JPH09311289A - Head up display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize the opening and closing of a combiner by a simple operation by interposing a mechanism for turning the combiner at an open position by imparting pressing force to the combiner located at a close position in a direction reverse to the close position. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a main body part 1 including a light source and a display element and the combiner 2. The combiner 2 is pivotally supported so as to be freely turnable at the main body part 1 through a supporting member 3 at an end part. When the combiner 2 is at the close position (solid line), the combiner 2 is raised at the close position shown by broken lines by pressing the vicinity of the upper end of the combiner 2 in the direction of an arrow for instance by hand, so that it is made in a usable state as a head up display device. When the combiner 2 is tilted and closed, it is latched when the upper end of the combiner 2 is lowered to a position nearly the same as the upper surface of the main body part, so that it is held in a closed state. In this case, the supporting member 3 supporting the end part of the combiner 2 is pivotally supported at the main body part 1 through the receiver part of the main body part 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head-up display device for allowing a viewer to visually recognize information by using a combiner, and in particular, a so-called stationary head-up display used by placing it on a dashboard of a vehicle. It relates to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A head-up display (hereinafter referred to as HUD) is used as a method for displaying information to a driver in a vehicle.
What is called is recently used. In this technique, optical information projected from light-emitting means such as a liquid crystal display device is projected on a combiner comprising a half mirror or the like so that a driver can read information from a driving state without moving his or her eyes.

In addition to the HUD having a combiner formed on the windshield, there is a so-called stationary HUD in which the light emitting means and the combiner are integrated and installed on the dashboard of the vehicle afterwards.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing such a stationary type vehicle-mounted HUD. Here, 31 is an observing position of a viewer such as a driver, 32 is a combiner including a half mirror, and 3
3 is light containing information, 34 is the position of the virtual image in the distance display, and 35 is
Is a main body including a transmissive liquid crystal display element and a light source, 37 is a windshield, and 38 is a vehicle body.

The main body 35 is provided with a light source and a transmissive liquid crystal display element as a light emitting means, and the light emitted from the light source passes through the transmissive liquid crystal display element and is composed of a half mirror provided in the main body 35. Is illuminated, reflected, and visually recognized at an observation position 31 by a viewer such as a driver. At this time, the display information is recognized as a virtual image at the position of 34 by the driver.

More recently, simplicity as an optical element,
And, due to the abundance of added functions, the use of holograms as a combiner has been attracting attention. This holographic combiner can have not only a reflection function (diffraction function) but also a lens function, etc., so it can diffract optical information in the driver's visual field direction or use other optical systems such as lenses. Without this, it is possible to form a display virtual image at an arbitrary position, and there is an advantage that the overall size of the device can be reduced. Another feature is that a high-luminance display image can be obtained without impairing the foreground luminance.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The above stationary HU
In D, when the HUD is used, the combiner is raised up to a predetermined angle, and when it is not needed, the combiner is tilted to the main body side and kept closed. The opening and closing of this combiner is manually triggered to a certain angle and often closed manually. However, the HUD is usually used by a driver, and it is not preferable to perform such an operation during driving, which hinders driving. In particular, compared with the closing operation, the operation to cause is complicated and it is difficult to perform such an operation during driving. Therefore, there is a demand for a head-up display device having a combiner opening / closing mechanism that opens the combiner to a predetermined position with a simple operation.

It has also been proposed to open and close the combiner by means of a switch and an electric motor, but the number of parts significantly increases, the device becomes more complicated and more expensive, and the size is further increased. It was difficult to mount on.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. The light emitting means is sandwiched by the main body, and the main body is supported at its end by a supporting member. A head-up display device comprising at least a combiner arranged to reflect or diffract light toward a viewer, and a display virtual image formed by the combiner can be visually recognized in front of the viewer. A combiner is rotatably supported between the support member and the main body between an open position and a closed position, and a pressing force is applied to the combiner in the closed position in a direction opposite to the closed position. The present invention provides a head-up display device characterized in that a mechanism for rotating the combiner to the open position is interposed.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an example of a head-up display device of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a main body including a light source and a display element, and 2 is a combiner. The combiner 2 is rotatably supported by the main body 1 via the support member 3 at the end thereof.

