Head mounted display

• US 7,542,012 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2005
• Issued: 06/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kato, Shigeru, Miyake, Nobuyuki, Otsuki, Masaki, Thiaki, Kenzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia; Prabodh M.
• Application Number:
  US11/154,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20060119539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 345/7, 345/8, 345/1.1, 345/87, 345/204, 345/214, 345/169, 345/2.3, 345/50, 345/102, 359 12- 19, 359/599, 359/630, 359/631, 359/307, 359/298, 359/846, 359/302, 358/1.9, 348/838, 348/14.01, 348/42, 351/201, 248/694, 700/17, 356/141.3, 455/575, 455/575.3, 361/681, 349/117
• US Class Current: 345/8
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0156 with optionally usable elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0176 characterised by mechanical features

Abstract

The head mounted display of the present invention has a display part for displaying images to the wearer, a supporting part which supports the display part, which is fed out into a position in front of as eye from a position that is not located in front of the face, and which is moved from this position in front of as eye into this position that is not located in front of the face, and a mounting part which holds this supporting part, and which is mounted on the wearer in a position that is not located in front of the face, and is constructed so that the supporting part can move past the side of the head along the contour of the head. As a result, a display device is produced which is relatively free of unsightliness with respect to the wearer.

Claims

1. A head mounted display comprising:

a display part which displays images to a wearer of the display,

a supporting part which supports the display part, and which is movable so as to move the display part between a position in front of an eye of the wearer and a position that is not located in front of a face of the wearer, and

a mounting part which;

(i) comprises two holding parts and a linking part connecting the two holding parts, (ii) holds the supporting part, and (iii) is mountable on the wearer not in front of the face of the wearer,

wherein the supporting part is movable around a side of a head of the wearer and along a contour of the head of the wearer; and

wherein an inner surface of the supporting part has a curvilinear shape that conforms to the side of the head of the wearer, and

wherein when the display part is in the position that is not located in front of the face of the wearer, the supporting part and the linking part are substantially combined together.

2. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the mounting part further comprises an accommodating part for accommodating the supporting part.

3. The head mounted display according to claim 2, wherein an accommodating distance between a back side of the accommodating part facing the head and a front side of the accommodating part is set to be at least equal to a width by which the display part extends inside the accommodating part when the supporting part is accommodated therein.

4. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein a curvature radius of the mounting part and a curvature radius of the supporting part are substantially identical, and

wherein the curvature radii of the mounting part and the supporting part are set to be greater than a radius of a circle circumscribing a back part of the head of the wearer, and such that the display part does not contact the face of the wearer when the supporting part is accommodated.

5. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the mounting part accommodates the supporting part,

wherein a curvature radius of a portion of the mounting part that accommodates the supporting part is substantially identical to a curvature radius of the supporting part and is greater than a radius of a circle circumscribing a back part of the head of the wearer, and

wherein a curvature radius of a remaining portion of the mounting part is smaller than the radius of the circle circumscribing the back part of the head of the wearer.

6. The head mounted display according to claim 1, further comprising a control part to vary a position of the display part in accordance with commands from the control part,

wherein the control part stores a plurality of set positions of the display part including at least an accommodated position and an intermediate position of accommodation, and

wherein an input device selects a position of the display part from the plurality of set positions stored in the control part.

7. The head mounted display according to claim 6, wherein the intermediate position of accommodation of the display part is set so as to not block a visual field of the wearer.

8. The head mounted display according to claim 6, wherein movement of the display part from an image observation position to the intermediate position of accommodation is performed only by a pivoting operation of the display part.

9. The head mounted display according to claim 6, wherein movement of the display part among an image observation position, the accommodated position and the intermediate position of accommodation is performed at a specified speed selected from a plurality of speeds.

10. The head mounted display according to claim 9, wherein movement of the display part up to a point where the display part leaves a visual field of the wearer is performed at a high speed, and movement after the display part has left the visual field of the wearer is performed at a lower speed.

11. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the display part is mountable on the head of the wearer in a reversed attitude in accordance with which eye of the wearer is to be used, and

wherein a plurality of operating members for operating the images displayed on the display part are attached to a portion mountable on the head of the wearer, and at least one of a shape and a dimension of at least one of the operating members differs from the other operating members.

12. The head mounted display according to claim 11, wherein the portion mountable on the head of the wearer comprises an audio output part, and wherein the plural operating members are disposed in the audio output part.

13. The head mounted display according to claim 1, further comprising an actuator for controlling the display part to be moved between the position in front of the eye of the wearer and the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer.

14. The head mounted display according to claim 13, wherein the actuator includes a sensor which is used as a starting trigger for the actuator and which detects variations that occur in specified parts of the head mounted display.

15. The head mounted display according to claim 14, wherein the supporting part is movable so as to protrude or withdraw with respect to the mounting part, and wherein the actuator controls movement of the display part by causing the supporting part to protrude or withdraw with respect to the mounting part.

