JP2001318337A - Electronic spectacle system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic spectacle system which takes the advantages of electronic spectacles which make images visible in a free hand state and are identical in appearance with ordinary spectacles. SOLUTION: This electronic spectacle system is provided with the electronic spectacles 1 which are adapted to form the images projected on a liquid crystal display 31 mounted at a spectacle frame 10 on the retinae of a person wearing the spectacle frame 10 across combiners 35 embedded in main lenses 21, a memory medium 43 which stores image data, a reader 42 which reads the image data out of the memory medium 43 and outputs the images to the liquid crystal display 31 and a controller 41 which controls the reader. The reader 42 and the controller 41 are formed as a portable type and the memory medium 43 is formed as a type (for example, a memory chip type, disk type or cassette type) freely attachable and detachable to and from the reader 42.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic spectacles system using electronic spectacles which allows an image projected on a small display device attached to a spectacle frame to be viewed through an optical system built in the spectacle lens. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Along with the recent miniaturization of computers, display devices have become lighter and smaller, and have been applied to portable or in-vehicle image output devices. The miniaturization of such a display device has progressed further so that it can be attached to an eyeglass frame.
A technique of electronic glasses that allows an image (two-dimensional image) on a display attached to the glasses frame to be viewed through a lens of the glasses has been disclosed (for example, US Pat. No. 5,886,822). The electronic glasses do not need to hold a display device as in a conventional portable image output device, or the posture of a person who views an image is restricted like a stationary type (in order to view an image, the display device is limited). Has to be turned).

[0003]

Electronic glasses are image output devices that can view images in a freehand state as described above, but their appearance does not differ greatly from ordinary glasses, so they can be used in public. Others do not feel uncomfortable.
Such electronic glasses can be used in various forms, and development in their application is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of such a demand, and has been made in view of the above circumstances. An electronic spectacle system which makes it possible to view an image in a freehand state and has the same appearance as that of ordinary spectacles. It is intended to provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic eyeglass system according to the present invention uses an image displayed on a display (for example, a liquid crystal display 31 in the embodiment) attached to an eyeglass frame. An image is formed on the retina of an eye of a person wearing the spectacle frame via an optical element (for example, the combiner 35 in the embodiment) embedded in a lens (for example, the main lens 21 in the embodiment) held in the spectacle frame. Electronic glasses, a storage medium for storing image data, and a reading device (for example, the reader 42 and the controller 41 in the embodiment) for reading image data from the storage medium and outputting an image to the display. Is done.

In the electronic glasses system according to the present invention, the reading device projects an image on a display based on the image data stored in the storage medium, and the person wearing the electronic glasses embeds the image on the display into a lens. It can be seen through the optical elements as if it were seen through left and right lenses. For this reason, a person using this electronic eyeglass system can view an image in a freehand state without holding a display device as in the related art. You can enjoy it without disturbing others even while riding. In addition, the state in which the electronic glasses are worn is almost the same as the state in which normal glasses are worn, so that others do not feel uncomfortable.

Here, the storage medium may be fixed or built in the reading device, but the storage medium is of a type that is detachable from the reading device (for example, a memory chip type, a disk type or a cassette type). Is preferred. With such a configuration, the user can change the storage medium according to his / her preference and enjoy various images such as reading newspapers and magazines, watching movies, and playing competitive games. Can be expanded.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an electronic glasses system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example of electronic glasses used in the electronic glasses system. Eyeglass frame 10 of electronic glasses 1 used here
The left and right lens holding frames 11 and 12 and the bridge portion 13 connecting them, the left and right vine portions 15 and 16 provided outside the two lens holding frames 11 and 12 respectively, the two lens holding frames 11 and 12 Connecting part 1 connecting both vine parts 15 and 16
Nos. 19 and 20 are attached to the left and right lens holding frames 11 and 12, respectively.

The left and right lens holding frames 11 and 12 respectively have a main lens 2 corresponding to a lens in ordinary spectacles.
1 and 22 are held, and a person wearing the spectacle frame 10 can see an object through the main lenses 21 and 22. In addition, these main lenses 21 and 22
May be a flat plate, but may have a curvature for correcting vision. In the case where the visual acuity correcting function is also used, the material of the main lenses 21 and 22 may be CR-39 or a urethane-based material generally used for spectacle lenses.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
5, an optical system holding unit 30 having an internal space is formed. In the space of the optical system holding unit 30, a liquid crystal display (LCD) is installed such that a screen is substantially parallel to the main lens 21. ) 31, a backlight 32 for illuminating the liquid crystal display 31 from behind, and an image (two-dimensional image) projected on the liquid crystal display 31.
And a mirror 34 for reflecting the light beam condensed by the objective lens 33 to the side end surface 21c of the left main lens 21. Here, as shown in FIG.
a and a movable part 30b slidable with respect to the liquid crystal display 31 and the backlight 3
2 is provided in the space of the movable portion 30b, and the objective lens 33 and the mirror 34 are provided in the space of the fixed portion 30a.

A combiner 35, which is a translucent mirror, is embedded in the left main lens 21. The combiner 35 reflects the light reflected by the mirror 34 and incident from the side end surface 21c of the left main lens 21 toward the inner surface 21a of the main lens 21.
External light incident from the outer surface 21b of the main lens 21 is transmitted to the inner surface 21a as it is. The light beam of the image reflected by the mirror 34 is incident on the side end surface 21c of the main lens 21 through the slit 11a formed in the left lens holding frame 11.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing the structure of the bridge portion 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the bridge portion 13 includes a cylindrical first slide member 131 fixed to the left lens holding frame 11, and a right side. A second cylindrical member fixed to the lens holding frame 12 and having the same outer diameter as the first slide member 131.
The slide member 132, these two slide members 131,
132 and an adjusting member 133 provided outside of the second member 132.

The bridge section 13 has a polygonal cross section (square, hexagon, etc.) formed on the second slide member 132.
Is inserted into a boss 135 formed on the first slide member 131, and screw threads formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the two slide members 131 and 132 so as to have opposite threads. Screw threads 138 and 139 formed on the inner surface side of the adjusting member 133 are engaged with 136 and 137, respectively. Therefore, by twisting the adjusting member 133 around the axis of the slide members 131 and 132, the slide members 131 and 132 can be moved in the opposite directions while the shaft 134 is slid in the boss 135. This allows the left and right lens holding frames 1
It is possible to increase or decrease the spacing between 1 and 12. Thus, the adjusting member 133 and the two slide members 1
31 and 132 have a configuration like a turnbuckle, but since the shaft 134 having a polygonal cross section is fitted to the boss 135, the left and right lens holding frames 11 and 12 are in a mutually twisted positional relationship. Never. Thus, the distance between the center of the bridge 13 in the spectacle frame 10 and the combiner 35 can be adjusted as desired.

The connecting portions 17 and 18 between the left and right lens holding frames 11 and 12 and the hanging portions 15 and 16 have the same configuration as the bridge portion 13. These two connection parts 17, 18
According to the above, the right and left vine portions 1 in the eyeglass frame 10
It is possible to adjust the interval between 5, 5, and the combiner 35, and it is possible to more accurately adjust the position of the combiner 35 with respect to the eye 51.

Liquid crystal display 31 and backlight 3
2 is a cable 4 connected to the rear end of the left vine 15
The operation of the controller 41 is controlled by a controller 41 connected to the LCD device 31 via a reader 42. The controller 41 reads image data from a storage medium 43 via a reader 42, and displays an image obtained from the image data on the liquid crystal display 31. Make it appear.

The storage medium 43 includes various types such as a memory chip type and a disk type (for example, DVD;
deo Disc), a cassette type and the like can be used. Here, when the memory chip type storage medium 43 is adopted, this system can be used, for example, for a distribution system of magazines and newspapers, and for the disk type (DVD) storage medium 43, for example, for movie watching. The cassette type storage medium 43 can be used, for example, for a battle game. It is natural that the reader 42 corresponding to the type of the storage medium 43 is used.

The liquid crystal display 31 and the backlight 32 attached to the vine unit 15 can be replaced with another flat panel display (FPD) such as an EL (electroluminescence) display.
The display 1 emits no light and is illuminated by the backlight 32 for display, so that power consumption is low and the generation of heat is suppressed. In addition, there is an advantage that the liquid crystal display is more advanced than the other FPDs for full color.

The structure for guiding the light beam of the image projected on the liquid crystal display 31 to the combiner 35 may be the structure shown in FIG. In this configuration, the liquid crystal display 31 and the backlight 32 are installed so as to be substantially perpendicular to the main lens 21,
Light rays of an image emitted in a direction substantially parallel to the main lens 21 are reflected by a mirror M1 and guided into the main lens 21 via an objective lens (convex lens) L1 formed on the inner surface 21a side of the main lens 21. . The light rays of the image guided into the main lens 21 in this manner are reflected by the mirror M2 embedded in the main lens 21,
After passing through the combiner M3 embedded in the main lens 21, the light is condensed by the concave lens L2 also embedded in the main lens 21 and reaches the combiner M3 again, where it is reflected and sent to the left eye 51. Further, the external light enters from the outer surface 21 b side of the main lens 21, passes through the combiner M 3, and reaches the left eye 51 as it is. In such a configuration, the liquid crystal display 31 and the backlight 32 are installed in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the vine portion 15, so that the optical system holding portion (not shown) for holding them protrudes outward. Can be reduced.

Alternatively, a configuration as shown in FIG. 5 may be used. In this configuration, the liquid crystal display 31 and the backlight 32 are installed so that the light beam of the image projected on the liquid crystal display 31 is incident on the main lens 21 at substantially right angles. After being reflected by a mirror M4 embedded in the lens 21 and reflected by a combiner M5 embedded in the main lens 21, the left eye 51 passes through an objective lens (convex lens) L3 formed on the inner surface 21a side of the main lens 21.
Send to The external light is applied to the outer surface 21b of the main lens 21.
And passes through the combiner M5 as it is, and reaches the left eye 51 from the inner surface 21a of the main lens 21 through the objective lens L3. This is simpler in configuration than the above two, but since the objective lens L3 is located immediately in front of the left eye 51, the field of view is poor when the electronic glasses 1 do not see an image on the liquid crystal display 31. It also has the disadvantage of becoming

In order to view an image on the liquid crystal display 31 using the electronic glasses 1 having such a configuration, the electronic glasses 1 are first worn on the front of the face. In this case, the left and right vines 1
5 and 16 are put on both ears (not shown), and left and right nose pads 19 and 20 are placed on both sides of the nose 53. Thus, the left main lens 21 is located in front of the left eye 51, and the right main lens 22 is located in front of the right eye 52. Then, the storage medium 43 (for example, a DVD) is mounted on the reader 42 (a DVD player if the storage medium 43 is a DVD), and the controller 41 is operated to operate the liquid crystal display 31.
Display the image on the top.

The light rays of the image projected in this manner are condensed by the objective lens 33 and reach the mirror 34, where they are reflected in a substantially right angle direction and enter the inside from the end side surface 21c of the main lens 21. . Then, the light is reflected by the combiner 35 toward the inner surface 21 a of the main lens 21 and is incident on the left eye 51 of the person wearing the electronic glasses 1. At the same time, external light goes straight through the combiner 35 to the left main lens 21 and reaches the left eye 51 as it is, whereby an image projected on the liquid crystal display 31 is formed on the retina of the eye 51 of the person. . Thereby, the person wearing the electronic glasses 1 can use the liquid crystal display 31.
The left and right main lenses 2 as if the image projected on top was
You can see it as if you were looking over 1,22. Also, as shown in FIG.
By connecting an earphone (or an earphone), the user can simultaneously listen to the sound (also stored in the storage medium 43) while watching the image.

Here, when the image is not clearly seen (for example, defocus), the movable portion 30b of the optical system holding portion 30 is slid with respect to the fixed portion 30a, and the distance between the liquid crystal display 31 and the objective lens 33 is changed. Make adjustments.
Further, when the image is difficult to see because the combiner 35 attached to the left main lens 21 is not located at a predetermined position with respect to the left eye 51, the adjusting member 133 of the bridge portion 13 is twisted. The distance between the center of the bridge portion 13 and the combiner 35 is adjusted, and the left and right connecting portions 17 and 18 are operated to reduce the distance between the left and right vine portions 15 and 16 and the combiner 35 in the spectacle frame 10. Adjust. By adjusting the position of the combiner 35, the image can be clearly seen.

