JP3346050B2 - Diopter adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to binoculars, camera finder, HMD (head mounted display).
The present invention relates to diopter adjustment of a device for observing an image via an optical system such as a lens or a mirror.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Normally, the human eye adjusts the focus in accordance with the distance to an object so that the observer can clearly see an observation object located at an arbitrary distance from a close distance to infinity. Is made. However, in the case of myopia or hyperopia, the focus adjustment function is reduced, and the distance range of the object that can be clearly observed is limited.

In an optical apparatus for observing a virtual image through a lens or an optical mirror, it is necessary to provide a mechanism for adjusting the diopter in order to provide a clear image to the eye irrespective of the observer's normal, near, or far vision. There is. The most common diopter adjustment mechanism is to move the eyepiece back and forth along its optical axis, for example, as is known with binoculars, while observing the image of the target object itself. Adjust the position of the eyepiece so that the image can be seen clearly. Since the distance from the eye to the virtual image changes depending on the set position of the eyepiece, a virtual image position at which clear image observation can be performed can be set.

[0004] However, there is a certain range of the focusing distance even for nearsightedness or farsightedness, and if the distance to the object is within the range, clear observation is possible.
Therefore, even when the observer himself adjusts the diopter to enable clear image observation, the distance from the eye to the virtual image is not always set to a constant value, but varies with time. Generally, the human eye becomes nervous as the distance from the eye to the object is shorter. If the virtual image is set at a position close to the eyes in diopter adjustment, a clear image can be observed, but the eyes become nervous and tired.

Further, when adjusting the diopter by moving the eyepiece lens forward or backward from the set position at that time, there is no information on which direction the eyepiece lens should be moved. You need to know. Furthermore, since the diopter adjustment by the above-described conventional method is performed while observing the actual target image, the diopter adjustment is remarkable when the observation target image itself does not have a sharp part such as a sharp contour or a straight line. It becomes difficult. In this case, the adjustment operation requires a long time, and complete diopter adjustment may not be performed.

[0006]

As described above, the diopter adjustment by the conventional method causes eyestrain of the observer due to a certain range of the virtual image distance that can be clearly observed. The diopter may be set. In addition, certain diopter adjustment may not be performed depending on the observation target, and the purpose of diopter adjustment may not be sufficiently achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a diopter adjusting apparatus for setting a position of a virtual image to be observed at a distant place in order to reliably and easily adjust diopter and to reduce the tension of an observer's eyes. The purpose is to:

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a diopter adjusting device for an optical device for observing a virtual image through an optical system. A reference image for diopter adjustment is displayed, and diopter adjustment is performed so that both the reference image and the virtual image can be clearly seen, so that the virtual image can be focused by the observer's eyes.
It is configured to be located far inside .

[0009] The reference image is made invisible except at the time of diopter adjustment.

[0010]

Display reference image for diopter adjustment on an optical path leading to the optical system from the virtual image with [action] virtual image, both images of the reference image and the virtual image
Observe a virtual image by adjusting the diopter so that it looks sharp
In a configuration in which the eye of the subject is located far away within a range in which the subject can focus , the reference image is displayed closer to the eye than the virtual image to be observed , so that the virtual image can be clearly observed.
Just make it possible to see the reference image clearly
In, a state of the virtual image to be observed is located in the distance.

In a configuration in which the reference image is made invisible except at the time of diopter adjustment, the reference image is displayed at the time of diopter adjustment, and the virtual image to be observed can be located at a long distance. Does not interfere with virtual image observation.

[0012]

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an optical apparatus for binocular vision using a diopter adjusting apparatus according to the present invention. This device is provided with a pair of left and right video display devices 1L and 1R composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and the images displayed on the video display devices 1L and 1R are right and left through left and right eyepieces 2L and 2R, respectively. Eye 4L,
Observe with 4R. The left and right eyepieces 2L, 2R are installed with their optical axes 5L, 5R parallel to each other.
L and 1R have display surfaces on the same plane and have an optical axis 5L,
The optical axes 5L and 5R are set so as to be perpendicular to the 5R and pass through the centers of the respective display surfaces.