16. The head mounted display according to claim 15, wherein the mounting part further comprises:

at least two members which are connected so as to allow an angular displacement of the at least two members, and

a driving member which drives the at least two members so that the at least two members are caused to undergo the angular displacement in a direction that reduces an angle on a side on which the head of the wearer is to be clamped by the head mounted display, and

wherein the sensor is a sensor that detects the angular displacement generated in the at least two members.

17. The head mounted display according to claim 14, further comprising a contact part which is connected to the mounting part and which contacts an ear of the wearer, and

wherein the sensor is a sensor that detects pressure that is applied between the mounting part and the contact part.

18. The head mounted display according to claim 14, wherein the sensor is a sensor that detects bending of the mounting part.

19. The head mounted display according to claim 14, wherein the sensor is a sensor that detects variation in a dielectric constant generated in a space where the head of the wearer is to be present.

20. The head mounted display according to claim 13, further comprising:

a sensor that detects whether the mounting part is mounted on the head of the wearer, and

an actuator driving device that controls the actuator in accordance with an output of the sensor by driving of a power supply.

21. The head mounted display according to claim 20, wherein the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position in front of the eye of the wearer when mounting on the head of the wearer is detected by the sensor, and controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer when mounting on the head of the wearer is not detected by the sensor.

22. The head mounted display according to claim 20, further comprising power supply control means for controlling driving and stopping of the power supply, and wherein the actuator driving device controls the driving of the actuator in accordance with an output of the sensor and instructions to the power supply control means.

23. The head mounted display according to claim 22, further comprising off-delay means for stopping the power supply after a specified time has passed when an instruction to stop the power supply is input into the power supply control means, and

wherein the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer when the instruction to stop the power supply is input into the power supply control means and mounting on the head of the wearer is not detected by the sensor.

24. The head mounted display according to claim 23, wherein the actuator driving device moves the display part to the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer during the specified time.

25. The head mounted display according to claim 22, wherein the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer when an instruction to stop the power supply is input into the power supply control means and when mounting on the head of the wearer is not detected by the sensor, and

wherein the power supply control means receives an indication that the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer, and stops the power supply.

26. The head mounted display according to claim 22, wherein the power supply comprises a battery or charging cell,

wherein the power supply control means comprises residual power detection means for detecting a residual amount of battery power, and

wherein the display part displays a state of the residual amount of the battery power according to an output of the residual power detection means.

27. The head mounted display according to claim 26, wherein the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer after the display part displays a message relating to the residual amount of the battery power dropping below a specified amount according to information relating to the residual amount of the battery power that is output from the residual power detection means, and

wherein the power supply control means cuts off the power supply when the display part reaches the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer.

28. The head mounted display according to claim 27, wherein the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer in accordance with information relating to both the residual amount of the battery power and the detection of mounting on the head of the wearer by the sensor.

29. The head mounted display according to claim 22, wherein when an instruction to start the driving of the power supply is sent to the power supply control means and mounting on the head of the wearer is not detected by the sensor, the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is in front of the eye of the wearer.

30. The head mounted display according to claim 22, wherein when an instruction to start the driving of the power supply is sent to the power supply control means and mounting on the head of the wearer is not detected by the sensor, the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in a standby position.

31. The head mounted display according to claim 22, wherein when an instruction to start the driving of the power supply is sent to the power supply control means and mounting on the head of the wearer is not detected by the sensor, the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer if the display part is positioned in the position that is in front of the eye of the wearer, and controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is in front of the eye of the wearer if the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer.

32. The head mounted display according to claim 22, wherein when an instruction to start the driving of the power supply is sent to the power supply control means and the mounting on the head of the wearer is not detected by the sensor, the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is placed in a state which allows selection of one of the position that is in front of the eye of the wearer and the position that is not in front of the face of the wearer.

33. The head mounted display according to claim 1, further comprising:

light blocking means for covering an eye of the wearer that is not viewing the images, and

means for prompting switched use of the display part and the light blocking means between the respective eyes of the wearer.

34. The head mounted display according to claim 33, wherein the means for prompting the switched use performs the prompting based on a length of time that the images have been displayed.

35. The head mounted display according to claim 1, further comprising:

light blocking means for covering an eye of the wearer that is not observing the images, and

switching means for switching between a state in which the eye is covered by the light blocking means and a state in which the eye is not covered by the light blocking means, and

wherein the state in which the eye is not covered by the light blocking means is achieved by retracting the light blocking means to outside of a visual field of the eye that is not observing video images.

36. The head mounted display according to claim 35, wherein the state in which the eye is not covered by the light blocking means is achieved by retracting the light blocking means to a back surface of the display part.

37. The head mounted display according to claim 35, wherein a portion of the light blocking means is accomodatable inside the mounting part.

38. A The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the linking part which has a curvilinear shape that conforms to the side of the head of the wearer,

wherein centers of curves of the curvilinear shapes of the supporting part and the linking part are substantially identical, and

wherein when the supporting part is retracted, the supporting part and the linking part are disposed substantially in parallel to each other.

39. The head mounted display according to claim 1, wherein when the display part is in the position that is not located in front of the face of the wearer, the supporting part closely overlaps the linking part.