Head-mounted display

Abstract

To provide a head mounted display that can suppress the influence of ambient light and improve display image quality.SOLUTION: In the head mounted display, a display device 10 includes a device body 11 on which a rotational moment in the direction toward a user's face 51 acts around a hinge portion 20 and a cushion material 15 provided around the periphery of an opposite portion 11a facing the user's face 51 in the device body 11 and in contact with the user's face 51. The cushion material 15 is provided with an upper cushion portion 15a located above the periphery of the opposite portion 11a and a lower cushion portion 15b located lower than the upper cushion portion 15a. The thickness of the lower cushion portion 15b is thicker than the thickness of the upper cushion portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a head mounted display. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a head mounted display including suspenders to be worn on the head of a user, a display device that displays images, and a connecting member that connects the suspenders and the display device. The connecting member has a two-stage hinge element that allows the connecting member to be rotatable relative to the suspenders and allows the display device to be rotatable relative to the connecting member. After wearing the suspenders on the head, the user can move the display device in front of their eyes by grasping the display device with their hands and rotating the connecting member relative to the suspenders. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-280247 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 sometimes creates a gap between the display device and the face, which causes a problem that external light enters through the gap between the display device and the face, resulting in noise components and degrading the display image quality.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide a head mounted display capable of suppressing the influence of external light and improving the display image quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to a first aspect of the embodiment, there is provided a head-mounted display including a headband to be worn on a user's head, a hinge portion provided on the headband, and a display device rotatably connected to the headband via the hinge portion and abutting against the user's face so as to cover the user's eyes. The display device includes a device main body on which a rotational moment acts in a direction toward the user's face centered on the hinge portion, and a cushioning material provided on the peripheral edge of a facing portion of the device main body facing the user's face and abutting against the user's face. The cushioning material includes an upper cushioning portion located at the upper portion of the peripheral edge of the facing portion and a lower cushioning portion located below the upper cushioning portion. The thickness of the lower cushioning portion is thicker than the thickness of the upper cushioning portion. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the influence of external light and improve the display quality. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a right side view showing a head mounted display in a state where it is worn on a user's head. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the display device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a right side view of the display device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the display device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a right side view illustrating the position of the center of gravity of the display device and the rotation moment acting on the display device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the position of the center of gravity of the display device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a cross section of the display device taken along the line AA shown in FIG. [Figure 8] 8(a) to 8(c) are diagrams illustrating the upper cushion portion and the lower cushion portion. [Figure 9] 9(a) to 9(c) are diagrams for explaining the state of the cushioning material when the head mounted display is mounted on the user's head. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the configuration of the head mounted display 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4. The head mounted display 1 is a device that is attached to the head 50 so as to cover the left and right eyes of the user, and displays predetermined information to the user. For example, the head mounted display 1 projects a stereoscopic image to the user by displaying parallax images corresponding to the left and right eyes as virtual images. In the following description, the up-down direction, the front-back direction, and the left-right direction of the head 50 when the head mounted display 1 is attached are defined based on the up-down direction, the front-back direction, and the left-right direction of the head 50.

[0010] The head mounted display 1 includes a display device 10, a hinge portion 20, and a headband 30.

[0011] The display device 10 is a device that generates parallax images corresponding to the left and right eyes and directs display light corresponding to the parallax images to the user's eyes. The display device 10 has a device body 11, left and right display units 12L and 12R, and a cushion material 15.

[0012] The device body 11 is configured, for example, as a rectangular parallelepiped box that is elongated in the left-right direction of the head 50. The device body 11 may have a curved shape that matches the curve of the user's face 51. The device body 11 is formed from a material such as synthetic resin from the viewpoints of strength and light weight.

[0013] The rear end side of the device body 11 is a facing portion 11a that faces the user's face 51. On the other hand, the front end side of the device body 11 is a protruding portion 11b that is a certain distance forward from the facing portion 11a. A space for accommodating the left and right display units 12L, 12R is provided between the facing portion 11a and the protruding portion 11b.

[0014] The left and right display units 12L, 12R are housed inside the device body 11. The left and right display units 12L, 12R are arranged separately in the left-right direction corresponding to the left and right eyes of the user. The left display unit 12L is arranged to the left of the center of the device body 11, and the right display unit 12R is arranged to the right of the center of the device body 11.