When the combiner 2 is in the closed position (solid line)
Then, by pressing the vicinity of the upper end of the combiner 2 with a hand, for example, as shown by an arrow in the figure, the combiner 2 is raised to the open position indicated by the broken line, and the combiner 2 becomes usable as a head-up display device.

The main body is provided with a light source composed of a hot cathode tube and a transmissive liquid crystal display element. When the head-up display device is used, light containing information is radiated toward the combiner in the open position. It

The light applied to the combiner is reflected or diffracted toward the viewer. Therefore, the viewer can visually recognize the display virtual image at a predetermined position in front of the vehicle through the combiner.

When the combiner 2 is tilted and closed, the upper end of the combiner 2 is lowered to a position substantially the same as the upper surface of the main body so that the combiner 2 is latched and held in the closed state.

The opening / closing mechanism of this combiner will be described in more detail.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an example of the head-up display device of the present invention viewed from the back (corresponding to a view of FIG. 1 viewed from the right side), in which the combiner is in the open position. The support member 3 that indicates the end of the combiner 2 is pivotally supported by the main body 1 via the receiving portion 4 of the main body 1 at the left end in the figure. A plunger 5 is provided at the left end of the support member 3. This plunger 5
Has a spring property that rotates simultaneously with opening and closing of the combiner and is movable in the diametrical direction of the rotating shaft, and its tip is pressed against the receiving portion 4 by pressure.

When this plunger 5 rotates at the same time as the combiner, it rotates along the groove shown in FIG. 3 (a).

FIG. 3 is a side view (a) showing an example of the receiving portion shown in FIG. 2 and a graph (b) showing the depth of the groove portion provided in the receiving portion. The receiving portion 4 has a rotary shaft for rotating the combiner perpendicular to the paper surface, and a guide portion 40 is provided around the rotary shaft.

The guide portion 40 has a first guide groove 41 (A
→ B), the plunger waiting portion 42 ((B → C), the second
Guide groove 44 (D → A) and a portion 43 (C → D) that connects the plunger standby portion 42 and the second guide portion 44. The groove depth of each of these portions has the depth shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 2B also shows the height of the position substantially traced by the tip of the plunger.

On the other hand, the combiner 2 uses a winding spring (not shown) attached to the holding component 3 to constantly apply a force in the opening direction. Then, by utilizing the force of the spiral spring, the depth of the groove and the pressure of the plunger, the opening / closing mechanism of the combiner is interposed between the receiving portion 4 and the supporting member 3.

In this example, the combiner setting angle when the head-up display device is used is 70 with respect to the horizontal.
And the combiner setting angle is 0 when the head-up display device is not used, that is, when the combiner is closed and stored.
°.

The operation of this mechanism will be described below.

In FIG. 3, when the tip of the plunger is located at the point A, that is, when the combiner 2 is open,
When it is manually closed, the tip of the plunger reaches from the point A to the point B along the first guide groove 41. At this time, since the height from the point A to the point B is one step lower than that of the groove toward the point D, the tip of the plunger pressed against the bottom of the groove does not follow the second guide groove and goes toward the point D. Absent.

Next, when the force reaches the point B and the manual closing force of the combiner disappears, the action of the winding spring to try to return the combiner 2 to the return force acts on the combiner 2, but the point B is reached. , Since the groove is further lowered from point B to point C, the tip of the plunger goes to point C and stops at point C, and the combiner 2
Is kept closed (plunger waiting state).

When the combiner 2 is pushed again in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, the tip of the plunger moves from the point C to the point D, and due to the force of the winding spring to open the combiner and the structure of the groove, the same as above. In operation, point A is reached, the combiner is opened, and the combiner is held at the 70 ° position.

