GB2494940A

GB2494940A - Head-mounted display with display orientation lock-on

Info

Publication number: GB2494940A
Application number: GB1200913.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jung Ya Hsieh
Original assignee: GIXIA GROUP CO
Current assignee: GIXIA GROUP CO
Priority date: 2011-09-23
Filing date: 2012-01-19
Publication date: 2013-03-27
Also published as: GB201200913D0; CN103018903A

Abstract

A head-mounted display apparatus (3, figure 3) includes a base unit, a display device (4, figure 3), an orientation detection device such as electric gyro (33, figure 4) and a processing device (34, figure 4). The display device is mounted on the base unit at a position that is viewable by the user. The orientation detection device is arranged to detect an orientation change due to a movement of the base unit. When a user wears the base unit on his head and faces to a predetermined orientation, the processing device instructs the display device to display image data. When the user turns his head and the orientation of the base unit deviates from its original orientation beyond a predetermined threshold value 405, the processing device instructs the display device to make a change in the presenting of the audio-video data, such as pausing the displaying of the data 407 or offsetting the images.

Description

HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY APPARATUS HAVING DISPLAY

ORIENTATION LOCK-ON MECHANISM AND METHOD USING SAME

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a head-mounted display apparatus and a method using the same, and more particularly to a highly manipulatable head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism, and a method using the same.

Description of Prior Art

A variety of head-mounted display devices have been available in the consumer market for years. They were previously expected to replace household display devices, such as TVs, taking advantage of their space effectiveness and capability of providing the visual pleasure as that which can be provided by a 60-or 70-inch displa.y device. However, with the rapid innovation and development of projection televisions, it is now possible for consumers to accomplish the same visual effect simply by using a projector to project large-size images onto a wall or a projection screen. In contrast, head-mounted display devices have poor market share because they are too heavy to be worn on the head for a long time. Especially, the display devices, when being worn on the head, will block the sight of the wearers, making the wearers difficult to find out particular keys on controllers to tune the volume up or down or tune into a selected channel.

Considerable efforts were made by some manufacturers to deal with its market location by mounting an additional camera onto a head-mounted display device. As shown in FIG. I, a conventional technique involves superimposing the real world images captured from the wearer's visual field by a head-mounted camera 12 over the virtual image data stored in an image storage unit 18 by virtue of a processor 16, in conjunction with monitoring of the wearer's horizontal position, vertical position, head position and body part position by a multi-functional sensor 10. The superimposed images are displayed on a head-mounted display device 14.

However, since the conventional head-mounted display device described a.bove is of a non-transmissive type, the wearer can only observe the real-world action indirectly by way of the head-mounted camera 12. Inherently, the shooting angle of the head-mounted camera. would slightly deviate from the three-dimensional visual field of the wear's eyes. Unless motionless, the wearer would possibly misjudge the distance to a certain object and end up falling down due to such deviation in observation. Not to mention that the visua.l field from the camera is so restricted that it is much narrower than that from human eyes. In addition, the human eye can rapidly focus objects at different distances by using six muscles in the vicinity of the crystalline lens to move the eyeball and to quickly make the crystalline lens change shape. In contrast, an auto-focusing camera has to take longer time to complete focusing operation as compared to human eyes, causing a delay in response time. A camera cannot replace the human eyes to observe the real world.

Another conventional design is disclosed in US 7,573,525. As illustrated in Fig. 2, a head-mounted camera assembly 2 is provided with a head-mounted display device 24 and an external controller 25 for setting a focal length of a camera 22 and displaying the image data captured by the camera 22 on the head-mounted display device 24. The external controller 25 is also adapted to move the image data displayed on the head-mounted display device 24 along the up, down, left and right directions and to magnify or minifS' the displayed images.

