JP4626573B2 - Head-mounted display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a head-mounted display device (hereinafter also referred to as HMD) that allows a user to visually recognize various information by mounting a display and an optical system on the user's head. The head-mounted display device of the present invention is, for example, a display for a wearable computer intended to display a PC screen, a TV image, or information necessary for an operator during work and to visually check the information. Used.

A portable computing device keep wearing the operator, when working requiring complicated processing and advanced knowledge, and to be able to perform using a computer on the fly, a so-called web A A wearable computer system (wearable PC) is being put into practical use.
In the wearable computer system, a head-mounted display device (HMD) that allows a monitor image (display virtual image) formed by the display device to be visually recognized during work is used. That is, an image serving as information is projected by an image display of a head-mounted display device (HMD), and a virtual image is formed by an optical system arranged in front of the user's eyes. The user can obtain necessary information by visually recognizing the formed virtual image. In particular, recently, monocular head-mounted display devices that display a virtual image only on a single eye are often used (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP 10-39784 A JP 2001-228435 A

The environment that requires the use of a wearable computer is not necessarily a quiet and clean environment, but is often an environment that is susceptible to vibration and impact, or an environment where water, oil, and dust exist.
In an environment that is susceptible to vibrations and shocks, handling becomes rough, and damage due to collision and dropping increases. Also, in an environment where water, oil, and dust exist, maintenance has been difficult because water and dust enter and cause failure. In addition, when an impact is applied, the protruding portion of the case collides with the face and is injured.

  Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide a head-mounted display device that is less likely to be damaged or broken even when used in a poor environment and that can be safely worn by a user. And

The head-mounted display device of the present invention made to solve the above problems is an image display and an optical system that guides and displays display light emitted from the image display in front of one eye of the user. A head-mounted display device including a display unit built in the head and a holding unit that holds the display unit at a predetermined position in front of the user's eyes, and the case constituting the display unit is formed to be separable , An elastic cover that covers the dividing line is attached along the dividing line of the case .

In the above invention, the elastic cover may be formed so as to cover a protruding portion of the surface facing the face of the case.

Here, the predetermined position in front of the user's eyes is a position suitable for the user to observe the display light displayed by the display unit. This position is defined by the user to properly adjust me by the holding means the position of the display unit disposed in front of the eyes.

According to the present invention, since the image display and the optical system are built in the case of the display unit, the structure is such that water, oil, dust and the like are less likely to enter. In addition, since the case constituting the display unit is formed to be separable, water or the like is likely to enter from the parting line part of the case, but an elastic cover is attached along the parting line of the case. . As a result, the impact can be mitigated and the intrusion of water or the like can be prevented, making it difficult to cause a failure .

In addition, since the elastic cover is attached to the projecting portion facing the face of the case constituting the display unit, even if the case collides with the face, the shock can be mitigated to prevent injury.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and it is needless to say that various aspects are included without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a head-mounted display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part thereof, and FIG. 3 shows a usage state of the head-mounted display device of FIG. FIG.
The head-mounted display device 1 includes a base unit 2, a display unit 3, and a connecting portion 4 that connects the base unit 2 and the display unit 3.

  A clip 21 is pivotally supported on one end side of the base unit 2 by a shaft 22. In a state where the clip 21 is fixed to the external helmet H (see FIG. 3), the base unit 2 side is flipped up around the shaft 22 so that it can be temporarily retracted from the user's line of sight.

On the other end side of the base unit 2, the aspherical side of the ball joint 41 that functions as the connecting portion 4 is fixed by a pin 42. The ball joint 41 is made of a metal such as aluminum. The other end of the ball joint 41 is slidably supported with respect to the display unit 3 side as will be described later.
As described above, the base unit 2 including the clip 21 and the connecting portion 4 form a holding unit for the display unit 3.
The ball joint 41 is covered with a bellows-shaped rubber cover 44 to prevent water, oil, dust and the like from entering the sliding portion from the outside.

  The display unit 3 is externally formed by an upper case 3a, a lower case 3b, and a rubber cover 3c that protects the protruding portion of the case, and is connected by screws 31 so that the lower case 3b can be removed from the upper case 3a. It has an integrated structure. Of these, the upper case 3a side is used for connection with the base unit 2 and angle adjustment, and the lower case 3b side is used for housing the display and optical system. The internal structure of the display unit 3 will be further described.

  The upper case 3a is formed with a spherical wall 32 for sliding the ball portion of the ball joint 41 and a through hole 33 following the spherical wall 32, and a resinous pressing member 43 having slidability in the through hole 33, a spring 45, An urging screw 46 for bringing the pressing member 43 into contact with the ball joint 41 by a spring 45 is screwed together.

