AERIAL IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE AND AERIAL IMAGE DISPLAY METHOD
An aerial image display device includes a display, a retroreflective material, a retardation plate, a beam splitter, and a polarizing plate. The display, the retroreflective material, and the beam splitter are disposed on an installation bottom surface. The display emits polarized light of a display image that is the basis of an aerial image in accordance with a polarization direction of incident light. The retroreflective material reflects incident light in an incident direction. The beam splitter reflects polarized light of the display image emitted from the display toward the retroreflective material in accordance with the polarization direction of the incident light and has polarized light of the display image reflected by the retroreflective material transmitted therethrough. The polarizing plate is disposed above the installation bottom surface, extends across an imaging plane of the aerial image, and has polarized light transmitted through the beam splitter transmitted therethrough.
1 . An aerial image display device, comprising:
a display at an installation bottom surface to emit polarized light of a display image that is a basis of an aerial image;
a retroreflective material at the installation bottom surface to reflect incident light in an incidence direction;
a beam splitter at the installation bottom surface, which reflects polarized light of the display image emitted from the display toward the retroreflective material in accordance with the polarization direction of the incident light, and through which the polarized light of the display image reflected by the retroreflective material is transmitted;
a retardation plate which is disposed on a reflective surface side of the retroreflective material and changes the polarized light of the display image reflected by the beam splitter to the polarized light of the display image which is transmitted through the beam splitter; and
a polarizing plate which is disposed above the installation bottom surface, which extends across an imaging plane of the aerial image, and through which polarized light transmitted through the beam splitter is transmitted.
2 . The aerial image display device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the polarizing plate extends from the beam splitter in parallel with the installation bottom surface.
3 . The aerial image display device according to claim 2 , wherein:
the polarizing plate is a floor of a viewing space for a viewer of the aerial image.
4 . The aerial image display device according to claim 2 , wherein:
the polarizing plate is at a table top placed in a viewing space for a viewer of the aerial image.
5 . The aerial image display device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the display emits linearly polarized light whose polarization direction is perpendicular to the installation bottom surface, and
the retardation plate is a quarter wave plate.
6 . The aerial image display device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a polarizing plate attached to a portion of the beam splitter located above the polarizing plate.
7 . An aerial image display method, comprising:
installing, on an installation bottom surface, a display which emits polarized light of a display image that is a basis of an aerial image;
installing, on the installation bottom surface, a retroreflective material which reflects incident light in an incident direction;
installing, on the installation bottom surface, a beam splitter which reflects polarized light of the display image emitted from the display toward the retroreflective material in accordance with the polarization direction of the incident light, and through which the polarized light of the display image reflected by the retroreflective material is transmitted;
disposing, on a light incident side of the retroreflective material, a retardation plate which changes the polarized light of the display image reflected by the beam splitter to the polarized light of the display image which is transmitted through the beam splitter; and
disposing, above the installation bottom surface, a polarizing plate through which light transmitted through the beam splitter is transmitted so that the polarizing plate extends across an imaging plane of the aerial image.