Head-up display apparatus

Claim 2

A head-up display apparatus for a motor vehicle comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a speedometer having a datum mark and numeric characters movable relative to the datum mark in response to the speed of the vehicle, a source of collimated light for illuminating said datum mark and at least a portion of said numeric characters adjacent to said datum mark, a convex mirror, and a diverging lens positioned to project said illuminated datum mark and numeric characters onto said convex mirror, said curved windscreen being positoned to receive the image of said datum mark and of said characters reflected from said convex mirror to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to an observer to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the observer.

Claim 3

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including a colored filter in the optical path of said diverging lens.

Claim 4

Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said light source comprises a pair of lamps, and a switch connected to energize either one or both of said lamps in accordance with the ambient light conditions.

Claim 5

A head-up display apparatus for projecting a display of the speed of a vehicle to an observer in the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a speedometer carrying numeric characters movable in response to the speed of the vehicle, a source of collimated light for illuminating at least one of said numeric characters, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the numeric characters to be projected, a spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of said illuminated characters onto said spherical mirror, and a plane mirror positioned to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the observer.

Claim 6

A head-up display apparatus for projecting a display of the speed of a vehicle to an observer in the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a speedometer carrying numeric characters movable in response to the speed of the vehicle, a source of collimated light for illuminating at least one of said numeric characters, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the numeric characters to be projected, a spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of said illuminated characters onto said spherical mirror, and a plane mirror positioned to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the observer.

Claim 7

Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said light source comprises a first bulb mounted at the focus of an approximately parabolic mirror, and a second bulb adjacent said first bulb for selectively providing additional intensity of illumination.

Claim 8

Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 including a third bulb, and means adjacent said third bulb providing a datum mark in the optical path of said diverging lens whereby illumination of said third bulb causes said datum mark to appear on the projected display.

Claim 9

A head-up display apparatus for a vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to an observer in the vehicle, comprising a curved windscreen, a speedometer including an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of a speedometer scale, a source of collimated light arranged to illuminate a portion of said disc and a datum mark, a Diverging lens, a convex spherical mirror arranged to project an image of said datum mark and at least part of said illuminated portion onto said spherical mirror, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the image of said datum mark and said illuminated portion reflected by said spherical mirror and to reflect said image onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of said image which appears to the observer to emanate from a position a finite distance farther away from the observer than said curved windscreen.

Claim 10

A head-up display apparatus for a vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to an observer in the vehicle, comprising a curved windscreen, a speedometer including an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of a speedometer scale, a source of collimated light arranged to illuminate a portion of said disc and a datum mark, a Diverging lens, a convex spherical mirror arranged to project an image of said datum mark and at least part of said illuminated portion onto said spherical mirror, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the image of said datum mark and said illuminated portion reflected by said spherical mirror and to reflect said image onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of said image which appears to the observer to emanate from a position a finite distance farther away from the observer than said curved windscreen.

Claim 11

A head-up display apparatus for a vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to an observer in the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen, a speedometer having an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of the speedometer scale, a source of collimated light arranged to illuminate a portion of said disc and a datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer disc to be displayed, a convex spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said spherical mirror, a colored filter in the optical path of said diverging lens, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the observer.

Claim 12

A head-up display apparatus for a vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to an observer in the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen, a speedometer having an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of the speedometer scale, a source of collimated light arranged to illuminate a portion of said disc and a datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer disc to be displayed, a convex spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said spherical mirror, a colored filter in the optical path of said diverging lens, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the observer.

Claim 13

Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said windscreen is coated with a reflective coating.

Claim 14

Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said reflective coating is selected from bismuth oxide, indium oxide and titanium oxide.

Claim 15

The head-up display apparatus of claim 8 wherein said source of collimated light comprises a lamp mounted in an approximately parabolic mirror, said apparatus including a translucent plate carrying a second datum mark in the optical path of said diverging lens and a second light source for illuminating said second datum mark, whereby the light reflected from said spherical mirror onto said curved windscreen produces a composite display of the speed of the vehicle and of said second datum mark.

