Head mounted display device

• US 8,669,919 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2010
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ono, Takatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): SHENG, TOM V
• Application Number:
  US12/955,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20110128209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• Field of Search: 345/7, 345/8, 345/9
• US Class Current: 345/8
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• 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 27/017 Head mounted

Abstract

A head mounted display device including:

• an image display that is mounted on the head of a user to permit the user to visually recognize an image;
• a determination unit that, when any other unitary moving images correlated with the same unitary display image corresponding to one of the unitary moving images are generated, determines whether to replace the one of the unitary moving images with the any other unitary moving images; and
• a continual moving image display that, when the determination unit determines that the one of the unitary moving images should be replaced with the any other unitary moving images, replaces the one of the unitary moving images with the any other unitary moving images to generate those replaced unitary moving images as one coherent continual moving image.

Claims

1. A head mounted display device comprising:

an image display that is mounted on the head of a user to permit the user to visually recognize an image;

an imager that takes an image in a direction of a field of view of the user and generates a taken moving image;

a processor configured to execute instructions grouped into functional units, the instructions including;

a unitary display image data acquisition unit that acquires unitary display image data which is to be displayed on the image display;

a unitary moving image display that generates a unitary moving image correlated with the unitary display image from the moving image generated by the imager for each of the unitary display images which are displayed on the image display;

a determination unit that, when any other unitary moving image correlated with the same unitary display image corresponding to one of the unitary moving images is generated, determines whether to replace the one of the unitary moving images with the any other unitary moving image; and

a continual moving image display that, when the determination unit determines that the one of the unitary moving images should be replaced with the any other unitary moving image, replaces the one of the unitary moving image and combines unitary moving images that are not replaced and any other unitary moving image to generate coherent continual moving image.

2. The head mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein

the unitary moving image display generates the any other unitary moving image when an image-taking time is longer than a predetermined lapse of time.

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

an operating device that is operated by the user, wherein

the continual moving image display determines whether to replace the unitary moving image through operations of the operating device by the user.

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

a spare unitary moving image storage device that stores the one of the unitary moving images replaced with the any other unitary moving image by the continual moving image display.

5. The head mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein

the continual moving image display replaces the one of the unitary moving images with the any other unitary moving image when the image-taking time for the any other unitary moving image is longer than the image-taking time for the 1 of the unitary moving images.

6. The head mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein

the unitary moving image display generates a new unitary moving image when the unitary display image which is to be displayed on the image display is changed.

7. The head mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein

the processor is configured to further execute the instructions grouped into functional units, the instructions further including:

an association recognition unit that recognizes association of the taken moving image and the unitary display image, wherein

the unitary display image data acquisition unit acquires the unitary display image data associated with the taken moving image recognized by the association recognition unit,

the image display displays the acquired unitary display image data,

the unitary moving image display generates a new unitary moving image when the association is recognized by the association recognition unit, and

when erasure of the association is recognized by the association recognition unit, quits generation of the new unitary moving image.

8. The head mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein

the association recognition unit

acquires positions of a plurality of taken feature points, which are feature points included in the taken moving image,

acquires the positions of a plurality of display feature points, which are the feature points registered in a condition where they are associated with the unitary display image, and

compares the positions of the plurality of taken feature points and the positions of the plurality of display feature points, thereby recognizing the association.

9. The head mounted display device according to claim 1, wherein

the processor is configured to further execute the instructions grouped into functional units, the instructions further including:

a continual moving image playing unit that causes the image display to display the continual moving image and the unitary display image that corresponds to the unitary, moving images that constitute the continual moving image.