US20060238878A1 - Wearable display unit, headphones and system provided with these - Google Patents

Abstract

Inclination of an image display unit is prevented at the time of using a wearable display unit in which the image display unit can move between a projection position where the image display unit comes in front of a user's eye and a retracted position where the image display unit has been retracted from the front of the user's eye. A display support member27is prevented from rotating in relation to a display support member housing part31in a direction included in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the display support member27, even in a state that the display support member can move. To that end, grooves28a, 28bextending in the longitudinal direction are formed in the display support member27, while guide rollers34a, 34ain contact with these grooves are provided within the display support member housing part31.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
• This is a continuation application of, and claims benefit from, corresponding international application PCT/JP2004/19352, filed Dec. 24, 2004, which claims priority from Japan Patent Application No. 2003-434294, filed Dec. 26, 2003, Japan Patent Application No. 2004-002834, filed Jan. 8, 2004, Japan Patent Application No. 2004-010781, filed Jan. 19, 2004, Japan Patent Application No. 2004-103723, filed Mar. 31, 2004, and Japan Patent Application No. 2004-103724, filed Mar. 31, 2004, all of which applications are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
• The present disclosure relates to a wearable display unit provided with an image display unit for displaying an image in front of an eye of a user and the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye, headphones attached to the wearable display unit, and a system provided with these components.
• As a device for displaying an image in front of an eye of a user, there is a device called a wearable display unit or a head-mounted display.
• For example, the below-mentioned Non-patentDocument 1 shows a conventional device of such a type.
• A wearable display unit described inNon-patent Document 1 comprises: an image display unit; a round-bar-shaped display support member whose end fixes the image display unit; a display support member holding part that supports the display support member slidably; and a head mounting belt to which the display support member holding part is attached. The display support member holding part comprises: a display support member housing that houses the display support member; and a restricting screw for restricting the display support member such that the display support member can not move relatively to the display support member housing. The display support member housing is formed with a display support member through hole for inserting the display support member and a threaded hole extending in the direction intersecting the display support member through hole. The restricting screw is screwed into the threaded hole and presses the display support member in the display support member housing to restrict the display support member such that the display support member can not move.
• To use this wearable display unit, first the head mounting belt is put on the head of a user. Then, the restricting screw is loosened to pull out the display support member from the display support member housing such that the image display unit is led to the front of a user's eye. Then, the display support member is rotated slightly in relation to the display support member housing around the longitudinal axis of the display support member, to adjust the inclination of the image display unit. Thereafter, the restricting screw is screwed into the display support member housing to restrict the display support member such that the display support member can neither move nor rotate . . .
• Other related techniques are displayed in the below-mentionedPatent Documents 1, 2 and 3.
• A wearable display unit described inPatent Document 1 has a head mounting belt and a display device. Mechanical structures for fixing the display device unit are provided to the head mounting belt in the neighborhoods of the right and left eyes, respectively. Thus, since this wearable display unit is provided with the mechanical structures for fixing the display device unit at the portions of the head mounting belt in the neighborhoods of the right and left eyes respectively, it is possible to place the display device unit both in the neighborhood of the right eye and in the neighborhood of the left eye.
• Patent Document 2 describes a wearable display unit whose image display unit is provided with an anti-swing member that can be in contact with a nose of a user to avoid effect of unintended movement of the image display unit owing to a motion of the user.
• A wearable display unit described inPatent Document 3 comprises: an image display unit for displaying an image in front of a user's eye; a head mounting member to be mounted on the head of the user; a display support member that supports the image display unit; and a coupling member for coupling the display support member to the head mounting member. This wearable display unit has a spherical seat at a portion of connection between the display support member and the coupling member so that the image display unit fixed to the end of the display support member can swing in various directions together with the display support member.
• Non-patent Document 1: Interactive Imaging Systems Second Sight, ½ page, retrieved on Dec. 9, 2004, Internet <URL:http://www.iisvr.com/products_mobility_Main.html>
• Patent Document 1: Japanese Non-examined Patent Laid-Open No. 10-74051, FIG. 2
• Patent Document 2: Japanese Non-examined Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-3143, FIG. 1
• Patent Document 3: Japanese Non-examined Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-3143, FIGS. 2 and 6
SUMMARY
• According to the technique described inNon-patent Document 1, the center of gravity of the image display unit does not exist on the axis of the display support member. Thus, when the wearable display unit is used in a state that the image display unit is positioned in front of a user, sometimes the weight of the image display unit generates force causing the display support member to rotate on its longitudinal axis and, as a result, the image display unit to incline. In particular, when the head of the user using the wearable display unit moves rapidly, the image display unit frequently inclines downward even if the restricting screw has been screwed tightly to some degree.
• The present invention has been made considering these conventional problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a wearable display unit that can prevent downward inclination of an image display unit at the time of using, headphones that can be fixed to this wearable display unit, and a system provided with these.
• To solve the above problems, one aspect of the invention provides a wearable display unit having an image display unit for displaying an image in front of an eye of a user and the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye. An embodiment of the unit comprises a display support member that has a bar shape and is fixed to the image display unit. The unit also comprises a display support member holding part that holds the display support member movably between a projecting position where the image display unit can be positioned in front of the eye of the user and a retracted position where the image display unit has been retracted from the front of the eye of the user. The unit also comprises an anti-rotation means that prevents rotation of the display support member in relation to the display support member holding part in a neighborhood of, and including at least, the projecting position between the projecting position and the retracted position, with respect to rotation in a direction within a plane nearly perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the display support member, even when the display support member is in a movable state.
• In the wearable display unit, the anti-rotation means can comprise an anti-rotation-shape part formed, at least in a part of the display support member, to have an outer peripheral shape of a cross section having parts whose distances from a center of gravity in the cross section are different from each other. The cross section can be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the display support member. The anti-rotation means also can include an abutting part that is a part of the display support member holding part and cannot be rotated in a sense of the rotation, with the abutting part abutting on the anti-rotation-shape part of the display support member at least in the neighborhood of the projecting position.
• In another embodiment the anti-rotation means comprises an anti-rotation-shape part formed, at least in a part of the display support member, to have an outer peripheral shape of a cross section different from a circle, with the cross section being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the display support member. The anti-rotation means also comprises an abutting part that is a part of the display support member holding part and cannot be rotated in a sense of the rotation, with the abutting part abutting on the anti-rotation-shape part of the display support member at least in the neighborhood of the projecting position.
• The outer peripheral shape of the cross section of the display support member can be different between on a tip end side to which the image display unit is fixed and on a base end side opposite to the tip end side. The base end portion of the display support member can form the anti-rotation-shape part.
• The outer peripheral shape of the cross section on the tip end side of the display support member can be a circle.
• The display support member can be formed with a groove extending in the longitudinal direction. In this embodiment the display support member holding part can have a guide roller that is in contact with a surface of the display support member, with the surface being formed with the groove. A part of the display support member, the part having the groove, can be the anti-rotation-shape part, wherein the guide roller is the abutting part.
• The display support member holding part can have a driving source that moves the display support member. In this configuration a drive transmission part of the driving source is in contact with the display support member.
• The holding means can be configured to hold the drive transmission part toward the display support member.
• The display support member can have a shape curved in the longitudinal direction so that the shape extends along a head of the user. In this configuration the image display unit can be moved in a locus corresponding to the curved shape, between the projecting position and the retracted position.
• The display support member holding part can comprise a display support member housing that houses the display support member at the retracted position.
• Another aspect of the invention is directed to wearable display systems. An embodiment of such a system comprises a wearable display unit such as any of the configurations summarized above. The system also includes a head mounting member that is mounted on a head of a user for holding the head inside of the head mounting member by an elastic force of the head mounting member. The wearable display unit can have an attachment that is fixed to the display support member holding part and that can be coupled to and removed from a part of the head mounting member.
• Another aspect of the invention is directed to wearable display units having an image display unit for displaying an image in front of a user's eye and the image display unit that can be arranged near the user's eye. An embodiment of such a unit comprises a display support member that is curved in a shape extending along a shape of a head and is fixed to the image display unit. The unit also includes a display support member holding part that slidably holds the display support member such that the display support member can move along a locus corresponding to its curved shape, between a projecting position where the image display unit can be positioned in front of the eye of the user and a retracted position where the image display unit has been retracted from the front of the eye of the user.
