The growth of the global automotive head-up display (HUD) market is driven by various factors such as the growing awareness about vehicle and passenger safety and the increase in demand for luxury vehicles. However, the growth of the market might be hindered by the high costs associated with HUDs.
There has been a total of 1837 patents published in the domain of the automotive HUD between 2014 and 2019. Of these, 707 patents were granted and 1130 were patent applications.
Major granted Patents for automotive HUD (13 February 2014 – 13 February 2020):
Patent Number and Date
Title and Assignee
Abstract
Patent no:
US 9,244,275 B1
Date: 26 January 2016
Title: VISUAL DISPLAY SYSTEM USING MULTIPLE IMAGE SOURCES AND HEADS-UP-DISPLAY SYSTEM USING THE SAME
Assignee: ROCKWELL COLLINS, INC.
A visual display system includes a first image source for producing a first image containing symbological information using a vector drawing system. A second image source produces a second image containing video, graphical, and/or symbology information with a brightness lower than the brightness of the first image. A light combining optical element combines the light from the first and the second image sources. An image forming optical system receives the combined light from the light combining optical element for forming a new image comprising a superimposition of the first image and the second image at a final image plane of the system. A light receiving element, located at the final image plane of the system, receives the new image from the image forming optical system and adjusts the characteristics of the light from the new image to generate a final image for direct or indirect viewing. The visual display system is particularly adaptable for use in a Heads-Up-Display (HUD) system.
Patent no:
US 2019/0286920 A1 Date: 19 September 2019
Title: HUD DISPLAY SYSTEM AND METHOD BASED ON LANE LINE VANISHING POINT
Assignee: NIO NEXTEV LIMITED
A HUD display system based on lane line vanishing point according to the invention includes a HUD display, characterized by further including an image acquisition device; the HUD display is further provided with a displayed image adjustment module. The image acquisition device is used for acquiring images of road surface in the traveling direction of the vehicle and the images acquired by the image acquisition device include a display interface of the HUD display. The displayed image adjustment module recognizes lane lines of the road based on the images of road surface acquired by the image acquisition device, maps an intersection point of extension lines of the lane lines on two sides of the vehicle where the intersection point is used as the vanishing point, deforms the content to be displayed and then displays the deformed content by the HUD display by taking lines, each of which connects one of two boundary points at a lower end of the display interface of the HUD display with the vanishing point, respectively, as boundaries of the adjusted display interface. The invention enables the displayed image of the HUD to better fit the road surface when viewed from the interior of the driver's cab, thus greatly reducing the sense of foreign matters in the vision of the driver and improving the safety in driving.
Patent no:
US 2018/0335625 A1
Date: 22 November 2018
Title: SPI-BASED HEAD-UP DISPLAY BACKLIGHT CONTROL METHOD
Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
An SPI-based HUD backlight control method places multiple backlight values obtained by calculation into a backlight setting command and transmits the same to an LED controller via an SPI bus. After obtaining the backlight setting command, the LED controller sequentially applies one backlight value in the backlight setting command each time a frame synchronization signal is obtained. The method reduces the SPI bus load, so that the smoothness of backlight variation is increased, thereby ameliorating display flicker.
Patent no:
US 10,339,720 B2
Date: 2 July 2019
Title: METHOD OF GROUND ADJUSTMENT FOR IN-VEHICLE AUGMENTED REALITY SYSTEMS
Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
The disclosure includes implementations for providing ground adjustment for an in-vehicle augmented reality system. A system may include a three-dimensional heads-up display unit (“3D HUD”) installed in a vehicle. The system may include a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the system to: determine a plurality of elevation values for a plurality of points on a road surface, where each elevation value is associated with a point from the plurality of points and describes the elevation of that point; identify a graphic for display on the 3D HUD, where the graphic is associated with at least one point from the plurality of points; determine which location of the 3D HUD is associated with the at least one point associated with the graphic; and display the graphic at the location of the 3D HUD so that the graphic superposes the point when viewed by a driver.
Global automotive HEAD-UP DISPLAY (HUD) market: Regulatory landscape
Regulation
Regulating Agency
Description
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Request for public comments on a proposed collection of information.
U.S. Department of Transportation
HUD technology presents many opportunities and challenges for mitigating driver distraction, improving driver comfort, and engaging drivers with their vehicles. On the one hand, the reduction of the distance that the eyes need to travel between the road and a display can minimize the amount of time required to view a display relative to a traditional Head-Down Display (HDD). There is also an added benefit in that peripheral roadway information can be processed while viewing a HUD, allowing some aspects of vehicle control, like lane keeping, to be partially supported. On the other hand, humans have difficulty in simultaneously processing two displays overlaid on each other. Viewing HUDs while driving, may, therefore, prevent drivers from perceiving events in the environment, mainly centrally located hazards such as a braking lead vehicle. There is also a concern that HUDs whose focal depth is less than 22 feet require the eyes to accommodate to be viewed. Because older drivers have difficultly accommodating to view these displays, they may take more time to process the displayed information compared to younger drivers. There is also a concern that if drivers perceive HUDs to be safer than HDDs that they may not regulate the length of time they spend looking at the HUD. The HUD may therefore negatively alter drivers' visual scanning behavior. The potential benefits and drawbacks of using a HUD in a vehicle must, therefore, be investigated.
