includes an image signal input unit 2, a video ASIC 3, a frame memory 4, a ROM 5, a RAM 6, a laser driver ASIC 7, a MEMS control unit 8, and a laser light source unit 9. The MEMS mirror 10 is provided.

  The image signal input unit 2 receives an image signal input from the outside and outputs it to the video ASIC 3. The video ASIC 3 is a block that controls the laser driver ASIC 7 and the MEMS control unit 8 based on the image signal input from the image signal input unit 2 and the scanning position information Sc input from the MEMS mirror 10, and the ASIC (Application Specific Integrated). Circuit).

  The video ASIC 3 includes a synchronization / image separation unit 31, a bit data conversion unit 32, a light emission pattern conversion unit 33, and a timing controller 34. The synchronization / image separation unit 31 separates the image data displayed on the screen 11 serving as the image display unit and the synchronization signal from the image signal input from the image signal input unit 2 and writes the image data to the frame memory 4. . The bit data converter 32 reads the image data written in the frame memory 4 and converts it into bit data. The light emission pattern conversion unit 33 converts the bit data converted by the bit data conversion unit 32 into a signal representing the light emission pattern of each laser. The timing controller 34 controls the operation timing of the synchronization / image separation unit 31 and the bit data conversion unit 32. The timing controller 34 also controls the operation timing of the MEMS control unit 8 described later.

  In the frame memory 4, the image data separated by the synchronization / image separation unit 31 is written. The ROM 5 stores a control program and data for operating the video ASIC 3. Various data are sequentially read from and written into the RAM 6 as a work memory when the video ASIC 3 operates.

  The laser driver ASIC 7 is a block that generates a signal for driving a laser diode provided in a laser light source unit 9 described later, and is configured as an ASIC. The laser driver ASIC 7 includes a red laser driving circuit 71, a blue laser driving circuit 72, and a green laser driving circuit 73. The red laser driving circuit 71 drives the red laser LD1 based on the signal output from the light emission pattern conversion unit 33. The blue laser drive circuit 72 drives the blue laser LD2 based on the signal output from the light emission pattern conversion unit 33. The green laser drive circuit 73 drives the green laser LD3 based on the signal output from the light emission pattern conversion unit 33.

  The MEMS control unit 8 controls the MEMS mirror 10 based on a signal output from the timing controller 34. The MEMS control unit 8 includes a servo circuit 81 and a driver circuit 82. The servo circuit 81 controls the operation of the MEMS mirror 10 based on a signal from the timing controller. The driver circuit 82 amplifies the control signal of the MEMS mirror 10 output from the servo circuit 81 to a predetermined level and outputs the amplified signal.

  The laser light source unit 9 emits laser light to the MEMS mirror 10 based on the drive signal output from the laser driver ASIC 7. The MEMS mirror 10 as scanning means reflects the laser light emitted from the laser light source unit 9 toward the screen 11. In this way, the MEMS mirror 10 forms an image to be displayed on the screen 11. The MEMS mirror 10 moves so as to scan on the screen 11 under the control of the MEMS control unit 8 in order to display the image input to the image signal input unit 2, and the scanning position information ( For example, information such as a mirror angle) is output to the video ASIC 3.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the laser light source unit 9 will be described. The laser light source unit 9 includes a case 91, a wavelength selective element 92, a collimator lens 93, a red laser LD1, a blue laser LD2, a green laser LD3, a monitor light receiving element (hereinafter simply referred to as “light receiving element”). 50). Hereinafter, when the red laser LD1, the blue laser LD2, and the green laser LD3 are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as “laser LD”.

  The case 91 is formed in a substantially box shape with resin or the like. In order to attach the green laser LD3, the case 91 is provided with a hole penetrating into the case 91 and a CAN attachment portion 91a having a concave cross section, and a surface perpendicular to the CAN attachment portion 91a. A hole penetrating inward is formed, and a collimator mounting portion 91b having a concave cross section is formed.

