Indication device

Abstract

To provide a small display device that allows the user to see the outside world (and allows the outside world to see the user's eyes). [Solution] The present invention is a display device that is used by placing it in front of the user's eyes, and comprises a main body having a display unit for displaying images on the back side of the display device, and an end located on the right or left side of the main body, wherein the end is connected to the main body by an upper connecting part and a lower connecting part so as to form an opening between the main body and the end, and a cable terminal is provided on the side of the end opposite to the side of the main body.

Description

Technical Field

[0005]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device that is placed in front of a user and used, such as a head-mounted display.

Background Art

[0002] As a display device that provides an XR (Cross Reality) experience, a display device that is placed in front of a user and used, such as an HMD (Head-Mounted Display), has been proposed. XR includes VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), MR (Mixed Reality), and the like.

[0003] An HMD that is worn on the head using a band or the like (Patent Document 1) and an HMD that is installed on a stand and used (Patent Document 2) have been proposed. However, there is a need to easily experience XR without performing the operation of wearing the HMD on the head. In addition, when the HMD is installed on a fixed stand and used, the change of the viewing point is restricted, but there is also a need to freely move the viewing point. In order to meet these needs, an HMD that is worn with a handle has also been proposed.

[0004] Furthermore, there is a need to miniaturize and lighten the HMD. In order to meet this need, an HMD that does not have a battery and is externally powered and an HMD in which a display unit (display panel and display optical system) is miniaturized have also been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, generally speaking, miniaturizing the display unit reduces the area visible through the HMD, causing users to feel a sense of confinement due to their inability to see outside that area. Also, when a user wearing an HMD is face-to-face with another person, the other person may not be able to see the user's eyes, which can make communication difficult. A configuration has been proposed in which a separate display unit is placed on the front of the HMD and displays an image of the user's eyes on this separate unit, but adding a separate display unit increases the size, weight, and cost of the HMD.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a small display device that allows the user to see the outside world (and allows the outside world to see the user's eyes). [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a display device that is placed in front of a user's eyes for use, and comprises a main body having a display unit for displaying images on its rear side, and an end portion located to the right or left of the main body, wherein the end portion is connected to the main body by an upper connecting portion and a lower connecting portion so as to form an opening between the main body and the end portion, and a cable terminal is provided on the side of the end portion opposite to the side of the main body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small display device that allows the user to see the outside world (and allows the outside world to see the user's eyes). [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This includes perspective views of the display device's exterior. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view of a display device. [Figure 3] This includes perspective views of the display device's exterior. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims. While several features are described below, not all of these features are necessarily essential to the invention. The features may be combined in any way. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0012] Figure 1(A) is an external perspective view showing the display device 100 according to this embodiment being used by a user with it placed in front of their eyes. In this embodiment, the display device 100 is assumed to be a head-mounted display (HMD), but the display device 100 is not limited to an HMD, and the features of this embodiment can be applied to various display devices that are placed in front of the user's eyes to create the display device 100. In the state shown in Figure 1(A) with the user placing the display device 100 in front of their eyes, the left-right direction of the user corresponds to the left-right direction of the display device 100, and the up-down direction of the user corresponds to the up-down direction of the display device 100. The side of the display device 100 facing the user is the back of the display device 100. The side of the display device 100 opposite to the back of the display device 100 is the front (front) of the display device 100. In Figure 1(A), the X direction is the left-right direction, the Y direction is the up-down direction, and the Z direction is the front-back direction.

[0013] Figure 1(B) is a front view of the display device 100. The display device 100 has a main body 101 and two ends 110 located on the right and left sides of the main body 101, respectively. In this embodiment, the display device 100 is assumed to be a binocular HMD, but the display device 100 may be a monocular HMD. In that case, the ends 110 may be present on only one of the right or left sides of the main body 101.

[0014] The main unit 101 has a display unit (display unit 500, described later) that displays an image on the back side of the display device 100. By displaying an image on the back side of the display device 100, an XR (Cross Reality) experience can be provided to the user. XR includes VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), MR (Mixed Reality), etc. The main unit 101 also has a camera 400 (imaging unit) that captures an image of the front side of the display device 100. The number of cameras 400 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the main unit 101 has two cameras 400 arranged in the left-right direction. The image captured by the camera 400 (image based on the captured image) is used, for example, as a background image to be displayed for the XR experience.

