JP7492971B2 - Head-up display - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a head-up display.

In the future, it is expected that vehicles operating in autonomous mode and vehicles operating in manual mode will coexist on public roads.

In the future autonomous driving society, it is expected that visual communication between vehicles and humans will become increasingly important. For example, it is expected that visual communication between a vehicle and its occupants will become increasingly important. In this regard, visual communication between a vehicle and its occupants can be realized using a head-up display (HUD). A head-up display can realize so-called AR (Augmented Reality) by projecting an image or video onto a windshield or combiner, and allowing the occupant to view the image by superimposing it on real space through the windshield or combiner.

As an example of a head-up display, Patent Document 1 discloses a display device equipped with an optical system for displaying a three-dimensional virtual image using a transparent display medium. The display device projects light onto the windshield or combiner into the driver's field of vision. Some of the projected light passes through the windshield or combiner, while another part is reflected by the windshield or combiner. This reflected light is directed toward the driver's eyes. The driver perceives the reflected light as a virtual image that looks like an object on the other side of the windshield or combiner (outside the vehicle) against the background of real objects visible through the windshield or combiner.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-45103

However, there is room for improvement in existing head-up displays in terms of the configuration that expands the display range of the virtual image.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a head-up display that can expand the image display range at low cost.

In order to achieve the above object, a head-up display according to one aspect of the present invention comprises:
A head-up display provided in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward an occupant of the vehicle,
an image generating unit that emits light for generating the predetermined image;
A reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the image generating unit so that the light is irradiated onto a windshield or a combiner,
The image generation unit has a changing image generation unit that generates a changing image from the specified image that changes depending on the situation of the vehicle, and a fixed image generation unit that generates a fixed image from the specified image that remains fixed regardless of the situation.

According to the above configuration, a fixed image can be generated by adding it to the changing image, so that the image display range can be expanded without enlarging the costly changing image generation unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a head-up display according to another aspect of the present invention comprises:
A head-up display provided in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward an occupant of the vehicle,
a varying image generating unit that emits light for generating a varying image, which changes according to a situation of the vehicle, among the predetermined images;
A reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the changing image generating unit so that the light is irradiated onto a windshield or a combiner;
a fixed image generating unit that generates a fixed image among the predetermined images, the fixed image being fixed regardless of the situation;
The fixed image generating unit includes:
A light source;
an optical member that transmits or reflects light emitted from the light source;
The optical member is disposed on the opposite side of the light source to the light source, and the light blocking member transmits the light in accordance with the shape of the fixed image.

According to the above configuration, a fixed image can be generated by adding it to the changing image, so that the image display range can be expanded without enlarging the costly changing image generation unit.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a head-up display that can expand the image display range at low cost.

1 is a block diagram of a vehicle system including a head-up display (HUD) according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a HUD. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image generating unit. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a fixed image generating section constituting the image generating section of FIG. 3A . 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an example of a changing image and a fixed image forming a virtual image object. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing other examples of changing images and fixed images forming a virtual image object. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image generating unit according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of a fixed image generating section constituting the image generating section of FIG. 6A. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a HUD according to a first modified example. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image generating unit according to a third embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing a changing image and a fixed image forming a virtual image object generated by an image generating section according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image generating unit according to a modified example of the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a vehicle system including a head-up display (HUD) according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the HUD in FIG. 11 . 12 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a fixed image generating unit included in the HUD of FIG. 11 . FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a HUD according to a second modified example.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of convenience, the dimensions of each component shown in the drawings may differ from the actual dimensions of each component.

In addition, in the description of this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the "left-right direction," "up-down direction," and "front-rear direction" may be referred to as appropriate. These directions are relative directions set for the HUD (Head-Up Display) 20 shown in FIG. 2. Here, the "left-right direction" is a direction that includes the "left direction" and the "right direction." The "up-down direction" is a direction that includes the "upward direction" and the "downward direction." The "front-rear direction" is a direction that includes the "forward direction" and the "rearward direction." Although the left-right direction is not shown in FIG. 2, it is a direction that is perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction.

A vehicle system 2 including a HUD 20 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the vehicle system 2. A vehicle 1 equipped with the vehicle system 2 is a vehicle (automobile) capable of running in an autonomous driving mode.

1, the vehicle system 2 includes a vehicle control unit 3, a sensor 5, a camera 6, a radar 7, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 8, a GPS (Global Positioning System) 9, a wireless communication unit 10, and a storage device 11. The vehicle system 2 also includes a steering actuator 12, a steering device 13, a brake actuator 14, a brake device 15, an accelerator actuator 16, and an accelerator device 17. The vehicle system 2 also includes a HUD 20.

The vehicle control unit 3 is configured to control the running of the vehicle 1. The vehicle control unit 3 is configured, for example, by at least one electronic control unit (ECU: Electronic Control Unit). The electronic control unit includes a computer system (e.g., SoC (System on a Chip) etc.) having one or more processors and memories, and an electronic circuit configured of active elements such as transistors and passive elements such as resistors. The processor includes, for example, at least one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit). The CPU may be configured by multiple CPU cores. The GPU may be configured by multiple GPU cores. The memory includes a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). A vehicle control program may be stored in the ROM. For example, the vehicle control program may include an artificial intelligence (AI) program for autonomous driving. The AI program is a program (trained model) constructed by supervised or unsupervised machine learning (particularly, deep learning) using a multi-layer neural network. The RAM may temporarily store the vehicle control program, vehicle control data, and/or surrounding environment information indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1. The processor may be configured to expand a program designated from various vehicle control programs stored in the ROM onto the RAM and execute various processes in cooperation with the RAM. The computer system may also be configured with a non-von Neumann type computer such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), etc. Furthermore, the computer system may be configured with a combination of a von Neumann type computer and a non-von Neumann type computer.

The sensor 5 includes at least one of an acceleration sensor, a speed sensor, and a gyro sensor. The sensor 5 is configured to detect the driving state of the vehicle 1 and output driving state information to the vehicle control unit 3. The sensor 5 may further include a seating sensor that detects whether the driver is sitting in the driver's seat, a face direction sensor that detects the direction of the driver's face, an external weather sensor that detects the external weather conditions, and a human presence sensor that detects whether a person is inside the vehicle.

