JP2023102601A - Optical apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an optical apparatus capable of achieving both the simplicity of assembly work and down-sizing.SOLUTION: An optical apparatus includes a holding member and a first optical member having a curved surface 3a entering light and a curved surface 3b emitting light incident from the curved surface 3a. The holding member includes an arm part having a first engagement part; the first optical member has a recessed part having a second engagement part for engaging the first engagement part; a first elastic member and at least one or more optical members are arranged between the holding member and the first optical member; the recessed part overlaps with the optical effective range of one of the curved surfaces 3a and 3b when viewed from a first direction being a direction of emitting the light from the curved surface 3b and is provided at a position without overlapping with the other optical effective range; and the first elastic member and the at least one or more optical members are sandwiched by the holding member and the first optical member by engaging the first engagement part with the second engagement part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to an optical instrument, and more particularly to an optical instrument in which an optical member is placed in front of the observer's eyes while covering the observer's head or face.

Conventionally, head-mounted displays, smart glasses, etc. have been known as optical devices in which an optical member is placed in front of the observer's head or face, and are used for viewing television and video images and providing information to visual field images.

In recent years, there has been a demand for such optical equipment to be smaller and lighter, while there is also a demand for higher performance and more functions. As a result, the number of mounted optical members such as lenses and prisms increases, and the configuration including spacing and materials becomes complicated, which causes problems such as complicating the work of fixing the optical members and increasing the number of holding members.

As a means for solving this problem, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100000, transparent plates are fixed together without using an adhesive by protruding claws from one transparent plate and engaging the end of another transparent plate. Further, in Patent Document 2, a spacer is vapor-deposited in the gap between two prisms that require an air gap, and the periphery is adhesively fixed.

Japanese Patent No. 4470301 JP 2003-149414 A

However, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the claws will bend outward when attached, the transparent plate will deform, and the optical performance will change. In addition, in the technique of Patent Document 2, the assembly work may be complicated, such as the need to change the direction each time in order to bond the outer periphery depending on the bonding location.

On the other hand, it is possible to cover the periphery of the gap with another member or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical apparatus that can achieve both ease of assembly and miniaturization.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an optical apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention has a holding member, a first optical member having a first surface on which a light beam is incident and a second surface from which the light beam incident from the first surface is emitted, the holding member is formed with an arm portion having a first engaging portion, the first optical member is formed with a concave portion having a second engaging portion for locking the first engaging portion, and the holding member and the first optical member are formed. a first elastic member and at least one or more optical members are disposed between and, the recess is provided at a position overlapping the optical effective range of one of the first and second surfaces but not the optical effective range of the other when viewed from the first direction, which is the direction in which the light beam is emitted from the second surface, and the first elastic member and the at least one or more optical members are held between the holding member and the first optical member by locking the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion. characterized by

According to the present invention, both simplification of assembly work and miniaturization can be achieved.

1 is an external perspective view in an assembled state of smart glasses as an optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the smart glasses of FIG. 1 in an exploded state; FIG. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an assembled image display unit according to the present embodiment included in the smart glasses of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the image display unit in FIG. 3 in an exploded state; FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the image display unit of FIG. 3; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the image display unit of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the m-prism and the diopter adjustment lens holder in FIG. 4; 5 is an exploded perspective view of the s-prism and the m-prism in FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion B in FIG. 3; FIG.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The smart glasses 100 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 .

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an assembled smart glass 100 as an optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the smart glasses 100 in an exploded state.

1 and 2, the smart glass 100 includes a front cover 11, a rear cover 12, a body portion 13 accommodated in these members, a pair of left and right image display units 14L and 14R, and ear hooking strings 11a and 11b. Note that the smart glasses 100 are provided with a pair of left and right image display units 14L and 14R, but the configuration may be such that only one image display unit is provided.

The ear hooking string portions 11a and 11b are located on both left and right sides of the front cover 11 and are formed to allow the smart glass 100 to be worn on the head or face of the observer who is the user.

The rear cover 12 is formed with a nose pad portion 12a for supporting the smart glasses 100 by the observer's nose.

An image supply device 17 is attached to the upper portion of the body portion 13 .

Next, the configuration of the image display units 14L and 14R will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. Since the image display unit 14R has the same configuration as the image display unit 14L, only the configuration of the image display unit 14L will be described below.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the assembled image display unit 14L, and FIG. 4 is an exploded external perspective view of the image display unit 14L. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the image display unit 14L of FIG. 3 taken along a plane perpendicular to the optical axis.

The image display unit 14L includes a concave lens 1, an s prism 2, an m prism 3, an o prism 4, a diopter adjustment lens 6, a diopter adjustment lens holder 9 (holding member), an image display element 10, a holding member 15, and a protective member 16.

The image display element 10 uses OLED in the embodiment of the present invention. In the image display element 10, a drive circuit (not shown) drives the image display element 10 according to image information supplied from an image supply device 17 attached to the main body 13 so as to display an image corresponding to the image information.

The holding member 15 is a holding member that holds the image display element 10 and the convex lens 5 and is attached to the body portion 13 .

The concave lens 1 is a glass concave lens, and the s-prism 2, m-prism 3, and o-prism 4 are molded prisms with free curved surfaces. The m-prism 3 and the o-prism 4 are adhesively fixed in a state in which their curved surfaces are put together.

The diopter adjustment lens 6 is a lens for adjusting according to the diopter of the observer, and can be removed when the display position of the image can be seen without any problem even with the naked eye.

The protective member 16 is a protective member that protects the concave lens 1 , the s prism 2 , the m prism 3 and the o prism 4 , and is attached to the main body 13 together with the m prism 3 .

In the image display unit 14L configured as described above, the light rays of the image emitted from the image display element 10 (in FIG. 5, the light rays emitted from the image display element 10 are indicated by a dashed line) first pass through the convex lens 5. Next, the light ray enters the curved surface 3c (third surface) of the m-prism 3 (first optical member), is reflected by the curved surface 3b, enters the curved surface 3a (first surface), is further reflected, and enters the curved surface 3b again. The light beam of the image emitted from the curved surface 3b (second surface) passes through the s-prism 2, the concave lens 1, and the dioptric adjustment lens 6, and is guided to the viewer's eye.

As shown in FIG. 5, there is a gap 3d between the curved surface 3b of the m prism 3 and the curved surface 2a of the s prism 2, and the light passing through the curved surface 3c of the m prism 3 is totally reflected by the curved surface 3b. As described above, the curved surface 3a functions as a reflective surface, the curved surface 3b functions as a reflective surface and an exit surface, and the curved surface 3c functions as an incident surface for light rays of an image emitted from the image display device 10. FIG.

Also, the smart glasses 100 are optical see-through type smart glasses, and the observer can view the scenery of the outside world through the o-prism 4 . Then, the image of the image display device 10 is projected onto the screen, and an image superimposed on the scenery of the outside world can be observed. Note that the smart glasses 100 need only be configured to guide the image of the image display element 10 to the eyes of the observer, and may not be configured to allow the observer to view the scenery of the outside world. For example, an image display element may be arranged in front of the o-prism 4 so that the image light emitted from the image display element passes through the o-prism 4 .

A light ray incident on the image display unit 14L from the outside world passes through the o prism 4, the m prism 3, the s prism 2, the concave lens 1, and the dioptric adjustment lens 6 to be guided to the observer's eyes.

At this time, the light incident from the o-prism 4 is not totally reflected by the curved surface 3b of the m-prism 3 and passes through as it is. As described above, the curved surface 3a functions as an incident surface and the curved surface 3b functions as an exit surface for light rays incident from the outside.

The dioptric adjustment lens holder 9 is a holder that detachably holds the dioptric adjustment lens 6 (second optical member), and also serves as an appearance protective cover for the concave lens 1 . The eye-side surface of the dioptric adjustment lens holder 9 has a transparent window portion 9d (FIG. 3) so that the concave lens 1 can be protected even when used with the naked eye.

Also, the diopter adjusting lens holder 9 holds the concave lens 1, the s prism 2, and the m prism 3 integrally.

As shown in FIG. 4, the elastic member 8 is located between the concave lens 1 and the dioptric adjustment lens holder 9, and is an elastic member for pressing the concave lens 1 and the s prism 2 against the m prism 3. It is shaped like a frame so as not to block light rays.