As described above, a memory chip type or cassette type storage medium 43 may be used instead of the disk type storage medium 43 (in this case, the reader 42 is used for a memory chip type storage medium or a cassette type storage medium). This makes it possible to watch movies, read magazines and newspapers, or enjoy games.

As described above, in the electronic spectacle system according to the present invention, the reader 42 (and the controller 41) projects an image on the liquid crystal display 31 based on the image data stored in the storage medium 43, and puts on the electronic spectacles 1. The user can view the image on the liquid crystal display 31 through the optical element embedded in the main lens 21 as if he / she were looking through the left and right main lenses 21 and 22. Therefore, the user of the electronic eyeglass system 1 can view the image in a freehand state without holding the display device as in the related art, and in particular, the reader 42 (and the controller 41) is portable. If it is, for example, even in a crowded train, it can be enjoyed without disturbing others. In addition, the state in which the electronic glasses 1 are worn is almost the same as the state in which normal glasses are worn, so that others do not feel uncomfortable.

Here, the storage medium may be fixed or built in the reading device, but the storage medium is of a type that can be detachably mounted on the reading device (for example, a memory chip type, a disk type or a cassette type). Is preferred. According to such a configuration, the user can change the storage medium according to his / her preference and enjoy various images such as reading newspapers and magazines, watching movies, and playing competitive games. Can be expanded.

Although the embodiments of the electronic glasses according to the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a reading device (a device that reads image data from a storage medium and outputs an image to a display. In the above example, the reader 42)
And three types of storage media detachable to the controller 41), a memory chip type, a disk type, and a cassette type are shown, but other storage media can be used, and in the case of these three types of storage media, The same effect as described above can be obtained. Further, the spectacle frame in the present invention is not limited to a frame surrounding the entire periphery of the main lens as shown in FIG. 2, but may be a frame in which only the vicinity of the optical system holding section 30 is fixed to the main lens (two-point spectacle type). You may.

[0027]

As described above, in the electronic spectacle system according to the present invention, the reading device projects an image on the display based on the image data stored in the storage medium, and the person wearing the electronic glasses can use the display. The upper image can be viewed as if viewed through the left and right lenses via the optical element embedded in the lens. For this reason, the user of the electronic eyeglass system can view the image in a freehand state without holding the display device in the conventional manner. Even if you are on a train, you can enjoy it without bothering others.
In addition, the state in which the electronic glasses are worn is almost the same as the state in which normal glasses are worn, so that others do not feel uncomfortable. Here, the storage medium may be fixed or built in the reading device, but it is preferable that the storage medium is of a type that is detachable from the reading device (for example, a memory chip type, a disk type, or a cassette type). With such a configuration, the user can change the storage medium according to his / her preference and enjoy various images such as reading newspapers and magazines, watching movies, and playing competitive games. Can be expanded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an electronic eyeglass system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of electronic glasses used in the electronic glasses system.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a bridge unit of the electronic glasses.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the optical system in the electronic glasses.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the optical system in the electronic glasses.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic glasses 10 Eyeglass frame 11, 12 Lens holding frame 13 Bridge part 15, 16 Hanging part 17, 18 Connection part 19, 20 Nose pad 21, 22 Main lens (lens) 30 Optical system holding part 31 Liquid crystal display (display) 32 Backlight 33 Objective lens 34 Mirror 35 Combiner (optical element) 40 Cable 41 Controller (reading device) 42 Reader (reading device) 43 Storage medium 44 Headphone

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image projected on a display attached to an eyeglass frame is imaged on a retina of an eye of a person wearing the eyeglass frame via an optical element embedded in a lens held by the eyeglass frame. An electronic glasses system comprising: the electronic glasses configured as described above; a storage medium that stores image data; and a reading device that reads the image data from the storage medium and outputs the image to the display. 2. The electronic eyeglass system according to claim 1, wherein said reading device is portable. 3. The electronic eyeglass system according to claim 1, wherein the storage medium is of a type that is detachable from the reading device. 4. The electronic glasses system according to claim 3, wherein said storage medium is one of a memory chip type, a disk type, and a cassette type.