[0015] The end portion 110 is, for example, a holding portion (handle portion) used by the user to hold the display device 100. The presence of the end portion 110 allows the user to hold the display device 100 without touching the main body 101, thereby reducing dirt and scratches on the main body 101. If the display device 100 has an internal fan, it also prevents the user from unintentionally blocking the intake and exhaust ports of the fan.

[0016] The end portion 110 is connected to the main body portion 101 by an upper connecting portion 1101 and a lower connecting portion 1102, so as to form an opening 120 between the main body portion 101 and the end portion 110. This ensures a clear field of view for the user. Even during the XR experience, the user can see the outside world through the aperture 120. Because the outside world is visible through the aperture 120, even if the area visible via the display device 100 (the field of view of the displayed image) is small, the user can have an XR experience without feeling claustrophobic. In addition, since the user's eyes can be seen from the outside world through the aperture 120, it becomes easier for the user to communicate with other people.

[0017] As a method of holding the HMD, there is a method of connecting the upper part (one place) of the HMD to the lower center of an inverted U-shaped handle and holding the handle with both hands. In this method, since there is only one connection point, sufficient strength as the strength of the connection point cannot be obtained unless the connection point is large, and it is difficult to miniaturize the HMD. In the present embodiment, since there are two connection points, the upper connection portion 1101 and the lower connection portion 1102, sufficient strength as the strength of the connection point can be easily obtained even if the connection point is small, and the display device 100 can be miniaturized.

[0018] Note that the opening 120 may be blocked with a light transmissive member. The opening 120 may be blocked on the front side of the display device 100, or the opening 120 may be blocked on the back side of the display device 100, or the opening 120 may be blocked inside the opening 120. The entire opening 120 may be blocked, or a part of the opening 120 may be blocked. The light transmissive member may be decorated by coloring, pattern drawing, surface treatment, etc. within a range that does not prevent external visual recognition. The opening 120 may be blocked with a light transmissive member with a pattern that creates a sense of beauty. By these means, it is possible to give freedom to the design and improve the strength of the end portion 110 without preventing external visual recognition.

[0019] Also, from the viewpoint of miniaturization, it is preferable that the length of the display device 100 including the main body portion 101 and the end portion 110 in the left-right direction is short. In the present embodiment, a glasses accessory (glasses accessory 700 described later), which is a temple-like member of glasses, can be connected (mounted) to the display device 100, and the display device 100 can be mounted on the head without being held by hand. In this case, when the user is wearing glasses, the glasses and the glasses accessory interfere with each other, and it is easy to cause the glasses to shift, the display device 100 to shift, and discomfort to the user. From the viewpoint of suppressing the interference between the glasses and the glasses accessory, it is preferable that the length of the display device 100 in the left-right direction is 120 mm or more, and more preferably 140 mm or more.

[0020] Also, at least a part of the surface on the side of the opening 120 at the end portion 110 (for example, the surfaces of the upper connection portion 1101 and the lower connection portion 1102) may be an inclined surface along the user's line of sight. This inclined surface is, for example, an inclined surface that moves away from the main body portion 101 at an average viewing angle of a human from the back side to the front side of the display device 100. The user's line of sight spreads conically from the pupil. By making at least a part of the surface on the side of the opening 120 at the end portion 110 an inclined surface along the conical line of sight (the side surface of the cone), the portion of the end portion 110 that obstructs the view of the outside world can be reduced.

[0021] Also, at least one of the upper connection portion 1101 and the lower connection portion 1102 may have a shape in which the thickness at a position closer to the main body portion 101 is larger than the thickness at a position farther from the main body portion 101. By making at least one of the upper connection portion 1101 and the lower connection portion 1102 thick at a position closer to the main body portion 101, the strength of the connection between the main body portion 101 and the end portion 110 can be improved.

[0022] FIG. 1(C) is an external perspective view showing a state in which a user is wearing and using a display device 100 to which a glasses accessory 700 is connected on the head. As described above, the glasses accessory 700 is a wearing member for wearing (placing in front of the eyes) the display device 100 on the head without holding it by hand.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the display device 100 obtained by a horizontal plane (a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction). The eyes of a user using the display device 100 are also shown in FIG. 2.

[0024] The main body 101 has a display unit 500. In this embodiment, a display unit 500 for the left eye and a display unit 500 for the right eye are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. The display unit 500 has a display panel 510, a display prism 520, and a prism holder 530. The display panel 510 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), etc., and displays images for the XR experience. The display prism 520 is, for example, a free-form surface prism, and is a display optical system for projecting the image displayed on the display panel 510 onto the user's eye. The prism holder 530 is a holding member that holds the display panel 510 and the display prism 520. In this embodiment, IPD adjustment is possible to adjust the distance between the two display units 500 to match the user's IPD (interpupillary distance). When IPD adjustment is performed, the display panel 510, the display prism 520, and the prism holder 530 move together as a unit.

