Head-mounted display and image display apparatus

• US 9,709,806 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2013
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Hirotaka, Iwatsu, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAH, PRIYANK J
• Application Number:
  US14/394,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20150049002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• 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 2027/0198 System for aligning or maintaining alignment of an image in a predetermined direction
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0179 Display position adjusting means not related to the information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/10 Special adaptations of display systems for operation with variable images
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/12 Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04

Abstract

A head-mounted display according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a display unit, a detector, and a first control unit. The detector detects an azimuth of the display unit around at least one axis. The first control unit includes a region limiter, storage unit, and a display control unit. The region limiter is configured to be capable of limiting a display region of the field of view along a direction of the one axis in three-dimensional coordinates surrounding the display unit. The storage unit stores images that should be displayed in the field of view with the images being made corresponding to the three-dimensional coordinates. The display control unit displays, based on an output of the detector, an image in the three-dimensional coordinates, which corresponds to the azimuth, in the field of view.

Claims

1. A head-mounted display, comprising:

a display unit that is configured to be mountable on a head of a user and is capable of providing the user with a field of view of a real space;

a detector that detects an azimuth of the display unit around at least one axis;

a region limiter that is capable of limiting a display region of the field of view along a direction of the one axis in three-dimensional coordinates surrounding the display unit;

a storage unit that stores images that should be displayed in the field of view with the images being made corresponding to the three-dimensional coordinates;

a display control unit that displays, based on an output of the detector, an image in the three-dimensional coordinates, which corresponds to the azimuth, in the field of view; and

a second control unit including an image acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of images stored in the storage unit,

wherein the region limiter, the storage unit, and the display control unit constitute a first control unit, and the first control unit is configured to request the second control unit to preferentially transmit an image made corresponding to a coordinate position closer to the display region of the field of view in the three-dimensional coordinates.

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

the detector detects an azimuth of the display unit around a vertical axis, and

the region limiter limits a region in a height direction in cylindrical coordinates around the vertical axis in accordance with a region of the field of view in a vertical direction.

3. The head-mounted display according to claim 2, wherein

the region limiter limits the region in the height direction in the cylindrical coordinates to a height such that at least part of the images stored in the storage unit is displayed in the field of view.

4. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit

moves, when the azimuth is changed by a first predetermined angle or larger, the image in the field of view in accordance with a change in azimuth, and

fixes a display position of the image in the field of view when the change in azimuth is smaller than the first predetermined angle.

5. The head-mounted display according to claim 4, wherein the detector further detects a change in attitude of the display unit around a horizontal axis, and the display control unit

moves, when the change in attitude is equal to or larger than a second predetermined angle, the image in the field of view in accordance with the change in attitude, and

fixes, when the change in attitude is smaller than the second predetermined angle, the display position of the image in the field of view.

6. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit moves the image to a predetermined position in the field of view when a change in output of the detector is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value over a predetermined time.

7. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit moves the image to a predetermined position in the field of view when an input of a predetermined signal generated according to an operation of the user is detected.

8. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit cancels, when a change in output of the detector is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency in a state in which the image is displayed at a predetermined position in the field of view, a frequency component of the output of the detector, which is equal to or higher than the predetermined frequency.

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

the region limiter, the storage unit, and the display control unit constitute a first control unit, and

the first control unit limits, when an input of a predetermined signal generated according to an operation of the user is detected, a region in the height direction in the three-dimensional coordinates in accordance with a region of the field of view in the direction of the one axis, and adjusts all the images displayed in the field of view to the same height in the field of view.

10. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the image includes information relating to a predetermined target present in the field of view.

11. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the image includes an animation image.

12. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the detector includes a terrestrial magnetism sensor.

13. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the detector includes a motion sensor that detects a motion of the display unit.

14. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein

the region limiter, the storage unit, and the display control unit constitute a first control unit, and

the first control unit requests the second control unit to transmit one or more images selected from among the plurality of images.

15. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the image is an animation image, and

the first control unit requests the second control unit to collectively transmit at least some of all images constituting the animation image.

16. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein the first control unit regularly evaluates, with respect to all the images stored in the storage unit, a distance between the coordinate position and the display region of the field of view and removes an image at a coordinate position furthest from the display region of the field of view from the storage unit.

17. The head-mounted display according to claim 1, wherein

the region limiter, the storage unit, and the display control unit constitute a first control unit,

the second control unit further includes a position information acquisition unit that is capable of acquiring position information of the display unit, and

the image acquisition unit acquires an image corresponding to the position information that can be transmitted to the first control unit.

18. An image display apparatus, comprising:

a display unit including a display surface that is capable of providing a field of view of a real space;

a detector that detects an azimuth of the display unit around at least one axis;

a region limiter that is capable of limiting a display region of the field of view along a direction of the one axis in three-dimensional coordinates surrounding the display unit;

a storage unit that stores images that should be displayed in the field of view with the images being made corresponding to the three-dimensional coordinates;

a display control unit that displays, based on an output of the detector, an image in the three-dimensional coordinates, which corresponds to the azimuth, in the field of view; and

a second control unit including an image acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of images stored in the storage unit,

wherein the region limiter, the storage unit, and the display control unit constitute a first control unit, and the first control unit is configured to request the second control unit to preferentially transmit an image made corresponding to a coordinate position closer to the display region of the field of view in the three-dimensional coordinates.

19. An image display method, comprising:

detecting an azimuth of a display unit around at least one axis, the display unit being capable of providing a field of view of a real space;

storing images that should be displayed in the field of view with the images being made corresponding to three-dimensional coordinates surrounding the display unit;

limiting a display region of the field of view along a direction of the one axis in the three-dimensional coordinates; and

displaying, based on an output of the detector, an image in the three-dimensional coordinates, which corresponds to the azimuth, in the field of view,

wherein a second control unit including an image acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of images stored in the storage unit, and

wherein the region limiter, the storage unit, and the display control unit constitute a first control unit, and the first control unit is configured to request the second control unit to preferentially transmit an image made corresponding to a coordinate position closer to the display region of the field of view in the three-dimensional coordinates.