• In a wearable display unit according to any of the configurations summarized above, the image display unit can be fixed to the display support member such that a visual surface of the image display unit can swing between a displayable position where the display screen of the image display unit faces the eye of the user and a non-displayable position where the display screen is inclined at an angle larger than or equal to a certain angle with a line of sight of the user's eye. The wearable display unit can further comprise a detection means that detects whether the image display unit is in the displayable position or in the non-displayable position. The wearable display unit also can include a driving means that makes the display support member slide, and a control means that makes the driving means drive the display support member such that the display support member moves from the projecting position to the retracted position, when the detection means detects that the image display unit moves from the displayable position to the non-displayable position in a state that the display support member is in the projecting position.
• In another embodiment the wearable display system comprises a wearable display unit according to any of the configurations summarized above, and a headphone having a speaker and a headphone arm connected to the speaker, and that can be mounted on a head. The wearable display unit can have an attachment that can be coupled to and removed from the headphone. The wearable display unit and the headphone can have respective electric connection parts that can be electrically connected and disconnected from each other.
• The wearable display unit can have an outside connection part for receiving at least electric power, an image signal and an audio signal from the outside. The wearable display unit can be configured to send at least the audio signal out of the electric power, the image signal, the audio signal and the like received through the outside connection part, to the electric connection part (hereinafter, referred to as a “headphone-side electric connection part”) of the headphone through the electric connection part (hereinafter, referred to as a “display-side electric connection part”) of the wearable display unit. In that case, the headphone-side electric connection part may be a headphone cable having electric contacts at its end.
• The headphone can have an outside connection part for receiving at least electric power, an image signal and an audio signal from the outside. The headphone can be configured to send at least the electric power and the image signal out of the electric power, the image signal, the audio signal and the like received through the outside connection part to the electric connection part (hereinafter, referred to as a “display-side electric connection part”) of the wearable display unit through the electric connection part (hereinafter, referred to as a “headphone-side electric connection part”) of the headphone. In that case, the display-side electric connection part may be a display cable having electric contacts at its end.
• Further, the display-side electric connection part may be provided in the attachment such that the display-side electric connection part is connected to the headphone-side electric connection part when the attachment is coupled to the headphone.
• In yet another embodiment each of left and right parts of the headphone can be provided with the headphone-side electric connection part. The headphone-side electric connection part can have a plurality of electric contacts arranged in a predetermined direction. The order of arrangement of the plurality of electric contacts in the headphone-side electric connection part provided in one of the left and right parts can be reversed in a vertical direction from an order of arrangement of the plurality of electric contacts in the headphone-side electric connection part provided in the other of the left and right parts, in a state that the headphone is mounted on the head.
• In yet another, embodiment each of left and right parts of the headphone can be provided with the headphone-side electric connection part. The headphone-side electric connection part can have a plurality of electric contacts arranged in a predetermined direction. The order of arrangement of the plurality of electric contacts in the headphone-side electric connection part provided in one of the left and right parts can be reversed in a horizontal direction from an order of arrangement of the plurality of electric contacts in the headphone-side electric connection part provided in the other of the left and right parts, in a state that the headphone is mounted on the head and surfaces in which the electric contacts are arranged are seen from fronts of the surfaces.
• The attachment can relatively move within a certain width in a certain direction with respect to the headphone to which the attachment is coupled. At least either the plurality of the electric contacts in the headphone-side electric connection part or the plurality of the electric contacts in the display-side connection part can have a certain width in the certain direction.
• The attachment of the wearable display unit can have a coupling means that is deformed to be coupled with a part of the headphone. In this configuration or in other configurations, the attachment of the wearable display unit can be coupled to and removed from a part of the speaker on a side opposite to a side contacting with the head. The part of the speaker can be provided with the electric contacts of the headphone-side electric connection part, and the attachment can be provided with the electric contacts of the display-side electric connection part. The electric contacts can be connected to the electric contacts of the headphone-side electric connection part when the attachment is coupled to the part. The attachment can be provided with a circuit that processes the image signal and sends the processed image signal to the image display unit.
• In another embodiment the headphone has a pair of speakers as the speaker, and the headphone arm connects the pair of speaker with each other. Each of the pair of speakers can be formed with a coupling portion to which the attachment can be coupled. The wearable display system further can comprise an external member that is coupled to the coupling portion of one speaker of the pair of speakers to cover the coupling portion, when the other speaker is coupled with the attachment at the coupling portion of that speaker. In this and other configurations the attachment can be formed with a hollow portion on a side of a speaker when the attachment is coupled to the speaker. The external member can be formed with a hollow portion at a position corresponding to the hollow portion of the attachment, with the hollow portion formed in the external member having the same shape and size as ones of the hollow portion of the attachment.
• In yet another embodiment the display support member holding part is coupled to the attachment in a relatively rotatable manner.
• At least a part of the coupling means may be made of an elastic material so that the coupling means is elastically deformed to grasp the headphone arm of the headphone or to be coupled into the speaker of the headphone. Further, the coupling means may comprise first and second grasping members for sandwiching a part of the headphone arm from both sides, and a pressing member that presses the second grasping member toward the first member. When the coupling means is deformed as a result of movement of the second grasping member, a part of the headphone arm is grasped between the first grasping member and the second grasping member. In this configuration the coupling means may have a groove member having a pair of side walls that are opposed to each other. One of the side wails of the groove member becomes the first grasping member. A screw member that is screwed and coupled into the other side wall of the groove member becomes the pressing member. Alternatively, an elastic member fixed to the other side wall may become the pressing member. The second grasping member may be fixed to the tip end of the screw member or the elastic member.
• Further, in any of the above-summarized wearable display units, some portion in a part ranging from the attachment to the display support member holding part may be formed with a clearance part that extends in a direction including a directional component receding from a headphone speaker connected to the headphone arm, so that the display support member holding part keeps away from the headphone speaker when the attachment is coupled to the headphone arm.
• Further, any of the above-summarized wearable display units may further comprise a display unit displacement means that changes the position and/or the direction of the image display unit in relation to the attachment.
• Further, in any of the above-summarized wearable display units, it is desirable that at least the external shape of the image display unit is symmetrical in the up-down direction in a state that the attachment is coupled to the headphone arm.
• Further, any of the above-summarized wearable display units may further comprise a detection means that detects whether the attachment has been coupled to the side of the right ear or the side of the left ear of the headphone arm. The unit may further comprise a display control means that turns an output image upside down based on a detection result of the detection means. When the fixing position of the attachment is changed, the top and the bottom of the image display unit are reversed accordingly. Thus, as this detection means, a gravity sensor may be used that detects up-and-down inversion. Or, in the case where the attachment is provided with the electric contacts of the display-side electric connection part, an electric current sensor may be used as the detection means. Here, the electric current sensor detects whether these electric contacts in the attachment are electrically connected with the electric contacts of the headphone-side electric connection on one of the left and right sides of the headphone.
• Another embodiment of a wearable display unit further comprises an attachment that is provided in the display support member holding part and that can be coupled to and removed from the headphone. An electric connection part is provided in the attachment and connected to electric contacts provided in the headphone when the attachment is coupled to the headphone.
• The attachment can be provided with a display unit displacement means that can change a position and/or a direction of the image display unit in relation to the attachment. In this configuration the electric connection part has lead wires, and lead wires of the electric connection part are arranged in the attachment and the display unit displacement means.
• Another embodiment of a wearable display unit further comprises an attachment that can be coupled to and removed from a speaker of a headphone. An electric connection part can be included that can be electrically connected to and disconnected from a circuit provided in the headphone.
• According to another aspect of the invention, headphones are provided. An embodiment comprises a pair of speakers and a headphone arm connecting the pair of speakers with each other. The embodiment further comprises electric connection parts provided in respective portions of the pair of speakers of the headphone arm. Each of the electric connection parts can be electrically connected to a wearable display unit having an image display unit for displaying an image in front of an eye of a user. The image display of which can be arranged near a user's eye, in such a manner that the electric connection can be disconnected.
• The headphone arm can be formed with coupling portions at respective portions on sides of the pair of speakers, wherein the display unit can be coupled to and removed from each coupling portion. Each of the coupling portions can be provided with electric contacts of the electric connection that are connected to electric contacts provided in the wearable display unit when the wearable display unit is coupled to the coupling portion in question.
• Another aspect of the invention is directed to headphones that comprise a speaker and a headphone arm connected with the speaker. In an embodiment the speaker is formed with a coupling portion to which a wearable display unit having an image display unit for displaying an image can be coupled in a removable manner. The coupling portion can be provided with an electric connection part that can be electrically connected to and disconnected from a circuit provided in the wearable display unit.