The camera 6 is a camera including an imaging element such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), etc. The camera 6 includes one or more external cameras 6A and an internal camera 6B.
The external camera 6A is configured to acquire image data showing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 and transmit the image data to the vehicle control unit 3. The vehicle control unit 3 acquires surrounding environment information based on the transmitted image data. Here, the surrounding environment information may include information on objects (pedestrians, other vehicles, signs, etc.) present outside the vehicle 1. For example, the surrounding environment information may include information on attributes of objects present outside the vehicle 1 and information on the distance and position of the objects relative to the vehicle 1. The external camera 6A may be configured as a monocular camera or as a stereo camera.

The internal camera 6B is disposed inside the vehicle 1 and configured to acquire image data showing the occupant. The internal camera 6B functions, for example, as an eye tracking camera that tracks the occupant's viewpoint E (described later in FIG. 2). The internal camera 6B is provided, for example, near the rearview mirror or inside the instrument panel.

The radar 7 includes at least one of a millimeter wave radar, a microwave radar, and a laser radar (e.g., a LiDAR unit). For example, the LiDAR unit is configured to detect the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1. In particular, the LiDAR unit is configured to acquire 3D mapping data (point cloud data) indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1, and then transmit the 3D mapping data to the vehicle control unit 3. The vehicle control unit 3 identifies surrounding environment information based on the transmitted 3D mapping data.

The HMI 8 is composed of an input unit that accepts input operations from the driver, and an output unit that outputs driving information, etc. to the driver. The input unit includes a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a driving mode changeover switch that switches the driving mode of the vehicle 1, etc. The output unit is a display (excluding the HUD) that displays various driving information.

The GPS 9 is configured to acquire current location information of the vehicle 1 and output the acquired current location information to the vehicle control unit 3.

The wireless communication unit 10 is configured to receive information (e.g., driving information, etc.) about other vehicles around the vehicle 1 from the other vehicles and transmit information (e.g., driving information, etc.) about the vehicle 1 to the other vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle communication). The wireless communication unit 10 is also configured to receive infrastructure information from infrastructure equipment such as traffic lights and marker lights and transmit driving information of the vehicle 1 to the infrastructure equipment (road-to-vehicle communication). The wireless communication unit 10 is also configured to receive information about pedestrians from portable electronic devices (smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, etc.) carried by pedestrians and transmit vehicle driving information of the vehicle 1 to the portable electronic device (pedestrian-to-vehicle communication). The vehicle 1 may directly communicate with other vehicles, infrastructure equipment, or portable electronic devices in an ad-hoc mode, or may communicate via an access point. Furthermore, the vehicle 1 may communicate with other vehicles, infrastructure equipment, or portable electronic devices via a communication network not shown. The communication network includes at least one of the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and a radio access network (RAN). The wireless communication standard is, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), LPWA, DSRC (registered trademark), or Li-Fi. The vehicle 1 may also communicate with other vehicles, infrastructure facilities, or portable electronic devices using a fifth generation mobile communication system (5G).

The storage device 11 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). Two-dimensional or three-dimensional map information and/or a vehicle control program may be stored in the storage device 11. For example, the three-dimensional map information may be composed of 3D mapping data (point cloud data). The storage device 11 is configured to output the map information and the vehicle control program to the vehicle control device 3 in response to a request from the vehicle control device 3. The map information and the vehicle control program may be updated via the wireless communication unit 10 and a communication network.

When the vehicle 1 runs in the autonomous driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 automatically generates at least one of a steering control signal, an accelerator control signal, and a brake control signal based on the driving state information, the surrounding environment information, the current position information, the map information, etc. The steering actuator 12 is configured to receive a steering control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the steering device 13 based on the received steering control signal. The brake actuator 14 is configured to receive a brake control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the brake device 15 based on the received brake control signal. The accelerator actuator 16 is configured to receive an accelerator control signal from the vehicle control unit 3 and control the accelerator device 17 based on the received accelerator control signal. In this way, the vehicle control unit 3 automatically controls the running of the vehicle 1 based on the driving state information, the surrounding environment information, the current position information, the map information, etc. In other words, in the autonomous driving mode, the running of the vehicle 1 is automatically controlled by the vehicle system 2.

On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 runs in the manual driving mode, the vehicle control unit 3 generates a steering control signal, an accelerator control signal, and a brake control signal in accordance with the driver's manual operation of the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, and the steering wheel. In this way, in the manual driving mode, the steering control signal, the accelerator control signal, and the brake control signal are generated by the driver's manual operation, so that the running of the vehicle 1 is controlled by the driver.

As described above, the driving mode consists of an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode. The automatic driving mode consists of, for example, a fully automatic driving mode, an advanced driving assistance mode, and a driving assistance mode. In the fully automatic driving mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all driving control, including steering control, braking control, and accelerator control, and the driver is not in a state where he can drive the vehicle 1. In the advanced driving assistance mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs all driving control, including steering control, braking control, and accelerator control, and the driver is in a state where he can drive the vehicle 1 but does not drive the vehicle 1. In the driving assistance mode, the vehicle system 2 automatically performs some driving control, including steering control, braking control, and accelerator control, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 under the driving assistance of the vehicle system 2. On the other hand, in the manual driving mode, the vehicle system 2 does not automatically perform driving control, and the driver drives the vehicle 1 without the driving assistance of the vehicle system 2.

The HUD 20 is configured to display predetermined information (hereinafter referred to as HUD information) as an image to the occupant of the vehicle 1 so that the HUD information is superimposed on the real space outside the vehicle 1 (particularly the surrounding environment in front of the vehicle 1). The HUD information displayed by the HUD 20 is, for example, vehicle driving information related to the driving of the vehicle 1 and/or surrounding environment information related to the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 (particularly information related to objects present outside the vehicle 1). The HUD 20 is an AR display that functions as a visual interface between the vehicle 1 and the occupant.