  The wavelength-selective element 92 as a combining element is constituted by, for example, a trichromatic prism, and is provided with a reflective surface 92a and a reflective surface 92b. The reflection surface 92a transmits the laser light emitted from the red laser LD1 toward the collimator lens 93, and reflects the laser light emitted from the blue laser LD2 toward the collimator lens 93. The reflecting surface 92b transmits most of the laser light emitted from the red laser LD1 and the blue laser LD2 toward the collimator lens 93 and reflects a part thereof toward the light receiving element 50. The reflection surface 92 b reflects most of the laser light emitted from the green laser LD 3 toward the collimator lens 93 and transmits part of the laser light toward the light receiving element 50. In this way, the emitted light from each laser is superimposed and incident on the collimator lens 93 and the light receiving element 50. The wavelength selective element 92 is provided in the vicinity of the collimator mounting portion 91b in the case 91. The collimator lens 93 converts the laser light incident from the wavelength selective element 92 into parallel light and emits it to the MEMS mirror 10. The collimator lens 93 is fixed to the collimator mounting portion 91b of the case 91 with a UV adhesive or the like. That is, the collimator lens 93 is provided after the synthesis element.

  A red laser LD1 as a laser light source emits red laser light. The red laser LD1 is fixed at a position that is coaxial with the wavelength selective element 92 and the collimator lens 93 in the case 91 while the semiconductor laser light source is in the chip state or the chip is mounted on a submount or the like. ing. A blue laser LD2 as a laser light source emits blue laser light. The blue laser LD2 is fixed at a position where the emitted laser light can be reflected toward the collimator lens 93 by the reflecting surface 92a while the semiconductor laser light source is in the chip state or the chip is mounted on the submount or the like. ing. The positions of the red laser LD1 and the blue laser LD2 may be switched. The green laser LD3 as a laser light source is in a state of being attached to the CAN package or in a state of being attached to the frame package, and emits green laser light. The green laser LD 3 has a semiconductor laser light source chip B that generates green laser light in a CAN package, and is fixed to a CAN mounting portion 91 a of the case 91. The light receiving element 50 receives a part of the laser light emitted from each laser light source. The light receiving element 50 is a photoelectric conversion element such as a photodetector, and supplies a detection signal Sd, which is an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of incident laser light, to the laser driver ASIC 7.

(3) Details of Optical Configuration In this embodiment, the center of curvature of the screen 11 passes through the focus of the combiner 13 and is parallel to the direction in which the user looks at the center of the virtual image from the front (hereinafter referred to as “line-of-sight direction”). Located on the line. Thereby, the bow-like distortion of the virtual image IV is suitably suppressed. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the screen 11 and the combiner 13 with respect to the line-of-sight direction. In FIG. 3, “PS” indicates the center of curvature of the screen 11, and “PC” indicates the focal position of the combiner 13. “L1” indicates the optical axis after being reflected by the combiner 13, and “L2” indicates the optical axis before being reflected by the combiner 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the optical axis L1 is a line parallel to the visual line direction connecting the eye point PE from the center 13c of the combiner 13, and the optical axis L2 extends from the center 11c of the screen 11 to the center 13c of the combiner 13. It is a connecting line. “L3” indicates the radius of curvature of the screen 11 passing through the center 11c, and “L20” indicates a line obtained by extending the optical axis L2 to the focal point PC of the combiner 13. “L11” indicates an extension line of the screen 11, and “L13” indicates an extension line of the combiner 13.

  In FIG. 3, the center of curvature PS of the screen 11 and the focal point PC of the combiner 13 exist on an axis (referred to herein as a “Z axis”) parallel to the line-of-sight direction (that is, the optical axis L1). In other words, the center of curvature PS of the screen 11 exists on the Z axis passing through the focal point PC of the combiner 13 among the lines parallel to the line-of-sight direction. In this case, the shapes of the screen 11 and the combiner 13 are both symmetrical about the Z axis. Specifically, when the lower end of the screen 11 is extended by the amount indicated by the line L11, the extended screen 11 is symmetrical with respect to the Z axis, and the lower end of the combiner 13 is extended by the amount indicated by the line L13. In this case, the extended combiner 13 is symmetric with respect to the Z axis. Thereby, the bow-like distortion of the virtual image IV is suitably suppressed.

