Head mounted display

• US 20060119539A1
• Filed: 06/16/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Kato, Shigeru, Otsuki, Masaki, Miyake, Nobuyuki, Chiakl, Kenzo
• Granted Patent: US 7,542,012 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 having a display part used to display images to the wearer of the display, a supporting part which supports the display part, which is fed out into a position in front of an eye from a position that is not located in front of the face, and which is moved from this position in front of the 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, this head mounted display being characterized in that the supporting part is constructed so that this supporting part can move past the side of the head along the contour of the head.

2. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that an accommodating part that accommodates the supporting part is attached to the mounting part.

3. The head mounted display according to claim 2, which is characterized in that the distance between the side of the accommodating part that faces the head and the supporting part accommodating part is set so that this distance is equal to or greater than the width by which the display part extends to the inside from the supporting part when the supporting part is accommodated.

4. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that the curvature radius of the mounting part and the curvature radius of the supporting part are substantially the same, and this curvature radius is set at a size which is greater than the radius of a circle circumscribing the back part of the head, and which is such that the display part does not contact the face when the supporting part is accommodated.

5. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that the curvature radius of the portion of the mounting part that accommodates the supporting part is greater than the radius of a circle circumscribing the back part of the head, and has substantially the same radius as the radius of the supporting part, while the remaining portion of the mounting part has a radius that is smaller than this.

6. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that the position of the display part can be varied in accordance with commands from the control part, a plurality of set positions of the display part are stored in the control part, an input device for selecting these set positions is provided, and the set positions of the display part include an accommodated position and an intermediate position of accommodation.

7. The head mounted display according to claim 6, which is characterized in that the intermediate position of accommodation is set in a position which is such that the display part does not block the visual field.

8. The head mounted display according to claim 6, which is characterized in that the movement of the display part from the image observation position to the intermediate position of accommodation is performed only by the pivoting operation of the display part.

9. The head mounted display according to claim 6, which is characterized in that the movement of the display part among the image observation position, accommodated position and 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, which is characterized in that the system is devised so that the movement of the display part up to the point where the display part leaves the visual field is performed at a high speed, while the movement of the display part after this display part has left the visual field is performed at a lower speed.

11. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that this display is a head mounted display of the type that is mounted on the head in a reversed attitude according to the eye used, one or more operating members that are used to operate at least the images that are displayed on the display part are attached to the portion mounted on the head, and the shape or dimensions (or both) of at least one of the operating members differ from those of the other operating members.

12. The head mounted display according to claim 11, which is characterized in that an audio output part is present in the portion that is mounted on the head, and the operating members are disposed in this audio output part.

13. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that an actuator is provided which is used to displace the display part between the position in front of the face and the position that is not in front of the face.

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

15. The head mounted display according to claim 14, which is characterized in that the supporting part that supports the display part is free to protrude or withdraw with respect to the mounting part, and the actuator causes displacement 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, which is characterized in that the mounting part consists of at least two members which are connected so that an angular displacement of these members is possible, and a driving member which drives these two members so that these members are caused to undergo an angular displacement in the direction that reduces the angle on the side on which the head of the user is to be clamped by this head mounted display, and the sensor is a sensor that detects the angular displacement generated in the two members.

17. The head mounted display according to claim 14, which is characterized in that this display further comprises a contact part which is connected to the mounting part and which contacts the ear of the user, and the sensor is a sensor that detects the pressure that is applied between the mounting part and the contact part.

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

19. The head mounted display according to claim 14, which is characterized in that the sensor is a sensor that detects variation in the dielectric constant generated in the space where the head of the user on which this head mounted display is mounted is to be present.

20. The head mounted display according to claim 13, which is characterized in that this display comprises a sensor that detects the presence or absence of mounting of the mounting part on the head of the user, and an actuator driving device that controls the actuator in accordance with the output of this sensor during the driving of the power supply.

21. The head mounted display according to claim 20, which is characterized in that the actuator driving device controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position in front of the face when mounting on the head 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 when mounting on the head cannot be detected by the sensor.

22. The head mounted display according to claim 20, which is characterized in that this display has power supply control means for controlling the driving and stopping of the power supply, and the actuator driving device controls the driving of the actuator in accordance with the output of the sensor and instructions to the power supply control means.

23. The head mounted display according to claim 22, which is characterized in that this display comprises 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 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 when an instruction to stop the power supply is input into the power supply control means and mounting on the head cannot be detected by the sensor.

24. The head mounted display according to claim 23, which is characterized in that the actuator driving device moves the display part to the position that is not in front of the face during a specified time set by the off-delay means.

25. The head mounted display according to claim 22, which is characterized in that 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 when an instruction to stop the power supply is input into the power supply control means and mounting on the head cannot be detected by the sensor, and 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, and stops the power supply.

