JPH07298165A - Head mount type video display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the small sized head mount type video display device in which a display area itself smaller than an LCD display screen is changed depending on a motion of a head of an observer or the like. CONSTITUTION:A video image display section 57 smaller than a display screen 22a to display an image to part of the LCD display screen 22a and a non-display part 58 around the screen are set to the display device. Motion of a head of an observer or the like is detected and the display area is controlled to change the display area 22a itself. A video image is displayed to the part of the display screen and the video area is moved to move or deform the display area itself required on the display screen. When the video display area is moved opposite to the motion of the head, the observer feels as if the observer were viewing a screen fixed in space.

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 A display technology for giving a display image of a liquid crystal panel or the like to an observer's eye through an optical system incorporated in a main body of a goggle type or the like which is attached to the front part of the observer's eye is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Proposed by 188777 (reference 1) and the like.

Although such a device is small in size, it can present a large-screen image, and is expected to be used for various purposes as an image display device so that an image can be enjoyed alone. ing.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-168489 (reference 2) discloses a device in which a head-mounted display is provided with a position detector so that an image displayed when the head moves can be changed. There is.

[0005]

However, in the head-mounted display device as shown in Document 1, even if the head or body of the observer moves, as shown in FIG.
The screen 400 is in front of you. That is, when the observer wears this device on his head and uses it, in the observation state shown by the solid line in the figure, in the virtual image space, the image on the screen 400 having the frame 401 enlarged as shown in the figure is a virtual image. Looking as.

However, even if the direction of the head is changed as shown by the broken line, the virtual image screen 400 always comes to the front. In other words, in this case, there is a contradiction between the feeling of moving the head or body and the feeling of visual information. And
This gives the wearing observer an unnatural feeling. Further, if such a state continues for a long time, it causes the same discomfort as seasickness.

Further, since the frame 401 of the screen 400 is also defined in size and shape corresponding to the rectangular outer edge frame of the display surface of the image display device such as a liquid crystal panel, the state of the solid line and the state of the broken line in FIG. However, it is always fixed and cannot be changed.

Further, since the device of Document 2 creates a pseudo three-dimensional space, the above-mentioned problem is alleviated, but the viewer feels as if it were a three-dimensional display screen. Therefore, the frame of the image should not be visible to the wearing observer. Therefore, when incorporating the optical system into the head-mounted display, the optical system to be incorporated requires a viewing angle of 120 ° or more. . Therefore, the whole body becomes large. Increasing the size of the device is a big problem for this kind of head-mounted image display device, which is mounted on the head to be used, and is intended to enjoy a large screen image while being small.

On the other hand, a method of mechanically moving the liquid crystal panel, the mirror, the lens and the like can be considered, but in this method, a space for moving the parts required for the movement is secured in the main body, and a moving mechanism therefor is provided. Will also be built into the main body, and the device will become larger.

The present invention can display an image on a part of the display surface of the image display device, and can change the display area itself according to the movement and inclination of the head of the observer, and further, the optical system incorporated in the main body. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved head-mounted image display device capable of achieving this without increasing the size of the above. Another purpose is to suppress uncomfortable feelings such as sea sickness and unnatural feeling caused by the disagreement between the sense of motion and the sense of visual information even when the observer's head moves during use. It's about making sense.

[0011]

A head-mounted image display device of the present invention includes an image display element having a display surface for displaying an image and an optical system for guiding the image to an observer's eye in a housing. In a head-mounted image display device having a supporting means for disposing the housing and supporting the housing on an observer's head, a detecting means for detecting a spatial position movement and / or a tilt change of the housing; Display area control means for displaying an image on a part of the display surface of the image display element and controlling movement and / or deformation of the display area of the image display element based on a signal from the detection means. It is characterized by that.

[0012]

According to the present invention, an image is displayed on a part of the display surface of the image display device, and the display area of the image is detected by detecting the movement or inclination of the observer's head and responding to the movement or inclination. Can be changed. Here, the display area of the image displayed on a part of the display surface is smaller than the display surface of the image display element and can move on this display surface. The movement or deformation can be performed based on the detection signal according to the detected movement or inclination of the head. Up to now, although it is possible to change the image itself, the display frame cannot be moved or deformed. However, in the present invention, the display area itself smaller than the display surface is displayed on the viewer's head. It can be changed according to the movement and inclination, and the optical system or the like arranged in the main body housing supported by the head does not have to be large, and can be made small.

Further, the display area control means in the present invention preferably comprises a storage means for storing a video signal, a storage array means for instructing a storage array of the video signals stored in the storage means, and the storage array. It is composed of a read array instructing means for instructing to read out the video signals from the storage means in different arrays, and in this case, by temporarily storing the video signals in the memory and changing the order of reading at the time of reading,
It is possible to move or deform a part of the image display area on the display surface of the image display element.