  Here, the focus PC of the combiner 13 will be supplementarily described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the combiner 13 and the focal point PC of the combiner 13. In FIG. 4, “L1A” to “L1E” indicate light rays that are incident on the combiner 13 in parallel with the line-of-sight direction from the eye point PE, and “L2A” to “L2D” are the light rays L1A to L1E that are reflected by the combiner 13. Shows the light rays after being applied.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the light rays L1A to L1E incident on the combiner 13 in parallel with the line-of-sight direction intersect with each other at the focal point PC of the combiner 13 after being reflected by the combiner 13. Accordingly, a line that passes through the focal point PC of the combiner 13 specified in this way and is parallel to the line-of-sight direction is defined as the Z axis, and the screen 11 is arranged so that the center of curvature PS of the screen 11 is located on the determined Z axis. Thereby, distortion of virtual image IV can be controlled suitably.

(4) Effects Next, effects based on the optical configuration of the virtual image display device 100 described above will be described.

FIG. 5 shows an image displayed as a virtual image IV in the simulation. Here, FIG. 5A is a display example of a virtual image IV according to a comparative example in which the screen 11 is a flat screen, and FIG. 5B is a display example of the virtual image IV based on the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, a rectangle with grid lines drawn in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is displayed as a virtual image IV. In the simulation of FIG. 5, the virtual image distance is 2000 mm, the virtual image size is 400 mm × 200 mm, and the magnification of the optical system is about 4 times. As shown in FIG. Is used, bow distortion occurs in the virtual image IV. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, in the case of the present embodiment using the spherical screen 11, the curvature of field at the upper part of the virtual image is corrected, and the bow-like distortion of the virtual image IV is reduced. . In this case, since the screen 11 has a spherical shape, the curvature of field at the upper portion of the virtual image is corrected by the distance from the combiner 13 as compared with the case where the flat screen is used. Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suitably reduce the distortion of the virtual image IV.

  Further, the virtual image display device 100 according to the present embodiment does not require a field lens as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Therefore, even when it is difficult to use a field lens, such as when a large screen is required, the virtual image display device 100 according to the present embodiment can be suitably configured. Further, in the configuration having a field lens as in Patent Document 1, the screen 11 cannot be used as a reflective screen as in the second embodiment described later.

  As described above, the virtual image display device 100 according to the first embodiment is a device that visually recognizes an image as the virtual image IV, and includes the screen 11 and the combiner 13. The screen 11 has a spherical shape and forms an image to be displayed. The combiner 13 reflects the light emitted from the screen 11 to display the virtual image IV. Here, the combiner 13 has a concave shape in the traveling direction of the light emitted from the screen 11. Further, the screen 11 is disposed so that the center of curvature PS of the screen 11 is positioned on the Z axis that passes through the focal point PC of the combiner 13 and is parallel to the line-of-sight direction in which the virtual image IV is viewed. Thereby, the virtual image display apparatus 100 can suitably reduce the bow distortion of the virtual image IV.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of the virtual image display device 100x according to the second embodiment. The virtual image display device 100x according to the second embodiment has a reflective screen 11x that reflects incident light instead of the transmissive screen 11 that transmits incident light, and the virtual image display device according to the first embodiment. Different from 100. Henceforth, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component similar to the virtual image display apparatus 100 (refer FIG. 1) which concerns on 1st Example, and the description shall be abbreviate | omitted.

  In FIG. 6, similarly to the combiner 13, the laser projector 1 is disposed at a position facing the convex surface of the screen 11x, and emits light to the convex surface of the screen 11x. The screen 11 x is a reflective spherical screen, and reflects the emitted light from the laser projector 1 to the combiner 13.

  The positional relationship between the screen 11x and the combiner 13 of the virtual image display device 100x according to the second embodiment is determined in the same manner as the positional relationship between the screen 11 and the combiner 13 of the virtual image display device 100 according to the first embodiment. That is, the center of curvature of the screen 11x (ie, the center of curvature PS in FIG. 3) and the focal point of the combiner 13 (ie, the focal point PC in FIG. 3) are on the Z axis parallel to the line-of-sight direction. In other words, the center of curvature PS of the screen 11x exists on the Z axis passing through the focal point PC of the combiner 13 among the lines parallel to the line-of-sight direction. Thereby, the virtual image display apparatus 100x which concerns on 2nd Example can suppress the distortion of virtual image IV suitably like the virtual image display apparatus 100 which concerns on 1st Example.

