JPH04138492A - Head up display - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for laborious optical path adjustments by operating an optical path adjusting means according to the position of the target body for position detection disposed in the prescribed positions relative to the position of the operator's eyes. CONSTITUTION:The optical path adjusting means B which adjusts the optical path of information display light, the target body 20 for position detection disposed in the prescribed position relative to the position of the operator's eyes, a target position detecting means 21 which detects the position of the target body 20 and an optical path adjusting means operating device 37 which operates the optical path adjusting means B according to the detected position of the target body 20 are provided. The optical path adjusting means B is operated according to the position of the target body 20 for position detection disposed in the prescribed position relative to the position of the operator's eyes, by which the optical path of the information display light is adjusted in a vertical direction. The information display light is visually admitted in this way without having the laborious optical adjusting operation made by the operator.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention A9 Purpose of the Invention 1) Industrial Field of Application The present invention is intended for use in applications where the operator of a vehicle such as an automobile, railway vehicle, or ship operates while looking at the scene in the outside world in front of him. This invention relates to a head-up display that displays various information superimposed on the scene of the outside world in front of the person.

Using such a head-up display eliminates the need for the driver to take his or her eyes away from the outside world and look at the instruments, thereby making it possible to prevent unexpected accidents that may occur while the driver takes his or her eyes away from the outside world.

2) Prior art The conventional head-up display described above usually has a combiner such as a half mirror placed in front of the driver's visual field, and the combiner transmits light rays emitted from the external scene in the direction of the driver, and also allows the operator to control the vehicle. It is configured to reflect or diffract information display light such as speed information and brake pressure information that enters the combiner from the indoor side toward the driver.

The information projecting device inputs the information display light into the combiner, and the information display light emitted from the optical information display means, such as a CRT, a plasma display, or a light emitting diode display, is transmitted to the combiner. and an optical member that allows the light to enter the light. and,
The optical member is.

Usually, it is composed of a lens, a reflector, etc., and is configured so that the information display light can be visually recognized by the driver in the front field of view.

3) Problems to be Solved by the Invention Incidentally, since the driver visually recognizes the scene in the outside world at an infinite distance, the information displayed on the display surface of the optical information display means may be visually recognized at a position close to the eyes. As a result, the focal point and parallax angle of the eyes when viewing the external scene and displayed information change significantly. This makes it difficult to view the scene or information display light at the same time, and the eyes tend to get tired.

Therefore, when the information displayed on the display screen is to be visually recognized by the driver, a lens system is often used in the optical member so that the information can be viewed from a distance. Although this type of display is comfortable for the eyes, the position of the eyes where the information displayed on the display surface can be viewed is limited to a very narrow range.

On the other hand, pilots have different eye heights due to individual differences in sitting height. Therefore, with a head-up display in which the eye position where information can be viewed is limited to a narrow range as described above, if the height of the pilot's seat cannot be adjusted sufficiently, the pilot can receive the information while sitting in the pilot's seat. There was a problem that it became impossible to sufficiently visually recognize the image. This problem can be solved by adjusting the optical path of the information display light in the vertical direction (up and down) according to the eye level of the pilot. It is troublesome to adjust the optical path of the information display light accordingly. Particularly in the case of a one-man operation in which one person performs crew duties, when the operator is changed midway through, there may be cases where it is not possible to spend much time adjusting the optical path.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides that when the eye height position differs depending on the operator, the operator can visually check the information displayed on the display surface without the operator having to perform troublesome optical path adjustment work. The challenge is to make it possible.

B8 Structure of the Invention 1) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the head-up display of the present invention includes an optical information display means having a display surface on which information is displayed; an information projecting device including an optical member that projects information display light to a combiner; and an information projecting device that is installed to be inclined in front of the operator and that transmits light from the outside world so that the operator can visually recognize the scene of the outside world in front of the operator. A front-up display for a vehicle includes a combiner that transmits information from the front to the rear and directs the information display light projected from the information projection device to a viewing position, wherein the optical path of the information display light is an optical path adjustment means for adjusting in the vertical direction; a target object for position detection that is worn on the operator and placed at a predetermined position with respect to the position of the operator's eyes; and a target position for detecting the position of the target object. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a detection means and an optical path adjustment means actuating device that operates the optical path adjustment means according to the position of the target object detected by the target position detection means.

2) Function In the head-up display of the present invention having the above-described configuration, the optical path is adjusted according to the position of the target object for position detection, which is placed at a predetermined position with respect to the position of the operator's eyes. The adjusting means is actuated to adjust the optical path of the information display light in the longitudinal direction. That is, the optical path is automatically adjusted in the vertical direction according to the position of the operator's eyes. Therefore, the driver can visually recognize the information display light without having to perform troublesome optical path adjustment work by himself.

3) Examples A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In Figures 1 and 2, a driver's cab 2 is located at the front end of the railway vehicle 1.
is installed. In this driver's cab 2, a seat 3 for a pilot M is arranged at a position to the left of the center in the lateral direction, and an instrument panel 4 is arranged in front of the seat.
In front of the driver's cab 2, a windshield C used as a combiner is arranged between the lower part 5 of the vehicle body of the railway vehicle 1 and the ceiling 6. This windshield C is arranged so as to be inclined downward as it goes forward.

An information projection device K of a head-up display H is disposed on the instrument panel 4 of the driver's cab 2. As shown in Fig. 3.4, the information projecting device has a dust cover fitting hole 10a and a plurality of dust cover fixing screw holes 1 on the top surface.
The casing 10 includes an optical member A and a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) as an optical information display means.
#Polar ray tube) A display tube is installed. The display surface of this CR7 display tube is divided into pixels of, for example, 512 x 512 dots, and by controlling the brightness of each pixel, necessary information (speed information, time information, etc.) can be displayed in stroke display or raster display. Is displayed.

Note that, instead of the CR7 display tube, it is also possible to employ a flat optical information display means such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or a light emitting diode display.

The optical member A includes a concave lens system A1 as shown in FIG.
．． The convex lens A3, which is composed of a flat reflecting mirror A2, a convex lens A3, etc., is formed by a convex small-diameter convex lens part A31 on the back side, and a flat large-diameter flange part A32 on the front side. There is. and,
The convex lens A3 has a small-diameter convex lens portion A31 whose outer periphery is fitted into the dust cover fitting hole 10& (in the enlarged view of the convex lens A3 shown in FIG. 3, the convex lens portion A31 on the back side is facing upward). Therefore, the convex lens portion A31 shown in the enlarged view is fitted into the dust cover fitting hole 10a in an upside down state).

That is, the convex lens A3 also serves as a dust cover. The flange portion A32 is colored black and has a plurality of elongated holes A33 for attachment. Such a convex lens A3 is manufactured by pouring one rastack of raw material into a mold, molding it, and then cutting the peripheral portion to leave a flange.

A rotating shaft 14.15 is provided on the casing 1o via a bracket 1213.

These rotating shafts 14, 15 are arranged in a straight line and are rotatably supported by the components of the instrument panel 4.

A gear 16 is fixed to the rotating shaft 14, and this gear 16 meshes with an ohm gear 18 rotated by a motor 17. Therefore, when the motor 17 rotates, the casing 1o is configured to rotate around the rotation axis 14.15.

The casing 1o is arranged so that the information display light emitted from the CR7 display tube enters the windshield C, and when rotated around the rotation axis 14.15, the windshield C The optical path of the information display light incident on the display is adjusted in the vertical direction (vertical direction). Therefore, the optical path adjusting means B is constituted by the components indicated by the numerals 12 to 18.

The windshield C is arranged to transmit a part of the information display light incident from the optical member A, and the cylindrical concave surface thereof is arranged so as to reflect the remaining part of the information display light toward the operator M, Further, it is arranged so as to reflect a part of external light J incident from an external scene, etc., and transmit the remaining part toward the operator M.

An information projecting device K is constituted by the casing 10, the optical member A, the CRT display tube D, and the dust cover 11, and a head is connected to the windshield C5 functioning as the combiner and the information projecting device. An up display H (see FIG. 1) is constructed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a drive circuit for the motor 17 for controlling the rotational attitude of the casing 10.

In FIG. 5, the operator M is wearing a microphone 20 for train radio and in-car announcements. Since the microphone 20 is arranged at a substantially predetermined position relative to the position of the operator's M eyes, it is used as a target object for detecting the position of the operator's M eyes. The microphone 20 is configured to take two postures: a positioning mode posture facing forward as shown in FIG. 6A, and a microphone mode posture facing the operator M's mouth as shown in FIG. 6B. ing. Said microphone 2
0 is connected to the broadcasting circuit and also to the target position detection means 21.