Although a hologram is used as the combiner in this example, the relationship between the light incident on the hologram and the diffracted light is determined by the conditions set at the time of exposure. Therefore, the combiner can be opened and held by using the combiner opening / closing mechanism of the present invention at a position where the light source and the display and the combiner have an optimum positional relationship during reproduction, and in particular, the hologram can be displayed on the combiner. When used, the combiner opening / closing mechanism of the present invention is effective.

In this example, a hot cathode tube having a tube diameter of 8 mm and an effective light emission length of 70 mm was used as a light source, and a reflecting plate was provided on the side opposite to the transmissive liquid crystal display element. The light source is not limited to the above example, but includes a hot cathode tube, a tungsten lamp, a halogen lamp, a metal halide lamp, an LED, a fluorescent display tube, a cold cathode tube, an LD (laser diode), and the like. When a hologram is used for a combiner. Is preferably a light source having good monochromaticity. Then, in the present embodiment, the folding mirror is provided in the optical path until it is projected on the hologram, but if necessary, other mirrors, prisms, lenses, optical components such as color filters and polarizing elements may be arranged. Good.

Further, as the transmissive liquid crystal display element, VH
C (Very High Contrast) LCD
A so-called LCD was used, and a filter and a diffusion plate were attached to the light source side. In addition, a dot matrix type or a transmissive LCD of a thin film transistor (TFT) active matrix driving system may be used as a display element in place of the VHC LCD, and a multicolor display can be performed by providing a color filter. In this case, it is necessary to use a light source that emits corresponding light and a hologram that has been subjected to multicolor exposure. Further, the light emitting display means may be a self-luminous type such as a fluorescent display tube without using a light receiving type display element such as an LCD.

Further, the display pattern of the transmissive liquid crystal display element is a speed display by a segment pattern, but it is not limited to this and can be appropriately selected depending on the display application, such as a vehicle warning light, a winker, a side light, For example, a corner marker can be used. The observer is mainly a driver of the vehicle, and may include a passenger in the passenger seat and other passengers, and all of them.

The hologram is enclosed in laminated glass, and the hologram is attached to the surface of the glass substrate, and a cover glass plate having an antireflection film is laminated on the surface of the hologram via a laminated intermediate film such as polyvinyl butyral. There is something. The laminated glass in which this hologram is enclosed is held at 70 ° with respect to the horizontal of the main body.

As a hologram, the center diffraction wavelength is 543 nm in order to match the line spectrum of the hot cathode tube of the light source.
And the incident angle was 19 °, the diffraction angle was 31 °, the efficiency was 75%, the distance between the transmissive liquid crystal display element and the hologram was 150 mm, and the distance from the hologram to the virtual image was 450 mm. The specifications of the hologram are not limited to these, and various changes can be made depending on the device configuration.

The hologram has a thickness of 20 μm and a length of 60.
It is a Lippmann type volume / phase type reflection hologram made of acrylic photopolymer having a size of 80 mm and a width of 80 mm.

The hologram is usually several tens of mm square to several hundred m.
It has an area of about m square, a thickness of several μm to several tens of μm, and has a light diffraction function. A Lippmann type (reflection type) is relatively easy to use, but other types called holograms are widely used. be able to. As the hologram material, various photopolymers such as other photopolymers, dichromated gelatin, and silver salts can be used.

In order to improve the diffraction efficiency, it is preferable that the center diffraction wavelength of the hologram be substantially matched with the peak wavelength or the bright line spectrum of the light source. Also, it may be formed by multiple exposure with light of different properties,
It may be a stack of a plurality of holograms exposed with different lights.