• An auxiliary holding part can be provided at a position of the display support member or a position of the display support member holding part such that the auxiliary holding part is outside a field of vision of the user when a center of the field of vision is in a visual surface of the image display unit and the auxiliary holding part presses against the user's head. A pressing force generation means can be included that uses an elastic force and/or an electromagnetic force to generate a pressing force at the auxiliary holding part for pressing against the user's head.
• Another embodiment of a wearable display unit can further comprise an auxiliary holding part that is provided in the display support member or the display support member holding part, in a neighborhood of a temporal part of the head on which the wearable display unit is mounted. The auxiliary holding part can be configured to press against the temporal part.
• The wearable display unit further can comprises a pressing force generation means that uses an elastic force and/or an electromagnetic force to generate a pressing force at the auxiliary holding part for pressing against the user's head. The auxiliary holding part can be provided in such a manner that the auxiliary holding part can be displaced between a pressing position where the auxiliary holding part can press against the head and a retracted position where the auxiliary holding part cannot press against the head. The wearable display unit can further comprise a pressing force detection means that detects a level of a pressing force that the auxiliary holding part at the pressing position applies to the head. The pressing force generation means can be configured to control the pressing force such that the level detected by the pressing force detection means is kept within a predetermined range.
• The display support member holding part can comprise a display support member housing part that houses the display support member. The display support member housing part can be configured to hold the display support member slidably between a projecting position where the image display unit is held in front of an eye of a user and a housed position where at least a part of the display support member retracted from the front of the eye of the user is housed in the display support member housing part. The auxiliary holding part can be configured to be at the retracted position when the display support member is at the housed position. The auxiliary holding part can be at the pressing position when the display support member is at the projecting position.
• Another embodiment of a wearable display unit further comprises an attachment for fixing the display support member holding part to the head mounting member that is to be mounted on the user's head. The embodiment further includes an inclination adjustment means, configured to adjust an inclination of the display support member to the attachment, within a plane including a direction of action of the pressing force and the attachment. The inclination adjustment means can comprise a projection length adjustment means that adjusts a length of projection of the auxiliary holding part with respect to the display support member or the display support member holding part.
• The inclination adjustment means can comprise a distance adjustment means that adjusts a distance from the attachment to the display support member holding part at a portion connecting the attachment and the display support member holding part.
• The pressing force generation means can be arranged in the attachment or in a neighborhood of the attachment, to generate a force that makes a side of the image display unit of the display support member incline toward a direction of action of the pressing force.
• The wearable display unit according to any of various embodiments can further comprise a joint that fixes the display support member holding part to the attachment in such a manner that the display support member holding part can swing in a plane including a direction of action of the pressing force and the attachment.
• In yet another embodiment of a wearable display unit the wearable display unit further comprises an attachment that is fixed to a head mounting member that is mounted on a head of the user. The unit further comprises a joint part that fixes the display support member holding part to the attachment in such a manner that the display support member can swing in relation to the attachment, around a plurality of virtual axes having different directions from one another. In the joint part, the torque required for swinging around at least one virtual axis among the plurality of virtual axes can be different from the torque required for swinging around an of the other virtual axes. Here, the “virtual axis” conceptually includes not only an axis as a center of rotation of a joint structure that has an actual axis but also a center of rotation of a joint structure that does not have an actual axis.
• The joint portion can comprise a first joint portion that holds the display support member holding part on the attachment such that the display support member can swing in relation to the attachment around a first virtual axis among the plurality of virtual axes. The joint portion can further include a second joint portion that holds the display support member holding part on the attachment such that the display support member can swing in relation to the attachment around a second virtual axis perpendicular to the first virtual axis.
• The first joint part can comprise a base-side member that is fixed to or formed integrally with the attachment and a swing-side member that is fixed to the base-side member in such a way that the swing-side member can relatively rotate in relation to the base-side member around the first virtual axis. The second joint part can comprise a swing-side member that is fixed to or formed integrally with the display support member holding part and a base-side member that is fixed to the swing-side member in such a way that the base-side member can relatively rotate in relation to the swing-side member around the second virtual axis. In that case, it is favorable that the swing-side member of the first joint part and the base-side member of the second joint part be made of the same material.
• One of the plurality of virtual axes can be a virtual axis around which the image display unit fixed to the display support member swings in a direction including a vertical direction in a state that the head mounting member is mounted on a head of the user and the attachment is coupled to the head mounting member. The torque required for swinging around the virtual axis in question desirably is larger than the torque required for swinging around the other virtual axes of the plurality of virtual axes.
• In a device described inPatent Document 1, a part of the signal cables of the display device unit is fixed to the head mounting belt, and the fixing position of the display device unit on the head mounting belt can be changed. However, in a case in which the head mounting belt has the same function as a headphone, the wiring cables hang from the head mounting belt (i.e. the headphone) and wiring cables hang from the display device unit also. Thus, it is not convenient to use the head mounting belt. This problem is solved by any of various embodiments of a wearable display system as summarized above. An exemplary embodiment comprises a headphone that can be mounted on a head and that comprises a speaker and a headphone arm connected with the speaker. The embodiment includes a wearable display unit that comprises an image display unit, which can be arranged near a user's eye, and can be coupled to the headphone. The wearable display unit has an attachment that can be coupled to and removed from the headphone. The wearable display unit and the headphone have respective electric connection parts that can be electrically connected and disconnected with and from each other.
• Another embodiment of a wearable display unit includes an image display unit that can be arranged near a user's eye and that displays an image in front of a user's eye. The wearable display unit further comprises an attachment that can be coupled to and removed from a headphone. The unit further comprises a holding part that connects the image display unit to the attachment. An electric connection part is provided in the attachment, with the electric connection part being connected to electric contacts provided in the headphone whenever the attachment is coupled to the headphone.
• Another embodiment of a wearable display unit includes an image display unit that can be arranged near a user's eye and that displays an image. The unit comprises an attachment that can be coupled to and removed from a speaker of a headphone that can be mounted on a head. An electric connection part is provided that can be electrically connected to and disconnected from a circuit provided in the headphone.
• In a device described inPatent Document 2, the anti-swing member interrupts a part of a center of the field of vision of a user's eye when the user's eye views an image of the image display unit. Consequently, visibility of surroundings sometimes becomes worse. In view of these shortcomings, an embodiment of a wearable display unit is provided herein that displays an image in front of an eye of a user. The unit comprises an image display unit that displays an image. A holding part is provided that can hold the image display unit at a position in front of the eye of the user. An attachment is used for fixing the holding part to a head mounting member that is mounted on the head of the user. An auxiliary holding part is provided on the holding part at a position that is outside a field of vision of the user when a center of the field of vision of the user lies within a visual surface of the image display unit, with the auxiliary holding part being pressed against the user's head. The unit further comprises a pressing force generation means that uses an elastic force and/or an electromagnetic force to generate a pressing force at the auxiliary holding part so that the auxiliary holding part presses against the head.
• Another embodiment of a wearable display unit comprises an image display unit that displays an image, and a holding part that can hold the image display unit at a position in front of the eye of the user. An attachment is provided that fixes the holding part to a head mounting member that is mounted on the user's head. An auxiliary holding part is provided on the holding part in a neighborhood of a temporal part of the head on which the head mounting member is mounted, with the auxiliary holding part pressing against the temporal part.
• In a device as described inPatent Document 3, swinging of the image display unit in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction is realized by means of a spherical seat provided in a connection part between the display support member and the coupling portion. Thus, swinging in any direction requires the same torque. As a result, if the torque required for swinging in the horizontal direction is made smaller so that a smaller force can produce swinging in the horizontal direction, the torque required for swinging in the vertical direction becomes smaller at the same time. As a result, sometimes the image display unit moves downward automatically owing to its own weight. On the other hand, if the torque required for vertical swinging is made larger, the torque required for horizontal swinging becomes larger at the same time. As a result, it becomes difficult to adjust the position horizontally. Thus, with a device as disclosed inPatent Document 3, difficult operation is required for adjusting the position of the image display unit. To solve this problem, an embodiment of a wearable display unit is provided that has an image display unit for displaying an image in front of an eye of a user and that can be arranged near a user's eye. The wearable display unit comprises an attachment to be coupled to a head mounting member that is mounted on a head of the user. The unit also includes a holding part having one end fixed to the image display unit while the other end of the holding part extends to a position opposed to the attachment. The unit also comprises a joint part that fixes the holding part to the attachment such that the holding part can swing relatively to the attachment around a plurality of virtual axes extending in respective directions different from one another. In the joint part, the torque required for swinging around at least one virtual axis among the plurality of virtual axes is different from the torque required for swinging around the other virtual axes.