Further, preferably, the display area control means moves the position of the display area of the image display element in a direction opposite to the spatial position movement or tilt change of the housing, and / or
Alternatively, when the display area is deformed, the display area is moved in the opposite direction, so that the user can feel as if he or she is looking at the screen fixed in the space. Therefore, the image can be viewed in a natural state without causing an uncomfortable feeling such as unnatural feeling or seasickness.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1, 2 and 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. 4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the principle. FIG. 1 shows the external structure of the main body and the system configuration of the entire apparatus including a control system for automatic image display control.

To explain the outline of the overall configuration, in FIG.
Reference numeral 100 denotes a goggle-type main body worn by an observer on the head, and an image display element (for example, a liquid crystal panel (LC
D) and the like), an optical system, and a detector for image display control described later are incorporated. In addition, the system includes a calculation unit 61 that calculates and determines an image change amount that changes an image,
An image reproducing unit 65 which has an image converting unit 62 and gives an image original signal as a display image source is used in combination.

A controller 27 including the calculation unit 61 and the image conversion unit 62 is configured to execute control (display area control) relating to the position and size of an image displayed on a part of the LCD display surface. The calculation unit 61 and the image conversion unit 62 are connected to the display body 100 by the cords 201 and 202.

The main body 100 includes an anterior eye portion 101 which is located in front of the observer's eyes, ear mounting portions 102 which are disposed at the positions of the left and right ears, and a supporting band 103. A headphone is incorporated in the ear part mounting portion 102, so that the observer is provided with audio information in the audiovisual signal sent through the cord 202. The anterior eye portion 101 has a housing structure, and is configured such that an LCD, an optical system, and the like are arranged in the housing, and as shown in the drawing, is observed by a supporting band 103 as a supporting means for mounting the head. Support the head of the person.

In the front part of the eye 101, in the example shown in FIG.
LCD 22, half mirror prism 51, concave mirror 2
4, a backlight 52, and a liquid crystal shutter 25 are incorporated. An LCD driver 53 for driving the LCD 22 is also housed in the main body 100, and an output video signal from the image conversion unit 62 of FIG. 1 is supplied to the LCD driver 53.

When the LCD 22 is driven by the LCD driver 53 and an image is displayed on the display surface 22a thereof, the luminous flux emitted from the LCD 22 enters the half mirror prism 51 and the half mirror surface 51a of the half mirror prism 51.
And is magnified and reflected by the concave mirror 24, and the reflected light beam again travels to the half mirror surface 51a, where it is reflected again and enters the eye 21 of the observer. The display image displayed in a part of the LCD display surface 22a is guided to the observer's eye through the optical path of the eyepiece enlarging optical system in the anterior part 101 of the eye.

Further, in the case of the structure having the see-through function, the liquid crystal shutter 25 is incorporated so as to be positioned on the front side of the half mirror prism 51 of this optical system, that is, on the front side of the front part 101 of the main body. Therefore, an opening (not shown) for taking in external light for observing the external image by the see-through is provided in the front surface portion of the housing portion forming the anterior eye portion 101.
The liquid crystal shutter 25, which is controlled to transmit external light (see-through ON) and block (see-through OFF), is disposed in the vicinity of this opening. LCD shutter 2
When 5 is opened (when see-through is ON), the ambient light is
The liquid crystal shutter 25 in the open state is transmitted through this opening, and further, the half mirror surface 51a of the half mirror prism 51 is transmitted to be emitted from the half mirror prism 51, and the same optical path as in the case of display image light is obtained. The light is guided to the eye 21. At this time, the observer can see the outside world. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 2, external light and LC
The combiner that superimposes the light from D22 is configured by a combination of the half mirror prism 51 and the concave mirror 24 described above.

In the case of a binocular head-mounted display body, the same components having the above-described arrangement are the same as the front part of the eye 1.
Left and right inside 01 for the observer's left eye (22
L, 24L, 51L, etc. and for the right eye (22R, 2
4R, 51R, etc.).

In this embodiment, as described above, the display surface 22a is
An LCD 22 having an LCD and an optical system for guiding a display image to an observer's eye by a half mirror prism 51 and a concave mirror 24 are arranged in a housing of the anterior eye portion 101, and an image is partially displayed on the LCD display surface 22a. The image display control is performed as described above.
Even if the head of the observer wearing and using the camera moves, the virtual image that the observer sees will be as if the virtual image of the electronic image is fixed in space, even if the head is moved. The controller 27 automatically controls the display area of the LCD 22 so that the display area can be observed.