The HUD 20 includes an image generation unit (PGU: Picture Generation Unit) 24 and a control unit 25. The image generation unit 24 has a changing image generation unit 24A and a fixed image generation unit 24B.
The image generating unit 24 is configured to emit light for generating a predetermined image to be displayed toward an occupant of the vehicle 1. The changing image generating unit 24A emits light for generating a changing image, out of the predetermined images, that changes according to the situation of the vehicle 1. The fixed image generating unit 24B emits light for generating a fixed image, out of the predetermined images, that is fixed regardless of the situation of the vehicle 1.

The control unit 25 controls the operation of each part of the HUD 20. The control unit 25 is connected to the vehicle control unit 3, and controls the operation of, for example, the changing image generating unit 24A and the fixed image generating unit 24B based on vehicle driving information and surrounding environment information transmitted from the vehicle control unit 3. Note that in this embodiment, the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 25 are provided as separate configurations, but the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 25 may be configured as an integrated unit. For example, the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 25 may be configured as a single electronic control unit.

First Embodiment
2 is a schematic diagram of the HUD 20 according to the first embodiment as viewed from the side of the vehicle 1. At least a portion of the HUD 20 is located inside the vehicle 1. Specifically, the HUD 20 is installed at a predetermined location inside the vehicle 1. For example, the HUD 20 may be disposed inside the dashboard of the vehicle 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the HUD 20 has a HUD main body 21. The HUD main body 21 has a housing 22 and an exit window 23. The exit window 23 is made of a transparent plate that transmits visible light. Inside the housing 22, the HUD main body 21 has an image generating unit 24 (changing image generating unit 24A, fixed image generating unit 24B), a control unit 25, and a concave mirror 26 (an example of a reflecting unit).

The concave mirror 26 is disposed on the optical path of the light emitted from the image generating unit 24 (changing image generating unit 24A, fixed image generating unit 24B). The concave mirror 26 is configured to reflect the light emitted from the image generating unit 24 toward the windshield 18 (e.g., the front window of the vehicle 1). The concave mirror 26 has a reflective surface that is concavely curved to form a predetermined image, and reflects the image of the light emitted from the image generating unit 24 and focused thereon at a predetermined magnification. The concave mirror 26 may have a drive mechanism 27 and be configured to rotate the orientation of the concave mirror 26 based on a control signal transmitted from the control unit 25.

The control unit 25 is equipped with a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and the processor executes a computer program read from the memory to control the operation of the image generation unit 24 (changing image generation unit 24A, fixed image generation unit 24B). For example, the control unit 25 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the image generation unit 24 based on vehicle driving information and surrounding environment information transmitted from the vehicle control unit 3, and transmits the generated control signal to the image generation unit 24. The control unit 25 may also control the concave mirror 26 to change its orientation.

The light emitted from the image generating unit 24 (changing image generating unit 24A, fixed image generating unit 24B) is reflected by the concave mirror 26 and emitted from the exit window 23 of the HUD main body 21. The light emitted from the exit window 23 of the HUD main body 21 is irradiated onto the windshield 18. A portion of the light irradiated from the exit window 23 to the windshield 18 is reflected toward the occupant's viewpoint E. As a result, the occupant recognizes the light emitted from the HUD main body 21 as a virtual image (predetermined image) formed at a predetermined distance in front of the windshield 18. In this way, the image displayed by the HUD 20 is superimposed on the real space in front of the vehicle 1 through the windshield 18, and as a result, the occupant can visually recognize the virtual image object I formed by the predetermined image as floating above the road located outside the vehicle.

Here, the occupant's viewpoint E may be either the viewpoint of the left eye or the viewpoint of the right eye of the occupant. Alternatively, viewpoint E may be defined as the midpoint of a line segment connecting the viewpoints of the left eye and the right eye. The position of the occupant's viewpoint E is identified, for example, based on image data acquired by the internal camera 6B. The position of the occupant's viewpoint E may be updated at a predetermined period, or may be determined only once when the vehicle 1 is started.

When forming a 2D image (planar image) as the virtual image object I, a predetermined image is projected so as to become a virtual image at a single distance determined arbitrarily. When forming a 3D image (stereoscopic image) as the virtual image object I, a plurality of predetermined images, which may be the same or different from one another, are projected so as to become virtual images at different distances. In addition, the distance of the virtual image object I (the distance from the occupant's viewpoint E to the virtual image) can be appropriately adjusted by adjusting the distance from the image generation unit 24 to the occupant's viewpoint E (for example, by adjusting the distance between the image generation unit 24 and the concave mirror 26).

3A and 3B are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of the image generating unit 24 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 3A is a schematic diagram of the image generating unit 24 (changing image generating unit 24A, fixed image generating unit 24B) viewed from above. Fig. 3B is a schematic diagram of the fixed image generating unit 24B viewed from the front.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the change image generating unit 24A has a light source 101, an optical member 102 arranged in front of the light source 101, and a display device 103 arranged in front of the optical member 102. The light source 101 is, for example, a laser light source or an LED light source. The laser light source is, for example, an RGB laser light source configured to emit red laser light, green laser light, and blue laser light, respectively. The optical member 102 can be composed of at least one of a prism, a lens, a diffusion plate, a magnifying glass, etc. For example, in this example, the optical member 102 is composed of a plano-convex lens. The optical member 102 is configured to transmit or reflect the light emitted from the light source 101 and emit it toward the display device 103. The display device 103 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, a DMD (Digital Mirror Device), etc. The drawing method of the transition image generating unit 24A may be a raster scan method, a DLP (Digital Light Processing) method, or a LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon) method. When the DLP method or the LCOS method is adopted, the light source 101 of the transition image generating unit 24A may be an LED light source. When the liquid crystal display method is adopted, the light source 101 of the transition image generating unit 24A may be a white LED light source.

The fixed image generating unit 24B has a light source 111, an optical member 112 arranged in front of the light source 111, and a light-shielding member 113 arranged in front of the optical member 112 (closer to the concave mirror 26 than the optical member 112). The light source 111 is, for example, a laser light source or an LED light source, similar to the light source 101 described above. The optical member 112 can be composed of at least one of a reflector, a prism, a lens, a diffusion plate, a magnifying glass, and the like. In this example, the optical member 112 is, for example, composed of a lens formed in a predetermined shape that can increase the utilization efficiency of the light emitted from the light source 111. The optical member 112 is configured to transmit or reflect the light emitted from the light source 111 and uniformly emit it toward the light-shielding member 113. The light-shielding member 113 is, for example, composed of a synthetic resin film and a light-shielding film (shade) formed on at least one side of the synthetic resin film. For example, a light diffusing agent is added to the synthetic resin film that constitutes a part of the light-shielding member 113. As shown in FIG. 3B, the light shielding member 113 is provided with a notch 114 as a light transmitting portion that transmits the light of the light source 111 so as to correspond to the shape of the fixed image. The light shielding member 113 is configured to radiate the light of the light source 111 forward through the notch 114. The fixed image generating unit 24B is disposed on the left and right of the changing image generating unit 24A. The shape of the light shielding member 113 in a front view is not limited to a circular shape as in this embodiment. The position of the fixed image generating unit 24B is not limited to the left and right of the changing image generating unit 24A, and may be disposed, for example, on either the upper side or the lower side of the changing image generating unit 24A. Instead of adding a light diffusing agent to the synthetic resin film, a synthetic resin film may be provided on the rear side (optical member 112 side) of the light shielding film (shade), and fine steps for light diffusion may be formed on the front surface of the synthetic resin film.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a changing image and a fixed image forming the virtual image object I.
4, the varying image 31 is an image generated by light emitted from the varying image generating unit 24A. The fixed image 32 is an image generated by light emitted from the fixed image generating unit 24B. In front of the vehicle 1, the position where the varying image 31 is recognized and the position where the fixed image 32 is recognized are configured to be substantially the same. In other words, the distance from the windshield 18 to the varying image 31 and the distance from the windshield 18 to the fixed image 32 are configured to be substantially the same.

The fixed image 32 is displayed around the changing image 31 so as to be aligned with the changing image 31. In this example, the fixed image 32 is displayed on the left and right of the changing image 31 as seen by the occupants of the vehicle 1. The changing image 31 is an image that changes depending on the situation of the vehicle 1. In this example, a road image that notifies the occupants that the vehicle 1 will turn right ahead and a speed image that notifies the occupants that the current traveling speed is 50 km/h are displayed as the changing image 31. The fixed image 32 is an image that is fixed regardless of the situation of the vehicle 1. In this example, a warning image (angle bracket pattern) that alerts the occupants of the vehicle 1 is displayed as the fixed image 32. The warning image is an image that is generated only when necessary, and can be displayed for the purpose of, for example, notifying the occupants of the vehicle 1 of the presence of a pedestrian or notifying them of excessive speed. The range R of the image viewed as the virtual image object I is the image range obtained by adding together the display range R1 of the changing image 31 formed by the light emitted from the changing image generating unit 24A and the display range R2 of the fixed image 32 formed by the light emitted from the fixed image generating unit 24B.

In addition, multiple types of patterns of the notches 114 applied to the light blocking member 113 of the fixed image generating unit 24B to form a fixed image may be prepared. For example, the fixed image may be a human-shaped mark imitating the shape of a child to call attention to children running out. The fixed image generating unit 24B may have, for example, a drive mechanism (not shown) and be configured to switch the patterns of the notches 114 in the light blocking member 113 based on a control signal transmitted from the control unit 25.

In addition, the fixed image 32 displayed around the changing image 31 may differ in the degree of image distortion caused by reflection from the concave mirror 26 depending on its display position. Therefore, it is preferable for the control unit 25 to adjust the pattern of the cutouts 114 made in the light blocking member 113 so as to change in advance the degree of distortion of the fixed image 32 generated by the fixed image generating unit 24B according to the display position at which the fixed image 32 is displayed. It is also preferable for the control unit 25 to control the image generated by the changing image generating unit 24A so that the display mode of the changing image 31 is an appropriate display mode without distortion.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a changing image and a fixed image forming the virtual image object I. In FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the information displayed by the changing image 33 and the information displayed by the fixed image 32 may be configured to be mutually associated information. In this example, the changing image 33 and the fixed image 32 are both displayed in the same pattern (angle bracket pattern) as attention-calling images that call attention to the running of the vehicle 1. In addition, the fixed images 32 are displayed side by side with the changing image 31 on the left and right of the changing image 31. Note that in this example, the changing image 33 is displayed as a fixed angle bracket pattern, but for example, the changing image 33 may be displayed as an image that changes sequentially according to the situation of the vehicle 1 while being associated with the fixed image 32. For example, a child-shaped mark may be displayed as a fixed image, and a changing image that evokes a child jumping out may be displayed in association with the human-shaped mark.

As described above, the HUD 20 according to this embodiment includes an image generating unit 24 that emits light for generating a virtual image object I (a predetermined image), and a concave mirror 26 (an example of a reflecting unit) that reflects the light emitted by the image generating unit 24 so that the light is irradiated onto the windshield 18. The image generating unit 24 has a change image generating unit 24A that generates a change image 31 of the virtual image object I that changes according to the situation of the vehicle 1, and a fixed image generating unit 24B that generates a fixed image 32 of the virtual image object I that is fixed regardless of the situation. According to this configuration, the virtual image object I can be formed by adding the fixed image 32 generated by the fixed image generating unit 24B to the change image 31 generated by the change image generating unit 24A. Therefore, the display range of the virtual image object I (an example of a predetermined image) can be expanded without enlarging the high-cost change image generating unit 24A.

In addition, according to the HUD 20, the information displayed by the variable image 33 and the fixed image 32 may be associated with each other as shown in Fig. 5. This allows the variable image 33 and the fixed image 32 to cooperate with each other to provide various information to the occupants.

