The present disclosure relates to an optical system used for displaying an image and a head-up display system including the optical system.
Conventionally, a vehicle information projection system that performs augmented reality (AR) display using a head-up display has been disclosed. For example, the head-up display projects light representing a virtual image on a windshield of a vehicle to allow a driver to visually recognize the virtual image together with a real view of an outside world of the vehicle.
As a device for displaying a virtual image, U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/429,645 describes an optical element including a waveguide (light guide body) for expanding an exit pupil in two directions. The optical element may utilize a diffractive optical element to expand the exit pupil. In addition, WO 2018/198587 A describes a head-mounted display that performs augmented reality (AR) display using a volume hologram diffraction grating.
However, for example, when a pupil expansion type hologram used for a head mounted display is realized by a head-up display, a visual field range in which an image is visible is narrow.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an optical system and a head-up display system in which a visual field range in which an image is visible is expanded.
An optical system of the present disclosure includes: a display that emits a light flux visually recognized by an observer as an image; and a light guide body that replicates the light flux. The light guide body includes an incident surface on which the light flux from the display is incident and an emission surface from which the light flux is emitted from the light guide body. A light beam at a center of the light flux emitted from the display is incident on the incident surface of the light guide body. The light flux incident on the incident surface of the light guide body is changed in a traveling direction by diffraction by a diffraction structure of a coupling region in the light guide body. The light flux changed in the traveling direction is emitted from the emission surface after being expanded by being replicated in a first direction corresponding to a horizontal direction of the image visually recognized by the observer due to diffraction by a diffraction structure of an expansion region in the light guide body, a second direction corresponding to a vertical direction of the image, or both the directions. When a normal direction with respect to a surface of the light guide body at a center or a center of gravity of the expansion region is defined as a Z-axis direction, and a tangential plane is defined as an XY plane, and a traveling direction of a center light beam of the light flux incident on the expansion region on the XY plane is defined as an X axis, and a direction perpendicular to the X axis is defined as a Y axis, the diffraction structure of the expansion region is formed such that a light flux duplicated when the light flux incident on the expansion region is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from a positive direction of the Z axis and a light flux duplicated when the light flux is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from a negative direction of the Z axis are accommodated within a viewing angle at which the image is visually recognizable, and the diffractive structure of the expansion region is inclined with respect to the Z-axis direction.
Further, a head-up display system of the present disclosure includes: the above-described optical system; and a light-transmitting member that reflects the light flux emitted from a light guide body, in which the head-up display system displays the image as a virtual image so as to be superimposed on a real view visually recognizable through the light-transmitting member.
According to the optical system and the head-up display system of the present disclosure, it is possible to expand a visual field range in which an image is visible.
First, an outline of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
The coupling region 21, the first expansion region 23, and the second expansion region 25 each have diffraction power for diffracting image light, and an embossed hologram or a volume hologram is formed. The embossed hologram is, for example, a diffraction grating. The volume hologram is, for example, a periodic refractive index distribution in the dielectric film. The coupling region 21 changes the traveling direction of the image light incident from the outside to the first expansion region 23 by the diffraction power.
In the first expansion region 23, for example, diffraction structural elements are disposed, and image light is replicated by dividing the incident image light into image light traveling in the first direction and image light traveling to the second expansion region 25 by diffraction power. For example, in
In the second expansion region 25, for example, diffraction structural elements are disposed, and image light is replicated by dividing the incident image light into image light traveling in the second direction and image light emitted from the second expansion region 25 to the outside by diffraction power. For example, in
Next, a difference between a pupil expansion type HMD and a head-up display (hereinafter, referred to as an HUD) will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
On the other hand, as illustrated in
Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to
[1-1. Configuration]
[1-1-1. Overall Configurations of Optical System and Head-Up Display System]
A specific embodiment of a head-up display system 1 (hereinafter, referred to as an HUD system 1) of the present disclosure will be described.