The target position detection means 21 includes a pair of ultrasonic oscillators 22, 23, . and a central processing unit CPU composed of an IC. The central processing unit CP
U is configured to operate oscillation circuits 25 and 26 via an interface (I/F) 24. The oscillator circuits 25, 26 are configured to drive the ultrasonic oscillators 22, 23 via amplifiers 27, 28, respectively. The pulse counters 29, 30 are configured to start counting the number of pulses of a predetermined period in synchronization with the start of operation of the oscillation circuits 25, 26. The ultrasonic wave generated by driving the ultrasonic oscillator 22 or 23 is detected by the tuning circuit 31 via the microphone 20. The output signal from the tuning circuit 31 is transmitted to the pulse counter 29 or 3.
The number of pulses counted by the pulse counter 29 or 30 up to the time when 0 is input is input to the central processing unit CPU via the interface 24. The number of pulses counted by the pulse counter 29 is proportional to the distance between the ultrasonic oscillator 22 and the microphone 20,
The number of pulses counted by the pulse counter 30 is proportional to the distance between the ultrasonic oscillator 23 and the microphone 20. Therefore, the central processing unit CPU controls the ultrasonic oscillators 23 and 2 based on the input pulse number.
4 to the microphone 20 can be calculated. For example, the origin is the average position of the microphone 20 (the microphone 20 varies depending on the sitting height of the pilot M, but the average position), and the X axis is forward, the Y axis is to the left, and the Z axis is upward. When set, the coordinate positions of the ultrasonic oscillators 22 and 23 placed in front of the seat 3 will be on the X-Z plane. The ultrasonic oscillator 2
Assuming that the distances from 2 and 23 to the microphone 20 are a and b, respectively, the microphone 20 is connected to the ultrasonic oscillator 22.
It is on a spherical surface with a radius a centered at , and on a spherical surface with a radius a centered on the ultrasonic oscillator 23 . A point on the spherical surface of radius a and on the spherical surface of radius s is on the circumference formed at the position where these spherical surfaces intersect. Further, the microphone 20 is on the X-Z plane. Therefore, the microphone 20 is located on the intersection of the vertical plane and the circumference.

Since there are two intersection points, the position of the microphone 20 is at one of the two points. However, microphone 20
The position of the microphone 20 varies depending on the sitting height of the operator M, but its range of existence is fixed, so it is assumed that the coordinate of the two points closer to the origin is the position of the microphone 20. can be determined. That is, the above 2
The coordinates of one of the points are above the straight line connecting the ultrasonic oscillators 22 and 23, and the coordinates of the other of the two points are below the straight line. In this embodiment, the coordinates of the point above the straight line are the coordinates of the position of the microphone 20.

Therefore, the central processing unit CPU can calculate the position of the microphone 20 based on the input pulse number. Therefore, in this embodiment, the central processing unit C
The target position detecting means 21 for detecting the position of the microphone (namely, the target object) 20 is constituted by the PU and the components indicated by the numerals 22 to 31.

The central processing unit CPU detects the detected microphone (target object) 20
An optical path adjustment means activation signal is calculated based on the position of. This optical BtJT4 node activation signal is transmitted to the interface 35.
The signal is input to the motor drive circuit 36 via. The motor drive circuit 36 is configured to drive the motor 18 of the optical path adjusting means B based on the optical path adjusting means activation signal.

When the motor 18 is operated, the case 10 rotates around the rotation axis 14.15, and the vertical optical path of the upper display light incident on the windshield C is adjusted.

In this embodiment, the central processing unit CPU, interface 35, and motor drive circuit 36 constitute an optical path adjustment means actuating device 37.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be explained.

When pilot M starts piloting, he sets the microphone 20 to the positioning mode shown in FIG. 6A. When the CPU is activated, first the ultrasonic oscillator 22 and pulse counter 29 are activated. The ultrasonic waves oscillated from the ultrasonic oscillator 22 are detected by the tuning circuit 31 via the microphone 20. By the time the output signal from the tuning circuit 31 is input to the pulse counter 29, the pulse counter 2
The number of pulses counted by interface 2
4 to the central processing unit CPLJ. The number of pulses counted by the pulse counter 29 is proportional to the distance a between the ultrasonic oscillator 22 and the microphone 20. Next, the navigation ultrasonic oscillator 23 and the pulse counter 30 are activated, and the number of pulses counted by the pulse counter 30 (i.e., the number of pulses proportional to the distance between the ultrasonic oscillator 23 and the microphone 20) is input to the central processing unit CPU.The central processing unit CPU calculates the position (height) of the microphone 20 from the input pulse, and determines the attitude of the case 10 according to the calculated position of the microphone 20. (the posture around the rotation axis 14°15). Then, the central processing unit CPU controls the motor 1 via the interface 35 and the motor drive circuit 36.
8 to adjust the case 20 to the calculated attitude.