Therefore, according to the movement of the observer's head,
As means for detecting the information for performing such display area control, as shown in FIG. 1, angle amount detectors 105 and 106 such as a gyro that detect the angle amounts of the main body 100 in the left-right direction, the vertical direction, and the rotation direction. , 107 are provided in total. When each of the detectors 105, 106, and 107 is incorporated into the main body 100, the change in the case where the head moves in each of the angular direction left / right, the angular direction up / down, and the angular direction rotation as shown by arrows in FIG. Will be detected. These changes occur when the observer sways his or her neck (including the case of turning the body, and so on), or when the observer raises or lowers the neck, or The observer's head corresponds to the movement when the neck is bent left and right. In addition, a reset switch 110 for positioning the image display unit at the center of the display surface 22a is also attached to the front of the eye 100 as described later.

The signals from the detectors 105, 106 and 107 and the signal from the reset switch 110 are:
The data is input to the calculation unit 61 of the controller 27, and the LCD 22
It is used for display area control such as movement of the display area.
The calculation unit 61 basically shifts the display image in the vertical and horizontal directions on the display surface 22a of the LCD 22 based on the detection signal obtained according to the change when the head or body of the observer moves. When it should be done (Fig. 5 (b),
The shift amount Δy in the vertical direction and the shift amount Δx in the horizontal direction in (c) are calculated. Further, when the display image is rotated on the display surface 22a (see FIG. 5D), the image rotation amount Δφ to be rotated is also calculated.

The image conversion unit 62 performs video signal processing for setting a display area so that an image is displayed on a part of the LCD display surface 22a, and the calculation in the calculation unit 61 is also performed. This is a signal processing unit that performs necessary video signal processing based on the result so that required image shift and the like are performed. The image conversion unit 62 uses the video source signal from the video playback device 65 as an original signal, and outputs a video signal obtained by subjecting the video source signal to conversion processing to the main body 100.

Here, the LCD according to the movement of the observer's head.
The basic principle of a method for creating an image (virtual image) fixed in space by changing the image position on the display surface 22a will be described. This is based on the following method. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the principle in this case, and shows the relationship between the eyepiece optical system, the real image plane of the image display element, and the virtual image plane of the space. The lens 55 represents the optical system of the head-mounted display, and the real image surface 56 represents the display surface 22a such as LCD. In the conventional head-mounted display, when the observer's head moves by the angle θ, any point on the virtual image plane Z also moves by the angle θ. Therefore, in order that the arbitrary point is fixed on the virtual image plane Z even if the head is moved, the angle θ may be moved in the opposite direction. Therefore, in order to move a certain point on the virtual image plane Z by an angle θ, how much the corresponding point on the real image plane 56 should be moved is calculated, and the corresponding point is moved on the real image plane 56, and hence on the display surface 22a. You can do it like this.

For example, in FIG. 4, it is assumed that an arbitrary point O (0) on the virtual image plane Z moves to another point O (1) which is away from the position of the point O (0) by an angle θ as shown in the figure. . At this time, as shown in the figure, if the corresponding points on the real image surface 56, that is, the display surface 22a are P (0) and P (1), the principal points of the optical system (lens 55) separated by the distance L Be H, and those points P (0)
, The point H and the point P (1) form an angle ∠P (0) HP (1), which is also the angle θ. Therefore, the display surface 22 of the points P (0) and P (1) is
The interval Δ on a is given by Δ = L · tan θ. For example, when L = 24 mm and θ = 20 °, the interval Δ
Is Δ = 8.7 mm. Therefore, when the observer's head moves by the angle θ, if any point on the display surface 22a is shifted in the opposite direction by the distance Δ, the corresponding point on the virtual image plane Z appears to be fixed in space. Become.

Next, with respect to what kind of image should be actually displayed according to the above method, a concrete display method including the directionality of its movement will be described. FIG. 5 shows L
It shows how a video image is displayed on the display surface 22a (real image surface 56) of the display element such as the CD 22. FIG. 7A is an example of a basic state of the display mode, and FIGS. 8B to 8D are examples of the display mode when the image position is changed corresponding to the movement of the head of the observer. . As can be seen from FIG. 5A, the video is basically not displayed on the entire display surface 22a, but is basically displayed on an area smaller than the display surface 22a. That is, in the basic display state, the image display portion 57
And a non-display portion 58 around the display portion 57.
The image display portion 57 is based on the above equation based on the movement of the observer's head from the basic state of FIG. (A) as shown in (b) and (c), and in the opposite direction, Display surface 22
a Move up.

