JPH1039784A - Head mounted display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a head mounted display permitting to be freely changed in a direction of a virtual image displayed to an observer, simple in structure, light-weighted, wellbalanced in weight, and easy to use. SOLUTION: This head mounted display device holds an emitting means of an image display light beam and an optical path varying means 7 arranged in front of an observer A, and is also equipped with a holding means 3 permitting to be mounted on the head of the observer A. A virtual image is formed for an observation in front of the observer A by varying the optical path of the image display light beam by the optical path varying means 7. The emitting means of an image display light beam and the optical path varying means 7 are combined with each other so as to be integrally movable along a spherical surface of the holding means 3. The center of the spherical surface is arranged at a position more proximately to the observer A than to the optical path varying means 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head-mounted display device (head mounted display (H) comprising an image display light emitting means and an optical path changing means for the image display light.
MD)).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a head-mounted display device, an image display light emitting unit, an optical path changing unit disposed in front of an observer, and the image display light emitting unit and the optical path changing unit are held. What has a holding means attachable to the observer's head is used. By changing the light path of the image display light by the light path changing means, an observation-symmetric virtual image is formed in front of the observer.

The direction in which the display virtual image of the observation symmetry appears is as follows:
It is desired that it can be changed freely so that the observer can easily see it. In particular, monocular-type head-mounted display devices that allow a user to view a virtual image only with one eye are used for presenting information and displaying images when performing various tasks and actions. It is desired that the display virtual image be located in a direction where there is no gap.

In a conventional head-mounted display device, in a binocular viewing type in which a display virtual image is visually recognized by both eyes, an inter-eye distance of an optical path changing means disposed in front of each eye is adjusted. In general, the direction in which the display virtual image appears is changed. Further, in the monocular viewing type, the display virtual image is displayed by slightly moving the position of the display unit including the image display light emitting unit and the optical path changing unit vertically or horizontally in the field of view of the observer. Has changed the direction in which appears.

[0005]

In the conventional head-mounted display device, the direction in which the display virtual image appears cannot be arbitrarily adjusted according to the work condition or preference of the observer.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the display unit can be moved in both the vertical and horizontal directions within the range of the field of view of the observer. However, in this case, a mechanism for connecting the display unit to the holding means movably in the vertical direction and a mechanism for connecting the display unit movably in the left and right direction are required, so that the connecting structure becomes complicated and the weight increases. There is a problem.

It is also conceivable to hold the display unit via a flexible arm. However, in this case, the entire weight of the display unit is concentrated at a position far away from the observer's face, and the center of gravity of the display unit is separated from the observer's head. However, there is a problem that the moment acting on the motor becomes large and it becomes difficult to use.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a head-mounted display device which can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image display light emitting means, an optical path changing means disposed in front of an observer, and the image display light emitting means and the optical path changing means. Holding means that can be mounted on the observer's head, and a head-mounted display that can change the optical path of image display light by the optical path changing means so that an observation-symmetric virtual image is formed in front of the observer. In the apparatus, the image display light emitting unit and the optical path changing unit are integrally movably connected to the holding unit along the spherical surface, and the center of the spherical surface is closer to the observer than the optical path changing unit. It is characterized in that it is arranged at a specified position.

According to the structure of the present invention, the image display light emitting means and the light path changing means are arranged along the spherical surface with respect to the holding means with the center closer to the observer than the light path changing means. By integrally moving, the optical path changing means can be displaced along the spherical surface. Thereby, the direction of the virtual image with respect to the observer can be freely changed. In addition, since the connection of the image display light emitting means and the optical path changing means to the holding means only needs to enable the movement along the spherical surface, the connecting structure is simplified and the weight can be reduced. The center of the spherical surface is arranged at a position closer to the observer than the optical path changing unit, so that the center of gravity of the integrated image display light emitting unit and the optical path changing unit is closer to the observer than the optical path changing unit. It is possible to make them close to each other, improve the weight balance, reduce the moment acting on the observer, and make the apparatus easy to use.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A head mounted display 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a display unit 2 and a holding unit 3 for the display unit 2.

The display unit 2 includes a housing 5 and
The image display 6 includes an image display 6 built in the housing 5 and a combiner 7 for changing an optical path of image display light emitted from the image display 6.

