WO2022113539A1

WO2022113539A1 - Retina scan-type projection device, retina scan-type projection method, and combiner

Info

Publication number: WO2022113539A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/037351
Authority: WO
Inventors: 寛志勝田
Original assignee: カシオ計算機株式会社
Priority date: 2020-11-27
Filing date: 2021-10-08
Publication date: 2022-06-02
Also published as: JP7163950B2; JP2023001131A; JP2022085325A

Abstract

This retina scan-type projection device comprises a combiner (10) that includes an incident unit to which projection light is incident, and an emission unit which emits image light guided by the incident unit, wherein: the image light is emitted from a first emission region (7E) so that at least a portion of image light (2) emitted from the first emission region (7E) among a plurality of emission regions is incident perpendicularly to the center of the pupil (22) of a subject when the eyeball of the subject sees a front surface; and the image light is emitted from second emission regions (7B, 7H) so that at least a portion of image light (1, 3) emitted from the second emission regions (7B, 7H) different from the first emission region (7E) is incident to the center of the pupil (22) of the subject when the eyeball of the subject sees something other than the front surface.

Description

Retinal scanning projection device, retinal scanning projection method and combiner

The present invention relates to a retinal scanning projection device, a retinal scanning projection method, and a combiner.

As a display device using a diffractive optical element, a display device that reduces unevenness in brightness and hue has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-160128

However, the display device described in Patent Document 1 is a retinal scanning type, and there is room for improvement in that the position needs to be adjusted or the eye box becomes narrow.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a retinal scanning projection device, a retinal scanning projection method, and a combiner capable of eliminating the drawbacks of the retinal scanning projection device.

In order to achieve the above object, the retinal scanning projection apparatus of the present invention is used.
A combiner including an incident portion to which the image light is incident and an exit portion to emit the image light guided from the incident portion is provided.
The emission unit includes a plurality of emission regions.
The image light emitted from the first emission region of the plurality of emission regions is incident on the center of the pupil of the subject when the subject's eyeball faces the front. The image light is emitted from the first emission region, and the image light is emitted.
The subject when at least a part of the image light emitted from the second emission region different from the first emission region among the plurality of emission regions is directed to a direction other than the front of the subject's eyeball. The image light is emitted from the second emission region so as to be incident on the center of the pupil.
It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, the drawbacks of the retinal scanning type projection device can be eliminated.

It is a figure which shows the example of use of the retinal scanning type projection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the traveling direction of video light. It is explanatory drawing of the emission area. It is explanatory drawing of the emission area and the focal point of an image light. It is explanatory drawing of the emitted image light. It is explanatory drawing of the emitted image light. It is explanatory drawing of the incident image light and the visual recognition image light when looking at the front. It is explanatory drawing of the incident image light and the visual recognition image light when looking at the right direction. It is explanatory drawing of the incident image light and the visible image light. It is explanatory drawing of the incident image light and the visible image light. It is a figure which shows an example of the emission area in the modification. It is explanatory drawing of the emitted image light when the pupil position is the center in the modification. It is explanatory drawing of the emitted image light when the pupil position is shifted to the right side in the modification.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the figure are designated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of usage of the retinal scanning projection device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the retinal scanning type projection device 1 is a wearable terminal that can be worn on the head, and is a so-called smart glass such as a spectacle-type image pickup device. The retinal scanning projection device 1 includes a combiner 10 as shown in the figure. The combiner 10 is provided with an incident unit 3, a duplicating unit 4, and an emitting unit 5. Since the combiner 10 has transparency, the user can visually recognize the outside view through the combiner 10. Further, the retinal scanning projection device 1 has a communication unit, and information such as an image received from an external terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet can be superimposed on the outside view and visually recognized via the communication unit. Further, although the incident portion 3, the duplicating portion 4, and the emitting portion 5 in this embodiment are provided in the combiner 10, they may be provided on the surface of the combiner 10.

The incident unit 3 is composed of, for example, a holographic optical element, and causes the image light incident on the incident unit 3 to change the traveling direction to the duplication unit 4 as shown in FIG. The video light whose traveling direction is changed to the duplication unit 4 travels in the combiner 10 while being totally reflected at the boundary surface, and is guided to the duplication unit 4.