[0025] Camera 400 is an imaging unit that captures images of the real world. As described above, the images captured by camera 400 (images based on the captured images) are used, for example, as background images to be displayed for an XR experience. The captured images may also be used to detect feature points such as markers or object edges to estimate the position and orientation of the display device 100, or they may be used for spatial recognition.

[0026] The control board 410 performs tasks such as estimating the position and orientation of the display device 100, generating CG images based on the estimated position and orientation, and compositing the background image with the CG image. The camera used to acquire the background image and the camera used to estimate the position and orientation of the display device 100 may be the same or different. A camera with a wide field of view and high shutter speed may be used as the camera used to estimate the position and orientation of the display device 100, or a stereo camera with a long baseline length may be used. A gyro sensor for detecting changes in the position and orientation of the display device 100 may be provided on the main unit 101. By using a gyro sensor, the accuracy of detecting (estimating) the position and orientation of the display device 100 can be improved.

[0027] The exterior 102 is an exterior component that holds each of the aforementioned components.

[0028] Figure 3(A) is an external perspective view showing the rear side of the display device 100.

[0029] A cable terminal 420 is provided on the end portion 110, on the side opposite to the main body portion 101. A cable 430, such as a communication cable or a power supply cable, is connected to the cable terminal 420. With this configuration (cable connection), it is possible to prevent the cable 430 from crossing the opening 120, and to prevent the visibility of the outside world from being obstructed by the cable 430. Cable terminals 420 may be provided on both the left and right end portions 110, but in this embodiment, the cable terminal 420 is provided on only one of the two end portions 110.

[0030] If cable 430 is a communication cable, the control board 410 may communicate with external devices such as personal computers, smartphones, and controllers via cable 430 and have some processing performed by the external devices. If cable 430 is a power cable, the control board 410 may receive power from an external source via cable 430 and use that power for at least some of the processing (operation) of the display device 100. These methods make it possible to miniaturize and reduce the power consumption of the display device 100. Furthermore, it is possible to miniaturize the control board 410 and suppress the heat generation of the control board 410.

[0031] Figure 3(B) is an external perspective view of the end portion 110. On the opposite side, a connection point for the eyeglass accessory 700 is provided. The number of connection points is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, multiple connection points of different types (the recess 600 and the sheet metal 610 in Figure 3(B)) are provided.

[0032] The recess 600 is used for positioning the eyeglass accessory 700. For example, by inserting the protrusion of the eyeglass accessory 700 into the recess 600, the eyeglass accessory 700 can be attached to the appropriate position on the display device 100.

[0033] The sheet metal 610 is used to secure the eyeglass accessory 700. For example, by bringing a magnet provided on the eyeglass accessory 700 into contact with the sheet metal 610, the eyeglass accessory 700 can be secured to the display device 100 by magnetic force, making it difficult for the eyeglass accessory 700 to detach from the display device 100. However, the method of securing the eyeglass accessory 700 is not limited to this, and the eyeglass accessory 700 may also be secured to the display device 100 by a claw structure, a locking mechanism, or the like.

[0034] Figure 3(C) is a cross-sectional view of the display device 100 obtained by the cable terminal 420 and the plane passing through the recess 600. Figure 3(C) also shows the eyeglass accessory 700 and the cable 430.

[0035] The recess 600 (and sheet metal 610) is provided above the cable terminal 420. The cable 430 connected to the cable terminal 420 often extends downward due to gravity. By providing the recess 600 (and sheet metal 610) above the cable terminal 420, interference between the eyeglass accessory 700 and the cable 430 can be suppressed. As shown in Figure 3(C), by using an L-shaped cable extending from the cable terminal 420 as the cable 430, interference between the eyeglass accessory 700 and the cable 430 can be further suppressed.

[0036] The wiring connecting the cable terminal 420 to the main body 101 (for example, the control board 410) passes through the inside of the end portion 110 and not through the opening 120. Therefore, obstruction of the view of the outside world by the wiring can be suppressed. Since the cable terminal 420 is located on the lower side of the recess 600 (and sheet metal 610), it is preferable that the wiring passes through the inside of the lower connection portion 1102. By doing so, the cable terminal 420 and the main body 101 can be connected via an appropriate (short) path.