  Here, the operational effects of the virtual image display device 100 according to the first embodiment and the virtual image display device 100x according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  7A shows the laser projector 1 and the screen 11 of the virtual image display apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 7B shows the laser projector 1 and the screen of the virtual image display apparatus 100x according to the second embodiment. 11x is shown. In FIG. 7A, “L4” indicates a light beam incident on the upper end of the screen 11, “L5” indicates a light beam incident on the center 11c of the screen 11, and “L6” indicates a light beam incident on the lower end of the screen 11. . Similarly, in FIG. 7B, “L7” is a light beam incident on the upper end of the screen 11x, “L8” is a light beam incident on the center 11c of the screen 11x, and “L9” is a light beam incident on the lower end of the screen 11x. Show.

  As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the difference in length between the light beam L5 incident on the center 11c of the screen 11 and the light beam L4 or light beam L6 incident on the end of the screen 11 is the center of the screen 11x. It is smaller than the difference in length between the light beam L8 incident on 11c and the light beam L7 or light beam L9 incident on the end of the screen 11x. Thus, in the virtual image display device 100, the difference between the distance from the laser projector 1 to the center 11c of the screen 11 and the distance from the laser projector 1 to the edge of the screen 11 is smaller than in the virtual image display device 100x. In addition, in the virtual image display device 100 shown in FIG. 7A, the difference in the incident angle of each light beam on the screen 11 is small as compared with the virtual image display device 100x shown in FIG. Therefore, according to the virtual image display device 100 according to the first embodiment, the difference in spot size of each pixel of the intermediate image can be suitably reduced, and a clearer image can be visually recognized by the observer as the virtual image IV. it can.

  On the other hand, in the virtual image display device 100x according to the second embodiment, the laser projector 1 is arranged in the convex direction of the screen 11x, like the combiner 13. Therefore, the virtual image display device 100x according to the second embodiment can save the necessary space by the width indicated by the arrow 90 shown in FIG. 7A, compared to the virtual image display device 100. Therefore, the virtual image display device 100x according to the second embodiment can be suitably downsized.

[Modification]
Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described. Note that the modifications presented below can be implemented in appropriate combination with the first or second embodiment described above.

(Modification 1)
In the above-described embodiment, the virtual image display devices 100 and 100x configured to allow the user to look down on the virtual image IV are shown.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating an overall configuration of a virtual image display device 100A according to the first modification. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component similar to the virtual image display apparatus 100 (refer FIG. 1) which concerns on 1st Example, and the description shall be abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the virtual image display device 100A according to the first modification is different from the virtual image display device 100 according to the first embodiment in that the virtual image IV can be observed when the user looks up. Even in the configuration according to the first modification, as in the first embodiment, the curvature center PS of the screen 11 is present on the line passing through the focal point PC of the combiner 13 among the lines parallel to the line-of-sight direction. A screen 11 is arranged. Thereby, distortion of virtual image IV can be reduced suitably.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the laser projector 1 has been shown. However, the present invention can be applied to various projectors such as a liquid crystal projector in addition to the laser projector 1.

(Modification 3)
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the combiner 13 configured in a spherical shape has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a combiner configured in an aspherical shape.

  As described above, the embodiments are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser projector 11, 11x Screen 13 Combiner 100, 100x, 100A Virtual image display apparatus

Claims (7)

An image forming element for forming an image to be displayed;
An optical element that displays a virtual image by reflecting the light emitted from the image forming element,
The optical element has a concave shape toward the traveling direction of the light emitted from the image forming element,
The image forming element has a spherical shape, and the center of curvature of the image forming element is located on a line that passes through the focal point of the optical element and is parallel to the line-of-sight direction in which the virtual image is viewed through the optical element. A virtual image display device, wherein the virtual image display device is arranged as described above.   The virtual image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image forming element forms the image based on light irradiated by a light source.   The virtual image display device according to claim 2, wherein the image forming element has a concave shape toward the light source and transmits light incident from the light source.   The virtual image display device according to claim 2, wherein the image forming element has a convex shape toward the light source and reflects light incident from the light source.   5. The virtual image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image forming element is an exit pupil enlarging element for enlarging an exit pupil of light emitted from a light source.   The virtual image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image forming element is disposed at a position where the light reflected by the optical element is not irradiated. An image forming element that emits light constituting the image to an optical element that forms an image to be displayed and displays a virtual image by reflecting light,
The image forming element has a spherical shape,
The center of curvature of the image forming element is located on a line that passes through the focal point of the optical element and is parallel to the line-of-sight direction in which the virtual image is viewed through the optical element.