There are two directions for rotating the head, that is, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the head as shown in FIG. 1. In the following description, in the case of the vertical direction, respectively. The angle is α, and the angle in the case of the left and right directions is β
And Regarding the signs of these angles, when the direction of head movement is downward, it is minus (-), when it is upward, it is plus (+), and when it is right and left, the right direction is plus (+), The left direction is minus (-) (Fig. 1). First, regarding the directionality in the case of moving, for example, when the observer turns his / her head downward, as shown in FIG. 5B, the display portion 57 is moved in the y direction (the vertical direction in FIG. Move in the plus (+) direction along the vertical direction of the surface. Further, for example, when the head is turned to the right,
As shown in (c), the display portion 57 is plus (+) along the x direction (horizontal direction in the figure, the direction lateral to the LCD display surface).
To move in the direction.

Then, in these cases, the amount by which the display portion 57 should be moved in each of the above directions is as follows from the above equation. That is, the downward angle amount α
When, the shift amount Δy of the image in the y direction is

## EQU1 ## .DELTA.y = L.tan.alpha. Also, when the angle amount β to the right direction, the shift amount Δx in the x direction of the image is

## EQU00002 ## .DELTA.x = L.tan .beta.

By controlling the movement of the display area in this manner, the image appears to the observer to be fixed in the virtual image space. Further, in this case, the following control can be further added as necessary. For example, in FIG.
As shown in (a), the width of the non-display portion 58 when an image is displayed in the center of the LCD display surface 22a is set to d in the x direction.
When dy is set in the x and y directions,

When dy ≦ L · tan α, Δy = dy ... 3

## EQU00004 ## When dx.ltoreq.tan.beta., Δx = dx ... 4 is satisfied, and when the observer rotates his / her head at angles .alpha. And .beta., The image shift amounts are dx and dy.

This means that for the xy shift amount, a fixed limit value is set as a result of the limit judgment in the equations 3 and 4, respectively. For example, in the case of the shift amount Δy, this is basically set by Δy = L · tan α in the above equation 1, but when this L · tan α exceeds the width dy of the non-display portion 58, In that case, an upper limit is set for the amount Δy to be shifted, and the maximum amount of movement of the image is limited to the set width dy of the non-display portion 58 as in the above Expression 3. The same applies to the shift amount Δx. By doing so, even if the observer rotates his / her head greatly, the image display portion 5
The shift of 7 is up to the state shown in FIG. 5B and the like, and the image is not cut off.

In FIG. 5A, dx and dy represent set area width values for such a non-display portion 58, but these values dx and d in the basic display state.
y can be set to a desired value as needed. For example, one or more types of non-display area forming data can be stored in advance in the ROM 332 in the image conversion unit 62 of FIG. 3 described later. If the values dx and dy are large, the area of the image display portion 57 is deformed so that the area becomes small, and if the values dx and dy are small, the opposite is true.

When the observer tilts his or her neck,
The display area is changed as shown in FIG.
Control to rotate on a. Rotation amount at this time Δφ
Is the same as the amount of tilt angle of the neck in the rotation direction as shown in FIG. 1, and the directionality of the control is the same as in the case of FIGS. 5B and 5C. The directions should be reversed.

Image xy in controller 27 of FIG.
The shift amount / rotation amount calculation unit 61 includes detectors 105 and 10
6, 107 based on the detection signals of the vertical angle amount α of the main body 100, the horizontal angle amount β, and the angle amount in the rotation direction, the arithmetic processing is executed based on the above Equations 1 and 2, and when applicable, It is configured by an arithmetic processing unit that executes arithmetic processing including limit determination processing according to Expressions 3 and 4 and determines shift amounts Δy and Δx and a rotation amount Δφ of the image display unit including control directivity. Then, the calculation unit 61 supplies the image conversion unit 62 with data Δy, Δx, and Δφ for image shift or rotation.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the image conversion section 62. The image conversion unit 62 includes an input processing system including a sync signal separation circuit 301 and an A / D converter 302, as shown in the figure, and a D / A converter 305.
And an output processing system including a synchronous synthesis circuit 306.
Further, the image conversion unit 62 uses the changeover switches 311 and 31.
2 and two frame memories 303 and 304 for storing video signals, and the frame memories 303 and 304,
A write address decoder 321 for instructing a storage arrangement of video signals to be stored in 304, and an arrangement different from the storage arrangement at the time of writing, for storing the video signals in the frame memory 303,
It has a read address decoder 322 that gives an instruction to read from 304 and an address calculation unit 331 that calculates the read address of the read address decoder 322. As the external information input to the address calculation unit 331, the data Δx, Δy, Δφ are applied together with the predetermined non-display portion data dx, dy from the ROM 332.