Then, the vertical optical path of the information display light emitted from the information projecting device K housed in the case 20, which enters the windshield C, is adjusted so that the driver M can see it. Namely, said information projecting bag! The information display light emitted from the CR7 display tube passes through the optical member A and enters the windshield C. A part of the information display light incident on the windshield C passes through the windshield C and is emitted to the outside world, but the remaining part is reflected and reaches the eyes of the operator M. This allows the operator M to visually recognize the information display light.

On the other hand, of the external ray J that has traveled from the outside world on the left side of the first [2I] towards the windshield C, a portion is reflected by the windshield C to the outside world, and the rest is transmitted through the windshield C as it is. It then went straight until it reached Pilot M's eyes. This allows the operator M to visually recognize the scene in the outside world as it is.

Next, a second embodiment of the lid-up display of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7-9. During the description of this second embodiment,
Components that are the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and redundant detailed explanations will be omitted.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, a windshield C serving as a combiner provided at the front end of the train is composed of a flat plate of transparent glass arranged so as to be inclined downward as it goes forward. The instrument panel 4 below the windshield C includes an optical member A and a C as an optical information display means.
RT (Cathode Ray Tube)
A display tube is installed.

The optical member A is composed of a concave lens AI, a mirror A2, a convex lens A3, etc., and is arranged so that the information display light emitted from the CR7 display tube enters the windshield C. And the mirror A
2 and convex lens A3 are integrally connected, and both members A2.2 and convex lens A3 are integrally connected. A3 constitutes an optical unit U for adjusting the direction of light projection. The light projection direction adjusting optical unit U is rotatably supported by a support member 47, and its posture is adjusted by an adjusting member 48 that adjusts its posture around its rotation axis. The adjustment member 48
is the motor 49 and the output rotation shaft 49 &
The nut 50 is screwed into a screw formed in the projection direction optical unit U and is supported by the light projection direction optical unit U.

Then, when the output rotation shaft 49a of the motor 49 rotates,
The nut 50 is moved forward or backward by the screw;
At this time, the optical unit U for adjusting the projection direction is rotated to adjust its attitude. The support member 47
The adjusting member 48 constitutes an optical path adjusting means B. Further, the rotational attitude of the light projection direction adjusting optical unit U around the support member 47 is detected by an attitude detector 51.

From the CR7 display tube and optical member A to the information projector [
Further, a head-up display H is constructed from the windshield C functioning as the combiner, the information projecting device, and the like.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a drive circuit for the step motor 49 for controlling the rotational attitude of the light projection direction adjusting optical unit U.

In FIG. 9, the microphone 52 used by the operator M for in-vehicle announcements is placed at approximately a predetermined position relative to the position of the operator M's eyes when using it. used as a target object to detect the position of. The microphone 52 used as the target object is attached to the tip of an L-shaped arm 53. The base end portion of the arm 53 is formed into a cylindrical shape, and is inserted into the cylindrical socket 54 so as to be removable. And the cylindrical socket 54
An arm length sensor 55 for detecting the amount of movement of the arm 53 into and out of the cylindrical socket 54, that is, the arm length R, is disposed at the tip of the arm 53.

Further, the base end portion of the cylindrical socket 54 is rotatably connected to the vehicle body. An arm angle sensor 56 for detecting the rotational position of the socket 54, that is, the angle θ of the arm 53 is disposed at the connecting portion. The arm length sensor 55 and arm angle sensor 56 are constructed using encoders. Since the operator M adjusts the arm length R and the arm angle θ and brings the microphone 52 to his or her mouth, the position of the microphone 52 can be detected from the arm length R and the arm angle θ. can. Since the position of the operator's M eyes is located a predetermined distance above the position of the microphone 52, the position of the operator's M eyes can also be detected.

