JPH07115607A - Head mounting type video display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the adjustment of eye width/pupil deviation with simple operations by operating a video cutting means and an illuminating means when adjusting the pupil positions of an observer. CONSTITUTION:Since light from a video display element 1 is made incident to an eyeball E of the observer, the light disturbs the adjustment of pupil deviation adjustment. Therefore, a video signal is stopped by providing the electric video cutting means at the circuit of the element 1 so that a picture can get dark at the time of pupil deviation adjustment. Then, at the time of pupil deviation adjustment, the light from the pupils of the observer near the focal point of a concave reflection mirror 4 is reflected in the direction of the reflection mirror 4 by a semi-transmission plane 3, reflected on the reflection mirror 4, turned to parallel light and guided again to the eyeball E by the plane 3, and the pupils are observed by the observer as distant virtual images. At such a time, when the injection pupils of the display device are not matched with the pupils of the observer and the pupils are deviated, the observer can not observe its own pupil images in the direction of a visual line A so as to discriminate the pupil deviation. Thus, its own pupil images can be observed in the direction of the visual line A by adjusting the eye width adjusting mechanism of the video display device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head-mounted image display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a head-mounted type that is held on an observer's head for the purpose of individually enjoying a large-screen image and carrying it outdoors so that the image can be viewed. Video display devices have been devised.

For example, FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional head-mounted image display device, and is a partial sectional view showing a state in which an observer is using it. This head-mounted video display device 101 has a video display element 102 mounted on the head of an observer and arranged in front of both eyes, and an audio reproduction element 103 for reproducing audio. These image display elements 102
And the audio reproducing element 103 is a video signal supplying cord 104.
Also, it is connected to a video / audio signal supply unit (not shown) via an audio signal supply cord 105.

A projection optical system 107 is attached inside the apparatus opening 106 at a position near the face of the image display element 102. The projection optical system 107 is arranged at a predetermined interval from the image display element 102 so as to enlarge the image displayed on the image display element 102 and project the image on the eyeball 108 of the observer.

With such a head-mounted image display device, the power of a large-screen image can be obtained with a small image display element, and an observer can enjoy the image in a comfortable posture without leaking the image information to the surroundings. However, since there are individual differences in the eye width of the observer, the projection image by the projection optical system 107 may not be properly guided into the eyeball 108.

Therefore, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-82175, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-26288, and Japanese Patent Application No. 4-267504, the right and left eyes of the projection optical system are adjusted according to the individual difference between the two eyes. A head-mounted image display device capable of adjusting the interval between the exit pupils has been devised.

On the other hand, since the head-mounted image display device is mounted on the observer's head, it is necessary to reduce the size and weight of the image display element in order to reduce fatigue and prevent danger. I am using.

[0008]

However, the image display device using this liquid crystal has visual dependency. That is, in general, light emitted in a direction within a range of about 5 ° from the normal direction of the liquid crystal display element has a high contrast, so that a good image can be obtained, but in other directions, a good image can be obtained. It will be difficult.

That is, the image display element 102 shown in FIG.
Since the numerical aperture of the light beam emitted from the projection optical system 107 is small, the exit pupil diameter of the exit pupil 109 by the projection optical system 107 is limited to be small. Also, in order to increase the amount of light guided to the eyeball,
If an attempt is made to improve the light converging property of light from the image display element using a lens system or the like, the exit pupil is also limited to a small size.

Therefore, in order for the observer 110 to obtain a good image, it is necessary to receive light for obtaining a good image on the entire surfaces of the left and right pupils 111 and 112 of the observer. The observer's pupil must be placed within the good light-intersecting area of.

In FIG. 8, since the left eye pupil 111 of the observer 110 overlaps the exit pupil 109, a good image is observed by the left eye, but the right eye pupil 112 deviates from the exit pupil 109. In this case, a good image cannot be observed with the right eye and binocular vision is not possible.

In general, the observer does not know whether he is observing with both eyes, and in order to confirm this, he must close one eye and check whether he can see with both eyes.
Also, it is difficult to know in which direction the device should be adjusted when the pupils are misaligned. Therefore, the observer has to perform complicated pupil alignment when using the head-mounted image display device.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-66340, providing a mechanism for photoelectrically detecting the pupil position of the observer and automatically adjusting the pupil distance complicates the apparatus. As a result, the weight, which is the most problematic problem for the head-mounted image display device, becomes heavy, which makes it difficult for the user to feel comfortable to wear, and causes problems such as fatigue during long-term observation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to display a head-mounted image so that an observer can easily perform a complicated operation of eye adjustment. It is to provide a device.