The head-mounted display system having the above structure can be used as follows. When mounted and used in FIG. 1, a video source signal is supplied from the video reproduction device 65 to the image conversion unit 62 of the controller 27, while signals from the detectors 105, 106, 107 and the reset switch 110 of the main body 100 are transmitted. , Code 201 is input to the image xy shift amount / rotation amount calculation unit 61 of the controller 27. Here, prior to viewing the image, the observer first looks at the camera in a straightened state (posture with the neck straightened) and attaches the reset switch 11 to the main body 100.
Press 0 once. When a reset signal is input from the switch 110 by this operation, the calculation unit 61 sets the xy shift amounts Δx and Δy and the rotation amount Δφ to the value 0.
At this time, the output data to the image conversion unit 65, that is, the input data Δx, Δy, and Δφ to the address calculation unit 322 in FIG.
Therefore, the predetermined non-display part setting data dx and dy from the ROM 332 are directly applied to the address calculation by the calculating part 331. As a result, the image conversion unit 65, as shown in FIG.
Since the input video signal is subjected to image conversion processing and output so that the video display portion 57 becomes smaller by dy on both the top and bottom sides and dx on both sides, the video display portion 57 can be brought to the center of the LCD display surface 22a. .

Thus, the reset switch 110 is
For example, when the use of this system is started, the LCD display surface 22a
It can be used by an observer in order to perform the resetting process when, for example, setting a video display area for displaying on a part of the display area at a predetermined basic position on the display surface 22a. . In the normal viewing state, the observer can see the image in the virtual image space through the eyepiece optical system in the main body 100 by the electronic image displayed on the display portion 57 of the LCD display surface 22a as shown in FIG. 5A. it can.

On the other hand, when the observer moves his / her head and the detection signals of the angle amount detectors 105, 106, 107 accompanying it are input, the calculation unit 61 calculates in the opposite direction to the movement of the head. First, the shift amounts Δx and Δy and the rotation amount Δφ for moving or rotating the position of the image display portion 57 are obtained. Regarding the shift amounts Δx and Δy, the above-mentioned equations 1 to 4 are used.
Based on Δx = L · tan β (or
Δx = dx), Δy = L · tan α (or Δy = d
y) will be obtained. The Δx, Δy, and Δφ signals are input to the image conversion unit 65. In the image conversion unit 65, the region of the video display unit 57 is dy, dx as described above using the video original signal from the video reproduction device 65 as the original signal.
Although the video signal is processed and output so as to be smaller,
When the Δx, Δy and Δφ signals are input,
Processing and outputting a video signal so as to shift the video by Δx and Δy as in (b) and (c) and rotate the video by Δφ as in FIG. 5 (d). The display area is controlled by. That is, since the video signal converted in this way is transmitted to the LCD driver 53 in the main body 100 through the code 202 and drives the LCD 22, if the observer's head moves, from the basic display state of FIG. Figure 5
As shown in (b) to (d), the image display portion 5 is arranged in the opposite direction.
Image display control can be automatically performed so that 7 moves.

In the image conversion section 65 having the configuration of FIG. 3, such a video signal conversion process is performed as follows. In the figure, a video source signal consisting of a video signal and a sync signal from the video playback device is separated into a video signal and a sync signal by a sync signal separation circuit 301, and the video signal is digitized by an A / D converter 302. It The separated sync signal is supplied to the write address decoder 3 as shown in the figure.
21, the read address decoder 322, and the synchronous synthesizing circuit 306, and switching of the input and output first and second changeover switches 311 and 312 of the first and second frame memories 303 and 304. Also used for control. The video signal from the A / D converter 302 is
By the first changeover switch 311, data is written alternately in the first frame memory 303 and the second frame memory 304 for each field. In the writing process of the video signal at this time, the writing address decoder 321 causes the memory addresses to be stored in order with respect to time.

The reading of the written video signal is performed in the second
The writing is performed in parallel with the writing by the changeover switch 312 change control of No. 3 and is alternately performed on the first frame memory 303 side and the second frame memory 304 side. For example,
Now, as shown in the figure, the input side selector switch 311 is switched to the second frame memory side,
When a video signal is being written to 04, the output side selector switch 312 is set to the first frame memory 3 as shown in the figure.
03 side is selected, and in this state, a video signal (video signal stored one field before) is read from the frame memory 303 side.

In this reading process, when reading the video signal written in the frame memory on the reading side, the reading order is changed by the reading address decoder 322, and the screens shown in FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (d) are displayed. Signal read processing for image conversion such as image reduction and area setting. The address calculation unit 331 calculates and determines the address order at the time of reading from the input information for the required image conversion. Therefore, the shift amount data Δx, Δy and the rotation amount data Δφ from the image xy shift amount / rotation amount calculation unit 61 and the input non-display portion data dx, dy from the ROM 332 are input to the address calculation unit 331.
The address order when reading the stored video information from the frame memory is calculated. This result is input to the read address decoder 322, and the video signal is read from the read side frame memory side in the calculated address order. Then, the read video signal is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 305, combined with the synchronization signal by the synchronization combining circuit 306, and then output to the head-mounted display body 100. In this way, according to this configuration, the image signal is temporarily stored in the frame memory and the reading order is changed at the time of reading, thereby performing the image transformation process for the necessary shift and rotation of the image display area. You can