The structure for holding the dioptric adjustment lens holder 9, the concave lens 1, the s-prism 2, and the m-prism 3 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the image display unit 14L of FIG. 3 taken along a plane parallel to the optical axis. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the m prism 3 and the diopter adjustment lens holder 9, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the s prism 2 and the m prism 3. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 5, viewed from the same direction as in FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion B in FIG. 3, viewed from the same direction as in FIG. Note that the optical axis of the image display unit 14L in the present invention is a direction that substantially coincides with the line of sight of the observer.

The diopter adjustment lens holder 9 further includes an arm portion 9b formed with a hole portion 9a (first engagement portion) that engages with the claw portion 3e of the m-prism 3 . The claw portion 3e (second engagement portion) of the m-prism 3 is formed in the recess 3f, and the arm portion 9b of the diopter adjustment lens holder 9 is housed in the recess 3f without protruding from the outermost portion of the m-prism 3. In this embodiment, the arm portion 9b has the hole portion 9a and the concave portion 3f of the m-prism 3 has the claw portion 3e. For example, the arm portion 9b may have a claw portion, and the concave portion 3f of the m-prism 3 may have a hole portion.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the concave portion 3f of the m-prism 3 is formed at a position that does not block light rays incident on the curved surfaces 3a and 3b, and overlaps the effective optical range 3p of the curved surface 3a of the m-prism 3 when viewed from the optical axis direction (first direction), but does not overlap the effective optical range of the curved surface 3b. The effective optical range is a range that satisfies the optical specifications (angle of view, aberration, amount of light, etc.) intended in design. Also, the effective optical range of the curved surface 3b is a region on the curved surface 3b surrounded by the dashed-dotted line that defines the effective optical range 3p. Since the curved surface 3a of the m-prism 3 has a larger effective optical range than the curved surface 3b, this configuration allows the m-prism 3 to be provided with the concave portion 3f without enlarging the outer shape.

This makes it possible to form the m-prism 3 with a minimum size without making it too large relative to the molding size required to satisfy the optical performance.

Further, the gap between the diopter adjusting lens holder 9 and the m prism 3 is regulated to a constant distance by the hole 9a of the diopter adjusting lens holder 9 and the pawl 3e of the m prism 3 so that the diopter adjusting lens holder 9 and the m prism 3 are not separated from each other. In this embodiment, an elastic member 8 (first elastic member in FIG. 5) is elastically deformed and placed in the gap between the diopter adjusting lens holder 9 and the concave lens 1 . That is, the elastic member 8, the concave lens 1 and the s-prism 2 are sandwiched between the dioptric adjustment lens holder 9 and the m-prism 3 by locking the hole 9a and the claw 3e. Thereby, the concave lens 1 (at least one or more optical members) and the s prism 2 (at least one or more optical members) can be fixed to the m prism 3 without bonding.

In particular, since the material of the concave lens 1 (third optical member) is glass, and the material of the s-prism 2 (fourth optical member) is mold, they have different coefficients of linear expansion. Therefore, if the concave lens 1 and the s-prism 2 are fixed by bonding, the peripheral portion of the bonding point between the concave lens 1 and the s-prism 2 may be distorted due to changes in the environment, degrading the optical performance of the image display unit 14L. In the configuration of this embodiment, even if the concave lens 1 and the s prism 2 expand and contract due to environmental changes, the elastic member 8 absorbs the change, so that the above distortion does not occur.

In the configuration without adhesion, it is easy to fix the s-prism 2 and the m-prism 3 facing each other across the gap.

In this embodiment, the B portion shown in FIG. 3, which is a part of the m prism 3, is protruded and brought into contact with the s prism 2 to form a gap, and they are held by pressing them against each other. This makes it possible to fix and hold the s-prism 2 and the m-prism 3 with a simple structure without preparing a member for forming a gap.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, the protrusions 3g, 3h, and 3i of the m prism 3 and the recesses 2c, 2d, and 2e of the s prism 2 are formed into a seal structure to prevent foreign matter from entering the gap 3d.