The holding portion 3 is detachably attached to the head of the observer, and has a U-shaped band-shaped first member 3a fitted to the top of the head, and a U-shaped band shaped to be fitted to the back of the head. A pair of third members 3c located on both side surfaces of the head and connected to the end of the first member 3a and the end of the second member 3b, respectively;
a pair of upper pads 3d attached to the tip of an arm extending forward from both ends of
And a pair of lower pads 3e attached to the distal ends of arms extending downward from the third members 3c and pressed against the side surfaces of the neck, and a support arm 3f extending forward from one third member 3c. The holding unit 3 may be directly attached to the head of the observer, or may be attached from above a work cap or a helmet. (1) and (2) in FIG.
Shows a state where the head mounted display device 1 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image display 6 comprises:
A backlight 14 including a halogen lamp, a metal halide lamp, a cold cathode tube, and the like with a reflecting mirror, a dimming voltage regulator 15 for the backlight 14, and a heat absorption filter 16 for absorbing heat of the backlight 14 And a liquid crystal panel 17, and a scattering plate 18 that guides the backlight 14 to the liquid crystal panel 17 with uniform light unevenness. The image forming portion of the liquid crystal panel 17 is an image display light emission surface.

The image display 6 is connected to a display signal processing unit via a cable or the like. The signal processing unit may be provided in the holding unit 3 or may be provided at a position away from the observer A, and includes a control circuit 21 and a display circuit 22. The control circuit 21 includes the communication interface 2
3, a central processing unit 24, a memory 25, an image controller 26, and an image memory 27. The communication interface 23 is connected to the display signal generator 30 via a modem 28 by wire or wirelessly. The display signal generator 30 is constituted by, for example, a computer. The central processing unit 24 controls display of an image according to a program stored in the memory 25. The image controller 26 writes and reads an image signal sent from the signal generator 30 to and from the image memory 27 under the control of the central processing unit 24. The display circuit 22 includes an image output interface 31 for converting an image signal sent from the control circuit 21 into a driving signal for the liquid crystal panel 17, and a driver 32 for driving the liquid crystal panel 17 based on the driving signal.
It is composed of

As shown in FIG. 1, an arm 5a extending forward is integrated with a housing 5 containing the image display 6, and the combiner 7 is attached to a front end of the arm 5a. Thereby, the combiner 7 is arranged so as to face the liquid crystal panel 17. In this embodiment, the combiner 7 is attached to the arm 5a via a hinge so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis as indicated by an arrow in FIG.

The display unit 2 is connected to the support arm 3f of the holder 3 so that the combiner 7 is arranged in front of the observer A. As shown in FIG. 3, the combiner 7 changes the optical path of the image display light L emitted from the image display 6 and guides the image display light L to the pupil 13 of the observer A. Form a virtual image of the object. Further, light from the front of the combiner 7 passes through the combiner 7 and reaches the pupil 13 of the observer A, so that the observer A can visually recognize both the virtual image and the real object in front. The combiner 7 can be composed of, for example, a half mirror that changes the optical path of the image display light L by reflection or a hologram element that changes the optical path to diffraction. The optical path changing surface of the combiner 7 is
It is preferable that the curved surface is formed so that the virtual image of the observation target is formed farther in front of the observer A than a flat surface.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the display unit 2 is connected to the support arm 3f of the holder 3 via a connecting mechanism 50.
It is connected to. The connection mechanism 50 has a receiving member 52 integrated with the tip of the support arm 3f, a joining member 53 integrated with the housing 5 of the display unit 2, and a retainer 54.

The receiving member 52 is formed in a ring shape having a central hole 52a, and the distal end of the support arm 3f is integrated with the outer periphery. One side surface on the inner diameter side of the receiving member 52 is a receiving member-side first sliding surface 52b that is a part of a spherical surface. The center of the spherical surface is located between the left and right sides of the head of the observer A, and is preferably as close as possible to one pupil 13 of the observer A. The receiving member 5
The other side surface on the inner diameter side of 2 is a receiving member side second sliding surface 52c formed of a part of a spherical surface concentric with the spherical surface.

The joint member 53 has a circular outer periphery and is fixed to the housing 5 by fixing means such as bolts, and the surface thereof is a joint member-side sliding surface 5 formed of a part of a spherical surface concentric with the spherical surface.
3a. On the joining member side sliding surface 53a,
A cylindrical portion 53b is formed. This cylindrical portion 53b
The diameter is smaller than the center hole 52a of the receiving member 52, and the axis thereof passes through the center of the spherical surface.