As described above, in the system of this embodiment, the observer looks straight at the reset switch 110.
Press, and the image display area 57
Can be located in the center of the LCD display surface 22a.
Then, when the head is rotated in such a state, the image display unit 57 shifts in the opposite direction on the LCD display surface 22a according to the rotation angle amount, so that the image looks fixed in the virtual image space. . Therefore, the observer can be made to feel as if he is looking at the screen fixed in the space. For this reason, the image can be viewed in a natural state without causing an uncomfortable feeling such as an unnatural feeling or seasickness. Further, in order to realize such a virtual fixed screen, an optical system having a wide viewing angle is not required as an optical system to be used, and therefore the main body 100 does not become large in size.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described. In this embodiment (second embodiment), not only the inclination of the observer's head but also the three-dimensional movement of the head is detected to move the image, change the size, or distort the shape. It is what FIG. 6 shows a system configuration according to this embodiment. Although the configuration of the entire system is basically the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment, in this embodiment, as means for detecting the inclination and movement of the observer's head, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-59 is available.
A detection method using a three-dimensional digitizer of an electromagnetic coupling method as shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 218539 (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-95474) is adopted. "Three Dimension Digitizer" manufactured by Pohimas Co., Ltd. can be used as the detecting means according to the present embodiment. In this digitizer, an alternating current is applied to the source side having a quadrature coil to generate a magnetic field in a desired target space, while the quadrature coil on the sensor side is placed in the magnetic field, and the magnitude of the current induced in the sensor is increased. This is processed by a computer to obtain the position and angle data of the sensor in the space in the forming magnetic field.

In the present embodiment, such a detection method is applied, and as shown in FIG. 6, a magnetic field generator 71 for generating a magnetic field and a magnetic field receiver 115 for detecting the magnetic field are used in combination. The magnetic field generator 71 is arranged at a required position, and the magnetic field receiver 115 is arranged to obtain data for measuring the movement and inclination of the observer's head in the space where the magnetic field is formed. It is attached to the part-mounted display body 100. In addition, a moving amount / tilt amount calculating device 72 for calculating the three-dimensional movement of the main body 100, that is, the moving amount and the tilt amount of the observer's head from the strength of the magnetic field received by the magnetic field receiving device 115. An image conversion amount calculation device 73 for calculating the image change amount based on the output from the movement amount / tilt amount calculation device 72 and inputting it to the image conversion unit 62 is provided. In the present embodiment, the controller 27 is configured to include the movement amount / tilt amount calculation device 72, the image conversion amount calculation device 73, and the image conversion unit 62. In the figure, 20
Reference numerals 5 to 209 denote connection cords between the respective parts. Also, the x-axis,
The y-axis and the z-axis are the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional space where the observer is. Other components may be the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and the configurations, functions, actions, etc. of the reset switch 110, the image conversion unit 62, etc. are also the same.

In this embodiment, the movement and inclination of the observer's head in the magnetic field action space can be detected, and the image display area can be controlled in various ways. The signal received by the magnetic field receiving device 115 is the moving amount / tilt amount calculating device 72.
Is input to the image conversion amount calculation device 73, and the information about the amount of movement / tilt of the observer's head obtained as a result of calculation by the calculation device 72 is input to the image conversion amount calculation device 73, and the amount by which the image is changed is determined. If the information of the image change amount obtained by the image conversion amount calculation device 73 is given to the image conversion unit 62 of FIG. 3 as external information, the image conversion unit 62 reproduces the video in the same manner as in the embodiment. The video signal of the main body 100 can be transmitted by processing the video original signal from the device 65.

An example of image conversion in the case of image display control according to this embodiment is shown below. FIG. 7 shows an example in which an image is distorted into a trapezoid. When the reset switch 110 is operated at the tilt and position of the observer's head shown by the dotted line in FIG. 7B, the observer makes the virtual screen ZD in front with the relationship as shown in the figure. You will see. A display image as shown in FIG. 6A has a head on the right side (see FIG. 6) with respect to the reset position as shown by a solid line in FIG.
The left-eye and right-eye LCDs in the main body 100 when the head is tilted in the left direction at an angle θ.
The image display portions 57L and 57R are displayed on the display surfaces 22La and 22Ra of the 22L and 22R. Figure 8
Is an example in which the image is reduced. This is because, as shown by the solid line, the observer moves backward, that is, along the z-axis direction in FIG. 6, from the reset position shown by the dotted line in FIG. When the image is moved, the size of the image display portion 57 of the LCD display surface 22a is correspondingly reduced so that the image is displayed as shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 6, when the head is moved along the x-axis direction, the image is moved horizontally, and when the head is moved along the y-axis direction, the image is moved vertically. In addition, the image to be displayed changes depending on the combination of the movements.