7 to 10, the projections 3g, 3h, 3i and the recesses 2c, 2d, 2e are provided with biaxial positioning portions 3j to 3o, 2f to 2k in the direction of the optical axis and the direction perpendicular thereto (second direction), respectively, to make it more difficult for foreign matter to enter.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, such an inro structure is arranged at a position that does not block light rays incident on the curved surfaces 3a and 3b, and when viewed from the optical axis direction, it overlaps the effective optical range 3p of the curved surface 3a of the m-prism 3, but does not overlap the effective optical range of the curved surface 3b. The convex portions 3g, 3h, and 3i are formed so as to enter the s-prism 2 on the side where the rays are narrowed. That is, the convex portions 3g, 3h, and 3i are formed on the curved surface 3a or curved surface 3b, whichever has the larger effective optical range. This makes it possible to increase the size of the inro without increasing the outer shape of the s prism 2 .

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the s-prism 2 and the m-prism 3 have partially different outer shapes, and one side 2l of the outer end of the s-prism 2 faces the effective optical range surface of the curved surface 3b of the m-prism 3. The effective optical range surface is a surface range that satisfies the optical specifications (angle of view, aberration, amount of light, etc.) intended in design. The effective optical range surface of the curved surface 3b is a surface area surrounded on the curved surface 3b by the dashed-dotted line defining the effective optical range 3p in FIG. It is to be noted that the invention is not limited to this embodiment as long as one side of the outer edge of one of the s-prism 2 and the m-prism 3 is opposed to the surface of the other effective optical range.

Since the concave and convex portions cannot be formed on the surface of the effective optical range, only one side 2l of the s prism 2 cannot be formed with the above-described seal structure. Therefore, by sandwiching the elastic member 7 (second elastic member) between the s-prism 2 and the m-prism 3, the gap 3d is sealed by closely contacting the side surface 2m of the s-prism 2 and the curved surface 3b of the m-prism 3. As described above, the diopter adjusting lens holder 9 and the m prism 3 are regulated at a constant distance by the hole portion 9a of the diopter adjusting lens holder 9 and the claw portion 3e of the m prism 3. FIG. Therefore, the elastic member 7 can be elastically deformed and placed in the gap between the diopter adjustment lens holder 9 and the m-prism 3 .

The projections 9c of the diopter adjustment lens holder 9 and the projections 7a of the elastic member 7 form a staggered ingot structure.

As a method of sealing one side 2l of the s prism 2, there is also a method of arranging and adhering a member that covers the gap 3d. However, since there is a possibility that the adhesive adhering to the surface of the m-prism 3 within the effective optical range may change the optical path, it is necessary to pay attention to the adhesive material and application method.

In the configuration of this embodiment, since the elastic member is arranged which does not affect the optical performance, there is no need to consider the above concerns.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the concave lens 1, the s prism 2, and the m prism 3 can be integrally held by the hole portion 9a of the dioptric adjustment lens holder 9, the claw portion 3e of the m prism 3, and the elastic member 8.

Also, the protrusions 3g, 3h, 3i of the m-prism 3 and the recesses 2c, 2d, 2e of the s-prism 2 are formed into a seal structure and pressed against each other to prevent foreign matter from entering the gap between the s-prism 2 and the m-prism 3.

This simplifies the work of fixing the concave lens 1, the s prism 2, and the m prism 3. FIG. Also, the image display unit 14L can be realized with a minimum configuration without being unnecessarily large.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist.

For example, a configuration in which two optical members (concave lens 1 and s prism 2) are arranged between the m prism 3 and the diopter adjustment lens holder 9 has been described, but the number of optical members arranged is not limited, and the concave lens 1 and the s prism 2 may be integrated into one optical member.

In addition, although an example in which the present invention is applied to smart glasses that allow observation of the image of the image display element superimposed on the scenery of the outside world has been described, the present invention can also be applied to an optical device in which an image sensor is arranged instead of the image display element so that the line of sight of the observer can be detected. The image sensor is CMOS, CCD, event sensor, or the like. In such a configuration, the curved surface 3a functions as a reflecting surface, the curved surface 3b functions as an incident surface and a reflecting surface, and the curved surface 3c functions as an exit surface for light rays reflected by the observer's eyes, and the light rays are emitted from the curved surface 3c toward the image sensor.

