Head-up display with second high intensity lighting unit installed outside of first display casing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10274725-B2
Application number	US-201715430609-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 13, 2017
Priority date	Jun 20, 2016
Publication date	Apr 30, 2019
Grant date	Apr 30, 2019

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a head-up display that has a first lighting unit to display first information on a windshield. The first lighting unit includes a first lighting source that emits light for the windshield as the first information and a first cylindrical casing that accommodates the first lighting source therein. The head-up display further has a second lighting unit to display second information on the windshield. The second lighting unit includes a second lighting source that emits light for the windshield as the second information. The head-up display further has a package disposed under the windshield. The first and second lighting units are installed on the package. The second lighting unit is installed on the package independently from the first lighting unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A head-up display comprising:
a first lighting unit configured to display first information on a windshield, the first lighting unit including a first lighting source that emits light for the windshield as the first information and a first cylindrical casing that accommodates the first lighting source therein;
a second lighting unit configured to display second information on the windshield, the second lighting unit including a second lighting source that emits light for the windshield as the second information; and
a package disposed under the windshield, the first and second lighting units being installed thereon; wherein
the second lighting unit is installed on the package independently from the first lighting unit;
wherein:
the second lighting source is disposed outside of the first cylindrical casing;
the second lighting unit is installed on an exterior surface of the package so that the second lighting unit faces the windshield;
the second lighting source includes a bar-shaped frame and a plurality of LEDs along the longitudinal direction of the bar-shaped frame;
the second lighting source further includes a graphic board that has a plurality of translucent warning icons pre-printed corresponding to the plurality of the LEDs of the second lighting source; and
the graphic board receives light from the plurality of LEDs of the second lighting source and outputs the light from the plurality of translucent warning icons to the windshield such that the light from the plurality of LEDs of the second lighting source is output as the second display light via the graphic board.

2. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein
the first lighting source includes LEDs with lower directivity to display the first information as lower priority information, and
the second lighting source includes LEDs with higher directivity to display the second information as higher priority information.

3. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein
the first lighting unit has lower thermal resistance,
the second lighting unit has higher thermal resistance, and
the second lighting unit is capable to operate in a higher temperature condition than the first lighting unit.

4. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein
the second lighting source further includes a second cylindrical casing that accommodates the second lighting source therein, and
the second cylindrical casing is installed on the package independently from the first cylindrical casing.

5. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein
the first lighting unit further includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel having a display surface, the LCD panel being accommodated in the first cylindrical casing,
the second lighting source is disposed outside of the first cylindrical casing.

6. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein
the first lighting unit further includes an OLP panel having a display surface, the digital light processing (OLP) panel being accommodated in the first cylindrical casing,
the second lighting source is disposed outside of the first cylindrical casing.

7. The head-up display according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a reflector accommodated by the package, the reflector being visible from both the windshield and the first lighting unit; wherein
the second lighting unit is installed on an outer surface of the first cylindrical casing so that the reflector is visible from the second lighting unit as well as the first lighting unit.

8. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of translucent warning icons include a low oil pressure warning icon, a battery warning icon, a seat belt reminder icon, a brake warning icon, a fuel warning icon, and a temperature warning icon.

9. The head-up display according to claim 1 , wherein
the first lighting unit further includes a heat sink that is installed on the first cylindrical casing, and
the heat sink is configured to emit heat generated at the LEDs from the radiation surface outward of a cavity of the first cylindrical casing.

10. The head-up display according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller including a detector, which detects a failure of a vehicle component and outputs a failure information, and a driving circuit, which drives the second lighting unit, wherein
the controller performs a light emitting operation for the second lighting unit 30 to display the second information based on the failure information when the failure information indicates warning of the vehicle component.

11. The head-up display according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller including a navigator, which picks up navigation information for a vehicle and outputs the navigation information, and a driving circuit, which drives the first lighting unit, wherein
the controller performs a light emitting operation for the first lighting unit to display the first information based on the navigation information when the navigation information indicates a route or a distance from a current location to a destination.

Assignees

• Denso Int America Inc

Inventors

• Murzyn Michael

Classifications

• G02B2027/0141

  characterised by the informative content of the display · CPC title

• G02B2027/014

  comprising information/image processing systems · CPC title

• F21V29/767

  the planes containing the fins or blades having directions perpendicular to the light emitting axis · CPC title

• G02B27/0101 Primary

  characterised by optical features (G02B27/0172 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G09G2380/10

  Automotive applications · CPC title