26. The head mounted display according to claim 22, which is characterized in that the power supply is a battery or charging cell, the power supply control means has residual power detection means for detecting the residual amount of this battery'"'"'s power, and the display part displays the state of the residual amount of the battery power according to the output of the residual power detection means.

27. The head mounted display according to claim 26, which is characterized in that 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 after the display part displays a message relating to the residual amount of the battery power when the residual amount of the battery power drops 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 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.

28. The head mounted display according to claim 27, which is characterized in that 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 in accordance with information relating to both the residual amount of the battery power and the detection of mounting on the head by the sensor.

29. The head mounted display according to claim 22, which is characterized in that in cases where an instruction to start the driving of the power supply is sent to the power supply control means and mounting on the head 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 face.

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

31. The head mounted display according to claim 22, which is characterized in that in cases where an instruction to start the driving of the power supply is sent to the power supply control means and mounting on the head 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 if the display part is positioned in the position that is in front of the face, and controls the actuator so that the display part is positioned in the position that is in front of the face if the display part is positioned in the position that is not in front of the face.

32. The head mounted display according to claim 22, which is characterized in that in cases where an instruction to start the driving of the power supply is sent to the power supply control means and mounting on the head 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 the selection of either the position that is in front of the face or the position that is not in front of the face.

33. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that this display has light blocking means for covering the eye that is not viewing video images, and has means for prompting the respective switched use of the display part on the eye on the side on which the light blocking means is being used, and of the light blocking means on the eye on the side on which the display part is being used.

34. The head mounted display according to claim 33, which is characterized in that the means for prompting the switched use prompts this switched use on the basis of the length of time that the video images have been displayed.

35. The head mounted display according to claim 1, which is characterized in that this display has light blocking means for covering the eye that is not observing video images, and a structure that allows 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 the state in which the eye is not covered by the light blocking means is formed by retracting the light blocking means to the outside of the visual field of the eye that is not observing video images.

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

37. The head mounted display according to claim 35, which is characterized in that this display further comprises a supporting part to which the display part is attached and the light blocking means, and a portion of the light blocking means is accommodated inside the mounting part, so that a state is produced in which the eye is not covered.

38. A head mounted display having a display part for displaying images to the wearer, and a mounting part which directly or indirectly holds the display part and is mounted on the wearer in a position other than a position in front of the face of the wearer, this head mounted display being characterized in that the display part has a two-dimensional display element and an ocular optical system that forms a false image of the display screen of this two-dimensional display element, and has the function of controlling the image data that is displayed on the two-dimensional display element in accordance with the positional relationship between the two-dimensional display element and the wearer, and this head mounted display being further characterized in that a circuit part is present which displays images on the display screen of the two-dimensional display element, the mounting part can mount the display part on the head of the observer so that the position where the false image is formed is substantially in front of an eye of the observer, and the circuit part can alter the display magnification rate of the images on the display screen.

39. The head mounted display according to claim 38, which is characterized in that an adjustment mechanism that is used to adjust the positional relationship between an eye of the observer and the display part is disposed in the mounting means.

40. The head mounted display according to claim 39, which is characterized in that this display further comprises measurement means for acquiring data relating to the positional relationship between an eye of the observer and the display part and data relating to the variation in this positional relationship, and the circuit part alters the display magnification rate in accordance with the data acquired by the measurement means.

41. The head mounted display according to claim 39, which is characterized in that the measurement means acquires the data on the basis of the state of the adjustment mechanism.

42. The head mounted display according to claim 38, which is characterized in that this display further comprises a circuit part that displays images on the display screen of the two-dimensional display element, the mounting part can mount the display part on the head of the observer so that the position where the false image is formed is substantially in front of an eye of the observer, input means for inputting instructions from the observer is provided, and the circuit part can alter the display magnification rate in accordance with instructions that are input via the input means.

43. The head mounted display according to claim 42, which is characterized in that an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the positional relationship of an eye of the observer and the display part is disposed in the mounting means.

44. A head mounted display comprising a display part consisting of a two-dimensional display element for displaying video images, an ocular optical system that forms a false image from this two-dimensional display element, and an outer covering part that accommodates the two-dimensional display element and the ocular optical system, this head mounted display being characterized in that the distance between the two-dimensional display element and the ocular optical system can be displaced in relative terms, and this head mounted display being characterized in that this display comprises driving means for causing the displacement of the distance between the two-dimensional display element and the ocular optical system in relative terms, storage means for storing information relating to the distance between the two-dimensional display element and the ocular optical system, and control means for controlling the driving means on the basis of information relating to the distance between the two-dimensional display element and the ocular optical system from the storage means.

45. The head mounted display according to claim 44, which is characterized in that detection means for detecting up and down in the display part, or setting means for setting the distance between the two-dimensional display element part and the ocular optical system, or both, are provided, and in accordance with the output of the detection means or the setting means, the control means obtains information relating to the distance between the two-dimensional display element and the ocular optical system stored in the storage means, and sets the driving means.