According to the present embodiment, the control of the movement of the display area and the deformation of the display area (the area control is included in the deformation control).
Both of these controls can be combined, or they can be performed independently, and by changing the image by the movement and tilt of the head in this manner, as in the above-described embodiment,
The observer can feel as if he is looking at a screen fixed in space. Furthermore, when the trapezoidal distortion is performed as in the example of FIG. 7, the degree of distortion of the right-eye image and the degree of distortion of the left-eye image are changed as shown in FIG. If this is set, parallax is generated due to this, and a virtual screen having a stereoscopic depth can be generated, which is more effective. Further, as in the example of FIG. 8, with respect to the movement in the z-axis direction (movement in the front-back direction of the head), if the optical diopter is changed at the same time, a more natural feeling is enhanced.

Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment (third embodiment), the display area control of the LCD according to any one of the above-described embodiments is further combined with the see-through control, and the image display unit which is the target of the movement and / or deformation control thereof is excluded. With respect to the non-display portion of the LCD display surface, the outside world is made visible. FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of the main part of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, this example is similar to that shown in FIGS.
On the basis of the configuration of the first embodiment described above, a liquid crystal shutter driver 75 is further added to the controller 27 in that case. The LCD, the optical system, and the liquid crystal shutter in the main body have the structure shown in FIG. 2 built in respectively on the left and right, and when the body is attached, the left eye 21L and the right eye 21 of the observer are attached.
Located in front of R.

In this embodiment, the left and right LCDs 22 are
On the display surfaces of L and 22R, as in the previous embodiments,
Position detector 11 such as a gyro or magnetic field receiver
To move and display the image based on the signal from 6.
The display area control is performed as described above. On the other hand, the left and right liquid crystal shutters 25L and 25R shield light from the area portions corresponding to the image display portions 57L and 57R which are the display areas of the LCDs 22L and 22R, and the non-display portion 5 of the non-display area.
The regions corresponding to 8L and 58R are made transparent, and the respective settings of the light-shielding and transparent regions on the liquid crystal shutter side are controlled according to the settings of the display region and the non-display region on the LCD-side display surface. To do. The liquid crystal shutter driver 75 controls the light-shielding area and the light-transmitting area based on the signals Δy, Δx, and Δφ from the image xy shift amount / rotation amount calculation unit 61 described in FIG. 1.

In this embodiment, with such a structure, when the see-through is turned on, the observer, as illustrated in FIG.
The electronic image d and the external image S can be seen at the same time. Moreover, in this case, the external image is not displayed in the electronic image d area. By the display area control for the LCDs 22L and 22R, the image display portions 57L and 57R on the LCD display surface are moved or deformed according to the movement of the observer's head.
Corresponding to such a movement of the electronic image d, the liquid crystal shutter driver 75 also has liquid crystal shutters 25L and 25R.
In order to change the light-shielding area of, the electronic image d and the external image S can be viewed without being doubled even when they are viewed at the same time. Of course, also in this embodiment, the observer can feel as if he or she is looking at the screen fixed to the outside world, as in the above-described embodiments.

Further, in the first embodiment, the video reproducing device 65
The display area was controlled so as to satisfy the conditions of the formulas 3 and 4 so that the video sourced from
This is not an essential condition for the present invention. In the case of the present embodiment, the video sourced from the video playback device 65 may be cut off (see FIGS. 9 and 10), or in some cases the video may not be seen at all. For example, with respect to the moving range of the image display portions 57L and 57R, the limitation as described in the expressions 3 and 4 is not provided, and as the observer moves his / her head greatly, the image is displayed on the LCD display surface in the opposite direction. The display portions 57L and 57R move, and finally the video display portion 5
An effective state can be created by performing area control so that 7L and 57R are completely removed from the display surface (a state where the entire surface is the non-display portions 57L and 57R). That is, when the observer turns his / her head in the state where the external image S is in the background, the fixed virtual screen naturally moves to the edge in the background, and finally the observer sees the image through the see-through function. It is also possible to realize such a thing as going outside the existing external image S area. Even in such a case, the observer can feel as if he or she is looking at the screen fixed to the outside world, and it is possible to give a more natural feeling.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, modifications and the like described with reference to the drawings. Examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention are as follows. (1) An image display device having a display surface for displaying an image,
A head-mounted image display device having an optical system for guiding the image to an observer's eye in a housing, and having a supporting means for supporting the housing on a head. Detecting means for detecting position movement and / or inclination change, and displaying an image on a part of the display surface of the image display element, and moving the display area and / or displaying area based on a signal from the detecting means. And a display area control unit for controlling deformation, the housing includes an opening for taking in external light, and an external light transmission blocking unit for transmitting and / or blocking the external light in the vicinity of the opening, The optical system has a combiner that superimposes the external light and the light from the image display element, and the head-mounted image display device is configured so that the external light can be observed through the external light transmission blocking unit. Is. According to this head-mounted image display device, the above-mentioned display area control can be incorporated into a head-mounted image display device having a see-through function for external light observation. It is possible to observe the external image, and it is possible to obtain a head-mounted image display device which is easy to use and versatile.