[0037] Furthermore, it is preferable that the depth direction of the recess 600 and the depth direction of the cable terminal 420 are approximately parallel. This makes it easier to route the cable 430 along the eyeglass accessory 700 and suppress interference between them.

[0038] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms that do not depart from the spirit of the invention are also included in the present invention. Furthermore, each of the embodiments described above is merely one embodiment of the present invention, and it is possible to combine each embodiment as appropriate.

[0039] This embodiment includes the following configuration. (Composition 1) A display device that is placed in front of the user's eyes for use, The main unit has a display section on the back side of the display device that displays images, The end located on the right or left side of the main body It has, The end portion is configured such that it forms an opening between the main body portion and the end portion, with an upper connecting portion and a lower connecting portion. It is connected to the main body at the connecting part, A cable terminal is provided on the end portion opposite to the main body portion. A display device characterized by the following features. (Configuration 2) The end portion includes a first end portion located on the right side of the main body portion and a second end portion located on the left side of the main body portion. The cable terminal is provided at one of the first end and the second end. The display device according to configuration 1, characterized by the above. (Composition 3) Light-transmitting member that closes the opening It further possesses A display device according to configuration 1 or 2, characterized by the above. (Composition 4) The length of the display device in the left-right direction is 120 mm or more. A display device according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, characterized by the above. (Composition 5) An accessory connection portion is further provided on the end portion opposite to the main body portion. A display device according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, characterized by the above. (Composition 6) The accessory is a mounting member for attaching the display device to the head. The display device according to configuration 5, characterized by the features described herein. (Composition 7) The aforementioned connection includes multiple connection parts of different types. The display device according to configuration 5 or 6, characterized by the above. (Composition 8) The aforementioned connection portion is provided above the cable terminal. A display device according to any one of configurations 5 to 7, characterized by the above. (Composition 9) The aforementioned connecting portion includes a recess, The depth direction of the recess and the depth direction of the cable terminal are substantially parallel. A display device according to any one of configurations 5 to 8, characterized by the above. (Composition 10) Wiring that passes through the inside of the end portion and connects the cable terminal to the main body It further possesses A display device according to any one of configurations 1 to 9, characterized by the above. (Composition 11) The aforementioned wiring passes through the inside of the lower connection portion. The display device according to configuration 10, characterized by the above. (Composition 12) At least a portion of the side surface of the opening at the end is an inclined surface that is aligned with the user's field of view. A display device according to any one of configurations 1 to 11, characterized by the above. (Composition 13) At least one of the upper and lower connecting portions has a shape in which the thickness at a position close to the main body is greater than the thickness at a position far from the main body. A display device according to any one of configurations 1 to 12, characterized by the above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 100: Display device 101: Main body 110: End 120: Opening 1101: Upper connection 1102: Lower connection 420: Cable terminal

Claims

1. A display device that is placed in front of the user's eyes for use, The main unit has a display section on the back side of the display device that displays images, The end located on the right or left side of the main body It has, The end portion is connected to the main body by an upper connecting portion and a lower connecting portion, such that an opening is formed between the main body and the end portion. A cable terminal is provided on the end portion opposite to the main body portion. A display device characterized by the following features.

2. The end portion includes a first end portion located on the right side of the main body portion and a second end portion located on the left side of the main body portion. The cable terminal is provided at one of the first end and the second end. The display device according to feature 1.

3. Light-transmitting member that closes the opening It further possesses The display device according to feature 1 or 2.

4. The length of the display device in the left-right direction is 120 mm or more. The display device according to feature 1 or 2.

5. An accessory connection portion is further provided on the end portion opposite to the main body portion. The display device according to feature 1 or 2.

6. The accessory is a mounting member for attaching the display device to the head. The display device according to feature 5.

7. The aforementioned connection includes multiple connection parts of different types. The display device according to feature 5.

8. The aforementioned connection portion is provided above the cable terminal. The display device according to feature 5.

9. The aforementioned connecting portion includes a recess, The depth direction of the recess and the depth direction of the cable terminal are substantially parallel. The display device according to feature 5.

10. Wiring that passes through the inside of the end portion and connects the cable terminal to the main body It further possesses The display device according to feature 1 or 2.

11. The aforementioned wiring passes through the inside of the lower connection portion. The display device according to feature 10.

12. At least a portion of the side surface of the opening at the end is an inclined surface that is aligned with the user's field of view. The display device according to feature 1 or 2.

13. At least one of the upper and lower connecting portions has a shape in which the thickness at a position close to the main body is greater than the thickness at a position far from the main body. The display device according to feature 1 or 2.

Images