Detection signals from the arm length sensor 55 and arm angle sensor 56 are sent to the central processing unit CPU via an interface 57.
is configured to be input. central processing unit CP
U calculates the position of the microphone 52 (that is, the position of the target object) from the input arm length R and arm angle θ. Therefore, in this embodiment, the central processing unit C
A target position detecting means 58 for detecting the position of the microphone (that is, the target object) 52 is constituted by the PU and the components indicated by the reference numerals 53 to 57.

The central processing unit CPU detects the detected microphone (target object) 52.
An optical path adjustment means activation signal is calculated based on the position of. This optical path adjustment means activation signal is input to an operational amplifier 60 via a D/A converter 59. A rotational attitude signal of the light projection direction adjusting optical unit U is inputted to the operational amplifier 60 from the attitude detector 51 . When there is a difference between the input signals, the operational amplifier 60 outputs a signal with a polarity corresponding to the difference to the motor drive amplifier 61.

A motor drive amplifier 61 drives the motor 49 in the forward or reverse direction depending on the polarity of the input signal from the operational amplifier 60. At this time, the light projection direction adjusting optical unit U rotates around the rotation axis of the support member 47, and the vertical optical path of the upper display light incident on the windshield C is adjusted. In this embodiment, the central processing unit C
The PU, D/A converter 59, operational amplifier 60, and motor drive amplifier 61 constitute an optical path adjustment means actuating device 62.

In the second embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration, when the operator M adjusts the arm length R and the arm angle θ and brings the microphone 52 to his/her mouth, the target position detecting means, And the optical path adjustment actuating means is activated to automatically adjust the vertical optical path of the upper display light. Then, the information display light is directed toward the eyes of the operator M, and the operator M can visually recognize the information display light.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. Is possible.

For example, it is possible to use something other than a microphone as the target object for detecting the position of the operator's eyes. For example, it is possible to use an ultrasonic oscillator that can be attached to and detached from glasses as the target object. It is. In that case, ultrasonic receivers that receive ultrasonic waves emitted from an ultrasonic oscillator attached to the glasses can be arranged at a plurality of locations, and the position of the target object can be detected from the received signals.

C0 Effects of the Invention The head-up display of the present invention includes an optical path adjustment means for vertically adjusting the optical path of the information display light, and a position detection target disposed at a predetermined position with respect to the position of the operator's eyes. A target position detecting means for detecting the position of the target body, and an optical path adjusting means actuating device for operating the optical path adjusting means according to the position of the target body detected by the target position detecting means. . Therefore, the optical path adjustment means is operated according to the position of the target object for position detection, which is placed at a predetermined position with respect to the operator's eye position, and the optical path of the information display light is adjusted in the vertical direction. Ru. That is, the optical path is automatically adjusted in the vertical direction according to the position of the operator's eyes. Therefore, the driver can visually recognize the information display light without having to make troublesome optical path adjustments by himself.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the head-up display of the present invention, showing the case where it is applied to a railway vehicle;
The figure is a partial plan view of the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the main parts of the same embodiment, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 3, and FIG. An explanatory diagram of the drive circuit of the motor 18 for controlling the rotational attitude of the casing 10, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the 6th part in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, and FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B) are different from each other. FIG. 7 is an overall explanatory diagram of the second embodiment, FIG. 8 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of the main part of FIG. 7,
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the circuit portion of the second embodiment. A... Optical member, B... Optical path adjustment means, C... Windshield (combiner), D... Optical information display means (CR7 display tube), H... Head-up display, J... External light, K...information projector, L...information display light, M...operator, U...optical unit for adjusting light projection direction 20.52...target object (microphone), 21.58...Target position detection means, 37.62...Optical path adjustment actuation means, Patent applicant Shimabara Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An information projector comprising: an optical information display means having a display surface on which information is displayed; and an optical member that projects information display light emitted from the display surface to a combiner; and an operator. is installed at an angle in front of the vehicle, transmits light rays from the outside world from the front to the rear so that the driver can visually check the scene of the outside world ahead, and transmits information display light projected from the information projector. A head-up display for a vehicle equipped with a combiner that directs the information display light toward a viewing position, comprising: an optical path adjustment means that vertically adjusts the optical path of the information display light; A target object for position detection placed at a predetermined position, a target position detecting means for detecting the position of the target object, and the optical path adjusting means is operated according to the position of the target object detected by the target position detecting means. A head-up display characterized in that it is provided with an optical path adjustment means actuating device.