From the viewpoint of protection from external factors, it is preferable that the hologram is enclosed and used in the laminated glass. Laminated glass is obtained by laminating and adhering a resin film such as polyvinyl butyral and polyurethane on at least one piece of glass, and examples of its form include glass plate / resin film, glass plate / resin film / glass plate, and glass. There is a plate / resin film / resin substrate. The hologram may be enclosed in the boundary between these glass plates or resin films. The glass plate on which the hologram is mounted may be colored, or may be provided with an antireflection film, black ceramics, a heat ray reflection film, or the like on the surface.

Further, since the glass plate is less likely to be thermally deformed, it is most suitable for holding a hologram, but from the viewpoint of cost, weight saving, and prevention of danger due to breakage, a resin substrate is preferable in place of the glass plate. Also in this case, it is preferable to seal the hologram between the two resin substrates with an adhesive or the like in view of protection from external factors. Further, a combination of a resin substrate and a transparent resin film may be used, and an antireflection film or a hard coat for protecting the resin substrate may be provided on the surface thereof.

In addition, the light emitting means may be provided with an optical member such as a concave mirror, and various optical members are provided in order to prevent color blur of a display virtual image and to obtain a desired size of the light emitting means. May be. Furthermore, it is possible to add another hologram and perform aberration correction with two holograms.

The combiner opening / closing mechanism of the head-up display device of the present invention is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 3, but may be any mechanism that gives the same operation. For example, the guide portion is a protrusion instead of a groove, and the tip of the plunger is used. Various modifications can be made, such as providing this projection receiver on the. It is also possible to turn on / off the power of the light source by interlocking a switch with the opening / closing mechanism.

The head-up display device using the combiner opening / closing mechanism of the head-up display device of the present invention is preferably arranged near the windshield of the vehicle within a natural visual field of a driver or the like, It is preferable to install it on the dashboard of the vehicle, but it is possible to install without being particularly limited to this, and make the main body of the head-up display device almost fit inside the dashboard to make it even better looking You can

Further, the combiner opening / closing mechanism of the present invention can be applied not only to the head-up display device for vehicles but also to other display devices.

[0041]

According to the present invention, since the combiner can be opened and closed by a simple operation of simply pressing the combiner in the closed state downward, it is very easy to use and does not burden the driver in the operation. A head-up display device can be provided.

Further, when the head-up display device using the above-mentioned combiner opening / closing mechanism of the present invention is mounted on the dashboard or the like in front of the driver of the vehicle, it can be extremely compactly provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an example of a head-up display device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an example of the head-up display device of the present invention seen from behind.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of a receiving portion according to the present invention (a), a graph showing a depth of a groove provided in the receiving portion (b).

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a conventional stationary HUD.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Main body 2, 32: Combiner 3: Support member 4: Receiving part 5: Plunger 31: Viewer 33: Light including information 34: Virtual image 35: Main body 37: Windshield 38: Vehicle body 40: Guide part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A light emitting means held by a main body, and a combiner having an end supported by the main body via a supporting member and arranged so as to reflect or diffract the light toward a viewer. In a head-up display device comprising at least a display virtual image formed by the combiner in front of a viewer, a combiner is provided between an open position and a closed position between the support member and the main body. And a mechanism for rotating the combiner to the open position by applying a pressing force to the combiner in the closed position in the direction opposite to the open position. Head-up display device. 2. The receiving mechanism of the main body, wherein the end of the combiner is rotatably supported by the main body and supported by the main body.
A guide portion provided around a rotation axis of the receiving portion, and a plunger provided on the support member and rotated along the guide portion with rotation between an open position and a closed position. The head-up display device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The guide portion has a first guide groove having a substantially uniform depth through which the plunger is guided when pivoting from an open position to a closed position, and a pivoting portion from a closed position to an open position. When the plunger is guided, the second guide groove gradually increases in depth and the first guide groove reduces the depth of the groove in the closed position.
Plunger waiting part provided in communication with the guide groove of
The plunger waiting portion and the second guide portion are communicated with each other, and the plunger is moved from the plunger waiting portion to the second portion by the pressing force.
2. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein the head-up display device comprises a part that moves to the guide part.