• In various embodiments as described herein, anti-rotation means is provided. As a result, even in a state in which the display support member can move in the neighborhood of the projecting position, it is possible to prevent rotation of the display support member in relation to the display support member holding part with respect to rotation whose direction is within a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the display support member.
• Further, one cable can be used for supplying an audio signal supplied to a headphone and an image signal supplied to the wearable display unit, thereby improving the usability of the wearable display system.
• Further, various embodiments can provide a wearable display unit that can suppress vibration of the image display unit is suppressed without damaging visibility of surroundings. In various embodiments, in the joint part for fixing the holding part of the image display unit swingably to the attachment, the torque required for swinging around one virtual axis among a plurality of virtual axes is different from the torque required for swinging around the other virtual axes. Thus, automatic displacement of the image display unit can be prevented, and the position of the image display unit can be adjusted by easy operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit of a first embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 2 is a partially-cutaway plan view showing main parts of the wearable display system (in a state of a projecting position) of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 3 is a partially-cutaway plan view showing the main parts of the wearable display system (in a state of a retracted position) of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 4 is a cross section taken along the C-C line inFIG. 2;
• FIG. 5 is a cross section taken along the D-D line inFIG. 2;
• FIG. 6 is a cross section showing an attachment of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 7 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 8 is a cross section showing a first variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 9 is a cross section showing a second variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 10 is a cross section showing a third variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 11 is an explanatory view for explaining difference in working methods according to a position of a groove to be formed in a curved bar-shaped member;
• FIG. 12 is a cross section showing a fourth variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 13 is a cross section showing a fifth variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 14 is a cross section showing a sixth variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 15 is a cross section showing the sixth variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment,FIG. 15A being a cross section showing the display support member and a slide shoe seen along the A-A line inFIG. 14, andFIG. 15B a cross section showing the display support member and the slide shoe seen along the B-B line inFIG. 14.
• FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a seventh variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 17 is a cross section showing the seventh variant of the display support member and its holding part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment,FIG. 17A being a cross section showing the display support member and a slide shoe seen along the A-A line inFIG. 16 andFIG. 17B a cross section showing the display support member and the slide shoe seen along the B-B line inFIG. 16;
• FIG. 18 is a cross section showing a variant of the display support member and its driving part of the wearable display unit of the first embodiment;
• FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having a image display unit (in a coupled state) of a second embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system (in a non-coupled state) of the second embodiment;
• FIG. 21 is a cross section taken along the III-III line inFIG. 19;
• FIG. 22 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system of the second embodiment;
• FIG. 23 is a cross section showing a first variant of an attachment of the wearable display system of the second embodiment;
• FIG. 24 is a cross section showing a second variant of the attachment of the wearable display system of the second embodiment;
• FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing a variant of headphones of the wearable display system of the second embodiment;
• FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit (in a coupled state) of a third embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system (in a non-coupled state) of the third embodiment;
• FIG. 28 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system of the third embodiment;
• FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit (in a non-coupled state) of a fourth embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 30 is a cross section showing main parts of the wearable display system of the fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 31 is a cross section showing an attachment of the wearable display system of the fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 32 is an explanatory view showing arrangement of electric contacts in coupling portions on the left and right sides of the wearable display system of the fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 33 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system of the fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 34 is a cross section showing a displacement mechanism of the wearable display system of the fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 35 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit of a fifth embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 36 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system of the fifth embodiment;
• FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit of a sixth embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 38 is a cross section showing a speaker, an attachment and a displacement mechanism of the wearable display system of the sixth embodiment;
• FIG. 39 is a cross section showing a speaker and an outer cap of the wearable display system of the sixth embodiment;
• FIG. 40 is a cross section showing a speaker and an attachment of a variant of the wearable display system of the sixth embodiment;
• FIG. 41 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit of a seventh embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 42 is a cutaway plan view showing main parts of the wearable display system of the seventh embodiment;
• FIG. 43 is an explanatory view for explaining a driving mechanism of an auxiliary holding part of the wearable display system of the seventh embodiment;
• FIG. 44 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system having an image display unit of the seventh embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 45 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit (in a state of a projecting position) of an eighth embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 46 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system (in a state of a housed position) of the eighth embodiment;
• FIG. 47 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit (in a state of a projecting position) of a ninth embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing an auxiliary holding part of the wearable display system of the ninth embodiment;
• FIG. 49 is a perspective view showing a first variant of the wearable display system of the ninth embodiment;
• FIG. 50 is a perspective view showing a second variant of the wearable display system of the ninth embodiment;
• FIG. 51 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit of a tenth embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 52 is a cutaway plan view showing main parts of the wearable display system of the tenth embodiment;
• FIG. 53 is a cross section taken along the A-A line inFIG. 12;
• FIG. 54 is a perspective view showing a distance adjusting member of the wearable display system of the tenth embodiment;
• FIG. 55 is a perspective view showing a wearable display unit having an image display unit of an eleventh embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;
• FIG. 56 is a cutaway plan view showing main parts of the wearable display unit of the eleventh embodiment;
• FIG. 57 is a cross section taken along the A-A line inFIG. 56; and
• FIG. 58 is a cross section showing a variant of a joint part of the wearable display unit of the eleventh embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• Various embodiments of the wearable display system will be described.
First Embodiment
• In the beginning, will be described a first embodiment of a wearable display system having an image display unit, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye.
• As shown inFIGS. 1-3, the wearable display system of the present embodiment comprises:headphones10 that can be mounted on the head H of a user; and awearable display unit20 that is fixed to theheadphones10.FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system of the first embodiment.FIG. 2 is a cutaway plan view showing main parts of the wearable display system (in a state of a projecting position). And,FIG. 3 is a cutaway plan view showing the main parts of the wearable display system (in a state of a retracted position).
• Theheadphones10 of this wearable display system comprises: left andright speakers11L and11R; and anarm12 that connects the left andright speakers11L and11R with each other. Both end portions of thearm12 are curved such that these end portions can be placed on the left and right ears of the user. Thus, these end portions formearpieces13L and13R. Theheadphones10 are rear-arm type headphones whosearm12 is positioned around the back of the head of a user.
• Thewearable display unit20 comprises: animage display unit21 that displays an image in front of a user's eye; adisplay support member27 that fixes theimage display unit21 at its end portion; an display supportmember holding part30 that supports thedisplay support member27 slidably; and anattachment40 that fixes the display support member holding part to theheadphone arm12.
• Thedisplay support member27 has a bar shape curved smoothly at a radius of curvature R. When thewearable display unit20 is mounted on the head H of the user, the center of curvature of thedisplay support member27 lies inside the head H. Thisdisplay support member27 is supported by the display supportmember holding part30 such that theimage display unit21 can move between a retracted position d (FIG. 3) and a projecting position c (FIGS. 1 and 2) along a locus B corresponding to the curved shape of thedisplay support member27. At the retracted position d, thedisplay support member27 is housed in the display supportmember holding part30. And, at the projecting position c, thedisplay support member27 projects from the display supportmember holding part30 and theimage display unit21 can display an image in front of a user's eye. Further, theimage display unit21 is fixed at the end portion of thedisplay support member27 in such a way that thedisplay unit21 can swing in the direction of the arrow A between a displayable position a where a visual surface of theimage display unit21 faces a user's eye and non-displayable position b where the display screen is inclined at a angle larger than or equal to a certain angle with the line of sight of the user's eye. The length of thedisplay support member27 is determined such that the display screen of theimage display unit21 can be at a distance of 20 mm or more from the user's eye when theimage display unit21 is at the displayable position. Here, the distance of 20 mm or more is determined considering the case where a user uses a pair of glasses. Thus, since thedisplay support member27 has the curved shape and theimage display unit21 can move depicting the locus B corresponding to the curved shape, theimage display unit21 can move safely without interfering with the head.
• As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, theimage display unit21 comprises: adisplay device22; anoptical system23 for leading an image displayed by thedisplay device22 to a user's eye; a display unitposition detection sensor24 for detecting whether theimage display unit21 is in the above-mentioned displayable position or in the non-displayable position; and adisplay unit housing25 that houses these components. Thedisplay unit housing25 is formed with a fixingmember26 that is fixed to the end portion of thedisplay support member27. The display unitposition detection sensor24 is an optical sensor and detects whether theimage display unit21 is in the displayable position or the non-displayable position based on a change of a relative position of thedisplay support member27 within thedisplay unit housing25.
