CAR HEADS UP DISPLAY

SYSTEME DE VISUALISATION TETE HAUTE POUR AUTOMOBILES

English Abstract

In a Car driving, it is known to be dangerous for the driver to read heads
down display panels. In a PC-car or Networking Car, it is impossible for the
driver to look down on the computer screen and read text web browser
while he is driving on a high intensity road. In the "Car Heads Up Display"
invention, Web browser are projected onto the windshield with co-polarized
lens that is fixed on the roof inside a car. The beam of co-polarized light
reveals a co-polarized image on the windshield. The driver wear a pair of
co-polarized glass. The direction of polarized light of the two lens are
perpendicular to each other. The polarized direction of light that is
projected
onto the windshield is parallel to the right lens. As a result, the picture
that
is projected onto the windshield is visible only to the right eye while be
invisible to the left eye. Function of the left eye is to see the road
condition
only, the right eye is to see both the road condition and the image that is
projected on the windshield. With this task allocation between the two eyes
by co-polarized beam of light, I reached two features:

1. Keep the valuable windshield totally transparent which is very important
for the driver to drive safely.
2. No matter how complex the two dimentional co-polarized picture that is
projected onto the windshield is, the driver won't feel hard to see the road
condition.
Challenge:
A totally transparent windshield is valuable for driving safely, a Heads Up
Display which enables both totally transparent windshield and images for
the driver to check vehicular functions and browse Internet.

Claims

The Embodiments of the Invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A method to enable the passengers to see clear Internet Images
on the windshield with a totally black background at day and
night.
2. A method that enable the driver's left eye to see a totally
transparent windshield; The right eye to see clear Internet images
on the windshield with a totally black background or with a
flexible transparent (adjustable transparency) background at day
and night.
3. A method to adapt speakers' volume automatically according to
environmental sound intensity. (I.e. Speaker volume will go higher
on noisy street and go lower on quiet highway automatically)
Method one comprises the following sub methods:
I-1. A method to change all the light (sunlight at day time and
headlight lights of cars before and behind of the driver at night)
that is from outside of the cockpit into horizontally co-polarised
light.
1-2. A method to produce vertically co-polarised light beam and
Internet images on the windshield.
1-3. A method to enable the passenger heads up read Internet
browser images and road maps.
Method two comprises the following sub methods:
2-1. Sub method one and sub method two of method one.
2-2. A method to enable the driver heads up read Internet browser
such as icons and route map on the windshield without physical
constraint and extra movements that sacrifice safety driving
features i.e. heads down, eyes off the road, hands off the
steering wheel etc. and with flexible background.
Method three comprises the following sub methods:
3-1. A method to adjust speakers' volume without actions taken by
the driver while considering sound intensity changes inside and
outside of the cockpit.
Details are as below:

Sub method 1-1:
Use co-polarised plastic layer to cover inner side of the glasses
of windshield, rear window and door windows: Co-polarisation
direction is horizontal.
Sub method 1-2:
A projector with co-polarised lens which projects Internet images
(Such as icons and Roadmaps which tells the driver his location
and the shortcut to his destination) onto the windshield;
Projector lens co-polarisation direction is vertical
Sub method 1-3:
A pair of co-polarised glasses; Both lenses have vertical co-
polarisation direction.
Sub method 2-2:
A pair of co-polarised glasses for the driver with rotatable lens:
Left lens has horizontal co-polarised direction; Right lens has
vertical co-polarised direction.
Sub method 3-1:
A sound decibel electronic sensor installed at the back of the car
to test environmental sound intensity decibel and a controllable
silicon switch tuner attached to the sound decibel electronic
sensor to adjust the speaker volume automatically.
Section 3 Challenge
A totally transparent windshield is valuable for driving safely, a
Heads Up Display which enables both totally transparent windshield
and icon or images such as route map for the driver to check
vehicular functions and locations.
Section 4 Specification

Description

CA 02265092 1999-03-17
Specification
~ This invention relates to project the co-polarized beam of light onto the
windshield by fixing a co-polarized lens on the roof between the driver's
seat and second driver's seat inside a car.
~ This invention relates to use co-polarized tool to reach the goal of safety
Heads up display to the driver while he is driving on high intensity road.
~ This invention relates to realize Heads up display the Internet on the
windshield.

CA 02265092 1999-03-17
~ This invention relates to separate the two eyes function with aid of
human factors analysis.
~ This invention relates to automatically adjust the lightness in a car in
order to delete the reflection on the windshield.
2. The previously known Heads Up Display could be classified in two ways:
( 1 ) A micro-heads-up display (HUD) that is worn like conventional
eyeglasses. It uses a miniature optical system that presents an image at
virtual infinity wherever the wearer looks. HUD of this type is, however,
dangerous for the driver to wear because both eyes of the driver will be hold
back by images and the driver have to distinguish three dimentional road
conditions ahead and the images revealed by the glass.
~ This situation is specially unsafe on high intensity road. For example: It
is hard for a person to see through a pair of "dirty" lenses. The more
complex of images revealed by this type of HUD is, the more "dirty" the
glass will be for the driver.
~ For night driving, the images revealed by this type of HUD is bright
while the condition out of the car is dark. Under this circumstance, it is
almost impossible for the driver to see the road condition.

CA 02265092 1999-03-17
(2) A heads up display that projects normal light beam onto the windshield
(not co-polarized)---similar to the display used by jet fighter pilots to
navigate their destination or to check the vehicle functions without taking
their eyes off the road. HUD of this type is useful for pilots because
environment out of the jet fighter is clouds and other jet fighters which is
detectable by radar. In a car, however, it is dangerous to use too. In front
of
the eyes of the driver is high intensity road condition and objects in all
shapes and colors and motions.
~ The more complex image on the windshield is, the more dangerous it is
for driving. To project images on the windshield and be visible to both
eyes is to add an obstacle layer in front of the driver. It damages the
valuable resource of totally transparent and "clean" windshield.
Especially, at night driving, the images on the windshield could be like a
mirror which make the darker road condition invisible to the driver.
~ They are not applicable in a car because they are unsafe for the driver to
drive both at high density road or at night. As we all know, safe driving
is the first rank task for the driver.

CA 02265092 1999-03-17
3. I have found that these disadvantages may be overcome by
( 1 ) Separating functions of two eyes of the driver.
(2) Fixing a co-polarized projecting lens on the roof between the driver
seat and second driver seat in the car.
(3) Wearing a pair of co-polarized glass. The left eye can see road
condition only while the right eye can see both the road condition and
images on the windshield.
(4) Letting the left eye see three dimentional road conditions while the
right eye see two dimentional images.
(5) Connecting Internet to the projecting lens on the roof, the driver
could do web browsing while driving.
(6) Automatically adjust the lightness in a car by installing silicon control
switch together with a light sensor to detect lightness outside a car.
4. Drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention, are
accompanied with this petition and readable by computer in PDF format.

Representative Drawing