[0015] The left and right display units 12L and 12R display display images (parallax images) corresponding to the left and right eyes. That is, the left display unit 12L displays a display image corresponding to the left eye, and the right display unit 12R displays a display image corresponding to the right eye.

[0016] Each of the display units 12L and 12R includes a display element and an optical system. The display element generates a display image and outputs display light corresponding to the display image. As the display element, for example, a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panel can be used.

[0017] The optical system guides the display light output by the display element to the user's eyes as a display image. The optical system includes one or more optical elements selected from a group including mirrors and lenses. The facing portion 11a of the device body 11 facing the user's face 51 is provided with lenses 12La and 12Ra arranged to face the user's eyes, and the display light passing through the lenses 12La and 12Ra is guided to the user's eyes. When the user wears the head mounted display 1, the display device 10 is abutted against the user's face 51 so as to cover the user's eyes. The user can view a virtual image of the display image generated by the display units 12L and 12R in front of him.

[0018] The configuration of the display units 12L and 12R is an example and is not limited thereto. For example, the display units 12L and 12R do not need to have individual display elements, and may share a single display element. In this case, the single display element does not need to be built into the device body 11, and may be an external display device.

[0019] The cushioning material 15 is provided around the entire periphery of the facing portion 11a. When the head mounted display 1 is attached to the head 50 of a user, the cushioning material 15 comes into contact with the user's face 51. The cushioning material 15 is made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam.

[0020] The head mounted display 1 needs to be worn in front of the user's eyes, and further needs to be worn close to the user's eyes. If the device body 11 comes into direct contact with the face 51, the hard device body 11 will press against the face 51. Therefore, by providing a cushioning material 15 on the facing portion 11a, the pressure on the face 51 caused by the device body 11 can be reduced.

[0021] Although the shape of a human face 51 varies, the shape of the device body 11 is fixed. Therefore, depending on the user, the shape of the device body 11 and the shape of the face 51 do not fit well, and external light may enter through a gap between the facing part 11a of the device body 11 and the face 51. This external light becomes a noise component, which leads to a deterioration in the display image quality. Therefore, the influence of external light can be reduced by filling the gap between the facing part 11a and the face 51 with a cushion material 15 arranged on the periphery of the facing part 11a.

[0022] The hinge unit 20 is provided on the headband 30. The display device 10 is connected to the hinge unit 20. The hinge unit 20 is configured to be rotatable around a rotation axis extending in the left-right direction, and the display device 10 is rotatably connected to the headband 30 via the hinge unit 20. Therefore, the display device 10 rotates relatively to the headband 30 around the rotation axis of the hinge unit 20.

[0023] The hinge unit 20 is attached to the lower part of the front end side of the headband 30. The hinge unit 20 is also connected to the upper surface 11c of the device body 11 of the display device 10. Therefore, the display device 10 is hung from the front end of the headband 30 via the hinge unit 20. The user can move the display device 10 away from the face 51 by rotating the display device 10 upward around the hinge unit 20. The user can move the display device 10 closer to the face 51 and finally abut against the face 51 by rotating the display device 10 downward around the hinge unit 20. When rotating the display device 10 downward, a rotation moment described later acts, so that the user can rotate the display device 10 smoothly.

[0024] The headband 30 is attached to the user's head 50 and supports the display device 10. The headband 30 is an annular member that surrounds the entire circumference of the user's head 50, specifically, the forehead, right head, back of the head, and left head, which are parts of the face 51. The headband 30 is provided with an adjustment mechanism that can adjust the circumferential length. This adjustment mechanism allows the user's head 50 to be fastened with an appropriate force regardless of the size of the user's head 50, and therefore the display device 10 can be stably attached to the head 50.

[0025] In the head mounted display 1 according to this embodiment, the following two structures are adopted in order to suppress the influence of external light.

[0026] The first structure is a structure that generates a rotational moment for pressing the display device 10 against the user's face 51. Hereinafter, the first structure that generates a rotational moment will be described with reference to Figs.