Hereinafter, directions related to the HUD system 1 will be described based on the X1 axis, the Y1 axis, and the Z1 axis illustrated in
As illustrated in
The display 11 displays an image based on control by an external controller. As the display 11, for example, a liquid crystal display with a backlight, an organic light-emitting diode display, a plasma display, or the like can be used. In addition, as the display 11, an image may be generated using a screen that diffuses or reflects light and a projector or a scanning laser. The display 11 can display image content including various types of information such as a road guidance display, a distance to a vehicle ahead, a remaining battery level of the vehicle, and a current vehicle speed. As described above, the display 11 emits the light flux L1 including the image content visually recognized by the observer D as the virtual image Iv.
The controller 15 can be implemented by a circuit including a semiconductor element or the like. The controller 15 can be configured by, for example, a microcomputer, a CPU, an MPU, a GPU, a DSP, an FPGA, or an ASIC. The controller 15 reads data and programs stored in a built-in storage (not illustrated) and performs various arithmetic processing, thereby implementing a predetermined function. Furthermore, the controller 15 includes a storage 17.
The storage 17 is a storage medium that stores programs and data necessary for implementing the functions of the controller 15. The storage 17 can be implemented by, for example, a hard disk (HDD), an SSD, a RAM, a DRAM, a ferroelectric memory, a flash memory, a magnetic disk, or a combination thereof. The storage 17 stores a plurality of pieces of image data representing the virtual image Iv. The controller 15 determines the virtual image Iv to be displayed based on vehicle-related information acquired from the outside. The controller 15 reads the image data of the determined virtual image Iv from the storage and outputs the image data to the display 11.
[1-1-2. Light Guide Body]
A configuration of the light guide body 13 will be described with reference to
The light guide body 13 has a first main surface 13a and a second main surface 13b. The first main surface 13a and the second main surface 13b face each other. The light guide body 13 includes an incident surface 20, a coupling region 21, a first expansion region 23, a second expansion region 25, and an emission surface 27. The incident surface 20, the coupling region 21, the first expansion region 23, and the second expansion region 25 are included in the second main surface 13b, and the emission surface 27 is included in the first main surface 13a. The emission surface 27 faces the second expansion region 25. Note that the coupling region 21, the first expansion region 23, and the second expansion region 25 may exist between the first main surface 13a and the second main surface 13b. The first main surface 13a faces the windshield 5. In the present embodiment, the incident surface 20 is included in the coupling region 21, but may be included in the first main surface 13a which is a surface facing the coupling region 21. The emission surface 27 may be included in the second expansion region 25.
The coupling region 21, the first expansion region 23, and the second expansion region 25 have different diffraction powers, and a diffraction structural element is formed in each region. The coupling region 21, the first expansion region 23, and the second expansion region 25 have different diffraction angles of image light. In addition, the light guide body 13 has a configuration in which the incident light flux is totally reflected inside. The light guide body 13 is made of, for example, a glass or resin plate whose surface is mirror-finished. The shape of the light guide body 13 is not limited to a planar shape, and may be a curved shape. As such, the light guide body 13 includes a diffraction structural element such as a volume hologram that diffracts light in part. The coupling region 21, the first expansion region 23, and the second expansion region 25 are three-dimensional regions in a case where a volume hologram is included.
The coupling region 21 is a region where the light flux L1 emitted from the display 11 is incident from the incident surface 20 and the traveling direction of the light flux L1 is changed. The coupling region 21 has diffraction power, changes the propagation direction of the incident light flux L1 to the direction of the first expansion region 23, and emits the light flux L1 as a light flux L1A. In the present embodiment, coupling is a state of propagating in the light guide body 13 under the total reflection condition.
The first expansion region 23 expands the light flux L1A in the first direction corresponding to the horizontal direction of the virtual image Iv, and emits the light flux L1A to the second expansion region in the second direction intersecting the first direction. In the first expansion region 23 expanding the light flux L1A in the first direction, the length in the first direction is larger than the length in the second direction. In the embodiment, the light guide body 13 is disposed such that the first direction is the horizontal direction (the direction of the X1 axis). However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the first direction may not completely coincide with the horizontal direction. The light flux L1A propagated from the coupling region 21 is propagated in the first direction while repeating total reflection on the first main surface 13a and the second main surface 13b, and the light flux L1 is replicated by the diffraction structure of the first expansion region 23 formed on the second main surface 13b and emitted to the second expansion region 25.