The left eyepiece 2L is movably installed in the direction along the optical axis 5L. The distance between the image display device 1L and the eyepiece 2L is adjusted by moving the eyepiece 2L along the optical axis 5L. The diopter of the left eye 4L is adjusted. Similarly, the right eyepiece 2R is set to be movable along the optical axis 5R, and the diopter of the right eye 4R is adjusted by adjusting the position of the right eyepiece 2R. The movement of the left and right eyepieces 2L, 2R is independent of each other, and the diopter adjustment can be performed independently of the left and right.

Reference image display devices 3L and 3R made of a transmissive LCD are arranged between the left image display device 1L and the left eyepiece 2L and between the right image display device 1R and the right eyepiece 2R. The left and right reference image display devices 3L and 3R are installed at the same distance from the display surfaces of the video display devices 1L and 1R. These reference image display devices 3L and 3R display a reference image for reference during a diopter adjustment operation.

FIG. 2 shows a circuit configuration for controlling image display. The image display devices 1L and 1R are driven by drive circuits 11L and 11R, and the reference image control devices 3L and 3R are driven by a drive circuit 13L.
Driven by L and 13R. These drive circuits 11L,
11R, 13L, 13R are controlled by the display control device 10. The display control device 10 includes a video signal output circuit 14L,
14R and reference image output circuits 15L and 15R. The video signal output circuits 14L and 14R output left and right video signals input from the outside to the drive circuits 11L and 11R, respectively, and display the video on the left and right video display devices 1L and 1R.

The reference image output circuits 15L and 15R are respectively
As shown in FIG. 3, a character memory 21 and a contrast adjustment circuit 22 are provided. The character memory 21 stores predetermined symbol information to be displayed as a reference image. The contrast adjusting circuit 22 is composed of a differentiating circuit, and converts the symbol information in the character memory 21 into a high-contrast and sharp image signal. The outputs of the reference image output circuits 15L and 15R are input to the driving devices 13L and 13R, and the reference images are displayed on the reference image display devices 3L and 3R.

The optical apparatus of this embodiment is used in two modes, an observation mode for performing normal image observation and a diopter adjustment mode for adjusting diopter. For this purpose, the video control device 10 has a mode changeover switch 16 and a video output setting switch 17. The mode switch 16 is connected to the video signal output circuit 1
4L, 14R and the reference image signal output circuits 15L, 15R, the setting status of the mode changeover switch 16 is determined by the video signal output circuits 14L, 14R and the reference image signal output circuit 15L,
The signal output is transmitted to 15R to control the output. The video output setting switch 17 is connected to the video signal output circuits 14L and 14R, and controls the output / non-output of the video signal in the diopter adjustment mode. The mode change switch 16 and the video output setting switch 17 are manually operated and set by the observer.

When the mode switch 16 is set to the observation mode, the video signal output circuits 14L and 14R output video signals, and the video is displayed on the video display devices 1L and 1R. This does not depend on the setting status of the video output setting switch 17. In the observation mode, the left and right reference image signal output circuits 1
Neither 5L nor 15R outputs a signal, and nothing is displayed on the reference image display devices 3L and 3R. Reference image display device 3L,
Since 3R is a transmissive LCD, it does not hinder image observation in the observation mode.

When the mode changeover switch 16 is set to the diopter adjustment mode, the reference image signal output circuits 15L and 15R output their own reference image signals, and the reference images are output to the left and right reference image display devices 3L and 3R. You. At this time, whether or not a video signal is output from the video signal output circuits 14L and 14R depends on the installation state of the video output setting switch 17. If the video output setting switch 17 is set to ON, a video signal is output from the video signal output circuits 14L and 14R to display a video, and if it is set to OFF, no video signal is output and no video is displayed. . Normally, the video output setting switch 17 is set to ON and both the video and the reference image are displayed to adjust the diopter.