• The display supportmember holding part30 comprises: a displaysupport member housing31 formed with an internal space that can house thedisplay support member27; guiderollers34aand34bthat can support thedisplay support member27 slidably; a drivingroller35athat makes thedisplay support member27 slide; an display supportmember driving motor35bthat makes the drivingroller35arotate; aretraction detection sensor37athat detects whether thedisplay support member27 is in the above-mentioned retracted position d or not; aprojection detection sensor37bthat detects whether thedisplay support member27 is in the above-mentioned projecting position c or not; and an display supportmember drive switch36 for instructing operation of the display supportmember driving motor35b.
• The internal space of the displaysupport member housing31 is curved correspondingly to the curved shape of thedisplay support member27. In one end (hereinafter, referred to as a forward end) of the displaysupport member housing31, there is formed a display supportmember insertion hole32 through which thedisplay support member27 enters and exits the displaysupport member housing31. And, in the other end (hereinafter, referred to as a rear end) of the displaysupport member housing31, there is formed aclearance part33. Theclearance part33 is a part that extends in a direction for keeping away from theheadphone arm12 so as to prevent interference between thespeaker11L or11R of theheadphones10 and the displaysupport member housing31 when theattachment40 is coupled to theheadphone arm12. In the neighborhood of the display supportmember insertion hole32 of the displaysupport member housing31, a pair ofguide rollers34a,34bis provided in each of two places along a moving path B of thedisplay support member27. Between theguide rollers34aon the forward end side and theguide rollers34bon the rear end side, the drivingroller35ais provided on the inner side of the curveddisplay support member27, i.e. on the side of the user's head.
• As shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the shape of the outer periphery of thedisplay support member27 in a cross section perpendicular to its longitudinal direction has parts of different distances from the center of gravity of the cross section. In other words, that shape is not a circle. Or, in more concrete terms, the shape is nearly circular, but formed withgrooves28aand28bon the inner side and the outer side (i.e. the other side) of the curveddisplay support member27 respectively, to form anti-rotation-shape parts. Thus, the shape of the cross section of thedisplay support member27 is not circular in order to prevent rotation around its longitudinal axis. Thegrooves28aand28bon the internal and outer sides of thedisplay support member27 extend in the longitudinal direction of thedisplay support member27. Here,FIG. 4 shows the cross section taken along the C-C line inFIG. 2, andFIG. 5 the cross section taken along the D-D line inFIG. 2.
• As shown inFIG. 4, the above-mentioned pair ofguide rollers34a,34a(34b,34b) is in contact with the insides of thegrooves28aand28b(i.e. the anti-rotation-shape parts) of thedisplay support member27 and thus becomes abutting parts that abut on the anti-rotation-shape parts. Eachguide roller34a(34b) is rotatably mounted on aroller shaft34cprovided in the displaysupport member housing31. Further, the above-mentioneddriving roller35aalso is in contact with the bottom of thegroove28aon the inner side of thedisplay support member27, as shown inFIG. 5. The drivingroller35ais mounted on a driving shaft of the display supportmember driving motor35bfixed within the displaysupport member housing31. Thus, by arranging the drivingroller35aand the display supportmember driving motor35bon the inner side of thedisplay support member27, the heavy component is positioned near to the head of a user as shown inFIG. 2. This can improve stability at the time of movement of the head and reduce extension of the displaysupport member housing31 toward the outer side of the display support member, i.e. in the direction of getting away from the head.
• As shown inFIG. 6A, theattachment40 is made of an elastic material such as resin and is formed to have a C-shaped cross section. A space d of the opening of the C-shape is slightly larger than the minor axis r2 of theheadphone arm12 whose cross section is an ellipse, although smaller than the major axis r1 of theheadphone arm12. Thus, theheadphone arm12 can be easily put into theattachment40 by making the minor axis r2 of theheadphone arm12 vertical and thereafter by bringing theheadphone arm12 close to the opening of theattachment40 in the X direction shown in the figure. Then, by relatively rotating theheadphone arm12 through 90 degrees, theheadphone arm12 is completely fitted in theattachment40 as shown inFIG. 6B. At that time, theattachment40 is elastically deformed to be slightly widened, and thus theattachment40 grasps theheadphone arm12 tightly. As a result, thewearable display unit20 has been fixed to theheadphone arm12.
• Thus, according to the present embodiment, thewearable display unit20 can be fixed to theheadphone arm12 by simply grasping theheadphone arm12. As a result, thewearable display unit20 can be used in many different ways. Further, in the present embodiment, theattachment40 grasps theheadphone arm12 by its elastic deformation, and can adapt to aheadphone arm12 having a slightly different cross section. Further, theheadphones10 do not have a special fixing structure for the wearable display unit, and thus the beauty of the headphones is improved when it is used as a single item.
• As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, theclearance part33 of the displaysupport member housing31 is provided with adisplacement mechanism50. Thedisplacement mechanism50 is provided for changing the position and direction of theimage display unit21 relatively to theattachment40. Thedisplacement mechanism50 comprises aball51 provided in theattachment40 and aball socket52 formed in theclearance part33 of the displaysupport member housing31. Frictional force larger than a certain magnitude acts between theball51 and theball socket52. Thus, theball socket52 can not rotate relatively to theball51 unless turning force larger than a certain magnitude acts on theball socket52 in relation to theball51.
• Since the displacement mechanism comprises theball51 and theball socket52 as described above, the display supportmember holding part30, thedisplay support member27 held by the display supportmember holding part30 and theimage display unit21 fixed to thedisplay support member27 can be displaced around each of three independent axes in the three-dimensional space.
• Thisdisplacement mechanism50 may be provided between the display supportmember holding part30 and theimage display unit21, or may be provided in the display supportmember holding part30. However, thedisplacement mechanism50 has its own weight. And, it is favorable to provide thedisplacement mechanism50 between theattachment40 and the display supportmember holding part30 as in the present embodiment, in order to reduce the moment around theattachment40 as far as possible. Further, in the present embodiment, theball50 is formed on the side of theattachment40. It needless to say, however, that theball50 can be formed on the side of the displaysupport member housing31 and theball socket52 on the side of theattachment40.
• FIG. 7 is a circuit block diagram showing the present wearable display system.
• The displaysupport member housing31 of the display supportmember holding part30 is provided with the drivingroller35a, the display supportmember driving motor35b, theretraction detection sensor37a, theprojection detection sensor37b, the display supportmember drive switch36, and in addition, acontrol system38 and animage processing system39. Thecontrol system38 controls the display supportmember driving motor35bbased on signals from thevarious sensors24,37aand37band the display supportmember drive switch36. Theimage processing system39 sends an image signal to thedisplay device22 of theimage display unit21 based on a signal from an external controller C.
• It is possible that the external controller C sends an audio signal to theheadphones10 through thewearable display unit20. Or, reversely, it is possible that the external controller C sends the image signal, a control signal and the like in addition to the audio signal to theheadphones10 and theheadphones10 in turn sends the image signal, the control signal and the like among those signals to thewearable display unit20. In the case where all the signals are sent to one of theheadphones10 and thewearable display unit20 and then signals required for the other component are sent from the component that has received all the signals, it is necessary that both components are provided with respective electric connection parts that can be disconnected, in order to connect both electrically.
• Next, will be described manipulation and associated operation of thewearable display unit20 in the present embodiment.
• First, theattachment40 of thewearable display unit20 is coupled to theheadphone arm12 as described above. Then, theheadphones10 fixed with thewearable display unit20 are mounted on the head. At that time, as shown inFIG. 3, theimage display unit21 of thewearable display unit20 is positioned in the non-displayable position b and thedisplay support member27 is in the retracted position d.
• Next, when the display supportmember drive switch36 of thewearable display unit20 is pushed, thecontrol system38 detects an ON/OFF state of the display supportmember drive switch36 and outputs a display support member drive control signal to the display supportmember driving motor35bso that the display supportmember driving motor35bstarts driving thedisplay support member27 to project. At that time, thedisplay support member27 and theimage display unit21 move along the locus B corresponding to the curved shape of thedisplay support member27. When thedisplay support member27 reaches the projecting position c, theprojection detection sensor37bdetects this and informs thecontrol system38 of this fact. Then, a projection off signal sent from thecontrol system38 stops the display supportmember driving motor35b, and thedisplay support member27 stops at the projecting position c.