The head-mounted assembly disclosed in US 7,573,525 is provided with a transmissive-type display device, allowing the wearer to directly observe real-world objects through the display device while displaying the camera-captured images on the display device. However, the initiation of a displaying process, as well as the positions of the images thus displayed, have to be controlled by pressing some buttons on the external controller with the wearer's finger, causing inconvenience in operation. Especially, compared to the cameras now available in the market which are of high portability and are operable with a single hand, the conventional head-mounted assembly is quite cumbersome due to being equipped with a handheld controller and an entire set of head-mounted camera. and display device.

Therefore, there exists a need for a more powerfUl head-mounted display apparatus, which is operable in the absence of a handheld controller by simply sensing tile movement of the user's head, thereby providing the user with enhanced operational convenience.

Summary of the Invention

An aspect of the invention is to provide a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism, which is capable of adopting the user's head movement as an operation instruction, thereby providing the user with enhanced operational convenience. j

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism, which is capable of executing an operation instruction upon identifying a specific head movement, thereby achieving a simplified structure and a. better portability.

A still another aspect of the invention is to provide a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism, which is capable of making a. simultaneous change in the state of the video data that is currently playing on the display device in response to the user's head movement, thereby providing improved operability and ergonomic advances for user comfort and convenience.

A still another aspect of the invention is to provide a display method for changing the state of video data that is currently playing on the display device by analyzing the user's head movement. The method disclosed herein undoubtedly provides the user with enhanced operational convenience.

A still another a.spect of the invention is to provide a display method for making a simultaneous change in the state of the video data that is currently playing on the display device upon identifying a movement of the user's head, thereby providing improved operability and ergonomic advances for user comfort and convenience.

Therefore, the head-mounted display apparatus disclosed herein has a display orientation lock-on mechanism and is adapted for presenting an audio-video data to a uset The apparatus comprises a base unit mountable on the user's head; a display device mounted on the base unit and adapted for presenting the audio-video data in a predetermined display orientation; an orientation detection device mounted on the base unit and adapted for detecting the display orientation; and a processing device mounted on the base unit and adapted for receiving orientation information from the orientation detection device and, if a detected orientation substantially deviates from the display orientation beyond a predetennined threshold value, making a. change in the presenting of the audio-video data.

The invention ftirther relates to a display method of using a head-mounted display a.pparatus to steadily present an audio-video data to a uset The head-mounted display apparatus comprises a base unit mountable on the user's head, a display device for presenting the audio-video data, an orientation detection device and a processing device for receiving orientation information from the orientation detection device. The method comprising the steps of: a) placing a base unit on the user's head and defining a display orientation; b) using the display device to present the audio-video data, and using the orientation detection device to continuously detect a current orientation of the ba.se unit and convert the detected orientation information into electrical signals and transmit the electrical signals to the processing device; c) using the processing device to assess whether the detected orientation matches with the display orientation and, if the detected orientation substantially deviates from the display orientation beyond a predetermined threshold value, instruct the display device to make a change in the presenting of the audio-video data according to the deviation.

According to the invention, the orientation detection device is employed to define a display orientation. Once a user puts on the head-mounted display apparatus disclosed herein and faces to the display orientation, the processing device will analyze and identify the status and subsequently instruct the display device to make a change in the presenting of the video data displayed thereon.

As a result, the invented apparatus can easily control the displaying of video data and also has a simplified structure, a better portability and a reduced manufacture cost. Especially, the invented apparatus is more ergonomically friendly to a user who wants to adjust the playing conditions of a film that is currently playing on the display device, such as pause the film or offset the images. The invention achieves the objects described above accordingly.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional head-mounted camera; Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional head-mounted camera provided with a head-mounted display device; Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a. head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the head-mounted display apparatus shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 shows an operation chart of the head-mounted display apparatus shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 7 is a block diagram of the head-mounted display apparatus shown in Fig. 6 Fig. 8 shows an operation chart of the head-mounted displa.y apparatus shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an video image that is currently playing on the display device; Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing that the video image displayed on the display device compensatively moves to the right as the user turns his/her head to the left, leaving a blank portion at the left side of the display device; Fig. 11 is a top view of a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to the third preferred embodiment of the invention, showing that the projected images are focused as virtua.l images at farther distances; and Fig. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Regarding previous description of the invention and other techniques, features and performance, it will be described more JUly hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings of preferred embodiments for clear presentation.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention. For the purpose of illustration, the head-mounted display apparatus 3 according to this embodiment is described by way of example as a head-mounted personal movie theater for use in an airplane cabin, which is externally coupled to an a video and audio display device 4 for playback of video and audio data. The apparatus 3 comprises a base unit configured in the form of a frame 31. a display device 32, an orientation detection device configured in the form of an electric gyro 33, and a processing device 34. The display device 32 comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) module 321 mounted on the frame 31 at a position that is viewable by the wearer's eyes, and a pair of earphones 322.

Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of the display process using the head-mounted display apparatus according to this embodiment. In Step 401, the user is required to wear the frame 31 on his/her head, with the LCD module 321 being placed in front of the user's sightline. At that time, the LCD module 321 will present a series of subtitles, asking the user to temporarily let his/her head rest at the most comfortable position for watching video images, thereby allowing the electric gyro 33 to detect the current orientation of the frame 31. The orientation infonation thus detected is then converted into electrical signals, which are in turn transmitted to the processing device 34 where the orientation is set to be a display orientation that the display device 32 is to be driven to display video and audio data.

Next, the video and audio display device 4 reads a compact disc loaded with a video and audio data. In Step 402, the display device 32, upon being driven by the processing device 34, starts to display the video and audio data in a normal state. Meanwhile, the electric gyro 33 continuously detects the current orientation of the frame 3 I and converts the newly detected orientation information into electrical signals, which are in turn transmitted to the processing device 34. In the following Step 403, the processing device 34 assesses whether the newly detected orientation of the frame 31 matches with

S

the display orientation defined in Step 401. If yes, the audio-video data will be continuously displayed in Step 404, and the process goes back to Step 402 in which the electric gyro 33 continuously detects the current orientation of the frame 31.

On the contrary, if the user wants to pause a film that is currently playing, the user could just take off the frame 31 from his/her head. During the taking-off process, the orientation of the frame 3! will significantly deviate from the display orientation defined in Step 401 beyond a predeterniined threshold value. In Step 405, such deviation is identified by the processing device 34, which in turn instructs the LCD module 32 1 and the earphones 322 to make a change in the presenting condition of the audio-video data, such tha.t the film is paused. In Step 406, the electric gyro 33 continuously detects the current orientation of the frame 31, until the processing device 34 assesses that the orientation of the frame 31 is restored back to a position that is substantially the same as the displa.y orientation or substantially deviates from the display orientation within the predetermined threshold value.

If the deviation between the current orientation of the frame 31 and the display orientation is not restored back to a value that is smaller than the predetennined threshold value, the displaying of the audio-video data is kept paused in Step 407 and the process goes back to Step 406. As the user comes back and again wears the frame 3 I on his/her head, the processing device 34 assesses that the orientation of the frame 31 is restored back to the display orientation, and the process goes to Step 408, in which the processing device instructs the LCD module 321 and the earphones 322 to resume the audio-video data that is paused previously. Afterwards, the process goes back to Step 402, and the audio-video data is kept playing until it is identified in Step 409 that the data has been displayed to its end, and the displaying is stopped in Step 410.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention, which is particularly useful to provide entertainment for passengers who are taking long-distance flights or buses. The head-mounted display apparatus 3' disclosed herein comprises an orientation detection device configured in the form of a micro-camera 33' mounted on a frame 31' in a manner corresponding to a position between the wearer's eyes. The display device 32' comprises a transmissive-type display device 321'. Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the display process using the head-mounted display apparatus according to this embodiment. In Step 801, the user is required to wear the frame 3 1' on his/her head, with the transrnissive-typc display device 32 1' being placed in front of the user's sightline. At that time, the transmissive-type display device 321' presents a series of subtitles, asking the user to rest his/her head at a fixed position, thereby allowing the micro-camera 33' to capture an image within a predetermined image pick-up scope. The captured image is then converted into electrical signals, which are in turn transmitted to a processing device 34' where the current orientation of the frame 3 1' is identified to be a display orientation.