The second expansion region 25 expands the light flux L1B in the second direction corresponding to the vertical direction of the virtual image Iv, and emits the expanded light flux L2 from the emission surface 27. The second direction is, for example, perpendicular to the first direction. The light guide body 13 is disposed such that the second direction is the Z1-axis direction. The light flux L1B propagated from the first expansion region 23 is propagated in the second direction while repeating total reflection on the first main surface 13a and the second main surface 13b, and the light flux L1B is replicated by the diffraction structure of the second expansion region 25 formed on the second main surface 13b and emitted to the outside of the light guide body 13 via the emission surface 27.
Therefore, when viewed from the viewpoint of the observer D, the light guide body 13 expands the light flux L1 incident on the incident surface 20 and changed in the traveling direction by replicating the light flux L1 in the horizontal direction (the direction of the X1 axis) of the virtual image Iv visually recognized by the observer D, and then further expands the light flux L1 by replicating the light flux L1 in the vertical direction (the direction of the Y1 axis) of the virtual image Iv to emit the light flux L2 from the emission surface 27. Here, replicating in the horizontal direction of the image is not limited to replicating only in the complete horizontal direction, and also includes replicating in the substantially horizontal direction. Further, replicating in the vertical direction of the image is not limited to replicating only in the complete vertical direction, and also includes replicating in the substantially vertical direction.
[1-1-3. Pupil Expansion Order]
In the light guide body 13 having the above-described arrangement, in the HUD system 1, the magnitudes of the wave number vectors of the first expansion region 23 and the second expansion region 25 are different depending on the order of pupil expansion of the light flux L1 of the image light. The order of pupil expansion in the embodiment will be described with reference to
The light flux L1 of the image light incident on the light guide body 13 changes the propagation direction to the first expansion region 23 expanding the pupil in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) as the first direction by the diffraction structure formed in the coupling region 21. Therefore, after obliquely entering the coupling region 21, the light flux L1 propagates in the direction of the first expansion region 23 as the light flux L1A under the action of the wave number vector k1 illustrated in
The light flux L1A propagating to the first expansion region 23 extending in the first direction is divided into the light flux L1A propagating in the first direction and the light flux L1B replicated and changed in the propagation direction to the second expansion region 25 by the diffraction structure formed in the first expansion region 23 while repeating total reflection. At this time, the replicated light flux L1B propagates in the direction of the second expansion region 25 under the action of the wave number vector k2 illustrated in
The light flux L1B changed in the propagation direction to the second expansion region 25 extending along the negative direction of the Z1 axis as the second direction is divided into the light flux L1B propagating in the second direction and the light flux L2 replicated and emitted from the second expansion region 25 to the outside of the light guide body 13 via the emission surface 27 by the diffraction structure formed in the second expansion region 25. At this time, the replicated light flux L2 propagates in the direction of the emission surface 27 under the action of the wave number vector k3 illustrated in
[1-1-4. Diffraction Structure]
Next, the diffraction structure of the first expansion region 23 will be described with reference to
When the diffraction structure of the first expansion region 23 is, for example, a volume hologram, an interference fringe 31 is formed as the diffraction structure in the first expansion region 23. In the first expansion region 23, an angle between the extending direction of the interference fringe 31 and the traveling direction of the light flux L1A on the XY plane is α. In addition, an inclination angle of the interference fringe 31 with respect to the vertical direction is β in a cross-sectional view of the diffraction structure in the vertical direction, that is, in a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of
As illustrated in
|θA−θB|<|F|/2 Expression (1)
|β|×2×cos(α)≤|F|−|θA−θB| Expression (2)
where β≠0.