• When theimage display unit21 is manually moved from the non-displayable position b to the displayable position a as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 in a state where thedisplay support member27 is in the projecting position c, the display unitposition detection sensor24 detects this change of position and informs thecontrol system38 of this fact. Thecontrol system38 informs the external controller C of the fact that theimage display unit21 reaches the displayable position. Then, the external controller C knows that thewearable display unit20 is ready to send the image signal. When a play button of the external controller C is pushed in this state, the external controller C sends the image signal to theimage processing system39. Theimage processing system39 in turn sends the image signal to the display device of theimage display unit21 to reproduce an image based on the image signal. Here, instead of pushing the display supportmember drive switch36 at the beginning, it may be arranged as follows. Namely, when the play button of the external controller C is pushed, the external controller C sends the display support member drive control signal to thecontrol system38 to carry out the above-mentioned series of operations.
• To stop the reproduction of the image, theimage display unit21 is manually moved from the displayable position a to the non-displayable position b. Then, the display unitposition detection sensor24 detects this change of position, and informs thecontrol system38 of this change. Thecontrol system38 informs the external controller C of the fact that theimage display unit21 reaches the non-displayable position b to stop sending of the image signal from the external controller C.
• Next, when the display supportmember drive switch36 of thewearable display unit20 is pushed, thecontrol system38 detects an ON/OFF state of the display supportmember drive switch36 and outputs the display support member drive control signal to the display supportmember driving motor35bso that the display supportmember driving motor35bstarts driving thedisplay support member27 to retract. In this retraction process, thedisplay support member27 moves along the locus B corresponding to its own curved shape. When thedisplay support member27 reaches the retracted position d, theretraction detection sensor37adetects this and informs thecontrol system38 of this fact. Then, a retraction off signal sent from thecontrol system38 stops the display supportmember driving motor35b, and thedisplay support member27 stops at the retracted position d.
• Thus, in the present embodiment, thedisplay support member27 and theimage display unit21 move along the locus corresponding to the curved shape of thedisplay support member27. As a result, thedisplay support member27 and theimage display unit21 move along the head of a user, and it is possible to suppress the distance between these components and the user's head to the minimum distance that does not cause interference with the user's head. This reduces the possibility that theimage display unit21 and the like touch other things even when the user's head moves during movement of theimage display unit21 and thedisplay support member27.
• Further, in the present embodiment, when theimage display unit21 does not display an image, thedisplay support member27 is at the retracted position where thedisplay support member27 is housed in the displaysupport member housing31. This reduces the moment of thewearable display unit20 around theattachment40 that is coupled to theheadphone arm12 as a head mounting belt. As a result, it is possible to reduce swinging of thewearable display unit20 even if the user's head moves in a state that theimage display unit21 is retracted and the user's field of vision is ensured. This improves comfortableness of the mountedwearable display unit20.
• Further, in the present embodiment, thegroove28ais formed in thedisplay support member27 and theguide rollers34aand34band the drivingroller35aare made to be in contact with the bottom of thegroove28a. This prevents rotation of thedisplay support member27 around its longitudinal axis whether thedisplay support member27 is moving or not.
• Next, referring toFIGS. 8-17, will be described various variants of the anti-rotation-shape parts of the above-describedwearable display unit20 as well as various variants of the abutting parts that abut on the anti-rotation-shape parts.FIGS. 8-10,12 and13 are cross sections at the respective positions that correspond to the cross section at the C-C line inFIG. 2. Further,FIG. 11 is an explanatory view for illustrating difference in working methods according to a position of a groove to be formed in a curved bar-shaped member.
• In a first variant, the shape of cross section of the display support member27ais almost rectangular and a groove is formed in one side of the display support member27a. Aguide roller34aon the inner side of the display support member27ais in contact with the inside of thegroove28aformed in one side of the display support member27a, and aguide roller34aon the outer side is in contact with the other side of the display support member27a. Thus, in the case of the display support member27ahaving the cross section of the almost rectangular shape also, it is possible to prevent rotation of the display support member27aaround its longitudinal axis. Further, even if the groove is formed only in the inner side of the display support member27a, it is possible to control rotation of the display support member27aas well as its movement in a direction other than the longitudinal direction, as long as theguide roller34aenters thegroove28aon the inner side.
• In this variant and the above-described embodiment, the groove(s) of the display support member is (are) formed in the inner side or (and) the outer side, i.e. the left or (and) right side(s) of thedisplay support member27,27a. However, basically same effects can be obtained when grooves of the display support member are formed instead in the top and/or the bottom of thedisplay support member27,27a.
• However, when a groove is formed in a curved bar-shaped member by means of a disk-shaped working tool W1, W2 as shown inFIG. 11, a groove G1 can be formed without changing the direction of the rotation axis of the disk-shaped working tool W1 in the case where the groove G1 is to be formed on the inner side and/or the outer side of the curved bar-shaped member. On the other hand, when a groove G2 is to be formed on a side perpendicular to the inner side-outer side direction of the curved bar-shaped member, the direction of the rotation axis of the disk-shaped working tool W2 should be changed successively as the working tool W2 moves. Thus, from the viewpoint of groove working, it is favorable to form the groove(s) on the inner side and/or the outer side of the curved display support member.
• Second and third embodiments are shown inFIGS. 9 and 10 respectively, and, in these embodiments, the cross section of eachdisplay support member27b,27chas the shape of a rectangle or two-tiered vertical and horizontal rectangles in which no groove is formed. These variants also can prevent rotation of thedisplay support member27b,27caround its longitudinal axis as in the above embodiment and the first variant. However, these second and third variants do not have a groove differently from the above embodiment and the first variant. Accordingly, to control movement of thedisplay support member27b,27cin the up-and-down direction, i.e. the direction perpendicular to the inner side-outer side direction, it is necessary to provide aguide roller34cat a position in the up-and-down direction.
• Fourth and fifth variants are shown inFIGS. 12 and 13 respectively. Eachdisplay support member27c,27dof these variants has a cross section of a circle-on-circle shape. In detail, a cross section of thedisplay support member27 of the fourth variant has a shape of two circles tangent to each other. On the other hand, a cross section of thedisplay support member27dof the fifth variant has a shape of two slightly-separated circles having connection parts between them. Eachdisplay support member27c,27dof these variants forms agroove28 at a part of opposed arcs, and aguide roller34ais in contact with thisgroove28.
• In sixth and seventh variants shown inFIGS. 14-17, eachdisplay support member27e,27ahas different cross sections at the tip portion s at which the image display unit is fixed and at the base portion b on the other side. Further, eachdisplay support member27e,27fis supported by aslide shoe34e,34f. Eachslide shoe34e,34fis fixed to the display supportmember insertion hole32 shown inFIG. 1.
• Thedisplay support member27eof the sixth variant has a cross section of a circular shape on the side of its tip portion s as shown inFIG. 15A and a cross section of an elliptical shape on the side of its base portion b as shown inFIG. 15B. Here,FIG. 15A shows the cross sections of thedisplay support member27eand theslide shoe34eboth taken along the A-A line ofFIG. 14. And,FIG. 15B shows the cross sections of thedisplay support member27eand theslide shoe34eboth taken along the B-B line ofFIG. 14.
• The shape of the internal surface of theslide shoe34ethrough which thedisplay support member27eis inserted is an elliptical shape of the same shape and size as the shape of the cross section of thedisplay support member27eon the side of its base portion b. As a result, when the base portion b of thedisplay support member27eis at the position of theslide shoe34e, or in other words, when the image display unit is nearly at the projecting position, movement of thedisplay support member27ein any direction within a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thedisplay support member27eand rotation of thedisplay support member27ein a direction within this plane are restricted and only movement in the longitudinal direction is possible. On the other hand, the cross section of thedisplay support member27eon the side of its tip portion s has a shape of a circle as described above, and the diameter of the circle is same as the minor axis of the elliptical shape on the side of the base portion b. As a result, when the tip portion s of thedisplay support member27eis at the position of theslide shoe34e, or in other words, when the image display unit is nearly at the retracted position, movement of thedisplay support member27ein any direction within a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thedisplay support member27eis restricted while rotation of thedisplay support member27ein a direction within this plane is not restricted.