[0015]

In order to achieve such an object, a head-mounted image display device of the present invention provides an image display means for displaying an image and an image displayed on the image display means. In a head-mounted image display device having a projection optical system used for projecting into the eyeball of an observer,
An image blocking unit for blocking the image display on the image display unit or for blocking the image from the image display unit, and at least one arranged in an optical path for guiding the image displayed on the image display unit to the eyeball of the observer. A concave reflecting mirror or a semitransparent concave reflecting mirror and an illuminating unit for determining a pupil shift are provided, and the image blocking unit and the illuminating unit are operated when adjusting the observer's pupil position. It is characterized by that.

In this case, a pupil shift index or a pupil alignment auxiliary index may be provided in the optical path, or a pupil shift index or a pupil alignment auxiliary index may be provided in the optical path. It is also possible to illuminate the pupil misalignment index or the pupil alignment auxiliary index by the illumination means.

[0017]

According to the present invention, the image display means for cutting off the image display on the image display means or the image from the image display means and the image display means for arranging the image displayed on the image display means to the observer's eyeball are arranged. At least one concave reflecting mirror or semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror and an illuminating unit for determining a pupil shift, and operates the image blocking unit and the illuminating unit when adjusting the pupil position of the observer. Therefore, when the observer's own pupil or the pupil shift index is illuminated with the image display blocked, those images are formed in the distance by the concave reflecting mirror or the semitransparent concave reflecting mirror, and the pupil of the observer When there is a pupil shift that does not match the exit pupil of this display device, the observer cannot see the distant image in the visual axis direction, so it is easy to see that there is a pupil shift, and Easy operation to adjust pupil distance and pupil deviation It can be carried out in.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The head-mounted image display apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on several embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention, and this diagram shows only an optical system for one of the left and right eyes. The image display device according to the present embodiment has a visual axis A of an observer eyeball E.
And a beam splitter prism 2 having a semi-transmissive surface 3 coated on the cemented surface so as to form an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the visual axis A. It is composed of a concave reflecting mirror 4 arranged to face the image display element 1 with the beam splitter prism 2 in between, and a backlight 5 arranged behind the liquid crystal image display element 1 to display a display image of the image display element 1. The projection optical system for projecting into the eyeball E is composed of a concave reflecting mirror 4 and a semi-transmissive surface 3. Then, the focal point reflected by the semi-transmissive surface 3 of the concave reflecting mirror 4 is arranged so as to be located near the pupil of the observer's eye E.

In the present embodiment, during normal image observation, the light beam emitted from the image display element 1 is transmitted through the semi-transmissive surface 3 and is reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 4 to become substantially parallel light, which is a distant image. Is returned to the semi-transmissive surface 3 and is reflected this time, which is then incident on the eyeball E of the observer and displayed as a distant image in front of the observer.

According to the present invention, in order to adjust the pupil deviation and the pupil distance, the following eye width and pupil deviation are adjusted. First,
Since the light from the image display element 1 directly enters the observer's eyeball E, it is an obstacle when adjusting the pupil shift. Therefore, an electric image cutoff unit is provided in the display circuit of the image display element 1 to stop the image signal so that the screen becomes dark when the pupil shift is adjusted.

In addition to the above-described method of electrically stopping the video signal, when the liquid crystal video display device is used as the video cutoff means, the liquid crystal video display element itself is not a display element that emits light, and thus the backlight 5 is used. Since it is always necessary, the backlight 5 can be turned off or the like. Further, it is of course possible to block the display light with a mechanical shutter or the like.

When adjusting the pupil shift, the above-mentioned eyepiece optical system causes the semi-transmissive surface 3 to reflect the light from the pupil of the observer placed near the focal position of the concave reflecting mirror 4 toward the concave reflecting mirror 4. , Is reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 4 in the opposite direction into substantially parallel light, and is reflected again by the semi-transmissive surface 3 in the direction of the observer's pupil, and is guided to the eyeball E of the observer as a substantially parallel light beam, and the observer's pupil To be observed as a distant virtual image. If the observer's pupil does not match the exit pupil of the display device and there is pupil misalignment, it is not possible to see the image of one's own pupil in the visual axis direction, so it is known that there is pupil misalignment. The pupil distance adjusting mechanism (not shown) of the image display device is adjusted so that the image of one's own pupil can be seen in the visual axis direction.

In the case of this embodiment, the observer's eyeball E is used to inform the observer that the pupil position is displaced. In this case, when the focal length of the concave reflecting mirror 4 is f and the distance between the concave reflecting mirror 4 and the iris of the observer's eye E is d, it is important that f and d are substantially equal. If this condition is significantly deviated, the virtual image of the iris reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 4 cannot be moved far away, and the observer cannot clearly observe his or her iris image.

