Patent · US Expired

Fiber optic illumination of HUD image source

US5657163A · kind A · utility

29Cited by
19References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 31, 1995
Grant dateAug 12, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 31, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B2027/0169
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The image source of a head up display for a motor vehicle is illuminated from a remote high intensity source using fiber optics. The HUD image source and optics are under the dash pad of the vehicle and include color LCD or color filtered image source. The image is lighted by a high intensity light source which yields a bright projected image and which generates substantial heat. The light source includes lamps in a fan-cooled heat sink located in the vehicle engine compartment, for example, and coupled to the image source by fiber optic light guides. The light guides abut the image source to uniformly light small image patterns commensurate with the light guide size, or light spreading techniques are used for larger image patterns.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.