Head-up display and mobile body equipped with head-up display

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10025095-B2
Application number	US-201615188648-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 21, 2016
Priority date	Dec 26, 2014
Publication date	Jul 17, 2018
Grant date	Jul 17, 2018

Abstract

A head-up display includes light source elements arranged in a first direction, a first lens which takes in from an incident surface light emitted from the light source elements and emits the light from an emission surface. A diffusion member is disposed on a side of the emission surface of the first lens. A spatial light modulation element takes in from an incident surface the light having been emitted from the light source elements and having passed through the first lens and the diffusion member, modulates the taken-in light in accordance with image information, and emits the modulated light from an emission surface. An optical element reflects light emitted from spatial light modulation element. The first lens changes an optical path of light emitted from each of the light source elements such that it reaches the same point on the incident surface of the spatial light modulation element.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A head-up display comprising:
a plurality of light source elements which are arranged in a plane in a first direction and emit light;
a first lens which receives through a single incident surface the light emitted from the plurality of light source elements and emits the light from a single emission surface of the first lens;
a diffusion member disposed on an emission surface side of the first lens;
a spatial light modulation element which takes in from an incident surface the light having been emitted from the plurality of light source elements and having passed through the first lens and the diffusion member, modulates the taken-in light in accordance with image information, and emits the modulated light from an emission surface of the spatial light modulation element; and
an optical element which reflects the light emitted from the spatial light modulation element,
wherein the first lens changes an optical path of the light emitted from each of the plurality of light source elements such that the light emitted from all of the plurality of light source elements are superimposed on a predetermined point on the incident surface of the spatial light modulation element,
a light distribution of the modulated light emitting from an edge portion of the spatial light modulation element is outward with respect to a light distribution of the modulated light emitting from a central portion of the spatial light modulation element, and
a first emission angle of the modulated light on the central portion of the emission surface of the spatial light modulation element is larger than a second emission angle of the modulated light on the edge portion of the emission surface of the spatial light modulation element.

2. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein a focal length, in the first direction, of the first lens is set to a value equal to or greater than a distance from an optical center of the first lens to the spatial light modulation element.

3. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein a curvature, in the first direction, of the emission surface of the first lens is smaller on an edge part of the emission surface of the first lens than on a central part of the emission surface of the first lens.

4. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein a curvature of the emission surface of the first lens in the first direction is different from a curvature of the first lens in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

5. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein a curvature, of the emission surface of the first lens, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, is smaller on an edge part of the emission surface of the first lens than on a central part of the emission surface of the first lens.

6. The head-up display according to claim 1 , further comprising a second lens which is disposed on the emission surface side of the first lens and has an incident surface and an emission surface,
wherein at least one of the incident surface and the emission surface of the second lens is a convex surface.

7. The head-up display according to claim 6 , wherein a curvature of the emission surface of the second lens in the first direction is different from a curvature of the first lens in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

8. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein a first focal length, in the first direction, of the first lens is smaller than a second focal length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, of the first lens.

9. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein the first lens changes an optical path of the light emitted from each of the plurality of light source elements such that the light emitted from the each of the plurality of light source elements illuminates an entire area of the incident surface of the spatial light modulation element.

10. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein the head-up display is equipped in a mobile body having a windshield.

11. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein the optical element comprises a virtual image optical system including a windshield, a first mirror, and a second mirror.

12. The head-up display according to claim 11 , wherein the first mirror is a convex mirror.

13. The head-up display according to claim 12 , wherein the second mirror is a concave mirror.

14. The head-up display according to claim 13 , wherein the windshield is convex at an incident surface.

15. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein the light emitted from at least some of the plurality of light source elements are incident on a same surface of the first lens.

16. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein the light emitted from the plurality of light source elements are incident on a same surface of the first lens.

17. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein a first light distribution angle of the modulated light in an X-axis direction of the spatial light modulation element is larger than a second light distribution angle of the modulated light in a Y-axis direction of the spatial light modulation element.

18. A mobile body comprising a head-up display, the head-up display including:
a plurality of light source elements which are arranged in a plane in a first direction and emit light;
a first lens which receives through a single incident surface the light emitted from the plurality of light source elements and emits the light from a single emission surface of the first lens;
a diffusion member disposed on an emission surface side of the first lens;
a spatial light modulation element which takes in from an incident surface the light having been emitted from the plurality of light source elements and having passed through the first lens and the diffusion member, modulates the taken-in light in accordance with image information, and emits the modulated light from an emission surface of the spatial light modulation element, and
an optical element which reflects the light emitted from the spatial light modulation element,
wherein the first lens changes an optical path of the light emitted from each of the plurality of light source elements such that the light emitted from all of the plurality of light source elements are superimposed on a predetermined point on the incident surface of the spatial light modulation element,
a light distribution of the modulated light emitting from an edge portion of the spatial light modulation element is outward with respect to a light distribution of the modulated light emitting from a central portion of the spatial light modulation element, and
a first emission angle of the modulated light on the central portion of the emission surface of the spatial light modulation element is larger than a second emission angle of the modulated light on the edge portion of the emission surface of the spatial light modulation element.

19. A backlight device for use in a head-up display including a spatial light modulation element and an optical reflection element, the spatial light modulation element including an incident surface and an emission surface, the spatial light modulation element configured to take in through the incident surface light emitted from a plurality of light source elements and having passed through a first lens and a diffusion member, to modulate the taken-in light in accordance with image information, and emit the modulated taken-in light from the emission surface, the optical reflection element configu

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Asai Yosuke

Classifications

• F21V5/008

  Combination of two or more successive refractors along an optical axis · CPC title

• G02B2027/0118

  comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility · CPC title

• G02F1/133606

  including a specially adapted diffusing, scattering or light controlling members · CPC title

• G02F1/133603

  with LEDs · CPC title

• G02B27/01

  Head-up displays · CPC title