The viewing angle of the virtual image Iv in the horizontal direction is 2×|F|=θh, and the viewing angle of the virtual image Iv in the vertical direction is 2×|F|=θv (see
(1) By |θA−θB| in the expression, the center of two peaks of the diffraction efficiency at the time of transmission from the positive direction to the negative direction along the Z axis and the diffraction efficiency at the time of transmission from the negative direction to the positive direction is determined. In addition, by |β|×2×cos (α) in Expression (2), the separation amount between two peaks of the diffraction efficiency at the time of transmission from the positive direction to the negative direction along the Z axis and the diffraction efficiency at the time of transmission from the negative direction to the positive direction is determined. In the case of β=0, the light flux L1B replicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted through the first expansion region 23 from the positive direction to the negative direction of the Z axis and the light flux L1B replicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted from the negative direction to the positive direction of the Z axis have the same diffraction efficiency, so that the angle of view in the horizontal direction does not expand. On the other hand, in the case of β≠0, the light flux L1B duplicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted through the first expansion region 23 from the positive direction to the negative direction of the Z axis and the light flux L1B duplicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted from the negative direction to the positive direction of the Z axis have different diffraction efficiencies, so that the angle of view in the horizontal direction can be expanded.
Next, Examples and Comparative Examples will be described with reference to
In Example 1 to Comparative Example 2, the viewing angles F are all 3.50 degrees. The viewing angles F in Example 1 to Comparative Example 2 each indicate an angle of view (horizontal view angle) in the horizontal direction (left-right direction). The same relationship holds for an angle of view in the vertical direction (vertical view angle). In the case of Example 1 illustrated in
According to Example 1, since β≠0 and Expressions (1) and (2) are satisfied, as illustrated in
On the other hand, in the case of Comparative Example 1 illustrated in
In the case of Example 2 illustrated in
In the case of Example 3 illustrated in
In the case of Example 4 illustrated in
In the case of Example 5 illustrated in
In the case of Example 6 illustrated in
In the case of Example 7 illustrated in
In the case of Comparative Example 2 illustrated in
Even when the thickness T in the Z direction of the volume hologram illustrated in
T>(−2.3576×λ+0.0952)×|F|+(22.3540×λ−0.9125) Expression (3)
Even when the thickness T in the Z direction of the volume hologram illustrated in
T<(−3.8645×λ−0.2185)×|F|+(37.4910×λ+1.5298) Expression (4)
In the present embodiment, the second expansion region 25 also has the same structure as the diffractive structure of the first expansion region 23. Such a structure may be provided only in one of the first expansion region 23 and the second expansion region 25, or the optical system 2 may further include another expansion region, and this another expansion region may have such a diffractive structure. In addition, the functions of the first expansion region 23 and the second expansion region 25 may be realized by one expansion region, and this one expansion region has, for example, a two-dimensional interference fringe, so that the incident light flux can be replicated in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.
[1-2. Effects, Etc.]
The optical system 2 of the present disclosure includes the display 11 that emits the light flux L1 visually recognized by the observer D as the virtual image Iv, and the light guide body 13 that duplicates the light flux L1. The light guide body 13 includes the incident surface 20 on which the light flux L1 from the display 11 is incident and the emission surface 27 from which the light flux L2 is emitted from the light guide body 13. The light beam at the center of the light flux L1 emitted from the display 11 is incident on the incident surface 20 of the light guide body 13. The light flux L1 incident on the incident surface 20 of the light guide body 13 is changed in the traveling direction by diffraction due to the diffraction structure of the coupling region in the light guide body 13. The light flux changed in the traveling direction is expanded by being replicated in the first direction corresponding to the horizontal direction of the virtual image Iv visually recognized by the observer D, the second direction corresponding to the vertical direction of the virtual image Iv, or both the directions by diffraction due to the diffraction structure of the expansion region in the light guide body 13, and then emitted from the emission surface 27. When the normal direction with respect to the surface of the light guide body 13 at the center or the center of gravity of the expansion region is defined as the Z-axis direction, the tangential plane is defined as the XY plane, the light flux incident on the expansion region is defined as the light flux L1A, the light flux diffracted and emitted in the expansion region is defined as the light flux L1B, and in the XY plane, the traveling direction of the center light beam of the light flux L1A is defined as the X-axis, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis is defined as the Y-axis, the diffraction structure of the expansion region is formed such that the light flux L1B replicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from the positive direction of the Z-axis and the light flux L1B replicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted from the negative direction of the Z-axis are accommodated at a viewing angle at which a virtual image can be visually recognized, and the diffraction structure of the expansion region is inclined with respect to the Z-axis direction.