1 concave lens 2 s prism 3 m prism 2c, 2d, 2e concave portion 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, 2j, 2k positioning portion 2l one side of outer edge 2m side surface 3a, 3b curved surface 3d gap 3e claw portion 3f concave portion 3g, 3h, 3i convex portion 3j, 3k, 3l, 3m, 3n, 3o positioning portion 3p Effective optical range 6 Diopter adjustment lens 7, 8 Elastic member 7a Convex portion 9 Diopter adjustment lens holder 9a Hole 9b Arm 9c Convex

Claims (27)

a holding member;
a first optical member having a first surface on which a light ray is incident and a second surface from which the light ray incident from the first surface is emitted;
has
The holding member is formed with an arm portion having a first engaging portion,
the first optical member is formed with a recess having a second engaging portion that locks the first engaging portion;
a first elastic member and at least one or more optical members are arranged between the holding member and the first optical member;
The recess is provided at a position that overlaps the effective optical range of one of the first and second surfaces but does not overlap the effective optical range of the other when viewed from the first direction, which is the direction in which the light ray is emitted from the second surface,
An optical device, wherein the first elastic member and the at least one or more optical members are held between the holding member and the first optical member by locking the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion. 2. The optical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the first engaging portion is a hole, and the second engaging portion is a claw portion that engages with the hole. 3. The optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding member holds the second optical member. 4. An optical apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said holding member detachably holds said second optical member. 5. The optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one optical member is a third optical member, and the first and third optical members are made of different materials. 6. An optical instrument according to claim 5, wherein said first and third optical members face each other across a gap. 7. The optical apparatus according to claim 6, wherein convex portions and concave portions are formed on at least a portion of the facing surfaces of said first and third optical members, respectively, to form an inro structure. 8. The optical device according to claim 7, wherein positioning portions for the first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction are provided in the convex portion and the concave portion, respectively. 9. An optical apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said convex portion is formed on one of said first and third optical members having a larger effective optical range in a cross section forming said seal structure. 10. The optical apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a part of the inro structure is provided at a position that overlaps the optical effective range of one of the first and third optical members but does not overlap the optical effective range of the other when viewed from the first direction. The optical apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein one side of one of the outer ends of the first and third optical members faces the other effective optical range surface, and further comprising a second elastic member in contact with the side surface of the one optical member that contacts the outer end and the other effective optical range surface. 12. An optical device according to claim 11, wherein said second elastic member is sandwiched between said holding member and said first optical member. 13. An optical instrument according to claim 11 or 12, wherein said holding member and said second elastic member are each provided with projections forming staggered indented spigot structures. 6. The optical apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the at least one or more optical members are the third optical member and a fourth optical member facing the third optical member, and the third and fourth optical members are made of different materials. 15. An optical instrument according to claim 14, wherein said first and fourth optical members face each other across a gap. 15. The optical apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a convex portion and a concave portion are formed on at least a part of the facing surfaces of the first and fourth optical members, respectively, to form an inro structure. 17. The optical apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the convex portion and the concave portion are provided with positioning portions in the first direction and in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, respectively. 18. The optical apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the convex portion is formed on the optical member having a larger effective optical range among the first and fourth optical members in a cross section forming the seal structure. 19. The optical instrument according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein a part of the inro structure is provided at a position that overlaps the optical effective range of one of the first and fourth optical members but does not overlap the optical effective range of the other when viewed from the first direction. The optical apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein one side of one of the outer ends of the first and fourth optical members faces the other effective optical range surface, and further comprising a second elastic member in contact with the side surface of the one optical member that contacts the outer end and the other effective optical range surface. 21. An optical device according to claim 20, wherein said second elastic member is sandwiched between said holding member and said first optical member. 22. An optical instrument according to claim 20 or 21, wherein said holding member and said second elastic member are each provided with projections forming staggered indented spigot structures. 23. An optical apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 22, wherein said first and fourth optical members are prisms. 24. The optical instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 23, which is mounted on one of the user's head and face. having an image display element,
The optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the first optical member has a third surface on which light rays from the image display element are incident, and the light rays from the image display element that are incident from the third surface are emitted from the second surface together with the light rays that are incident from the first surface. 26. The optical device according to claim 25, which is optical see-through type smart glasses. having an image sensor,
25. The optical apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the first optical member has a third surface that emits light rays incident from the second surface toward the image sensor.