The receiving member 52 is pressed against the joining member 53 via a retainer 54. That is, the outer periphery of the retainer 54 is circular, and one side surface is a retainer-side sliding surface 54a formed of a part of a spherical surface concentric with the spherical surface.
The joining member 53 is inserted into the central hole 52a of the receiving member 52.
Is inserted, and the retainer 54 is fixed to the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 53b by screws 58. As a result, the receiving member side first sliding surface 52b is connected to the joining member side sliding surface 5b.
3a, the retainer side sliding surface 54a is pressed against the receiving member side second sliding surface 52c, and the joining member 5
3 is a sliding surface 53a, 52b, 52c,
It is mounted via a 54a so as to be capable of relatively spherical movement under the action of a moderate frictional force. That is, the image display 6 and the combiner 7 are integrally movably connected to the holding unit 3 along the spherical surface, and the center of the spherical surface is arranged at a position closer to the observer than the combiner 7. I have. Thereby, the display unit 2 is shown to the observer A by the pitch direction around the left-right direction as shown by the arrow P in FIG. 4, the roll direction around the front-rear direction as shown by the arrow R, and the arrow Y. The combiner 7 can be displaced along the spherical surface by moving the combiner 7 in the yaw direction around the vertical direction.

According to the head mounted display 1, the direction of the virtual image of the observation object with respect to the observer A can be freely changed. For example, (1) and (2) of FIG. 6 show display examples of the head-mounted display device 1 of the present invention. In the example shown in the figure, a worker who performs the work of unloading the product 56 from the warehouse 55 wears the head-mounted display device as an observer, and displays the placement information of the unloading target product on the display virtual image 57 composed of an arrow indicating a right turn. Is indicated by. That is, when the combiner 7 is arranged so as to be biased toward one pupil 13 of the observer A as shown in FIG. 2A, the display virtual image 5 is displayed as shown in FIG.
7 is biased toward one pupil 13, and when the combiner 7 is arranged between both pupils of the observer A as shown in (2) of FIG. 2, as shown in (2) of FIG. The displayed virtual image 57 appears between both pupils. Further, since the connection of the display unit 2 to the holding unit 3 only needs to enable the movement along the spherical surface, the connection structure can be simplified and the weight can be reduced. In addition, since the center of the spherical surface is located closer to the observer A than the combiner 7, the center of gravity of the display unit 2 can be closer to the observer than the optical path changing means, and the weight balance can be improved. Thus, the moment acting on the observer A can be reduced, and the device can be easily used. When the display is unnecessary, the combiner 7 can be displaced above the visual field range of the observer A by rotating the display unit 2 in the pitch direction. By arranging the center of the spherical surface near the eyeball position of the observer A, it is possible to prevent the display virtual image from being distorted and from being out of the eye point where the display virtual image can be clearly recognized. Further, since the observer A and the combiner 7 can be separated from each other, even if the observer A wears glasses, the wearer can easily wear it without shifting the eye point.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a mirror that totally reflects the image display light L may be used instead of the combiner 7. The structure for connecting the display unit 2 to the holding unit 3 is not particularly limited as long as the display unit 2 can move along a spherical surface. For example, the structure may be connected via a ball joint.

[0025]

According to the head mounted display of the present invention,
The direction of the display virtual image with respect to the observer can be freely changed, and the structure can be simplified, the weight can be reduced, and the weight balance can be improved to facilitate use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a head-mounted display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a head-mounted display device according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a combiner is arranged so as to be biased toward one pupil, and FIG. Plan view when placed

FIG. 3 is a configuration explanatory view of a head-mounted display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the head mounted display device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of the head-mounted display device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of a scene visually recognized by the head-mounted display device according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which a combiner is arranged to be biased toward one pupil, and FIG. Explanatory diagram when placed between pupils

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Holder 6 Image display 7 Combiner A Observer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image display light emitting unit, an optical path changing unit disposed in front of an observer, and the image display light emitting unit and the optical path changing unit are held and mounted on the observer's head. A head-mounted display device capable of changing the optical path of the image display light by the optical path changing means so that a virtual image symmetrical to the observation is formed in front of the observer. The emitting means and the optical path changing means are connected to the holding means so as to be integrally movable along the spherical surface, and the center of the spherical surface is arranged at a position closer to the observer than the optical path changing means. Characteristic head-mounted display device.