By the way, in order to observe the image of the observer's pupil, an illumination means for illuminating the pupil is required. As described above, if the image from the image display element 1 is cut off when the image display device is attached, the inside of the device becomes dark and the observer's pupil cannot be observed. Therefore, an illuminating means for illuminating the observer's pupil is required. In the case of this embodiment, the light source 6 such as an LED or a miniature bulb is arranged outside the field of view, and is turned on only when the pupil shift is adjusted. An interlocking device (not shown) that interlocks the lighting of the illumination device 6 with the operation of the above-mentioned image blocking device is provided, and when the light source 6 is turned on, the image blocking device is operated in association with the operation of the image display device 1. When the light is blocked and the pupil alignment mark M as shown in FIG. 2 below is displayed, the supply of the video signal to the video display element 1 is interlocked, and another video signal supply circuit is used. The display of the mark M is designed to be linked.

In the case of the present embodiment, the observer observes the image of his / her eye E during the pupil misalignment adjustment.
By adjusting the position of the image display device so that the image of is located at the center of the screen, it is possible to match the exit pupil position of the eyepiece optical system with the iris position of the eyeball E. In addition, instead of seeing the iris image of one's own eye E, the eyeball E and the prism 2
A liquid crystal image display element for displaying an index such as a crosshair for pupil alignment is separately arranged between the two, and the index is reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 4 to form a virtual image of the index in the distance. It can be similarly judged whether or not it is.

More preferably, instead of blocking the image display of the image display element 1 by the image blocking means, a pupil alignment mark M is displayed on the image display element 1 as shown in the front view of FIG. When the observer observes the pupil image of the observer by superimposing it on the mark M, the pupil distance and pupil adjustment can be performed more easily.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a semitransparent concave reflecting mirror 4'is used as the concave reflecting mirror, and the semitransparent surface 3 is composed of a pellicle beam splitter. In the case of the first embodiment, the concave reflecting mirror 4 is the beam splitter prism 2
It was placed facing the video display element 1 with the
In this embodiment, the semitransparent concave reflecting mirror 4'is arranged in front of the semitransparent surface 3 in front of the visual axis A.

In this embodiment, at the time of normal image observation, the light beam emitted from the image display element 1 is reflected by the semi-transmissive surface 3 and is reflected by the semitransparent concave reflecting mirror 4 ', and then becomes substantially parallel light. It returns to the semi-transmissive surface 3 as a distant image, and this time it is transmitted, and this enters the eyeball E of the observer, and is displayed as a distant image in front of the observer. If the semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror 4'is used in such an arrangement, it is possible to perform so-called superimposition in which the image of the image display element 1 is superimposed and displayed on the external image.

In this embodiment, a backlight 5 such as a fluorescent tube used in the case of the liquid crystal image display device 1 is used as an illuminating means for illuminating the eyeball E of the observer, which is the pupil misalignment index portion.
The light guide 7 is used to guide the illumination light to the illumination position for illumination. Also, as another method,
You may make it introduce the light of the external world by providing an opening part.

The third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment, but is an example in which the eyepiece 8 made of a positive lens is used in the projection optical system. In the case of this example, the liquid crystal image display element 1 is arranged in front of the visual axis A, and the eyeball E and this image display element 1 are arranged.
An eyepiece 8 consisting of a positive lens is arranged between the two, and during normal image observation, the light rays emitted from the image display element 1 become substantially parallel light at the eyepiece 8 and form a distant image of the eyeball E of the observer. The image is displayed as a distant image in front of the observer.

Then, a semitransparent concave reflecting mirror 9 is arranged between the eyeball E and the eyepiece 8, and the concave reflecting mirror 9 is used to observe the iris of the observer's eyeball E, which is a pupil shift index portion, as a distant virtual image. There is. In the first and second embodiments, the concave reflecting mirrors 4 and 4'of the projection optical system are used to form the iris of the eyeball E in order to adjust the pupil shift, but in the present embodiment, the eyeballs are used. Semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror 9 for focusing only the iris of E
Is arranged separately from the eyepiece lens 8 of the projection optical system.

A liquid crystal shutter may be attached to the semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror 9 to include the image blocking means, or the concave reflecting mirror may be inserted into the optical path only when the pupil shift is adjusted. May be. Further, even if the semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror 9 is still inserted in the optical path, if the illumination light for illuminating the pupil misalignment index portion during image observation is blocked,
In practical use, it does not interfere with image observation.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment, but as shown in FIG. 5A, a positive lens 10 is arranged between the eyeball E and the beam splitter prism 2 and the concave reflecting mirror 4 is provided. The front focus position is arranged near the surface of the positive lens 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, a V groove 11 is cut in the center of the surface of the positive lens 10 to form a pupil shift index portion. Then, as an illuminating means, LE that separately illuminates the left and right surfaces of the V groove 11
Two light sources 6 ₁ and 6 ₂ of different colors such as D and miniature bulbs are arranged outside the field of view.