The duplication unit 4 is composed of, for example, a diffractive optical element, and as shown in FIG. 2, the image light guided from the incident unit 3 is duplicated for the number of emission regions 7A to 7I in the emission unit 5, and the duplicated image light is reproduced. Is totally reflected in the combiner 10 and led to the emission regions 7A to 7I. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the image light guided from the incident portion 3 is duplicated into three, and each of the duplicated image lights is further duplicated into three to emit the emission regions 7A to 7I. An example of duplicating nine video lights corresponding to the above, that is, an example of stepwise duplication is shown, but the duplication method is not limited to this. It may be duplicated in the image light.

The emission unit 5 includes nine emission regions such as emission regions 7A to 7I. The emission regions 7A to 7I are each composed of holographic optical elements (diffraction optical elements, half mirrors, etc.), and each of the video light incident on the emission regions 7A to 7I is guided toward the user's eyes. The emission unit 5 in this embodiment includes nine emission regions, but the number of emission regions is not limited to nine, and if a plurality of emission regions are provided, the number of emission regions may be larger or smaller. As will be described later, the number of emission regions is odd so that the video light emitted from the centrally located emission region is vertically incident on the surface of the pupil 22 when the reference user looks at the front. It is desirable that it is an individual. In the emission regions 7A to 7I of the emission unit 5, a user having a diameter of 4 mm, which is a general pupil 22, is used as a reference user (target person), and each of them is based on the position of the general pupil 22 of the reference user. The positional relationship of is determined.

The emission regions 7A to 7I are arranged at positions where they do not overlap, and as shown in FIG. 3, the diameter r of the emission region as the size of each emission region is the distance X from the combiner 10 to the user's pupil 22. , Field Of View (FOV) θ, and is determined based on. Generally, the distance from the lens to the user's pupil when wearing eyeglasses is 11 mm. Therefore, in this embodiment, the distance X from the combiner 10 to the reference user's pupil 22 is set to 11 mm, and the field of view is set to 11 mm. Based on the value of the angle θ, the diameter r of each emission region is determined based on a predetermined calculation method so that the emission regions do not overlap. For example, if the depth d from the combiner surface to the emission region is 1 mm and θ is 26 degrees, the diameter r of the emission region in the center is 2 × (X + d) × tan (θ / 2) to about 5 mm. Become. As for the cross-sectional area of the emission region in the peripheral part, if the rotation angle of the eyeball is θ'and the distance from the eyeball to the combiner is X', the cone with the apex angle θ is tilted by the angle π / 2-θ / 2-θ'. It can be defined as the cross-sectional area of the elliptical diameter cut at a position away from the apex of the cone (X'+ d / cosθ').

Further, when the focal point of the video light is the incident portion of the video light emitted from each emission region on the pupil surface, the focal points of the respective video lights do not overlap with respect to the pupil diameter (4 mm described above). That is, the image light from each emission region is emitted so that the focal points of the two or more image lights are not located in the pupil 22. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the focal point 7B of the image light is the portion where the image light emitted from the

emission regions

7B, 7E, and 7H is incident on the cross section YY'which is the pupil surface of the pupil 22. Assuming', video light focus 7E', and video light focus 7H', as shown in FIG. 4, the video light focus 7B', the video light focus 7E', and the video light focus 7H'are the pupil 22. Two or more do not overlap on top. As shown in the figure, the same applies to the focal point of the image light from other emission regions. As a result, it is possible to prevent the visibility from being deteriorated due to the double focus of the image light being located on the pupil 22 at two or more focal points.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, the image light emitted from the central emission region is vertically incident on the surface of the pupil 22 when the front is viewed, and the image is emitted from the other emission regions. The light is emitted so as to be tilted with respect to the rotation axis of the eyeball (the rotation axis T of the eyeball in FIG. 5). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the center of the focal point 7E'of the image light emitted from the central emission region 7E overlaps with the center of the circle of the emission region 7E, but other emission regions (for example, 7A and 7B). The center of the focal point of the image light emitted from (for example, 7A', 7B', etc.) is located at a position different from the center of the emission region. In the illustrated example, the focal point of the video light is shown in the emission region (for example, 7A or 7B) for easy understanding, but the emission region other than the central emission region 7E (for example, 7A or 7B) is shown. The focal point of the image light emitted from (eg, 7A', 7B', etc.) is not always located within the emission region (eg, 7A, 7B, etc.) (center position C'of 7B'shown in FIG. 7B. reference).