In addition, according to the HUD 20, the fixed image generating unit 24B is composed of a light source 111, an optical member 112, and a light blocking member 113. This allows the fixed image generating unit 24B to be configured with a simple structure, thereby reducing costs.

In the above embodiment, the light emitted from the image generating unit 24 is directly irradiated to the concave mirror 26, but this is not limited to the example. A reflecting unit (e.g., a plane mirror) different from the concave mirror 26 may be arranged between the image generating unit 24 and the concave mirror 26, and the light emitted from the image generating unit 24 may be reflected by the plane mirror and irradiated to the concave mirror 26. In addition, when a plane mirror is arranged on the optical path between the image generating unit 24 and the concave mirror 26 in this manner, for example, the light emitted from the variable image generating unit 24A may be irradiated to the concave mirror 26 via the plane mirror, i.e., reflected twice between the variable image generating unit 24A and the windshield 18, while the light emitted from the fixed image generating unit 24B may be directly irradiated to the concave mirror 26 without passing through the plane mirror, i.e., reflected once between the fixed image generating unit 24B and the windshield 18. This allows the cost to be reduced as much as possible while employing a plane mirror as an additional configuration.

Second Embodiment
6A and 6B are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of the image generating section 124 according to the second embodiment. Fig. 6A is a schematic diagram of the image generating section 124 (changing image generating section 124A, fixed image generating section 124B) as viewed from above. Fig. 6B is a schematic diagram of the fixed image generating section 124B as viewed from the front.

6A, the change image generating unit 124A has a light source 101, an optical element 102, and a display device 103. The change image generating unit 124A according to the second embodiment has a similar configuration to the change image generating unit 24A in the HUD 20 according to the first embodiment, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The fixed image generating unit 124B has a plurality of light sources 111a, 111b (two in this example) arranged in parallel, optical members 112a, 112b arranged in front of the light sources 111a, 111b, respectively, and light shielding members 113a, 113b arranged in front of the optical members 112a, 112b, respectively. The light sources 111a, 111b, the optical members 112a, 112b, and the light shielding members 113a, 113b are configured in the same manner as the light source 111, the optical member 112, and the light shielding member 113 in the fixed image generating unit 24B of the first embodiment. The light sources 111a, 111b are mounted, for example, on a single substrate (not shown). The optical members 112a and 112b are, for example, lenses formed in a predetermined shape that can improve the efficiency of use of light from the light sources 111a and 111b and uniformly emit light toward the light shielding members 113a and 113b. The light shielding members 113a and 113b are, for example, formed of a synthetic resin film to which a light diffusing agent is added and a light shielding film (shade) formed on at least one side of the synthetic resin film. As shown in FIG. 6B, the light shielding members 113a and 113b are provided with notches 114a and 114b so as to correspond to the shape of the fixed image 32. The fixed image generating unit 124B is disposed on the left and right of the changing image generating unit 124A, respectively. The fixed image generating unit 124B may be disposed, for example, above or below the changing image generating unit 124A.

In the image generating unit 124, for example, when the changing image and the fixed image forming the virtual image object I are the changing image 33 and the fixed image 32 shown in FIG. 5, the virtual image object I is displayed in the following form. The fixed image generating unit 124B turns on the light sources 111a and 111b, for example, in sequence, when generating the fixed image 32. The changing image generating unit 124A generates the changing image 33 so as to be associated with the lighting of the light sources 111a and 111b by the fixed image generating unit 124B. As a result, the virtual image object I in FIG. 5 is displayed with lighting in a form in which, for example, the pattern of angle brackets moves in sequence from both the left and right ends toward the center. Note that the lighting timing of the light sources 111a and 111b that generate the fixed image 32 and the information content displayed in the changing image 33 can be changed as appropriate.

In this way, the image generating unit 124 according to the second embodiment can generate a fixed image 32 by individually turning on and off the multiple light sources 111a, 111b arranged in parallel. This makes it possible to display a fixed image 32 that looks good as a virtual image object I. Note that, in this example, the multiple light sources 111a, 111b for generating the fixed image 32 are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction, but the multiple light sources for generating the fixed image may also be arranged in parallel in the up-down direction. In this case, the marks included in the fixed image are displayed in parallel in the up-down direction.

In the second embodiment, the light source 101 of the changing image generating unit 124A and the light sources 111a and 111b of the fixed image generating unit 124B are arranged at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1, but this is not limited to the example. The light source 101 and the light sources 111a and 111b may be arranged at approximately the same position in the longitudinal direction, and these light sources 101 and the light sources 111a and 111b may be mounted on a single board. This facilitates control when generating the changing image 33 by the changing image generating unit 124A so as to be associated with the lighting of the light sources 111a and 111b by the fixed image generating unit 124B, for example.

(First Modification)
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a HUD 220 according to a first modified example.
As shown in FIG. 7, the HUD 220 according to the first modification is composed of a HUD main body 21 and a combiner 19. The combiner 19 is provided inside the windshield 18 as a structure separate from the windshield 18. The combiner 19 is, for example, a transparent plastic disk, and light reflected by a concave mirror 26 is irradiated onto the combiner 19 instead of the windshield 18. As a result, a part of the light irradiated from the HUD main body 21 to the combiner 19 is reflected toward the viewpoint E of the occupant, similar to the case where light is irradiated onto the windshield 18. As a result, the occupant can recognize the light (predetermined image) emitted from the HUD main body 21 as a virtual image object I formed at a predetermined distance in front of the combiner 19 (and the windshield 18).
The HUD 220 including such a combiner 19 can also achieve the same effects as the HUD 20 described above.