(2) In the above (1), the external light transmission blocking means has an external light transmission blocking means for blocking a part of the external light transmission blocking means and transmitting the other part. Is a head-mounted image display device having an external light transmission blocking control means for controlling. (3) Further, in the above (1) or (2), the external light transmission blocking control means is a head-mounted image display device that controls the blocking and transmitting positions. In the case of the head-mounted image display device of the above (2) and (3), it is possible to perform selective area control for the transmission and blocking of external light in the external light transmission blocking means, and the transmission and blocking areas. It is also possible to perform a combined control of the control and the display area control for the image display element.

[0056]

According to the present invention, an image is displayed on a part of the display surface of the image display device, and the movement or inclination of the observer's head is detected in the display area of the image to detect the movement. Since the movement and deformation of the display area is controlled according to the tilt,
The display area itself smaller than the display surface can be changed according to the movement and tilt of the head, and the optical system etc. arranged in the main body supported by the head does not increase in size, and it is a small head-mounted type. A video display device can be realized. Further, when the display area control means according to claim 2 is provided, the video signals are temporarily stored in the memory and the reading order is changed at the time of reading,
It is possible to move or deform a part of the image display area on the display surface of the image display element. Moreover, as described in claim 3,
In the display area control, if the position of the display area of the image display element is moved and / or deformed in the opposite direction to the spatial position movement or tilt change of the housing supported by the observer's head, By moving the display area in the opposite direction, the observer can feel as if he is looking at a screen fixed in space. For this reason, the observer can see the image in a natural state, and can avoid causing uncomfortable feeling such as unnatural feeling or seasickness.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement and configuration of display elements, optical elements, and the like in a head-mounted display body.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an image conversion unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the head-mounted image display device.

FIG. 5 is likewise a diagram for explaining the principle, and is an explanatory diagram of an image display mode on the display surface.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a system configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an image display mode in the same example.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of another image display mode.

FIG. 9 shows still another embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram showing a configuration relating to a main part thereof.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of simultaneous observation of an external image and an electronic image at the time of see-through ON in the same example.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an observation state according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21, 21L, 21R Eye 22, 22L, 22R LCD (liquid crystal panel) 22a, 22La, 22Ra LCD display surface 24, 24L, 24R Concave mirror 25, 25L, 25R Liquid crystal shutter 27 Controller 51, 51L, 51R Half mirror prism 52, 52L , 52R Backlight 53 LCD driver 55 Lens (head-mounted display optical system) 56 Real image surface (display surface) 57, 57L, 57R Image display portion 58, 58L, 58R Non-display portion 61 Image xy shift amount / rotation amount calculation Part 62 Image conversion part 65 Video reproduction device 71 Magnetic field generation device 72 Moving amount / tilt amount calculation device 73 Image conversion amount calculation device 75 Liquid crystal shutter driver 100 Head-mounted display body 101 Eye front part 102 Ear part mounting part 103 Support band 105 Left and right corner Degree detector 106 Vertical angle amount detector 107 Rotation angle amount detector 110 Reset switch 115 Magnetic field receiver 116 Position detector 201, 202, 205-209 Code 301 Synchronous signal separation circuit 302 A / D converter 303, 304 Frame memory 305 D / A converter 306 Synchronous signal synthesizing circuit 311, 312 Changeover switch 321 Write address recorder 322 Read address recorder 331 Address operation unit 332 ROM

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image display device having a display surface for displaying an image and an optical system for guiding the image to an observer's eye are arranged in a casing, and the casing is supported on the observer's head. In a head-mounted image display device having a supporting means, a detecting means for detecting a spatial position movement and / or a tilt change of the housing, an image is displayed on a part of a display surface of the image display element, and A head-mounted image display device, comprising: a display area control means for controlling movement and / or deformation of the display area of the image display element based on a signal from the detection means. 2. The display area control means includes storage means for storing video signals, storage array means for instructing a storage array of the video signals stored in the storage means, and video signals in an array different from the storage array. 2. The head-mounted image display device according to claim 1, further comprising read-out arrangement instruction means for giving an instruction to read out from the storage means. 3. The display area control means moves and / or deforms the position of the display area of the image display element in a direction opposite to the spatial position movement or tilt change of the housing. The head-mounted image display device according to claim 1 or 2.