Next, in Step 802, the transmissive-type display device 321' and earphones 322' are instructed to display audio-video data. Meanwhile, the micro-camera 33' continuously captures outside images. In Step 803, the processing device 34' receives an image newly captured by the micro-camera 33' and assesses whether the newly captured image locates outside of the predetermined image pick-up scope. If the newly captured image does not locate outside of the predetemiined image pick-up scope, the audio-video data is continuously displayed in Step 804, and the process goes back to Step 802 in which the micro-camera 33' continuously captures outside images. If the newly captured image is found to locate outside of the predetermined image pick-up scope, the processing device 34', in Step 805, instructs the transmissive-type display device 321' to make a change in the presenting condition of the video data that is currently displayed on the display device 321'.

In step 806, as the frame 3 1' rotates in a direction, the overall video image of the video data displayed on the transmissive-type display device 321' is scrolled simultaneously in an opposite direction to compensate for the offset caused by the rotation of the frame 31', as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. For example, if the user who wears the apparatus disclosed herein turns his/her head to the left along the arrowed direction shown in Fig. 10. the video image displayed on the transmissive-type display device would simultaneously move in a counter direction to the arrowed direction, namely, to tile right, such that the user would perceive that the video image stays where it is, rather than moving along with his/her sightline. The scrolling of the video image to the right leaves a blank portion at the left side of the transmissive-type display device 321', through which the user may see outside. In this case, if the user wants to look for a flight attendant, he/she can simply move his/her head to temporarily remove the video image from the transmissive-type display device 321', without the necessity of taking off the head-mounted display apparatus 3'.

Next, in Step 807, the micro-camera 33' continuously captures outside images, so that the processing device 34' can assess whether the orientation of the frame 31' is restored back to a position that is substantially the same as the display orientation or substantially deviates from the display orientation within the predetermined threshold value. If the deviation between the current orientation of the frame 3 1' and the display orientation is not restored back to a value that is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the displaying of the audio-video data is kept paused in Step 808 and the process goes back to Step 807. When die user finishes the conversation with the flight attendant and turns his/her head back to the original position, the processing device 34', in Step 809, makes the video image displayed on the transmissive-type display device 321' being scrolled back to its original position to compensate for the offset caused by the rotation of the head. Afterwards, the process goes back to Step 802, until it is assessed in Step 810 that the audio-video data has been displayed to its end, and the displaying is stopped in Step 811.

Fig. 11 shows a head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to the third preferred embodiment of the invention. The display device disclosed herein comprises two micro-projectors 33" mounted at left and right temple arms of the frames 31", respectively. The micro-projectors 33" are connected to a host (not shown) via optical fibers and adapted to project image data to micro-textured lenses 36" placed in front of the user's eyes, so that the user will view the projected images as virtual images focused at farther distances due to deflection and reflection by the micro-textured lenses 36". A three-dimensional virtual image is therefore presented by virtue of difference in the images projected from the left and right micro-projectors 33". The lightweight head-mounted display apparatus disclosed herein is suitable for displaying the mainstream three-dimensional audio-video data accordingly. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that when the user turns his/her head, the invented apparatus may be tailored not to pause the displaying of audio-video data but to provide a 360 degree video panorama image that the user can simply turns his/her head to the left or right to view around the panorama and experience an immersive virtual environment.

Moreover, according to the fourth preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 12, the display device comprises a pair of lenses polarized orthogonally with each other. The optical fiber projectors mounted at two sides (not shown) are used to project images to the lenses, such that vertically polarized images are displayed on the lens at the left side and horizontally polarized images are displayed on the lens at the right side. The user who wears the device perceives three-dimensional images accordingly.