[0027] The center of gravity Gr of the display device 10 is set forward of the hinge portion 20, that is, outside the hinge portion 20 when viewed from the face 51. A force Fg according to the weight of the display device 10 acts vertically downward on the center of gravity Gr of the display device 10. At this time, the force Fg can be considered as being divided into a first component force Fg1 along a straight line La that passes from the rotation center of the display device 10 (i.e., the rotation axis of the hinge portion 20) through the center of gravity Gr, and a second component force Fg2 along a straight line Lb that is perpendicular to the straight line La. Of the first component force Fg1 and the second component force Fg2, the second component force Fg2 along the straight line Lb acts as a rotation moment in a direction that presses the display device 10 against the user's face 51.

[0028] In this way, due to the positional relationship between the center of gravity Gr of the display device 10 and the hinge portion 20, a rotational moment due to its own weight can be generated in the display device 10. This rotational moment allows the display device 10 to be pressed against the user's face 51, so that the cushioning material 15 can be brought into close contact with the face 51. This makes it possible to reduce any gap that may occur between the cushioning material 15 and the face 51, thereby suppressing the effects of external light.

[0029] The magnitude of the rotation moment depends on the weight of the display device 10. Therefore, it is possible to increase the force with which the display device 10 is pressed against the user's face 51 by changing the specifications of the display device 10. However, the display device 10 needs to be attached to the user's head 50 and placed in front of the user's eyes. In other words, since the display device 10 is placed at a position far from the neck that supports the human head 50, even a slight increase in the weight of the display device 10 places a corresponding burden on the user. Therefore, it is preferable to set the magnitude of the rotation moment taking into consideration the burden on the user.

[0030] In this embodiment, the weight of the display device 10 is used as a structure that generates a rotation moment. The center of gravity Gr of the display device 10 is set forward of the hinge portion 20. However, depending on the structure of the head mounted display 1, the center of gravity Gr of the display device 10 may be located behind the hinge portion 20. In this case, if the mounting position of the hinge portion 20 relative to the display device 10 can be adjusted, the mounting position may be adjusted so that the center of gravity Gr of the display device 10 is located in front of the hinge portion 20. In addition, a center of gravity adjustment member such as a weight may be added to the display device 10, and the center of gravity of the composite body consisting of the display device 10 and the center of gravity adjustment member may be adjusted to be located in front of the hinge portion 20.

[0031] Furthermore, the structure that generates the rotational moment is not limited to that generated by the weight of the display device 10. For example, a torsion coil spring may be provided in the hinge portion 20, and a rotational moment for pressing the display device 10 against the face 51 of the user may be generated by the biasing force generated by the torsion coil spring.

[0032] The second structure is a structure that, based on the first structure that generates a rotational moment, suppresses the incidence of external light by cushion material 15 regardless of the shape of the user's face 51. Hereinafter, the second structure that suppresses the incidence of external light by cushion material 15 will be described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8.

[0033] Since the lenses 12La and 12Ra that guide the display light to the user's eyes are disposed in the facing portion 11a of the device body 11, the cushioning material 15 is not provided in the portion of the lenses 12La and 12Ra. As described above, the cushioning material 15 is provided around the lenses 12La and 12Ra, specifically, on the periphery of the facing portion 11a. The cushioning material 15 has the function of reducing pressure on the face 51 and the function of suppressing the incidence of external light.

[0034] In this embodiment, the cushion material 15 includes an upper cushion portion 15a located at the upper portion of the periphery of the facing portion 11a, and a lower cushion portion 15b located below the upper cushion portion 15a. The upper cushion portion 15a and the lower cushion portion 15b have different elastic moduli and thicknesses. The reason for the difference in elastic moduli and thickness between the upper cushion portion 15a and the lower cushion portion 15b is as follows.

[0035] The display device 10 and the headband 30 are connected via a hinge unit 20. The center of rotation of the display device 10 is the hinge unit 20, specifically, the rotation axis of the hinge unit 20. When a rotation moment occurs in the display device 10, the amount of movement of the upper part of the display device 10 close to the hinge unit 20 is small, and conversely, the amount of movement of the lower part of the display device 10 far from the hinge unit 20 is large.