The diopter adjustment is performed separately for the left and right eyes, but the method is the same for the left and right eyes, and only one eye will be described below. When the eyepiece 2 is set so that its front focal point is located on the display surface of the video display device 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the video light passes through the eyepiece 2 and becomes parallel light, and becomes 0 diopters. . At this time, the eye 4 observes a virtual image located at infinity. When the eyepiece 2 is set so that the display surface of the image display device 1 is located between the front focus of the eyepiece 2 and the eyepiece 2, the image light becomes divergent light after passing through the eyepiece 2 as shown in FIG. The image light 4 is incident on the virtual image plane 6 as if it were emitted. The eye 4 observes the virtual image located on the virtual image plane 6, and at this time, the diopter is at a finite distance.

When the mode switch 16 is operated to set the diopter adjustment mode, a reference image is displayed on the reference image display device 3. The reference image display device 3 includes the video display device 1 and the eyepiece 2
When the eyepiece 2 is set so that its front focal point coincides with the display surface of the video display device 1,
As shown in FIG. 6, the reference image is observed so as to be located on the virtual image plane 7 having a diopter of a finite distance. If the image output setting switch 17 is set to ON, the observer observes both the image on the virtual image plane 6 in FIG. 5 and the reference image on the virtual image plane 7 in FIG. At this time, it is observed that the video always exists farther than the reference image.

When the diopter adjustment is performed by displaying both the image and the reference image, the distance from the eye to the image and the distance from the eye to the reference image are different, so that information on the direction in which the eyepiece 2 should be moved can be obtained. Can be For example, when the video is observed more clearly than the reference image, the diopter is shifted to the far side,
The diopter can be adjusted by bringing the eyepiece 2 closer to the eye 4. Conversely, when the reference image is observed more clearly than the video, the diopter shifts to the near side, and the diopter can be adjusted by moving the eyepiece 2 away from the eye 4.

Further, the degree of diopter shift can be known from the difference in sharpness between the video and the reference image. For this reason, it becomes possible to quickly move the eyepiece 2 according to the degree of diopter shift in the coarse adjustment.

In addition, since the virtual image plane 6 of the image exists farther from the eye 4 than the virtual image plane 7 of the reference image, in a state where the diopter is adjusted so that both the image and the reference image can be clearly observed, The virtual image plane 6 of the image is not located near the nearest point within a range where the image can be clearly seen. As described above, if the diopter adjustment is performed on both the video and the reference image while observing both, the video is guided to a distant place. Thus, it is possible to avoid eye tension caused by gazing at a short-distance image.

The reference image display device 3 displays a sharp image with high contrast. Left and right reference image display devices 3 in FIG.
FIG. 7 shows reference images displayed on L and 3R. As is clear from FIG. 7, the shape of the reference image is different between the left and right. When these reference images are displayed on the reference image display devices 3L and 3R with appropriate diopter adjustment, when the left reference image is observed simultaneously with the left eye 4L and the right reference image is observed with the right eye 4R, the left and right images are displayed. Are synthesized by the brain and recognized by the observer as if they are observing one image as shown in FIG.

Since these reference images have high contrast and sharpness, diopter adjustment with respect to the reference image can be performed very easily. FIGS. 9 and 10 show a state in which diopter adjustment is performed on only one of the reference images and a diopter shift occurs in the other reference image. In these figures, the dotted lines indicate that the reference image is not clearly observed due to diopter shift. In FIG. 9, the left reference image is appropriately adjusted for diopter, and the right reference image has diopter deviation.
In FIG. 10, the left reference image has a diopter shift, and the diopter adjustment of the right reference image is appropriately performed.

Since the left and right reference images have different shapes, even when diopter adjustment is performed while opening both eyes and simultaneously observing the left and right reference images, as shown in FIGS. If there is, the observer can recognize it. Therefore, it is possible to adjust left and right diopters while always observing with both eyes without closing one eye.