Third Embodiment
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image generating unit 224 according to the third embodiment.
As shown in Fig. 8, the image generating unit 224 according to the third embodiment includes a change image generating unit 224A and a fixed image generating unit 224B. The change image generating unit 224A includes a plurality of light sources 101, a plurality of optical members 102 arranged corresponding to the light sources 101, and a display device 103. The light sources 101 are mounted on, for example, a single substrate 225. The other configurations of the change image generating unit 224A according to the third embodiment are similar to those of the change image generating unit 24A in the HUD 20 according to the first embodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The fixed image generating unit 224B has a light source 211, an optical member 212 arranged in front of the light source 211, and a light shielding member 213 arranged in front of the optical member 212. The light source 211 is mounted on, for example, a substrate 226 separate from the substrate 225. The optical member 212 is composed of, for example, a lens formed in a predetermined shape that can improve the efficiency of use of light from the light source 211 and uniformly emit light toward the light shielding member 213. In the example of FIG. 8, a biconvex lens is illustrated as an example of the optical member 212, but this example is not limited to this. For example, a Fresnel lens may be used as the lens used for the optical member 212. By using a Fresnel lens in which a normal lens is divided into concentric regions to reduce the thickness, the optical member 212 can be made thinner than when a plano-convex lens, biconvex lens, or the like is used. As the optical member 212, a combination of a vertical cylindrical lens and a horizontal cylindrical lens may be used. Alternatively, a vertical cylindrical lens and a horizontal cylindrical lens may be formed on the exit surface and the entrance surface of a single lens. When a cylindrical lens is used, the cylindrical lens may be formed as a so-called linear Fresnel lens having a Fresnel shape.

A light diffusion sheet 215 made of, for example, a synthetic resin film to which a light diffusion agent has been added is attached to the surface of the light blocking member 213 facing the optical member 212. The light blocking member 213 has a cutout corresponding to the shape of the fixed image 32, similar to the light blocking member 113 shown in FIG. 3B. Note that, although the fixed image generating unit 224B is provided only to the left of the changing image generating unit 224A in FIG. 8, the fixed image generating unit 224B may be provided to both the left and right of the changing image generating unit 224A.

Housing 224B1, which houses the various components of fixed image generating unit 224B, is disposed so as to be adjacent to the right side of housing 224A1, which houses the various components of changing image generating unit 224A. Housing 224B1 of fixed image generating unit 224B is disposed so that its front end is located further forward in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle 1 than the front end of housing 224A1 of changing image generating unit 224A. In other words, light blocking member 213 of fixed image generating unit 224B is disposed forward of display device 103 of changing image generating unit 224A.

As described above, according to the configuration of the image generating unit 224 according to the third embodiment, the surface generating the fixed image 32 in the fixed image generating unit 224B is disposed forward of the surface generating the change image 31 in the change image generating unit 224A. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the optical path length of light between the surface generating the fixed image 32 in the fixed image generating unit 224B and the concave mirror 26 is shorter than the optical path length of light between the surface generating the change image 31 in the change image generating unit 224A and the concave mirror 26. Therefore, the distance between the fixed image 32 and the occupant's viewpoint E is shorter than the distance between the change image 31 constituting the virtual image object and the occupant's viewpoint E. In this way, by displaying the fixed image 32 at a position closer to the occupant's viewpoint E than the change image 31, the fixed image 32 can be made to stand out, making it easier for the occupant to notice the fixed image 32.

In the third embodiment, the light shielding member 213 of the change image generating unit 224A is arranged to be in front of the display device 103 of the change image generating unit 224A, but this is not limited to this example. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the light shielding member 213 of the fixed image generating unit 324B may be arranged rearward of the display device 103 of the change image generating unit 324A in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the housing 324B1 of the fixed image generating unit 324B is arranged so as to be in contact with the right side of the housing 324A1 of the change image generating unit 324A, and the front end of the housing 324B1 is arranged to be located rearward of the front end of the housing 324A1. In this case, the light sources 101, 101 of the change image generating unit 324A and the light source 211 of the fixed image generating unit 324B may be mounted on a single substrate 325. By mounting the light sources 101 , 101 and the light source 211 on a single substrate 325 , the mountability of the light sources can be improved, and the cost of the image generating unit 324 can be reduced.

According to the configuration of the image generating unit 324 shown in Figure 10, the surface that generates the changing image 31 in the changing image generating unit 324A is disposed forward of the surface that generates the fixed image 32 in the fixed image generating unit 324B. This allows the changing image 31 to be displayed at a position closer to the occupant's viewpoint E than the fixed image 32. In this way, by making the distance (optical path length) between the changing image generating unit and the concave mirror 26 different from the distance (optical path length) between the fixed image generating unit and the concave mirror 26, it is possible to draw the occupant's attention to either the changing image 31 or the fixed image 32 rather than the other.

(Fourth embodiment)
A vehicle system 500 including a HUD 520 according to the fourth embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a block diagram of the vehicle system 500. Duplicate descriptions of components that are the same as or correspond to those of the vehicle system 2 of the first embodiment will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 11 , a HUD 520 according to the fourth embodiment includes a changing image generating unit 524 , a fixed image generating unit 527 , and a control unit 525 .
The varying image generating unit 524 emits light for generating a varying image that changes according to the situation of the vehicle 1, among the predetermined images to be displayed to the occupants of the vehicle 1. The fixed image generating unit 527 emits light for generating a fixed image that is fixed regardless of the situation of the vehicle 1, among the predetermined images to be displayed to the occupants of the vehicle 1.

The control unit 525 controls the operation of each part of the HUD 520. The control unit 525 is connected to the vehicle control unit 3, and controls the operation of the changing image generation unit 524 and the fixed image generation unit 527, etc., based on the vehicle driving information and surrounding environment information transmitted from the vehicle control unit 3. Note that in this embodiment, the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 525 are provided as separate configurations, but the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 525 may be configured as an integrated unit. For example, the vehicle control unit 3 and the control unit 525 may be configured as a single electronic control unit.

12, the HUD main body 521 of the HUD 520 has, inside the housing 22, a variable image generating unit 524, a concave mirror 526 (an example of a reflecting unit), a fixed image generating unit 527, and a control unit 525. The fixed image generating unit 527 is attached to the concave mirror 526. For example, one fixed image generating unit 527 is attached to each side of the concave mirror 526 so as to sandwich the concave mirror 526 in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1.

The concave mirror 526 is disposed on the optical path of the light emitted from the change image generating unit 524. The concave mirror 526 is configured to reflect the light emitted from the change image generating unit 524 toward the windshield 18 (e.g., the front window of the vehicle 1).