[0036] For example, in the display device 10, it is assumed that the elastic modulus and thickness of the upper cushion part and the elastic modulus and thickness of the lower cushion part are the same. When the display device 10 is pressed against the user's face 51, if the upper cushion part hits the user's forehead first, the rotation of the display device 10 is hindered by the force that the upper cushion part receives from the forehead. Therefore, the lower cushion part does not hit the user's cheek, or even if the lower cushion part hits the user's cheek, the impact on the cheek is weak. Therefore, there is a possibility that external light may enter through the gap between the lower cushion part and the face 51.

[0037] Therefore, in the head mounted display 1 according to this embodiment, the upper cushion part 15a and the lower cushion part 15b are different in elastic modulus and thickness. Specifically, the thickness of the lower cushion part 15b is set to be thicker than the thickness of the upper cushion part 15a. In addition, the elastic modulus of the lower cushion part 15b is set to be the same as the elastic modulus of the upper cushion part 15a or smaller than the elastic modulus of the upper cushion part 15a.

[0038] Here, the upper cushion part 15a is located at the upper part of the periphery of the facing part 11a, and is a part that mainly comes into contact with the forehead of the user's face 51. On the other hand, the lower cushion part 15b is located at the lower part of the periphery of the facing part 11a, and is a part that mainly comes into contact with the cheeks of the user's face 51. Specifically, the upper cushion part 15a and the lower cushion part 15b can be defined based on the lenses 12La, 12Ra that guide the display light to the user's eyes.

[0039] 8(a), a boundary line L1 is defined based on the optical centers of the lenses 12La and 12Ra that guide the display light to the user's eyes. The cushion material 15 located above the boundary line L1 can be defined as the upper cushion portion 15a, and the cushion material 15 located below the boundary line L1 can be defined as the lower cushion portion 15b.

[0040] 8(b), a boundary line L2 is defined above the lenses 12La and 12Ra, and a boundary line L3 is defined below the lenses 12La and 12Ra. The cushion material 15 located above the boundary line L2 may be the upper cushion portion 15a, and the cushion material 15 located below the boundary line L3 may be the lower cushion portion 15b.

[0041] 8(c), a boundary line L2 is set above the lenses 12La and 12Ra. The cushion material 15 located above the boundary line L2 may be set as an upper cushion portion 15a, and the cushion material 15 located below the boundary line L2 may be set as a lower cushion portion 15b.

[0042] In this way, the division into upper cushion portion 15a and lower cushion portion 15b is determined taking into consideration the shape of device main body 11, a statistically derived average face shape, and the like.

[0043] The elastic modulus may be the same for upper cushion portion 15a and lower cushion portion 15b, but when the elastic modulus is made different between upper cushion portion 15a and lower cushion portion 15b as described above, it is possible to more actively make the amount of crushing of cushion material 15 different between the upper side and the lower side of display device 10. In other words, when the same force is applied, the amount of crushing of lower cushion portion 15b is greater than the amount of crushing of upper cushion portion 15a.

[0044] 9(a), "PF" is a line that diagrammatically indicates the position of the user's face 51. When the user presses the display device 10 against the user's face 51, the user rotates the display device 10 downward about the hinge portion 20, that is, counterclockwise in the drawing.

[0045] For example, as shown in FIG. 9(b), assume a face shape in which the forehead position PF1 is located forward of the cheek position PF2. The distance Δb1 between the facing portion 11a and the cheek position PF2 is longer than the distance Δa1 between the facing portion 11a and the forehead position PF1. As described above, the thickness of the lower cushion portion 15b is set to be thicker than the thickness of the upper cushion portion 15a. Therefore, even when the upper cushion portion 15a is in contact with the user's forehead, the thickness of the lower cushion portion 15b can satisfy the distance Δb1 between the facing portion 11a and the cheek position PF2. This can suppress the gap between the lower cushion portion 15b and the cheek, thereby suppressing the intrusion of external light.