Legislative Regulation and Guidelines over the
Installation of Visual Display Unit (TV Screen) in a Vehicle
Transport Department
The construction of the TV screen shall only enable the display of information about navigating the vehicle, the current closed-circuit view of the area surrounding the vehicle, and information about the current state of the vehicle or its equipment. Except for the above, any other information (for instance, television broadcasting programs and stored information such as DVD, etc.) displayable on the TV screen shall not be visible to anyone on the driver’s position.
No person shall install or cause to be installed in or on a motor vehicle, and no motor vehicle shall have installed therein or thereon a visual display unit other than a visual display unit that may be installed under paragraph (2)- (L.N. 1 of 2000) (a) at any point forward of the driver's seat; (b) so that the screen thereof is partly or wholly, and whether directly or in any reflection, visible to the driver whilst in the driving seat; or (c) so that the controls thereof, other than the sound volume control and the main switch, are within reach of the driver whilst in the driving seat.
Human Factors Design Guidance for Driver-Vehicle Interfaces
U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The Human Factors Design Guidance for Driver-Vehicle Interfaces document provides information on topics based on the best available research and literature. It also includes information on a number of topics based on knowledge gained from recent and on-going NHTSA sponsored research.
The purpose of this document is to provide Human Factors design guidance, based on the best available research and established Human Factors concepts, for DVIs. Note that this document is not meant to serve as a standard. Resources such as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), SAE and ISO standards, and the Visual-Manual NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines for In-Vehicle Electronic Devices (NHTSA, 2013) exist that provide design guidance for DVIs. Instead, this document is meant to serve as a complementary resource for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tier-1 suppliers, and the automotive research community in designing DVIs that enable rapid, consistent, and reliable communication between the vehicle and driver.
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 909/2013 on the technical specifications for the
electronic chart display and information system for inland navigation (Inland ECDIS) referred to in
Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2018/1973
The display method shall ensure that the displayed information is clearly visible to more than one observer in the typical conditions of light experienced in the wheelhouse of a vessel by day and night. (b) In navigation mode, the display size of the chart presentation shall be at least 270 mm by 270 mm for equipment designed and admitted for the navigation mode. (c) In information mode, ergonomic aspects shall determine the size. The information displayed must be readily visible from the conning position. The display diagonal shall be equal to or larger than 199 mm (7,85 inches). Under all conditions, the boat master must be capable of perceiving the displayed information sufficiently in accordance with Human Machine Interface guidelines.
If the software is sold without a display, the manufacturer's documentation shall include the information that it may only be used as Inland ECDIS in information mode if the display fulfills the requirements of this Chapter 4.1. (d) The following criteria must be fulfilled in navigation mode as well as in information mode: — Alphanumeric data and text shall be presented using a clearly legible non-italic sans-serif font. — The font size shall be appropriate for the viewing distance from user positions (i.e., with respect to reading distance and viewing angles) likely to be experienced in the wheelhouse of a vessel. — The character height and the size of AIS symbols in millimeters shall not be less than 3,5 times the nominal viewing distance in meters. — The minimum size of AIS symbols and the minimum character height of AIS information shall be 3,5 mm. — The manufacturer's documentation shall identify the nominal viewing distance for the display equipment. (e) The display requirements shall be complied with, whether in landscape or in portrait format. (f) In information mode for the size of the display, it is recommended to use the size as specified for navigation mode.
In the event that space for the installation of the display is a problem, the display size might be reduced considering the nominal viewing distance for the display.
Sources: Ministry of Environmental Protection China, SAE, and CQC
Digital Light Processing in Augmented Reality HUD:
The automotive OEMs are expected to implement Augmented Reality (AR) HUDs with a long virtual image distance and large display area to minimize driver distraction and increase situational awareness by incorporating advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) information. Conventional HUDs are large in size and difficult to incorporate into the instrument cluster. Several HUD manufacturers are working on developing new technologies and utilize advances in the areas of holographic films and waveguides. Digital light processing is a set of chipsets, which reduce the mechanical volume of the entire HUD system while also enabling a huge display area with long virtual image distances. The digital light processing can be incorporated with LED lights, which have narrow laser bandwidth that offers a premium and enhanced driving experience. Additionally, digital light processing offers color saturation, contrast color mode, electrical and optical efficiency, and enhanced projections, which can be implemented in small areas in the instrument cluster. Digital light processing is being incorporated into AR HUDs for various premium and luxury vehicles.