The control unit 525 is equipped with a processor such as a CPU and a memory, and the processor executes a computer program read from the memory to control the operation of the change image generating unit 524 and the fixed image generating unit 527. For example, the control unit 525 generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the change image generating unit 524 based on the vehicle driving information and surrounding environment information transmitted from the vehicle control unit 3, and transmits the generated control signal to the change image generating unit 524. The control unit 525 also generates a control signal for controlling the operation of the fixed image generating unit 527 based on the vehicle driving information and surrounding environment information transmitted from the vehicle control unit 3, and transmits the generated control signal to the fixed image generating unit 527. When the orientation of the concave mirror 526 is changed by the control unit 525, the orientation of the fixed image generating unit 527 attached to the concave mirror 526 may also be changed by the control unit 525. The orientation of the fixed image generating unit 527 may be changed individually by the control unit 525. By adjusting the orientation of fixed image generating unit 527, the emission angle of light emitted from fixed image generating unit 527 is controlled so that the fixed image formed by the light emitted from fixed image generating unit 527 is displayed at a predetermined position relative to the changing image formed by the light emitted from changing image generating unit 524.

The light emitted from the changing image generating unit 524 (hereinafter also referred to as changing light) is reflected by the concave mirror 526 and emitted from the exit window 23 of the HUD main body 521. The changing light emitted from the exit window 23 of the HUD main body 521 is irradiated onto the windshield 18. A portion of the changing light irradiated from the exit window 23 onto the windshield 18 is reflected towards the occupant's viewpoint E. In addition, the light emitted from the fixed image generating unit 527 (hereinafter also referred to as fixed light) is emitted from the exit window 23 of the HUD main body 521. The fixed light emitted from the exit window 23 of the HUD main body 521 is irradiated onto the windshield 18. A portion of the fixed light irradiated from the exit window 23 onto the windshield 18 is reflected towards the occupant's viewpoint E. As a result, the occupant recognizes the light (including the varying light and the fixed light) emitted from the HUD main body 521 as a virtual image (predetermined image) formed at a predetermined distance in front of the windshield 18. In this way, the image displayed by the HUD 520 is superimposed on the real space in front of the vehicle 1 through the windshield 18, so that the occupant can visually recognize the virtual image object I formed by the predetermined image as floating above the road located outside the vehicle.

The distance of the virtual image object I (the distance from the occupant's viewpoint E to the virtual image) can be adjusted as appropriate by adjusting the distance from the varying image generating unit 524 and the fixed image generating unit 527 to the occupant's viewpoint E. For example, the distance from the occupant's viewpoint E to the varying image can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the varying image generating unit 524 and the concave mirror 526. Also, for example, the distance from the occupant's viewpoint E to the fixed image can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the fixed image generating unit 527 and the windshield 18.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the fixed image generating unit 527.
As shown in FIG. 13 , the fixed image generating unit 527 has a light source 501, an optical element 502 arranged diagonally above the light source 501, a light-shielding element 503 arranged diagonally above the optical element 502 (the opposite side of the light source 501 across the optical element 502), a diffusion sheet 504 arranged diagonally above the light-shielding element 503, and a lens 505 arranged diagonally above the diffusion sheet 504.

The light source 501 is, for example, a laser light source or an LED light source. The laser light source is, for example, an RGB laser light source configured to emit red laser light, green laser light, and blue laser light, respectively.

The optical member 502 may be composed of at least one of a prism, a lens, a reflector, a diffusion plate, a magnifying glass, etc. In this example, the optical member 502 is composed of, for example, a lens formed in a predetermined shape that can increase the utilization efficiency of the light emitted from the light source 501. The optical member 502 is configured to transmit or reflect the light emitted from the light source 501 and emit the light uniformly toward the light blocking member 503.

The light shielding member 503 is composed of, for example, a synthetic resin film and a light shielding film (shade) formed on at least one side of the synthetic resin film. The light shielding member 503 has a notch 514 formed to correspond to the shape of the fixed image. The notch 514 has an angle bracket pattern, similar to the notch 114 of the light shielding member 113 in the first embodiment (FIG. 3B). The light shielding member 503 is configured to radiate the light of the light source 501 toward the lens 505 through the notch 514. That is, the light shielding member 503 transmits the light of the light source 501 in accordance with the shape of the fixed image. The light shielding member 503 is detachably provided in the fixed image generating unit 527. Note that the shape of the light shielding member 503 in a front view is not limited to a circular shape as shown in FIG. 3B, and may be formed, for example, in a rectangular shape as seen from the front. In addition, the pattern of the notch 514 formed in the light shielding member 503 is not limited to the angle bracket pattern as shown in FIG. 3B.

The diffusion sheet 504 is, for example, a film to which a light diffusion agent is added to diffuse light. The diffusion sheet 504 is configured to uniformly send the light emitted from the cutout 514 of the light blocking member 503 toward the lens 505. Instead of adding a light diffusion agent to the diffusion sheet 504, fine steps for diffusing light may be formed on the surface of the diffusion sheet 504 facing the lens 505.

The lens 505 is a lens for adjusting the optical path length of the light emitted from the fixed image generating unit 527. That is, the lens 505 is used to adjust the focus of the light that generates the fixed image and appropriately form the fixed image as part of the virtual image object I.

Although not shown in the figure, the change image generating unit 524 has a light source, an optical member arranged in front of the light source, and a display device arranged in front of the optical member. The light source is, for example, a laser light source or an LED light source, similar to the light source 501 described above. The optical member can be composed of at least one of a prism, a lens, a reflector, a diffuser, a magnifying glass, etc., similar to the optical member 502 described above. The optical member is configured to transmit or reflect light emitted from the light source and emit it toward the display device.

As in the first embodiment, in the fourth embodiment, the changing image 31 shown in FIG. 4 is generated by the light emitted from the changing image generating unit 524. In addition, the fixed image 32 shown in FIG. 4 is generated by the light emitted from the fixed image generating unit 527.