[0046] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9(c), assume a face shape in which the cheek position PF2 is located forward of the forehead position PF1. The distance Δb2 between the facing portion 11a and the cheek position PF2 is shorter than the distance Δa1 between the facing portion 11a and the forehead position PF1. As described above, the elastic modulus of the lower cushion portion 15b is set to be the same as or smaller than the elastic modulus of the upper cushion portion 15a. Therefore, when the lower cushion portion 15b receives a force from the cheek, the lower cushion portion 15b can be crushed according to the distance Δb2 between the facing portion 11a and the cheek position PF2. If the elastic modulus of the lower cushion portion 15b is larger than the elastic modulus of the upper cushion portion 15a, the lower cushion portion 15b is less likely to be crushed, which would hinder the rotation of the display device 10. Therefore, there is a risk of a gap being generated between the upper cushion portion 15a and the forehead. On the other hand, by appropriately compressing the lower cushion portion 15b, even if the lower cushion portion 15b abuts against the cheek, the display device 10 can rotate until the upper cushion portion 15a reaches the forehead. This reduces the gap between the upper cushion portion 15a and the forehead, and prevents external light from entering.

[0047] Furthermore, in a configuration in which the display device 10 rotates around the hinge portion 20, even if the amount of movement at the upper portion of the device body 11 is small, the amount of movement at the lower portion of the device body 11 is large. In this regard, in the cushion material 15 of this embodiment, the elastic modulus of the upper cushion portion 15a is large, and the amount of crushing of the upper cushion portion 15a is suppressed. Therefore, even if the upper cushion portion 15a is crushed, the amount of crushing is small. Therefore, the amount of movement on the lower side of the device body 11 can be suppressed. As a result, the gap between the facing portion 11a and the cheek can be appropriately filled within the range of the thickness set for the lower cushion portion 15b.

[0048] Thus, according to the head mounted display 1 of this embodiment, the thickness of the upper cushion portion 15a is set to be thicker than the thickness of the upper cushion portion 15a. In addition, the elastic modulus of the lower cushion portion 15b is set to be the same as or smaller than the elastic modulus of the upper cushion portion 15a. This makes it possible to suppress the influence of external light, thereby improving the display image quality.

[0049] According to this embodiment, the upper cushion portion 15a is located above the left and right lenses 12La and 12Ra of the device body 11. This makes it possible to appropriately reduce pressure on the user's forehead and cheeks while suppressing the effects of external light.

[0050] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the center of gravity Gr of the display device 10 is located forward and below the hinge portion 20. This makes it possible to appropriately generate a rotational moment for pressing the display device 10 against the face 51 of the user.

[0051] In the head mounted display 1 according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the upper cushion part 15a and the lower cushion part 15b have different elastic moduli and thicknesses. This makes it possible to suppress the influence of external light, thereby improving the display image quality. However, the upper cushion part 15a and the lower cushion part 15b may have the same elastic modulus, and only the thickness may be different between the upper cushion part 15a and the lower cushion part 15b.

[0052] The embodiment described above in detail is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and may be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1. Head-mounted display 10 Display device 11. Device body 11a Opposite part 12L, 12R display unit 12La, 12Ra lenses 15 Cushioning material 15a Upper cushion part 15b Lower cushion part 20 Hinge part 30 Headband 50 heads 51 Face Gr center of gravity

Claims

1. a headband that is worn on the user's head and surrounds the forehead and back of the head; A hinge portion provided on a front end side of the headband; a display device that is rotatably connected to the headband via the hinge portion and is brought into contact with a face of the user so as to cover the user's eyes; The display device comprises: a device main body on which a rotational moment acts in a direction toward the user's face around the hinge portion; a cushioning material provided on a periphery of a facing portion of the device body facing the user's face and abutting against the user's face; A center of gravity adjustment member for adjusting the center of gravity, The cushioning material is an upper cushion portion located at an upper portion of a periphery of the facing portion; a lower cushion portion located below the upper cushion portion, The thickness of the cushion material is defined as a thickness in a direction from the opposing portion toward the cushion material, and the thickness of the lower cushion portion is thicker than a thickness of the upper cushion portion. The center of gravity of the display device is adjusted so that the center of gravity of the display device and the center of gravity adjustment member is located forward of the center of the hinge portion. Head-mounted display.

2. The elastic modulus of the lower cushion portion is equal to or smaller than the elastic modulus of the upper cushion portion. The head mounted display according to claim 1.

3. The upper cushion portion is Located above the left and right lenses that face the user's eyes 3. The head mounted display according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The center of gravity of the display device is When the cushion material comes into contact with the face of the user, the cushion material is located forward and below the hinge portion. The head mounted display according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images