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, since the image light 2 emitted from the central emission region 7E is vertically incident on the surface V (pupil surface V) of the pupil 22 when the reference user looks at the front, the eyeball. (It will be incident on the center of the pupil 22 of the subject). On the other hand, the

image light

1 and 3 emitted from the

emission regions

7B and 7H, which are emission regions other than the central emission region 7E, are emitted so as to be inclined and incident on the rotation axis T of the eyeball. By rotating the eyeball around the center C of the rotation axis of the eyeball, the eyeball can be seen in the right direction or the left direction (upward or downward direction). In the illustrated example, since the reference user is looking at the front, the image light 2 is incident on the pupil 22 of the reference user, and the image light 1 and the image light 3 are not incident on the pupil 22. Therefore, when the reference user is looking at the front, the image light 2 is visually recognized.

Next, the case where the reference user looks to the right will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the image light emitted from the emission region other than the center is emitted so as to be inclined and incident on the rotation axis T of the eyeball. Therefore, when the reference user turns to the right, as shown in the figure. The image light 1 emitted from the emission region 7B is incident on the pupil 22 (incident on the center of the pupil 22 of the subject), and the image lights 2 and 3 emitted from the

emission regions

7E and 7H are It does not enter the pupil 22. Therefore, when the reference user is looking in the right direction, the image light 1 is visually recognized. In the case where the reference user is looking in the left direction, the image light 3 is visually recognized as opposed to the case where the reference user is looking in the right direction, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, in the retinal scanning projection device 1 according to this embodiment, the image light is emitted from a plurality of emission regions such as the emission regions 7A to 7I, and the image light emitted from the central emission region 7E is a reference. When the user looks at the front, the image light is emitted so as to be perpendicularly incident on the surface of the pupil 22, and the image light emitted from the emission region other than the center is emitted so as to be tilted with respect to the rotation axis T of the eyeball. Then, the video light is emitted from the respective emission regions so that the respective emission regions do not overlap and the focal points of the two or more video lights are not located in the pupil 22. Therefore, when looking not only in the front but also in the right or left direction, that is, when the eyeball is rotated, the image light can be visually recognized, and the narrowness of the eyebox in the retinal scanning type projection device can be seen. The drawbacks can be eliminated.

As described above, regarding the video light emitted from the central emission region, the video light emitted so as to be perpendicular to the surface of the pupil 22 when the reference user looks at the front, and the video light emitted from the emission region other than the center. Is emitted so as to be tilted with respect to the rotation axis T of the eyeball, so that the image light can be visually recognized even when looking to the right or left, that is, when the rotation of the eyeball is performed. The image light visually recognized by the user when the rotational motion is performed is distorted as compared with the case of looking at the front. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the reference user is looking at the front, when the incident image light M is incident, the same image light as the incident image light M is visually recognized as the visible image light R. .. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the reference user is looking to the right, when the same incident video light M as when looking at the front is incident, the incident video light M is different from the incident video light M. The image light distorted in the direction is visually recognized as the visual image light P. This is because the center of the focal point 7B'of the image light 1 emitted from the emission region 7B (the apex of the cone with the emission region 7B as the bottom surface) does not overlap with the center of the circle of the emission region 7B (the center of the bottom surface). This is due to the fact that the center position C'of 7B' is shown. That is, the center of the focal point (the apex of the cone) of the conical image light emitted from the emission region 7B is not on the extension of the center of the circle of the emission region 7B. When the image light 1 is emitted with the emission area 7B as the illustrated 7B-1, the center of the focal point 7B'of the image light 1 (the apex of the cone with the emission area 7B-1 as the bottom surface) is shown in the figure. It becomes the center position C'-1 of 7B', and overlaps with the center of the circle of the emission region 7B-1.