Since the diffraction structure of the expansion region is inclined with respect to the Z-axis direction, the peaks of the diffraction efficiency of the light flux L1B duplicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from the positive direction of the Z-axis and the light flux L1B duplicated when the light flux L1A is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from the negative direction of the Z-axis can be formed at different positions within the viewing angle. Therefore, it is possible to provide the optical system in which the visual field range in which the virtual image is visible is expanded.
Further, by projecting light emitted from the optical system 2 onto the windshield 5 of the vehicle 3, the virtual image Iv suitable for the observer D who drives the vehicle 3 can be displayed.
As described above, the embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technique of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and is also applicable to embodiments obtained by appropriately performing changes, replacements, additions, omissions, and the like. Therefore, other embodiments are described below.
In the above embodiment, the diffraction structure of the expansion region is the interference fringe, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a physical uneven structure such as a surface relief grating filled with a resin may be used.
In the above embodiment, the virtual image Iv is visually recognized by the observer D by reflecting the divided and replicated light flux L2 on the windshield 5, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The virtual image Iv may be visually recognized by the observer D by reflecting the divided and replicated light flux L2 on a combiner using the combiner instead of the windshield 5.
In the above embodiment, the first direction in which the light flux L1A is expanded in the first expansion region 23 and the second direction in which the light flux L1B is expanded in the second expansion region 25 are orthogonal to each other, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As illustrated in
In the above embodiment, the case where the HUD system 1 is applied to the vehicle 3 such as an automobile has been described. However, the object to which the HUD system 1 is applied is not limited to the vehicle 3. The object to which the HUD system 1 is applied may be, for example, a train, a motorcycle, a ship, or an aircraft, or an amusement machine without movement. In the case of an amusement machine, the light flux from the display 11 is reflected by a transparent curved plate as a light-transmitting member that reflects the light flux emitted from the display 11 instead of the windshield 5. Further, the real view visually recognizable by a user through the transparent music plate may be a video displayed from another video display. That is, a virtual image by the HUD system 1 may be displayed so as to be superimposed on a video displayed from another video display. As described above, any one of the windshield 5, the combiner, and the transparent curved plate may be adopted as the light-transmitting member in the present disclosure.
In the above embodiment, the optical system 2 is used in the HUD system 1 that displays the virtual image Iv. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment. The optical system 2 may be used, for example, in an image display system in which the observer directly observes the light flux emitted from the emission surface 27 instead of viewing the virtual image through the light-transmitting member. In this case, since the observer is a person who directly views the image formed by the emitted light flux, the observer is not limited to the passenger of the moving body.
(1) An optical system of the present disclosure includes: a display that emits a light flux visually recognized by an observer as an image, and a light guide body that replicates the light flux. The light guide body includes an incident surface on which the light flux from the display is incident and an emission surface from which the light flux is emitted from the light guide body. A light beam at a center of the light flux emitted from the display is incident on the incident surface of the light guide body. The light flux incident on the incident surface of the light guide body is changed in a traveling direction by diffraction by a diffraction structure of a coupling region in the light guide body. The light flux whose traveling direction has been changed is expanded by being replicated in a first direction corresponding to the horizontal direction of the virtual image visually recognized by the observer due to diffraction by the diffraction structure of the expansion region in the light guide body, a second direction corresponding to the vertical direction of the image, or both directions thereof, and then emitted from the emission surface. When a normal direction with respect to a surface of the light guide body at a center or a center of gravity of the expansion region is defined as a Z-axis direction, and a tangential plane is defined as an XY plane, and a traveling direction of a center light beam of the light flux incident on the expansion region on the XY plane is defined as an X axis, and a direction perpendicular to the X axis is defined as a Y axis, the diffraction structure of the expansion region is formed such that a light flux duplicated when the light flux incident on the expansion region is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from a positive direction of the Z axis and a light flux duplicated when the light flux is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from a negative direction of the Z axis are accommodated within a viewing angle at which the image is visually recognizable, and the diffractive structure of the expansion region is inclined with respect to the Z-axis direction.