In the case of this embodiment, the pupil misalignment index portion is the first
The V groove 11 of the positive lens 10 plays the role, not the iris of the observer's eye E as in the third embodiment. Light source 6 ₁ ,
When the side surface of the positive lens 10 is illuminated with the red and blue lights from 6 ₂ , the red and blue lights enter the lens 10 from different opposing directions, hit the left and right surfaces of the V groove 11, and then those surfaces From the concave reflecting mirror 4 side to the concave reflecting mirror 4 at the semi-transmissive surface 3.
Direction, and is reflected in the opposite direction by the concave reflecting mirror 4 to become substantially parallel light, which is again reflected in the observer's pupil direction by the semi-transmissive surface 3 and guided to the eyeball E of the observer as a substantially parallel light beam. The V groove 11 is observed as a distant virtual image. In this case, when the observer's pupil coincides with the exit pupil of the display device, the V groove 11 is observed as a line in the front direction, and the line appears red and blue. However, when the pupils are deviated, the line seen depending on the deviating direction may appear red or blue, so that the direction in which the pupils are deviated can be known. Further, if the V-shaped groove 11 is formed in a cross shape, the vertical and horizontal directions can be adjusted.

Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, two identical display devices having the pupil deviation adjusting means according to any one of the above first to fourth embodiments are integrally provided so as to correspond to the left and right eyes of the wearer, so that the head is worn. This is an embodiment in which a type visual display device is configured, and further, the interpupillary distance between both display devices can be adjusted.
6A is a plan view showing a state in which the wearer wears this head-mounted visual display device, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view at that time. In FIG. 6, reference numerals 12 and 13 respectively. It is a display device for the left eye and the right eye, and has pupil deviation adjusting means as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to 4. In the head-arrival type visual display device, a clear observation image cannot be observed unless the exit pupil on the device side and the pupil on the observer side coincide with each other depending on the state of the device worn by the observer. Because of this eye adjustment, the wearer operates the head-mounted visual display device while observing the image, which makes eye adjustment extremely difficult.
However, by incorporating the pupil deviation adjusting means as described above and providing a well-known pupil distance adjusting mechanism between the display devices 12 and 13, it is more preferable that the display screens of the display devices 12 and 13 have a video display screen. By making it possible to alternately display the explanation screen of the pupil adjustment method, the pupil adjustment can be easily performed.

The head-mounted image display device of the present invention has been described above based on some embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and various modifications can be made.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the head-mounted image display device of the present invention, the image display means for cutting off the image display on the image display means or for cutting off the image from the image display means. And at least one concave reflecting mirror or semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror arranged in the optical path that guides the display image of the image display means to the eyeball of the observer, and illumination means for determining pupil misalignment. When adjusting the pupil position of the person
Since the image blocking means and the lighting means are activated,
When the observer's own pupil or pupil misalignment index is illuminated with the image display blocked, those images are formed in the distance by the concave reflecting mirror or the semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror, and the observer's pupil is displayed on the display device. If there is a pupil shift that does not match the exit pupil, it is easy for the observer to see the distant image in the visual axis direction, so it is easy to see that there is a pupil shift, and based on that, the pupil distance and pupil shift Adjustment can be performed by a simple operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of a head-mounted image display device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a pupil alignment mark displayed on an image display element.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view and a perspective view showing a state in which the head-mounted visual display device of the fifth embodiment is mounted.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional head-mounted image display device.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which an exit pupil of the head-mounted image display device and an observer's pupil are displaced from each other.

[Explanation of symbols]

E ... Observer eye A ... Visual axis M ... Pupil alignment mark 1 ... Liquid crystal image display element 2 ... Beam splitter prism 3 ... Semi-transmissive surface 4 ... Concave reflecting mirror 5 ... Backlight 6 ... Light source 4 '... Semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror 7 ... Light guide 8 ... Eyepiece 9 ... Semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror 10 ... Positive lens 11 ... V-grooves 6 ₁ , 6 ₂ ... Light source 12, 13 ... Display device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A head-mounted image display device comprising image display means for displaying an image and a projection optical system used for projecting the image displayed on the image display means into an eyeball of an observer. In the above, at least an image blocking unit for blocking the image display on the image display unit or for blocking the image from the image display unit, and at least an optical path arranged to guide the image displayed by the image display unit to the eyeball of the observer. A concave reflecting mirror or a semi-transparent concave reflecting mirror and an illuminating unit for determining a pupil shift are provided, and the image blocking unit and the illuminating unit are operated when adjusting the observer's pupil position. A head-mounted image display device characterized in that 2. The head-mounted image display device according to claim 1, wherein a pupil shift index or a pupil alignment auxiliary index is provided in the optical path. 3. A pupil misalignment index or a pupil alignment auxiliary index is provided in the optical path, and the illumination unit illuminates the pupil misalignment index or pupil alignment auxiliary index. The head-mounted image display device according to claim 1.