By virtue of utilizing an orientation detection device to define a display orientation and detect the current orientation of the head-mounted display a.pparatus worn on the user's head, the invented head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism, as well as the method using the same, permit the user to make a change in the displaying of the video data by simply moving his/her head or taking off the head-mounted apparatus from his/her head. In contrast to the conventional techniques, the invented apparatus can be easily manipulated and has a simplified structure, a better portability and a reduced manufacture cost. The invention achieves the objects described above accordingly.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments above, it should be recognized that the preferred embodiments are given for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention and that various modifications and changes, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

<claim-text>What is Claimed is: A head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism, adapted for presenting an audio-video data to a user, the apparatus comprising: a base unit mountable on the user's head; a. display device mounted on the base unit and adapted for presenting the audio-video data in a predetennined display orientation; an orientation detection device mounted on the base unit and adapted for detecting the display orientation; and a processing device mounted on the base unit and a.dapted for receiving orientation information from the orientation detection device and, if a detected orientation substantially deviates from the display oricntation beyond a predetermined threshold value, making a change in the presenting of the audio-video data..</claim-text> <claim-text>2. The head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the orientation detection device comprises a micro-camera adapted to continuously capture characteristic image data. in the display orientation and convert the captured characteristic image data into electrical signals and transmit the electrical signals to the processing device for assessing whether an orientation thus detected substantially deviates from the display orientation.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. The head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the orientation detection device comprises an electric gyro.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. The head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a transmissive-type display device.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. The head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to anyone of claims 1-4, wherein the display device comprises a liquid crystal display module and a pair of earphones.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. The head-mounted display apparatus having a display orientation lock-on mechanism according to anyone of claims 1 -4, wherein the display device comprises at least one micro-projector and at least one micro-textured lens to which the at least one micro-projector can project images.</claim-text> <claim-text>7. A display method of using a head-mounted display apparatus to steadily present an audio-video data to a user, wherein the head-mounted display apparatus comprises a base unit mountable on the user's head, a display device for presenting the audio-video data, an orientation detection device and a processing device for receiving orientation information from the orientation detection device, the method comprising the steps of: a) placing a base unit on the user's head and defining a display orientation; b) using the display device to present the audio-video data, and using the orientation detection device to continuously detect a current orientation of the base unit and convert the detected orientation information into electrical signals and transmit the electrical signals to the processing device; c) using the processing device to assess whether the detected orientation matches with the display orientation and, if the detected orientation substantially deviates from the display orientation beyond a predetermined threshold value, instruct the display device to make a change in the presenting of the audio-video data according to the deviation.</claim-text> <claim-text>8. The display method of using a head-mounted display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the orientation detection device comprises a micro-camera, and wherein the display-orientation defining step a) comprises the sub-steps of: al) using the processing device to ascertain an orientation of the base unit as the display orientation; and a2) using the micro-camera to capture an image in the display direction and convert the captured image into electrical signals and transmit the electrical signals to the processing device.</claim-text> <claim-text>9. The display method of using a head-mounted display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the step c) comprises the sub-steps of: ci) using the processing device to assess whether the detected orientation substantially deviates from the display orientation; and c2) if the detected orientation substantially deviates from the display orientation, instructing the display device to present tile audio-video data in a manner that the audio-video data is scrolled in a direction to compensate for the deviation.</claim-text> <claim-text>10. The display Method of using a head-mounted display apparatus according to anyone of claims 7-9, wherein the display device comprises a transmissive-type display device and a pair of earphones, and wherein the step c) comprises the sub-steps of: c3) using the processing device to assess whether the detected orientation of die base unit substantially deviates from the display orientation; c4) if the detected orientation substantially deviates from the display orientation beyond the predetermined threshold value, temporarily pausing the audio-video data presented by the transrnissive-type display device and the earphones; c5) using the processing device to assess whether the deviation between the detected orientation and the display orientation is restored back to a. value that is smaller than the predetermined threshold value; and c6) if the deviation is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, instructing the transmissive-type display device and the earphones to resume the audio-video data that is temporarily paused.</claim-text>