Since the diffraction structure of the expansion region is inclined with respect to the Z-axis direction, the peaks of the diffraction efficiency of the light flux duplicated when the light flux incident on the expansion region is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from the positive direction of the Z-axis and the light flux duplicated when the light flux is transmitted through the XY plane of the expansion region from the negative direction of the Z-axis can be formed at different positions within the viewing angle. Therefore, it is possible to provide the optical system in which the visual field range in which the image is visible is expanded.
(2) In the optical system of (1), when the viewing angle of the image viewed by the observer is defined as ±F degrees, an angle between the diffractive structure of the expansion region on the XY plane and a traveling direction of the light flux incident on the expansion region is defined as α degrees, an inclination angle between the diffractive structure and the Z axis is defined as β degrees, an angle between a center light beam of the light flux incident on the expansion region and the Z axis is defined as OA degrees, and an angle between the center light beam of the light flux diffracted and emitted in the expansion region and the Z axis is defined as OB degrees, the following relational expression is satisfied.
|θA−θB|<|F|/2, and
|β|×2×cos(α)≤|F|−|θA−θB|,
where β≠0
(3) In the optical system of (2), the optical system has two expansion regions, one of the expansion regions expands by duplicating a light flux incident on the one of the expansion regions in the first direction corresponding to the horizontal direction of the image visually recognized by the observer, and the other of the expansion regions expands by duplicating a light flux incident on the other of the expansion regions in the second direction corresponding to the vertical direction of the virtual image visually recognized by the observer.
(4) In the optical system of (3), the relational expression is satisfied in the expansion region having a narrower diffraction pitch of the diffractive structure in the two expansion regions.
(5) In the optical system of any one of (1) to (4), the expansion region includes a transmission volume hologram.
(6) In the optical system of (5), a thickness T of the volume hologram in the Z direction and a wavelength λ [μm] of a light flux incident on the volume hologram satisfy the following relational expression.
T>(−2.3576×λ+0.0952)×|F|+(22.3540×λ−0.9125)
(7) In the optical system of (5) or (6), a thickness T of the volume hologram in the Z direction and a wavelength λ [μm] of a light flux incident on the volume hologram satisfy the following relational expression.
T<(−3.8645×λ−0.2185)×|F|+(37.4910×λ+1.5298)
(8) In the optical system of any one of (1) to (7), the light beam at the center of the light flux emitted from the display is incident while being inclined with respect to a normal direction of the incident surface of the light guide body, and the light beam at the center of the light flux emitted toward the light-transmitting member from the light guide body is emitted while being inclined with respect to a normal direction of the emission surface of the light guide body.
(9) A head-up display system of the present disclosure includes: the optical system according to any one of (1) to (8), and a light-transmitting member that reflects the light flux emitted from the light guide body, in which the head-up display system displays the image as a virtual image so as to be superimposed on a real view visually recognizable through the light-transmitting member.
(10) In the head-up display system of (9), the light-transmitting member is a windshield of a moving body.
The present disclosure is applicable to an optical system that duplicates and displays an image and a head-up display system.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2021-125659 | Jul 2021 | JP | national |
This is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/JP2022/016242, with an international filing date of Mar. 30, 2022, which claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-125659 filed on Jul. 30, 2021, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2022/016242 | Mar 2022 | US |
Child | 18422745 | US |