In the lower case 3b, the display 35 is fixed at an upper position in the internal space, and an optical system 36 that guides display light emitted from the display 35 to the eyes is disposed at a lower position.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the display and the optical system in the lower case 3b. The display 35 and the optical system 36 include a liquid crystal panel 51, a light source 52, a polarizing plate 53, a beam splitter 54 having a polarization function, a combiner 55, and a half mirror 56. The lower side of the half mirror 56 is attached so as to be exposed at an opening (not shown) formed on the back surface side B of the lower case 3b. The lower case 3b is designed so that the half mirror 56 of the opening portion is in front of the user's eyes.

The light emitted from the light source 52 passes through the polarizing plate 53, the light of the S polarization component is extracted, and enters the beam splitter 54. The beam splitter 54 has a reflection / transmission surface that highly reflects S-polarized light and transmits P-polarized light. The light of the S-polarized component incident on the beam splitter 54 is reflected by the reflection / transmission surface, and enters the liquid crystal panel 51 (reflection type liquid crystal element). The incident S-polarized component light is emitted from the liquid crystal panel 51 (reflection-type liquid crystal element) as P-polarized component image display light. The light of the P-polarized component emitted from the liquid crystal panel 51 (reflection type liquid crystal element) is transmitted through the reflection / transmission surface, reflected by the half mirror 56, reflected by the combiner 55, transmitted through the half mirror 56, and the user's eyes. Is incident as image display light.
Although not shown, the display 35 is connected to the outside by a cable, receives a video signal, operates a built-in drive circuit, and emits display light.

  The rubber cover 3c is made of silicon rubber, neoprene rubber, or the like, and is attached so as to cover this portion and sandwich the dividing surface along the dividing line when the upper case 3a and the lower case 3b are separated. It prevents water, oil, and dust from entering the case. In the present embodiment, the dividing line is also a protruding portion of the ridge line that forms the appearance of the case, and is the most likely to collide and is also susceptible to impact when dropped, so the rubber cover 3c is attached to this portion. Therefore, the impact can be reduced.

The rubber cover 3c covers the protruding portion of the surface of the lower case 3b that faces the face following the dividing line of the upper case 3a and the lower case 3b. As a result, even when the lower case 3b collides with the face, the shock is mitigated to prevent injury. The rubber cover 3c is formed so as to be integrated as a whole, and is fixed so that a part of the rubber cover 3c is sandwiched between the divided surfaces, so that the rubber cover 3c is not easily dropped by an impact.
Further, the rubber cover 3c is made to be a slippery surface state having a textured surface or the like so that it is less slippery when the lower case 3b is gripped with a palm to adjust the position and angle.

Next, the operation when using the head-mounted display device 1 will be described. First, the head-mounted display device 1 is fixed at an appropriate position on the helmet H by the clip 21. Thereafter, the display unit 3 is gripped by the palm, and the display unit 3 is brought to an appropriate position in front of the eyes by the shaft 22. Subsequently, while holding the display unit 3 with the palm as it is, the display unit 3 is rotated around the ball joint 41 to simultaneously adjust all directions, that is, the three axes of roll, pitch, and yaw. It can be used by the above adjustment work.
And when something collides during use, damage can be prevented by the rubber cover 3c attached to the protruding ridge line portion absorbing the impact. At that time, even if it collides with the face, injury can be prevented. Further, even if moisture or dust is applied, the rubber cover 3c can prevent intrusion into the case, and contamination of the image display 35 and the optical system 36 can be prevented.

  The present invention can be used for a display for a wearable computer.

1 is an external view of a head-mounted display device that is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the head-mounted display device of FIG. 1. The figure which shows the use condition of the head mounted display apparatus of FIG. The figure explaining the indicator and optical system in a display unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head-mounted display apparatus 2 Base unit 3 Display unit 4 Connection part 21 Clip 22 Shaft 35 Display 36 Optical system 41 Ball joint 44 Bellows-shaped cover 51 Liquid crystal panel 52 Light source 54 Beam splitter 55 Combiner 56 Half mirror

Claims (2)

An image display and a display unit having a built-in optical system for guiding and displaying display light emitted from the image display in front of one eye of the user;
A head-mounted display device comprising holding means for holding the display unit in a predetermined position in front of the user's eyes,
A head-mounted display device, wherein a case constituting the display unit is formed to be separable, and an elastic cover that covers the parting line is attached along the parting line of the case . The head-mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic cover is formed so as to cover a protruding portion of a surface facing the face of the case.