HEAD MOUNTED DISPLAY

• US 20110158478A1
• Filed: 03/10/2011
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: TAKI, Kazunari, YAMADA, Shoji, UENO, Hideo, WATANABE, Mitsuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,494,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/101 with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/104 for use with scanning systems scanning systems G02B26/10
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/145 having sequential partially reflecting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0006 Coupling light into the fibre in general G02B6/4298
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3598 Switching means directly located between an optoelectronic element and waveguides, including direct displacement of either the element or the waveguide, e.g. optical pulse generation based on changing the optical properties of the medium G02F1/00; optical pulse generation in optical transmitters H04B10/508; optical pulse generation by controlling laser operation H01S3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4214 the intermediate optical element having redirecting reflective means, e.g. mirrors, prisms for deflecting the radiation from horizontal to down- or upward direction toward a device G02B6/4246 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00

Abstract

A head mounted display capable of displaying necessary and sufficient number of display information in an easily viewable manner even when a large number of identifying objects are detected is provided. A see-through-type head mounted display includes a display unit which is configured to project image light corresponding to display information onto an eye of a user thus allowing the user to visually recognize an image corresponding to the image light while allowing an external light to pass therethrough. The head mounted display selects identifying objects about which associated information associated with the identifying objects are displayed by the display unit based on a result detected within an imaging area. The head mounted display displays the selected associated information associated with the identifying objects in association with the identifying objects which are visually recognized by the user through the display unit in a see-through manner.

Claims

1. A head mounted display comprising:

a display unit which is configured to project image light corresponding to display information onto an eye of a user thus allowing the user to visually recognize an image corresponding to the image light while allowing an external light to pass therethrough;

an imaging unit which is configured to image at least a portion of a range of the viewing field of the user;

an identifying object detection unit which is configured to detect identifying objects within an imaging area defined by the imaging unit;

an associated information storage unit which is configured to store associated information associated with the respective identifying objects;

an identifying object selection unit which is configured to select the identifying object about which the associated information associated with the selected identifying object is displayed by the display unit based on a result detected by the identifying object detection unit; and

a display control unit which is configured to perform a control of allowing the display unit to display the associated information which is stored in the associated information storage unit and is associated with the identifying object which is selected by the identifying object selection unit in association with the identifying object which is visually recognized by the user through the display unit in a see-through manner.

2. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the identifying object selection unit is configured to set a selection range of the identifying object about which the associated information associated with the identifying object is displayed within the imaging area based on a positional relationship between the identifying object detected by the identifying object detection unit and the user, and is configured to select at least any one of the identifying objects within the selection range as the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed.

3. The head mounted display according to claim 2, wherein the identifying object selection unit is configured to select the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed by setting a distance between the identifying object detected by the identifying object detection unit and the user as the positional relationship.

4. The head mounted display according to claim 2, wherein the identifying object selection unit is configured to select the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed by setting an angle made by a straight line which connects the identifying object detected by the identifying object detection unit and the user and the direction extending toward a front side of the user as the positional relationship.

5. The head mounted display according to claim 4, wherein the identifying object selection unit is configured to select the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed by assigning priority to the identifying object having a near positional relationship on the basis of the center of the range of the viewing field of the user out of the identifying objects detected by the identifying object detection unit.

6. The head mounted display according to claim 2, further comprising a positional relationship calculation unit which is configured to calculate the positional relationship based on a range constituted of imaged pixels imaged by the imaging unit as the identifying object.

7. The head mounted display according to claim 2, wherein the identifying object selection unit is configured to set a whole area of the imaging area imaged by the imaging unit as the selection range in an initial state.

8. The head mounted display according to claim 2, further comprising a manipulation unit which is operable by the user, wherein the display control unit is configured to perform a control of allowing the display unit to display the selection range, and

the identifying object selection unit is configured to change the selection range corresponding to a manipulation of the manipulation unit.

9. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the identifying object selection unit is configured to select the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed based on the number of identifying objects within the imaging area detected by the identifying object detection unit.

10. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the identifying object selection unit is configured to select the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed based on a kind of identifying object detected by the identifying object detection unit.

11. The head mounted display according to claim 1, further comprising a laser marker unit capable of irradiating a laser beam toward the identifying object by the user, wherein

the identifying object selection unit is configured to select the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed corresponding to the laser beam irradiated by the laser marker unit.

12. The head mounted display according to claim 1, further comprising a displacement detection unit which is configured to detect displacement of the head mounted display, wherein

the identifying object selection unit is configured to, when the displacement of the head mounted display is detected by the displacement detection unit, select the identifying object about which the associated information associated with the identifying object is displayed by the display unit.

13. The head mounted display according to claim 1, further comprising a displacement detection unit which is configured to detect displacement of the head mounted display, wherein

the identifying object selection unit is configured to, when the head mounted display is not displaced by the displacement detection unit for a predetermined time, determine an identifying object which is selected temporarily as the identifying object about which the associated information is displayed.