Head-mounted personal visual display apparatus with image generator and holder
First Claim
1. A tracker for use with a head-mounted display, comprising:
- a housing;
sensors and signal processing circuitry, coupled to said housing, configured to output first signals which indicate movement or position of said housing;
a coupler configured to couple said housing to the head-mounted display in such a way that, when the head-mounted display is positioned on a user'"'"'s head, movement of the user'"'"'s head causes movement of the sensors;
said tracker being coupled to said head-mounted display in a position, with respect to the user'"'"'s head, to counterbalance the weight of said head-mounted display, wherein neck strain is reduced; and
wherein said coupler is configured to permit user removal of said tracker so that the head-mounted display can be used without the tracker.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A visual display device is provided for delivering a generated image, preferably combinable with environment light, to the eye of a user. The device is lightweight and compact but yields a high quality image. In one embodiment, a shroud protects from stray light and holds optical elements in desired alignment. In one embodiment an image generator is masked by at least two masks to provide for a high quality image without waste. In one embodiment, a removably mounted shield or activatable device and convert the apparatus from a see-through device to an immersion device and back again. In one embodiment, the device can be comfortably mounted to the user'"'"'s head while still allowing for use of conventional eyeglasses. A tracker for outputting an indication of the orientation, attitude and/or position of a head-mounted display (HMD) may be provided. The tracker can be configured so that it is incorporated in the HMD housing and/or can be easily decoupled from the HMD, so that the HMD can be used without the tracker (e.g. for watching movies). Preferably, decoupling involves unplugging a single electrical connector (such as a cable) and unfastening a mechanical connection (such as a strap). Preferably the tracker provides pass-through of signal to the HMD and, when the tracker is coupled to the HMD, only a single cable or other data link connects the HMD-tracker combination to the host computer. In one embodiment, the tracker uses magnetic sensors. In another embodiment, one or more inertial sensors, such as a rate gyro and/or accelerometers are used.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A tracker for use with a head-mounted display, comprising:
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a housing;
sensors and signal processing circuitry, coupled to said housing, configured to output first signals which indicate movement or position of said housing;
a coupler configured to couple said housing to the head-mounted display in such a way that, when the head-mounted display is positioned on a user'"'"'s head, movement of the user'"'"'s head causes movement of the sensors;
said tracker being coupled to said head-mounted display in a position, with respect to the user'"'"'s head, to counterbalance the weight of said head-mounted display, wherein neck strain is reduced; and
wherein said coupler is configured to permit user removal of said tracker so that the head-mounted display can be used without the tracker.
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2. A display system, comprising:
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a head-mounted display operatively connected to an image source such that the head mounted display can receive and display images from the image source;
a tracker which includes a housing;
sensors and signal processing circuitry, coupled to said housing, configured to output first signals which indicate movement or position of said housing;
a fastener configured to removably attach said housing to the head-mounted display in such a way that, when the head-mounted display is positioned on a user'"'"'s head, movement of the user'"'"'s head causes movement of the sensors;
wherein said fastener is configured to permit user removal of said tracker so that the head-mounted display can be used without the tracker. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A tracker for use with a head-mounted display operatively connected to an image source such that the head mounted display can receive and display images from the image source comprising:
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housing means;
sensors and signal processing means, coupled to said housing means;
coupler means for coupling said housing to the head-mounted display in such a way that, when the head-mounted display is positioned on a user'"'"'s head, movement of the user'"'"'s head causes movement of the sensors;
wherein said coupler means is configured to permit user removal of said tracker so that the head-mounted display can be used without the tracker.
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14. A tracker for use with a head-mounted display operatively connected to an image source such that the head mounted display can receive and display images from the image source, comprising:
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a housing;
sensors and signal processing circuitry, coupled to said housing, configured to output first signals which indicate movement or position of said housing;
a coupler configured to couple said housing to the head-mounted display in such a way that, when the head-mounted display is positioned on a user'"'"'s head, movement of the user'"'"'s head causes movement of the sensors;
wherein said sensors include inertial sensors.
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15. A tracker for use with a head-mounted display, comprising:
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a housing;
sensors and signal processing circuitry, coupled to said housing, configured to output first signals which indicate movement or position of said housing;
a coupler configured to couple said housing to the head-mounted display in such a way that, when the head-mounted display is positioned on a user'"'"'s head, movement of the user'"'"'s head causes movement of the sensors;
wherein said sensors include inertial sensors and said inertial sensors include first and second accelerometers configured to sense head pitch in first and second different directions and a rate gyro configured to sens head rotation substantially about a user'"'"'s spinal axis.
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16. A display system comprising:
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a head-mounted display;
at least a first earphone coupled to said head-mounted display at least a first bucking magnet adjacent said first earphone sensors and signal processing circuitry, coupled to said head-mounted display, configured to output first signals which indicate movement or position of said head-mounted display.
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17. A display system, comprising:
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a head mounted display operatively connected to an image generator;
a tracker which includes;
a housing;
sensors and signal processing circuitry, coupled to said housing, configured to output first signals which indicate movement or position of said housing;
a electrical connector configured to fasten said housing to the head-mounted display in such a way that, when the head-mounted display is positioned on a user'"'"'s head, movement of the user'"'"'s head causes movement of the sensors;
a single communication cable which conveys the electrical signals from said tracker to said image generator, and from said image generator to said head-mounted display. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification