Image display apparatus

• US 5,479,224 A
• Filed: 12/22/1993
• Issued: 12/26/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Kikuchi, Kumi, Konuma, Osamu, Yasugaki, Masato
• Primary Examiner(s): Dowling, William C.
• Application Number:
  US08/149,657
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 353/101, 353/100, 353/122, 353/69, 353/12, 353/13, 359/637, 359/632, 359/630, 345/8, 345/9
• US Class Current: 353/101
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0132 comprising binocular systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0154 with movable elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0156 with optionally usable elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0161 characterised by the relative positioning of the constitutive elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features

Abstract

A head-mounted display apparatus wherein an image displayed on an image display device is projected on an observer'"'"'s eyeball, which is designed so that the displayed image can be observed at a desired angle of view and at a desired magnification by making the projection magnification changeable. The head-mounted image display apparatus includes an image display device (11) for displaying an image, and a projection optical system for projecting the image displayed on the image display device (11) onto an observer'"'"'s eyeball. The projection optical system is composed of a first relay optical system (12), a second relay optical system (13), and an ocular optical system (14). The second relay optical system (13), which is an afocal optical system, is rotatable about an axis (16) perpendicular to the optical axis so that the projection magnification is changed in three steps by the rotation of the second relay optical system (13).

Claims

1. An image display apparatus comprising:

an image display device for displaying an image, and

a projection optical system for projecting the image displayed on said image display device onto an observer'"'"'s eyeball,

wherein at least a part of said projection optical system is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to an optical axis, wherein rotation of at least said part of said projection optical system occurs in units of 90°

so that projection magnification is changed by said rotation of at least said part of said projection optical system.

2. An image display apparatus comprising:

an image display device for displaying an image, and

a projection optical system for projecting the image displayed on said image display device onto an observer'"'"'s eyeball,

wherein at least a part of said projection optical system is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to an optical axis so that projection magnification is changed by said rotation of at least said .part of said projection optical system, and

wherein at least said part of said projection optical system is an afocal optical system.

3. An image display apparatus comprising:

an image display device for displaying an image, and

a projection optical system for projecting the image displayed on said image display, device onto an observer'"'"'s eyeball,

wherein at least a part of said projection optical system is automatically rotated according to a variable aspect ratio to change projection magnification so that said image display device can project an image with an aspect ratio varied from that of the displayed image on the observer'"'"'s eyeball.

4. An image display apparatus comprising:

an image display device for displaying an image,

a projection optical system for projecting the image displayed on said image display device onto an observer'"'"'s eyeball, and

means for cancelling image distortion occurring in said projection optical system by correcting the image displayed on said image display device in accordance with a change in the image distortion occurring in said projection optical system,

wherein at least a part of said projection optical system is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to an optical axis so that the projection magnification is changed by said rotation of the rotatable part of said projection optical system.

5. An image display apparatus comprising:

an image display device for displaying an image,

a projection optical system for projecting the image displayed on said image display device onto an observer'"'"'s eyeball, and

means for changing a view angle of an image for observation by displaying the image in a compressed form in part of a display area of said image display device,

wherein at least a part of said projection optical system is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to an optical axis so that the projection magnification is changed by rotation of at least said part of said projection optical system.