Therefore, for example, when the reference user is looking to the right or to the left, it is detected whether or not the rotational movement of the eyeball is being performed, and the rotational movement of the eyeball is being performed. The incident image light may be different depending on whether the incident image light is used or not. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, when the reference user is looking to the right, the vertically long incident video light M'as shown in the figure is used as the corrected incident video light M'corrected for the incident video light M. It can be light. As described above, the visible image light is a laterally distorted image light. Therefore, if the vertically long incident image light M'is incident as the corrected incident image light, it is the same as the incident image light M shown in FIG. 7B. Visual recognition of image light The image light R can be visually recognized. That is, it is possible to prevent a decrease in visibility caused by distortion of the visual image light when the rotational movement of the eyeball is performed. The case where the reference user is looking at the front is the same as in FIG. 7A, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. The presence or absence of rotational movement of the eyeball (the reference user is looking to the right or facing the front) may be determined, for example, by detecting the position of the pupil 22 using the corneal reflex. .. Further, the corrected incident image light (incident image light M') when the rotational movement of the eyeball is performed may be generated by correcting the incident image light M before it is incident on the incident portion 3. .. Further, unlike this, when the rotational movement of the eyeball is performed, communication is performed via the communication unit included in the retinal scanning projection device 1, and the corrected incident image light (incident image) corrected by the incident image light M is performed. The light M') may be received and the received corrected incident image light (incident image light M') may be incident on the incident portion 3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the

emission regions

7B, 7E, and 7H may be configured on an arc centered on the center C of the rotation axis of the eyeball, respectively. Generally, the distance from the pupil 22 to the center of the axis of rotation of the eyeball is 12 mm, and the distance X from the combiner 10 to the reference user's pupil 22 is 11 mm. Therefore, from the combiner 10 to the exit region 7E. The

emission regions

7B, 7E, and 7H may be configured on an arc having a radius of 24 mm about the center of the rotation axis of the distance (for example, 1 mm) eyeball, respectively. According to this, for all of the video light 1 to 3 emitted from the

emission regions

7B, 7E, and 7H, the video light is provided so that the center of the focal point is the center of the circle of the

emission regions

7B, 7E, and 7H. Incident shown in FIG. 7B because it is emitted (because the center of focal points 7B', 7E', and 7H'is on the extension of the centers C1 to C3 of the circles of

emission regions

7B, 7E, and 7H). Visual recognition of the same image light as the image light M The image light R can be visually recognized. That is, it is possible to eliminate the distortion of the visual image light when the rotational movement of the eyeball is performed.

(Modification example)
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. For example, the retinal scanning projection device 1 does not have to have all the technical features shown in the above embodiment, and will be described in the above embodiment so as to solve at least one problem in the prior art. It may have a part of the configuration. Further, at least a part of each of the following modifications may be combined.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, nine emission regions 7A to 7I are provided in a grid pattern, but this is an example. The emission regions 7A to 7I may be provided radially with the central emission region 7E as the center, for example, as shown in FIG. Also in this case, as in the above embodiment, the image light emitted from the central emission region 7E is emitted so as to be perpendicular to the surface of the pupil 22 when the reference user looks at the front, and is emitted from other than the center. The image light emitted from the emission region of the above may be emitted so as to be tilted with respect to the rotation axis of the eyeball. Further, the video light may be emitted from the respective emission regions so that the respective emission regions do not overlap and the focal points of the two or more video lights are not located in the pupil 22. In the illustrated example, an example in which the number of emission regions is nine is shown, but for example, a plurality of emission regions are provided in a ring shape outside the emission region provided in a ring shape other than the central emission region 7E. May be good.

Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the image light is emitted from the emission region other than the center so that the image light emitted from the emission region other than the center is inclined and incident with respect to the rotation axis T of the eyeball. An example of emitting light is shown, but this is just an example. For example, the image light emitted from an emission region other than the center is also formed on the surface V (pupil surface V) of the pupil 22 when the user looks at the front, similarly to the image light emitted from the central emission region 7E. It may be emitted so as to be vertically incident. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the image light emitted from the

