Image display device and vehicle incorporating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10514539-B2
Application number	US-201715653877-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2017
Priority date	Dec 21, 2012
Publication date	Dec 24, 2019
Grant date	Dec 24, 2019

Abstract

An image display device includes a lens array, and a scanner to two-dimensionally scan the lens array with a light beam for image display, in which each of lenses of the lens array includes a convex surface with different curvatures in two directions orthogonal to the optical axis of the lens and to each other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a light source;
an image former configured to form an image in accordance with light emitted from the light source; and
a lens array that includes lenses arranged two-dimensionally, the lenses diverging the light for forming the image when the lens array is illuminated by the light forming the image, wherein
the apparatus forms a virtual image in accordance with the light diverged by the lens array, the virtual image having different angles of view in a first direction and a second direction that intersects the first direction,
an angle of view of the virtual image in the first direction is larger than that in the second direction,
the lenses of the lens array arranged two-dimensionally emit light such that a cross section of the emitted light is longer in the first direction than in the second direction, and
a curvature radius of a border of adjacent lenses is smaller than a wavelength of the light source.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the light source emits a laser beam,
the image former is a light deflector configured to deflect the laser beam two-dimensionally,
the lens array is arranged such that the laser beam deflected by the light deflector sequentially scans the lenses of the lens array and the border of the adjacent lenses, and
the curvature radius of the border illuminated by the laser beam is smaller than a wavelength of the laser beam.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the light deflector deflects the laser beam two-dimensionally by reciprocatively oscillating around a second axis at plural times while reciprocatively oscillating once around a first axis, which intersects the second axis, and
the first direction of the virtual image is in a direction parallel to the second axis of the light deflector.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the light deflector deflects the laser beam two-dimensionally by reciprocatively oscillating around a second axis at plural times while reciprocatively oscillating once around a first axis, which intersects the second axis, and
the first direction of the lenses of the lens array arranged two-dimensionally is in a direction parallel to the second axis of the light deflector.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the light source includes a plurality of light sources, each emitting a laser beam having a different wavelength from each other, and
the curvature radius of the border illuminated by the laser beam is smaller than a longest wavelength among the laser beams emitted by the plurality of the light sources.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the lenses of the lens array arranged two-dimensionally have a hexagonal-shape.

7. An operable vehicle comprising: the apparatus according to claim 1 , and a reflector configured to reflect the light deflected by the lens array toward an observer.

8. The operable vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein the reflector is a windshield glass.

9. An apparatus comprising:
a lens array that includes a plurality of lenses arranged two-dimensionally, a cross section of light emitted from each of the lenses having a different length in one direction from a length in another direction orthogonal to the one direction; and
an image display configured to display an image having a different angle of view in one direction from an angle of view in another direction orthogonal to the one direction of the image, wherein
the lens array and the image display are arranged such that a direction in which the cross section of the light emitted from each of the lenses is longer than the other coincides with a longer direction of the image, and
a curvature radius of a border of adjacent lenses is smaller than a wavelength of a light source.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
the image display displays a rectangular image having a different angle of view in one direction from an angle of view in another direction orthogonal to the one direction, and
the lens array and the image display are arranged such that a direction in which the cross section of the light emitted from each of the lenses is longer than the other coincides with a longer direction of the rectangular image.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the image display is a light deflector configured to scan the lens array by deflecting a laser beam, and
each of the lenses of the lens array has a shorter radius in a direction, in which the cross section of the light emitted from the corresponding lenses is longer than a radius in an orthogonal direction thereof.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein each of the lenses has a hexagonal shape.

13. An operable vehicle comprising:
the apparatus according to claim 9 ; and
a transmissive reflector disposed on an emission optical path of the lens array.

Assignees

• Saisho Kenichiroh
• Inamoto Makoto
• Satoh Yasuhiro
• Watanabe Jun
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Saisho Kenichiroh
• Inamoto Makoto
• Satoh Yasuhiro
• Watanabe Jun

Classifications

• G02B26/101

  with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners (colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129) · CPC title

• G02B27/0101 Primary

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

• G02B3/0056

  arranged along two different directions in a plane, e.g. honeycomb arrangement of lenses (G02B3/0043 takes precedence; miniaturised objectives for electronic devices employing wafer level optics G02B13/0085) · CPC title

• G02B3/0006

  Arrays (G02B3/02, G02B5/188 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02B27/48

  Laser speckle optics · CPC title