Claim 16

A head-up display apparatus for a motor vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a speedometer comprising an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of a speedometer scale, a lamp mounted in an approximately parabolic mirror to provide a collimated light source positioned to illuminate a portion of the speedometer disc and an associated datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer disc to be displayed, a convex spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said spherical mirror, a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror, and a window in the dashboard coping of said motor vehicle, said plane mirror being positioned to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen through said window so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the driver.

Claim 17

A head-up display apparatus for a motor vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a speedometer comprising an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of a speedometer scale, a lamp mounted in an approximately parabolic mirror to provide a collimated light source positioned to illuminate a portion of the speedometer disc and an associated datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer disc to be displayed, a convex spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said spherical mirror, a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror, and a window in the dashboard coping of said motor vehicle, said plane mirror being positioned to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen through said window so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the driver.

Claim 18

A head-up display apparatus for a motor vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a housing, a speedometer mounted within said housing and having an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of the speedometer scale, a first lamp mounted in an approximately parabolic mirror so as to provide a collimated light source for illuminating a portion of tHe speedometer disc and an associated datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer to be displayed, a convex mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said convex mirror, a translucent plate carrying a second datum mark in the optical path of said diverging lens, a second lamp for illuminating said second datum mark, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said convex mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle and of said second datum mark which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the driver, means for mounting said housing flexibly beneath the dashboard coping of said vehicle, a screw threaded rod projecting into said dashboard coping, and a nut cooperating with said screw threaded rod and mounted on said housing for adjusting the angular position of said housing relative to said dashboard coping to cause an adjustment of the position of the display as seen by the driver.

Claim 19

A head-up display apparatus for a motor vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a housing, a speedometer mounted within said housing and having an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of the speedometer scale, a first lamp mounted in an approximately parabolic mirror so as to provide a collimated light source for illuminating a portion of tHe speedometer disc and an associated datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer to be displayed, a convex mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project the image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said convex mirror, a translucent plate carrying a second datum mark in the optical path of said diverging lens, a second lamp for illuminating said second datum mark, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said convex mirror and to reflect the latter onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle and of said second datum mark which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the driver, means for mounting said housing flexibly beneath the dashboard coping of said vehicle, a screw threaded rod projecting into said dashboard coping, and a nut cooperating with said screw threaded rod and mounted on said housing for adjusting the angular position of said housing relative to said dashboard coping to cause an adjustment of the position of the display as seen by the driver.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said convex mirror is a spherical mirror, and a colored filter in the optical path of said diverging lens.

Claim 21

The apparatus of claim 14 including means for selectively changing the color of said filter.

Claim 22

A head-up display for a motor vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a housing arranged to be mounted with freedom for movement beneath the dashboard coping of the vehicle, a window in the dasboard coping, a speedometer mounted within the housing, said speedometer including an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of a speedometer scale, a lamp mounted within an approximately parabolic mirror positioned to provide a collimated light source for illuminating a portion of the speedometer disc and an associated datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer to be displayed, a convex spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project an image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said spherical mirror, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the image through said window onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the driver.

Claim 23

A head-up display for a motor vehicle for projecting a display of the speed of the vehicle to the driver of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising a curved windscreen for the vehicle, a housing arranged to be mounted with freedom for movement beneath the dashboard coping of the vehicle, a window in the dasboard coping, a speedometer mounted within the housing, said speedometer including an opaque disc provided with translucent gaps forming the numeric characters of a speedometer scale, a lamp mounted within an approximately parabolic mirror positioned to provide a collimated light source for illuminating a portion of the speedometer disc and an associated datum mark, a masking plate defining an aperture for limiting the angular extent of the illuminated portion of the speedometer to be displayed, a convex spherical mirror, a diverging lens arranged to project an image of the illuminated characters as defined by said masking plate onto said spherical mirror, and a plane mirror arranged to receive the reflected image from said spherical mirror and to reflect the image through said window onto said curved windscreen so as to cause a display of the speed of the vehicle which appears to emanate from a position which is a finite distance from the driver.

Claim 24

A head-up display apparatus as claimed in claim 16 and further including a colored filter mounted in said housing in the optical path of said diverging lens, a translucent plate mounted in said housing carrying a second datum mark in the optical path of said diverging lens, and a second lamp for illuminating said second datum mark.