Head up display system

Claim 1

A system for providing a wide field of view, essentially flare-free, head up display in combination with an exterior view, said system comprising: a first holographic optical element functioning as a combiner through which the exterior view may be seen by an observer, a visual information source, lens means for forming an intermediate image of said information source, and a second holographic optical element located out of the observer t s line of sight and positioned for re- flacting said intermediate image toward said first holographic optical element at a comparatively large off-axis angle relative to said first holographic optical element to permit further imaging of said intermediate image at infinity by said first holographic optical element, said second holographic optical element having optical aberrating properties of a reverse sense to those of the first holographic optical element for compensating aberrating properties of said first holographic optical element causing said first holographic optical element to provide a high quality virtual image at infinity in response to said intermediate image, said first holographic optical element having a substantially lower surface spatial frequency than said second holographic optical element for reducing flare from bright objects viewed through said first holographic optical element. 1

Claim 2

A system for providing a wide field of view, essentially flare-free, head up display in combination with an exterior view, said system comprising: a first holographic optical element functioning as a combiner through which the exterior view may be seen by an observer, a visual information source, lens means for forming an intermediate image of said information source, and a second holographic optical element located out of the observer t s line of sight and positioned for re- flacting said intermediate image toward said first holographic optical element at a comparatively large off-axis angle relative to said first holographic optical element to permit further imaging of said intermediate image at infinity by said first holographic optical element, said second holographic optical element having optical aberrating properties of a reverse sense to those of the first holographic optical element for compensating aberrating properties of said first holographic optical element causing said first holographic optical element to provide a high quality virtual image at infinity in response to said intermediate image, said first holographic optical element having a substantially lower surface spatial frequency than said second holographic optical element for reducing flare from bright objects viewed through said first holographic optical element. 1

Claim 4

A system for providing a wide field of view, flare-free, head up display for observation in combination with an observer's visual exterior view, said system comprising: a holographic optical element functioning as a combiner through which the observer can see said exterior view, said holographic optical element having a low surface spatial frequency for reducing flare from bright objects, a visual information source, lens means for directing light from said source in a predetermined direction, and means out of the observer's direct view for reflecting light received from said lens means toward said holographic optical element at a comparatively large off-axis angle for providing an image of said information for view by said observer, said means for reflecting having optical light-directing properties cooperating with those of said lens means for correcting optical aberrations caused by said large off-axis angle.

Claim 5

A system for providing a wide field of view, flare-free, head up display for observation in combination with an observer's visual exterior view, said system comprising: a holographic optical element functioning as a combiner through which the observer can see said exterior view, said holographic optical element having a low surface spatial frequency for reducing flare from bright objects, a visual information source, lens means for directing light from said source in a predetermined direction, and means out of the observer's direct view for reflecting light received from said lens means toward said holographic optical element at a comparatively large off-axis angle for providing an image of said information for view by said observer, said means for reflecting having optical light-directing properties cooperating with those of said lens means for correcting optical aberrations caused by said large off-axis angle.

Claim 6

A system for providing a wide field of view, flare-free, head up display for observation in combination with an observer's exterior view, said system comprising: a first holographic optical element functioning as a combiner through which the observer sees said exterior view, symbology forming means for providing information for visual presentation to the observer via said first holographic optical element, relay optical means for forming an image of symbology from said symbology forming means at a predetermined location, and a second holographic optical element positioned out of the line of sight of the observer for reflecting said image toward said first holographic optical element at a comparatively large off-axis angle for further imaging of said symbology at infinity by said first holographic optical element, said second holographic optical element having optical diffracting power effective in conjunction with the refractive power of said relay optical means for compensating optical aberrations caused by said large off-axis angle, said first holographic optical element having a low surface spatial frequency for reducing flare from bright objects while said second holographic optical element has a higher surface spatial frequency.

Claim 7

A system for providing a wide field of view, flare-free, head up display for observation in combination with an observer's exterior view, said system comprising: a first holographic optical element functioning as a combiner through which the observer sees said exterior view, symbology forming means for providing information for visual presentation to the observer via said first holographic optical element, relay optical means for forming an image of symbology from said symbology forming means at a predetermined location, and a second holographic optical element positioned out of the line of sight of the observer for reflecting said image toward said first holographic optical element at a comparatively large off-axis angle for further imaging of said symbology at infinity by said first holographic optical element, said second holographic optical element having optical diffracting power effective in conjunction with the refractive power of said relay optical means for compensating optical aberrations caused by said large off-axis angle, said first holographic optical element having a low surface spatial frequency for reducing flare from bright objects while said second holographic optical element has a higher surface spatial frequency.

Claim 11

A system for providing a wide field of view head up display for observation in combination with an observer's visual exterior view, said system comprising: an optical combiner through which the observer can see said exterior view, a visual information source, lens means for directing light from said source in a predetermined direction, and means out of the observer's direct exterior view for reflecting light received from said lens means toward said combiner at a comparatively large off-axis angle for providing an image of said information for view by said observer, said means for reflecting having optical light-directing properties cooperating with those of said lens means for correcting aberrations caused by said large off-axis angle.

Claim 12

A system for providing a wide field of view head up display for observation in combination with an observer's visual exterior view, said system comprising: an optical combiner through which the observer can see said exterior view, a visual information source, lens means for directing light from said source in a predetermined direction, and means out of the observer's direct exterior view for reflecting light received from said lens means toward said combiner at a comparatively large off-axis angle for providing an image of said information for view by said observer, said means for reflecting having optical light-directing properties cooperating with those of said lens means for correcting aberrations caused by said large off-axis angle.