Further, when the distance from the eye 4 to the virtual image plane 7 shown in FIG. 6 is different between the left and right, since the left and right reference images have different shapes, when viewed with both eyes, the left and right reference images are on the same plane. You can recognize that there is no. In this case, if the position of one or both of the eyepieces 2L and 2R is adjusted within a range where the diopter shift does not occur, the left and right reference images to be observed can be set to be on the same plane.

As described above, since the distance between the reference image display device 3L and the video display device 1L and the distance between the reference image display device 3R and the video display device 1R are set to be equal, from the eye to the virtual image plane 7 of the reference image. If the distance of the left and right is set equal, the virtual image plane 6 of the image displayed on the image display device 1L, 1R from the eye
The distance to (FIG. 5) is also set equally to the left and right. Therefore, when ending diopter adjustment and observing the image in the observation mode, the distance from the eye to the left and right images to be observed becomes equal,
Eye tension due to distance mismatch does not occur.

The reference images displayed on the reference image display devices 3L and 3R may be made to overlap the entire region of the image on the image display devices 1L and 1R, or only a partial region of the image, for example, the lower right portion of the left image. And the lower left of the right image.

The above-described method uses the video output setting switch 17
Is turned on and the diopter adjustment is performed by displaying both the reference image and the video in the diopter adjustment mode. However, the video output setting switch 17 is turned off and the diopter adjustment is performed without displaying the video. You can also. Since the reference image is sharp and has a high contrast, it becomes easier than adjusting the diopter for a video as in the related art.

However, in this case, as compared with the method of displaying both the reference image and the video, the target of diopter adjustment is only the reference image, and information on the direction in which the eyepieces 2L and 2R should be moved cannot be obtained. In addition, since the reference image display devices 3L and 3R are installed closer to the eyepieces 2L and 2R than the image display devices 1L and 1R, the reference images are displayed so that appropriate diopter setting is performed on the images. Care must be taken to adjust the diopter of the reference image so that it is observed as close as possible.

When a reference image is also displayed on the video display devices 1L and 1R, or when another pair of reference image display devices is arranged close to the video display devices 1L and 1R in addition to the reference image display devices 3L and 3R. The above considerations become unnecessary. At this time,
The reference images are displayed so that the preceding and following reference images do not overlap. When the second pair of reference image display devices is used, since the reference image is displayed at a position substantially coincident with the image, it is necessary to perform the diopter adjustment reliably without displaying the image as in the case of displaying the image. Can be.

In the diopter adjustment mode, the eyepieces 2L, 2R
, The position of the virtual image plane 6 or the virtual image plane 7 may be calculated, and the distance from the eye to the virtual image plane may be added to the reference image and displayed as shown in FIG. The observer can know the direction in which the eyepieces 2L, 2R should be moved with reference to the displayed distance, and can further easily match the distance between the left and right images from the eye.

In this embodiment, a transmissive LCD is used as the reference image display device 3L, 3R. However, any other device that can present a sharp and high-contrast image and does not disturb the image observation in the observation mode is used. Can be used. For example, a transmissive film is used for the image display device 1L,
The reference image is projected and displayed in the diopter adjustment mode by separately providing a light source which is disposed between the eyepieces 1R and the eyepieces 2L and 2R and projects a reference image onto the film. Alternatively, an LED (light emitting diode) is disposed so as to be retractable, and in the diopter adjustment mode, the LED appears on the optical path from the image display device 1L, 1R to the eyepieces 2L, 2R to emit light, and in the observation mode, LE is emitted.
D may be retracted from the optical path.

In the diopter adjusting apparatus according to the present invention, the eyepieces 2L and 2R are fixedly installed and the image display devices 1L and 1R and the reference image display devices 3L and 3R are moved along the optical axes 5L and 5R. It is also applicable to diopter adjustment. In this case, the distance between the reference image display devices 3L and 3R is always kept constant in association with the movement of the video display devices 1L and 1R.