emission regions

7B and 7H other than the central emission region 7E also has the surface V of the pupil 22 similarly to the image light emitted from the central emission region 7E. It may be emitted so as to be vertically incident on (pupil surface V). According to this, a user whose eye position is different from that of the reference user, or a user who is a reference user but whose pupil position shifts to the right from the state shown in FIG. 11A to the state shown in FIG. 11B due to an impact or the like (retina). Even when the mounting position of the scanning projection device 1 is shifted to the left side when viewed from the user side), the center (conical apex) of the focal point 7B'of the conical image light 1 emitted from the emission region 7B is the emission region 7B. Since it overlaps with the center of the circle, the same image light as the incident image light M can be visually recognized as the visible image light R. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the drawbacks due to the need for position adjustment when the pupil positions are different in the retinal scanning type projection device. Even when the position of the pupil is shifted to the left, the center of the focal point 7H'of the conical image light 3 emitted from the emission region 7H (the apex of the cone) overlaps with the center of the circle in the emission region 7H. The same image light as the incident image light M can be visually recognized as the visually recognized image light R. Similarly, the image light emitted from the other emission regions may be emitted so as to be perpendicularly incident on the surface V (pupil surface V) of the pupil 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case where each emission region is provided radially with the central emission region 7E as the center, each emission region is similarly incident on the surface V (pupil surface V) of the pupil 22 so as to be perpendicular to the surface V (pupil surface V). The image light may be emitted from.

The present invention allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. Moreover, the above-described embodiment is for explaining the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is shown not by the embodiment but by the claims. And various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the equivalent meaning of the invention are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-196947 filed on November 27, 2020. The specification, claims, and the entire drawing of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-196947 shall be incorporated into this specification as a reference.

The present invention is applicable to a retinal scanning projection device, a retinal scanning projection method, and a combiner that can eliminate the drawbacks of the retinal scanning projection device.

1 ... Retina scanning projection device, 3 ... Incident part, 4 ... Replica part, 5 ... Emission part, 7A-7I, 7B-1 ... Emission area, 7A'-7I' ... Focus of image light, 10 ... Combiner, 22 ... Pupil, C ... Center of rotation axis of eyeball, C', C'-1 ... Center position of focal point 7B', C1 to C3 ... Center of circles of

exit regions

7B, 7E, and 7H, r ... Diameter of exit region , T ... axis of rotation of the eyeball, V ... pupil surface

Claims

A combiner including an incident portion to which the image light is incident and an exit portion to emit the image light guided from the incident portion is provided.
The emission unit includes a plurality of emission regions.
The image light emitted from the first emission region of the plurality of emission regions is incident on the center of the pupil of the subject when the subject's eyeball faces the front. The image light is emitted from the first emission region, and the image light is emitted.
The subject when at least a part of the image light emitted from the second emission region different from the first emission region among the plurality of emission regions is directed to a direction other than the front of the subject's eyeball. The image light is emitted from the second emission region so as to be incident on the center of the pupil.
A retinal scanning projection device characterized by this.
The plurality of emission regions are arranged at positions where they do not overlap with each other.
The emitting unit emits the video light from the plurality of emitting regions so that the video light emitted from the plurality of emitting regions does not enter a plurality of pupils of the subject.
The retinal scanning projection device according to claim 1.
Further, a detection unit for detecting whether or not the subject's eyeball is rotating is further provided.
When it is detected that the rotational motion is being performed in the detection unit, the corrected incident video light corrected for the incident video light is incident on the incident portion.
The retinal scanning projection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
A combiner including an incident portion to which the image light is incident and an exit portion to emit the image light guided from the incident portion is provided.
The emission unit includes a plurality of emission regions.
The video light is emitted from the plurality of emission regions so that the video light emitted from the plurality of emission regions is incident on the center of the pupil of the subject when the subject's eyeball faces the front.
The video light is emitted from the plurality of emission regions so that the video light emitted from the plurality of emission regions does not enter a plurality of pupils of the subject.
A retinal scanning projection device characterized by this.
Incident video light,
The first such that at least a part of the image light emitted from the first emission region among the plurality of emission regions is incident on the center of the pupil of the subject when the subject's eyeball faces the front. The image light is emitted from the emission area of
The subject when at least a part of the image light emitted from the second emission region different from the first emission region among the plurality of emission regions is directed to a direction other than the front of the subject's eyeball. The image light is emitted from the second emission region so as to be incident on the center of the pupil.
A retinal scanning projection method characterized by this.
It includes an incident region in which the image light is incident, and a plurality of emission regions including a first emission region and a second emission region for emitting the video light.
The first emission region includes a region for emitting the image light so as to be incident on the center of the pupil of the subject when the subject's eyeball faces the front.
The second emission region is a region different from the first emission region, and the image light so as to be incident on the center of the pupil of the subject when the subject's eyeball faces other than the front. Including the area for emitting
A combiner that features that.