In addition, multiple types of patterns of the notches 514 applied to the light blocking member 503 of the fixed image generating unit 527 to form a fixed image may be prepared. The fixed image generating unit 527 may have a drive mechanism (not shown) and be configured to switch the patterns of the notches 514 in the light blocking member 503 based on a control signal transmitted from the control unit 525.

As in the first embodiment, in the fourth embodiment, the information displayed by the changing image 33 generated by the changing image generating unit 524 and the information displayed by the fixed image 32 generated by the fixed image generating unit 527 may be configured to be mutually associated information (Figure 5).

In the fourth embodiment described above, a configuration in which one fixed image generating unit 527 is attached to each side of the concave mirror 526 has been described, but this is not limited to the above. For example, multiple fixed image generating units 527 may be attached in parallel to each other on both sides of the concave mirror 526. Also, for example, the fixed image generating units 527 may be attached to the upper and/or lower side of the concave mirror 526, rather than to both sides of the concave mirror 526.

For example, when two fixed image generating units 527 are attached in parallel to each other on both sides of the concave mirror 526, the virtual image object I may be displayed in the following form. The fixed image generating unit 527 turns on the light sources of the fixed image generating units 527, for example, in sequence, when generating the fixed image 32 shown in FIG. 5. The changing image generating unit 524 generates the changing image 33 so as to be associated with the lighting of the light sources by the fixed image generating unit 527. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the virtual image object I is displayed illuminated, for example, in a form in which a pattern of angle brackets moves in sequence from both the left and right ends toward the center.

As described above, the HUD 520 according to the fourth embodiment includes a change image generating unit 524 that emits light for generating a change image 31 of the virtual image object I (an example of a predetermined image) that changes according to the situation of the vehicle 1, a concave mirror 526 (an example of a reflecting unit) that reflects light so that the light emitted by the change image generating unit 524 is irradiated to the windshield 18, and a fixed image generating unit 527 that generates a fixed image 32 of the virtual image object I that is fixed regardless of the situation of the vehicle 1. The fixed image generating unit 527 has a light source 501, an optical member 502 that transmits or reflects the light emitted from the light source 501, and a light-shielding member 503 that is provided on the opposite side of the light source 501 across the optical member 502 and transmits the light of the light source 501 in accordance with the shape of the fixed image 32. According to this configuration, the virtual image object I can be formed by adding the fixed image 32 generated by the fixed image generating unit 527 to the change image 31 generated by the change image generating unit 524. Therefore, the display range of the virtual image object I (an example of a predetermined image) can be expanded without enlarging the expensive transformation image generating unit 524 .

Moreover, the fixed image generating unit 527 is composed of the light source 501, the optical member 502, and the light blocking member 503, and is attached to the concave mirror 526. This allows the fixed image generating unit 527 to be provided with a simple configuration, and the cost can be reduced.
Furthermore, since the fixed image 32 can be generated by providing the notch 514 in the light blocking member 503, the cost of the fixed image generating unit 527 can be further reduced.

Furthermore, according to the HUD 520, since the fixed image 32 can be generated by sequentially lighting up a plurality of light sources arranged in parallel, it is possible to display a good-looking fixed image 32 as the virtual image object I. Furthermore, by combining the fixed image 32 with the changing image 33, it is possible to create an even better-looking virtual image object I.

(Second Modification)
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a HUD 620 according to the second modified example.
14, the HUD 620 according to the second modification is composed of a HUD main body 521 and a combiner 19. The combiner 19 is irradiated with varying light emitted from a varying image generating unit 524 and reflected by a concave mirror 526, and fixed light emitted from a fixed image generating unit 527, instead of the windshield 18. As a result, a part of the light irradiated from the HUD main body 521 to the combiner 19 is reflected toward the viewpoint E of the occupant, similar to the case where light is irradiated to the windshield 18. As a result, the occupant can recognize the emitted light (predetermined image) from the HUD main body 521 as a virtual image object I formed at a predetermined distance in front of the combiner 19 (and the windshield 18).
The HUD 620 including such a combiner 19 can also achieve the same effects as the HUD 520 described above.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the description of this embodiment. This embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiment are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. The technical scope of the present invention should be determined based on the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

In the above embodiment, the driving modes of the vehicle are described as including a fully automated driving mode, an advanced driving assistance mode, a driving assistance mode, and a manual driving mode, but the driving modes of the vehicle should not be limited to these four modes. The driving modes of the vehicle may include at least one of these four modes. For example, the driving modes of the vehicle may be capable of executing only one of them.

Furthermore, the classification and display format of the vehicle's driving modes may be changed as appropriate in accordance with the laws, regulations, and rules related to autonomous driving in each country. Similarly, the definitions of "fully autonomous driving mode," "advanced driving assistance mode," and "driving assistance mode" described in the description of this embodiment are merely examples, and these definitions may be changed as appropriate in accordance with the laws, regulations, and rules related to autonomous driving in each country.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-183648 filed on October 4, 2019, Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-183649 filed on October 4, 2019, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-212305 filed on November 25, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims (4)

A head-up display provided in a vehicle and configured to display a predetermined image toward an occupant of the vehicle,
a varying image generating unit that emits light for generating a varying image, which changes according to a situation of the vehicle, among the predetermined images;
A reflecting unit that reflects the light emitted by the transition image generating unit so that the light is irradiated onto a windshield or a combiner;
a fixed image generating unit that generates a fixed image among the predetermined images, the fixed image being fixed regardless of the situation;
The fixed image generating unit includes:
A light source;
an optical member that transmits or reflects light emitted from the light source;
a light-shielding member that is provided on the opposite side of the optical member from the light source and transmits the light in accordance with the shape of the fixed image ;
A head-up display, wherein the fixed image generating unit is attached to the reflecting unit. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein the fixed image is disposed on the left and right of the changing image as viewed from the passenger. The light sources are arranged in parallel,
The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light sources are turned on in sequence when the fixed image is generated. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein information displayed by the changing image and information displayed by the fixed image are associated with each other.

Images