In this embodiment, LCDs are used as the video display devices 1L and 1R, but other display devices such as a CRT may be used. Further, the diopter adjusting device of the present invention is not limited to an optical device having a video display device, but can also be applied to an optical device such as binoculars for observing an observation target through an optical system such as a lens. In the case of application to binoculars, if the reference image display device is fixedly arranged on the left and right optical paths between the secondary image plane formed by the objective lens and the eyepiece, visual observation is performed in the same manner as when observing the image on the image display device. The degree adjustment can be performed reliably and easily.

Further, the diopter adjusting device of the present invention is not limited to a binocular optical device, but is also applicable to an optical device for observing an image with only one eye, such as a monocular, a still camera, or a finder of a video camera. it can.

[0039]

According to the present invention, since the reference image is displayed together with the observation target image when diopter adjustment is performed, the reference image in addition to the observation target image can be set as the diopter adjustment target. Because the reference image is displayed before the observation target image, the reference image
And if both the virtual image is made diopter As clearly visible, the virtual image to be observed will be located far away from the inevitably eye. Thus, the virtual image can be reliably and easily located far from the eyes. The greater the distance of the observation target image from the eye, the less the eye tension, so that the fatigue of the observer's eyes can be reduced.

Further, since the display distance between the reference image and the observation target image is different, it is possible to know whether the diopter is shifted to the near side or the far side by comparing the two, and to adjust the diopter. Operation becomes easy. Further, since a sharp image can be displayed as a reference image, diopter adjustment can be performed without being affected by the sharpness of the observation target image. For this reason, the diopter adjustment itself becomes reliable and easy.

If the reference image is made invisible except at the time of diopter adjustment, the above-described effects are exhibited in diopter adjustment, and after diopter adjustment, image observation can be performed without being disturbed by the reference image. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram in which a diopter adjusting device of the present invention is applied to an optical device for binocular vision.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an image display control circuit.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a reference image display circuit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an optical path of an image when a front focal point of an eyepiece coincides with an image display surface.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an optical path of an image when a front focus of an eyepiece is located farther than an image display surface.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an optical path of a reference image when a front focus of an eyepiece coincides with an image display surface.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing left and right reference images.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing left and right reference images synthesized by observation with both eyes.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing left and right reference images synthesized by observation with both eyes when the left reference image has no diopter shift and the right reference image has diopter shift.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a left and right reference image synthesized by observation with both eyes when a left reference image has a diopter shift and a right reference image has no diopter shift.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which a distance from an eye to a virtual image is added to left and right reference images and displayed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 image display device 1L left image display device 1R right image display device 2 eyepiece 2L left eyepiece 2R right eyepiece 3 reference image display device 3L left reference image display device 3R right reference image display device 4 eyes 4L left eye 4R right eye 5L Left eyepiece lens optical axis 5R Right eyepiece lens optical axis 6 Image virtual image plane 7 Reference image virtual image plane 11L Left image display device drive circuit 11R Right image display device drive circuit 13L Left reference image display device drive circuit 13R Right reference image display device drive Circuit 14L Left video signal output circuit 14R Right video signal output circuit 15 Reference image signal output circuit 15L Left reference image signal output circuit 15R Right reference image signal output circuit 16 Mode switch 17 Video output setting switch 21 Character memory 22 Contrast adjustment circuit

(56) References JP-A-5-191746 (JP, A) JP-A-5-344450 (JP, A) JP-A-7-5133 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int) .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03B 13/02-13/28 H04N 5/225

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A diopter adjustment device for an optical device for observing a virtual image via an optical system, wherein a reference image for diopter adjustment is displayed on an optical path from the virtual image to the optical system together with the virtual image. by both images of the the reference image virtual image for diopter adjusted so clearly visible, eye focus of the observer the virtual image
A diopter adjustment device, which is located at a distant position within a distance range that can be adjusted. 2. The diopter adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein the reference image is made invisible except at the time of diopter adjustment.