• Accordingly, in the case of this variant, when the image display unit is nearly positioned at the projecting position, thedisplay support member27ecan not rotate whether thedisplay support member27eis moving or not, and thus the image display unit is prevented from inclining. On the other hand, when, in this variant, the image display unit is nearly positioned at the retracted position, it is possible to rotate thedisplay support member27esuch that the image display unit is inclined suitably. In other words, in the present embodiment, even though thedisplay support member27eis in any posture in the neighborhood of the retracted position, the image display unit assumes the determined posture at the projecting position. Further, at the projecting position, lead wires from thedisplay support member27ehave little play in the displaysupport member housing31, and there is a possibility that the lead wires may break when thedisplay support member27erotates. However, the present embodiment prevents rotation of thedisplay support member27 when it is nearly at the projecting position, and accordingly the lead wires can be prevented from breaking
• Thedisplay support member27fof the seventh variant has a cross section of a circular shape on the side of its tip portion s as shown inFIG. 17A and a cross section of an arc shape on the side of its base portion b as shown inFIG. 17B. Here,FIG. 17A shows the cross sections of thedisplay support member27fand theslide shoe34fboth taken along the A-A line ofFIG. 16. And,FIG. 17B shows the cross sections of thedisplay support member27fand theslide shoe34fboth taken along the B-B line ofFIG. 16.
• The shape of the internal surface of theslide shoe34fthrough which thedisplay support member27fis inserted is an arc shape of the same shape and size as the shape of the cross section of thedisplay support member27fon its side of the base portion b. As a result, when the base portion b of thedisplay support member27fis at the position of theslide shoe34f, or in other words, when the image display unit is nearly at the projecting position, movement of thedisplay support member27fin any direction within a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thedisplay support member27fand rotation of thedisplay support member27fin a direction within this plane are restricted and only movement in the longitudinal direction is possible. On the other hand, the cross section of thedisplay support member27fon its side of the tip portion s has a shape of a circle as described above, and the diameter of the circle is same as the height of the arc (i.e. the height from the chord as the base) on the side of the base portion. As a result, when the tip portion s of thedisplay support member27fis at the position of theslide shoe34f, or in other words, when the image display unit is nearly at the retracted position, movement of thedisplay support member27fin any direction within a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thedisplay support member27fis restricted while rotation of thedisplay support member27fin a direction within this plane is not restricted.
• Thus, the present variant can obtain the effects similar to the sixth variant.
• Next, referring toFIG. 18, will be described a variant of a mode of fixing the display supportmember driving motor35bthat makes thedisplay support member27 move.
• As shown inFIG. 5, in the above-described embodiment, a motor fixing wall is formed as a high wall adapted for an external shape of the casing of the display supportmember driving motor35bin order to prevent shift and swing of the display supportmember driving motor35bin the present embodiment, themotor fixing wall35cis made lower so that the tip side of the display supportmember driving motor35bcan swing although it can not shift. At the same time, the tip side of the display supportmember driving motor35bis biased toward thedisplay support member27 by means of aspring35d.
• Generally, in the case where the display supportmember driving motor35bis fixed firmly as in the above-described embodiment, it is impossible to keep a prescribed contact pressure between the displayarm support member27 and the drivingroller35amounted on the end of the display supportmember driving motor35bunless the fixing position of the display supportmember driving motor35bis determined very precisely. Even if the position of the display supportmember driving motor35bis determined very precisely, the contact pressure changes when thedisplay support member27 moves and accordingly the relative distance between the drivingroller35aand thedisplay support member27 changes slightly. Thus, in the case where the contact pressure between thedisplay support member27 and the driving roller35 can not be controlled to be constant, the drivingroller35amay slip on thedisplay support member27 so that thedisplay support member27 can not be moved by an intended distance.
• In the present embodiment, the contact pressure between the drivingroller35aand thedisplay support member27 is managed to be an intended contact pressure by holding the drivingroller35atoward thedisplay support member27 by means of thespring35dwhile allowing the tip portion, i.e. the drivingroller35aof the display supportmember driving motor35bto move in the direction of approaching to and leaving from thedisplay support member27.
• Hereinabove, the first embodiment of the wearable display unit has been described. However, the display support member does not need to have a constant curvature as in the above-described embodiment, and for example, may be curved in a shape like a part of the circumference of an ellipse. Further, in this embodiment, the locus of the movement of theimage display unit21 completely coincides with the curved shape of thedisplay support member27. However, it is sufficient that the locus of the image display unit is curved in a shape nearly similar to the curved shape of the display support member.
• Further, the above-described embodiment has been described taking up the rear-arm type headphones10. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be applied to a head-arm type that is worn by putting its arm around the top of a head. Further, the above-described embodiment is directed to headphones provided with speakers. However, the present invention can be applied to a head-mounted device as long as the device has an arm to be mounted on a head to hold the head from its left and right sides, even if the device is not provided with speakers.
Second Embodiment
• A second embodiment of the wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye will be described referring toFIGS. 19-22. In each of the below-described embodiments also, a mechanism for preventing rotation of a display support member is provided similarly to the first embodiment and its variants.FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a wearable display system having an image display unit (in a coupled state) of the present embodiment, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye;FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system (in a non-coupled state);FIG. 21 is a cross section taken along the III-III line inFIG. 19; andFIG. 22 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system.
• As shown inFIGS. 19 and 20, the wearable display system of the present embodiment comprisesheadphones110 and awearable display unit120 that can be mounted on theheadphones110 and the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye.
• Theheadphones110 comprises: left andright speakers111L and111R; aheadphone arm112 that connects the left andright speakers111L and111R with each other;earpieces113L and113R provided in the left andright speakers111L and111R respectively; and a cable connection part (an external connection part)114. Theheadphones110 are rear-arm type headphones whoseheadphone arm112 is positioned around the back of the head of a user.
• Thewearable display unit120 comprises: animage display unit121 that displays an image in front of a user's eye; anattachment140 that is fixed to theheadphone arm112; a holdingpart130 that couples animage display unit121 to theattachment140; and acable139 as a display-side electric connection part for electric connection with theheadphones110. The holdingpart130 comprises: a bar-shapeddisplay support member131 whose cross section has an elliptic shape; and a display supportmember housing part133 for housing thedisplay support member131. The longitudinal shape of thedisplay support member131 is curved correspondingly to a shape of a head of a user. The display supportmember housing part133 has an internal space that can house most of thedisplay support member131. The external shape of thiswearable display unit120 including a display screen of theimage display unit121 is symmetrical about a horizontal plane in a state that thewearable display unit120 is mounted horizontally on the head of a user.
• As shown inFIG. 21, the display supportmember housing part133 comprises: a displaysupport member housing136 for housing thedisplay support member131; a plurality ofbearings137 that slidably support thedisplay support member131; and a drivingroller138 for moving thedisplay support member131. In one end of the displaysupport member housing136, there is formed a display supportmember insertion hole134 for insertion of thedisplay support member131. And, in the other end of the displaysupport member housing136, there is provided the display cable (the display-side electric connection part)139 for electric connection with theheadphones110. And further, at a part connecting to theattachment140, there is formed aclearance part135. Thisclearance part135 serves to avoid interference between thespeaker111L or111R of theheadphones110 and the displaysupport member housing136. The drivingroller138 is connected to the below-mentioned display support member driving motor (shown inFIG. 22). Theimage display unit121 comprises adisplay device122 and anoptical system123 for thedisplay device122.
• Theattachment140 is made of an elastic material such as resin and is formed to have a C-shaped cross section similarly to the first embodiment. Thus, also in the present embodiment as well as the first embodiment, thewearable display unit120 can be mechanically mounted to theheadphone arm112 by simply grasping theheadphone arm112. Thus, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated attachment on the side of the headphones. In other words, the present embodiment does not need dedicated headphones.
• The cable connection part (the external connection part)114 of theheadphones110 is connected with acontroller160 that controls theheadphones110 and thewearable display unit120. Thiscontroller160 comprises: acontroller cable161 connected with thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110; an imagesignal receiving terminal162 for receiving an image signal from the outside; an audiosignal receiving terminal163 for receiving an audio signal from the outside; anoperation part164 for user's operation; asignal storage part165 for storing the image signal and the audio signal; anamplifier166 that amplifies the audio signal; acontrol part167 that sends a control signal to various parts according to instructions from theoperation part164; and a mainpower supply circuit168. Thecontroller cable161 has aconnector161aprovided with electric contacts. Theconnector161ais provided with: an audio signal line S1 for sending the audio signal from theamplifier166 to thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110; an image signal line I1 for sending the image signal from thesignal storage part165 and the image signal receiving terminal162 to thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110; a control signal line C1 for sending the control signal from thecontrol part167 to thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110; and a power line P1 for sending power from the mainpower supply circuit168 to thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110.
• Thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110 is provided with a controller-side connector115aconnected to theconnector161aof thecontroller cable161 and a display-side connector (a headphone-side electric connection part)115bconnected to aconnector139aof thedisplay cable139. The controller-side connector115aand the display-side connector115bare connected with each other through an image signal line I2, a control signal line C2, a power line P2 and a ground line (not shown). Through theconnectors161aand115a, the image signal line I1, the control signal line C1, the power line P1 and a ground line provided in thecontroller cable161 are connected respectively to the image signal line I2, the control signal line C2, the power line P2 and the ground line that are connected to the controller-side connector115a. Further, the audio signal line S1 provided in thecontroller cable161 is connected to thespeakers111R and111L through theconnectors161aand115aand the audio signal line S2.
• Within the displaysupport member housing136 of thewearable display unit120, there are provided: adisplay processing part124 for sending the image signal to thedisplay device122; a display support memberdrive control part125 for moving thedisplay support member131; agravity sensor128 for detecting the up-and-down direction and for informing thedisplay processing part124 of a detection result; and apower supply circuit129 for supplying electric power to theseparts124,125 and128 and to thedisplay device122. The display support memberdrive control part125 comprises: a display supportmember driving motor126 as a driving source for moving thedisplay support member131; a group ofsensors127 for detecting a forward movement critical position and a backward movement critical position of thedisplay support member131. Thedisplay cable139 comprises: an image signal line I3 connected to the image signal line I2 of the display-side connector115bof theheadphones110 through theconnector139a; a control signal line C3 connected to the control signal line C2 of the display-side connector115bthrough theconnector139a; a power line P3 connected to the power line P2 of the display-side connector115bthrough theconnector139a; and a ground line not shown. The image signal line I3 of thedisplay cable139 is connected to thedisplay processing part124 in the displaysupport member housing136; the control signal line C3 of thedisplay cable139 is connected to thedisplay processing part124 and the display support memberdrive control part125 in the displaysupport member housing136; and the power line P3 of thedisplay cable139 is connected to thepower supply circuit129 in the displaysupport member housing136. Further, thedisplay support member131 is provided with: an image signal line I4 for sending the image signal from thedisplay processing part124 in the displaysupport member housing136 to thedisplay device122; a power line P4 for supplying electric power from thepower supply circuit129 in the display support member housing to thedisplay device122; and a ground line not shown.
• Thus, in the present embodiment, not only the audio signal from thecontroller160 but also the image signal, the control signal and the electric power are sent to thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110. Among these, the audio signal is sent to eachspeaker111R,111L of theheadphones110, and the image signal, the control signal and the electric power are sent to the display supportmember housing part133 of thewearable display unit120 through thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110. Namely, in the present embodiment, all the signals and the like sent from thecontroller160 to thewearable display unit120 and theheadphones110 are once sent to theheadphones110 so that the number of cables extending from thecontroller160 becomes smaller.
• In using thewearable display unit120 together with theheadphones110, theattachment140 of thewearable display unit120 is mechanically coupled to theheadphone arm112 as described above. At that time, theattachment140 of thewearable display unit120 may be fixed either to the neighborhood of theright speaker111R or to the neighborhood of theleft speaker111L of theheadphone arm112. Next, thedisplay cable139 is connected to the display-side connector115bof theheadphones110, to connect theheadphones110 and thewearable display unit120 electrically. Further, thecontroller cable161 is connected to the controller-side connector115aof theheadphones110, to connect thecontroller160 and theheadphones110 electrically. Here, the mechanical coupling and the electric connection of thewearable display unit120 with theheadphones110 and the electric connection of thecontroller160 with theheadphones110 can be carried out in any order.
• Then, theheadphones110 with which thewearable display unit120 is connected mechanically and electrically is mounted on the head.
• When a user wants to output sound together with a picture, the user operates the play button and the like of theoperation part164 of thecontroller160. When the play button is pushed, the mainpower supply circuit168 outputs electric power and thecontrol part167 outputs the display support member drive control signal. Then, the electric power and the display support member drive signal are sent to thewearable display unit120 through thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110. The electric power is sent to thepower supply circuit129 of thewearable display unit120, and then supplied various parts in thewearable display unit120. On the other hand, the display support member drive signal is sent to the display support memberdrive control part125 of thewearable display unit120. As a result, the display supportmember driving motor126 of the display support memberdrive control part125 operates, and makes thedisplay support member131 project from the retracted position to the displayable position. When a group ofsensors127 of the display support memberdrive control part125 detect the forward movement critical position (i.e. the displayable position), thecontrol part167 of thecontroller160 is notified of this fact. Then, according to an instruction from thecontrol part167, the image signal and the audio signal stored in the signal storage part or the image signal received through the imagesignal receiving terminal162 and the audio signal received through the audiosignal receiving terminal163 are outputted to thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110.
• Thecontroller160 sends the audio signal to eachspeaker111R,111L of the headphones to reproduce the sound corresponding to the audio signal. Further, thecontroller160 sends the image signal to thedisplay device122 through thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110 and thedisplay processing part124 of thewearable display unit120, to reproduce the image corresponding to the image signal.
• In the case where theattachment140 of thewearable display unit120 is removed from the position in the neighborhood of theleft speaker111L of theheadphone arm112 and mechanically coupled to a position in the neighborhood of theright speaker11R, thewearable display unit120 is turned upside down. However, the external shape of the wearable display unit120 (including the display screen of the image display unit122) of the present embodiment is symmetrical in the vertical direction in a state that thewearable display unit120 is mounted horizontally on the user's head. Thus, even if thewearable display unit120 is turned upside down as a result of changing its fixing position from the left to the right, the user can use thewearable display unit120 without feeling uncomfortable. Further, even if thewearable display unit120 is turned upside down as a result of changing its fixing position from the left to the right, thegravity sensor128 can detect the state, and thedisplay processing part124 automatically reverses the top and the bottom of a displayed image. Thus, the top of the displayed image is displayed correctly on the upper side. Thus, it is possible to solve inversion of the image owing to change of the left and right fixing positions of thewearable display unit120.
• When theheadphones110 are used by themselves, thedisplay cable139 of thewearable display unit120 is removed from thecable connection part114 of theheadphones110 and theattachment140 of thewearable display unit120 is removed from theheadphone arm112. In other words, the mechanical and electric connections between theheadphones110 and thewearable display unit120 are released. Then, when thecontroller160 sends the audio signal to theheadphones110, the sound corresponding to the audio signal is reproduced through thespeakers111R and111L of the headphones.
• As described above, in the present embodiment, the mechanical and electric connections between theheadphones110 and thewearable display unit120 can be released, and thus theheadphones110 can be used by themselves. In addition, theheadphone arm112 can be coupled mechanically to thewearable display unit120 without providing a special fixing mechanism to theheadphone arm112 as a head mounting belt. As a result, the beauty of theheadphones110 is improved even at the time of using by themselves.
• Although, in the present embodiment, theamplifier166 is provided in thecontroller160, theamplifier166 may be provided in theheadphones110. In that case, wires may be provided for supplying electric power from thecontroller160 to the amplifier in theheadphones110. Further, in the present embodiment, thedisplay processing part124 is provided in the display supportmember housing part133 of thewearable display unit120. However, a part of the functions of thedisplay processing part124, for example a function of driving thedisplay device122 may be provided in theimage display unit121. Or, all the functions of thedisplay processing part124 may be provided in theimage display unit121. Or, a part of various functional parts of thewearable display unit120 and a part of various functional parts of thecontroller160 may be suitably provided in other parts.
• Next, will be described first and second variants of the attachment in the first and second embodiments, referring toFIGS. 23 and 24 respectively.FIG. 23 is a cross section showing the first variant of the attachment of the wearable display system of the second embodiment, andFIG. 24 is a cross section showing the second variant of the attachment of the wearable display system.
• As shown inFIG. 23, theattachment140aas the first variant comprises: agroove member141 having a pair ofside walls142aand142bopposed to each other; a second graspingmember143 that grasps theheadphone arm112 between it and one side wall (hereinafter, referred to as a first grasping member)142a; and ascrew member144 as a pressing member that presses the second graspingmember143 toward the first graspingmember142a.
• Thegroove member141 is formed integrally with theclearance part135 of the display supportmember housing part133. Theside wall142aof thegroove member141 on the side of theclearance part135 becomes the first grasping member. Theother side wall142bof thegroove member141 is formed with a threaded hole into which thescrew member144 as the pressing member is screwed. The second graspingmember143 is fixed to the tip of thescrew member144.
• To couple theattachment140ato theheadphone arm112, a part of theheadphone arm112 is positioned between the first and second graspingmembers142aand143. Then, thescrew member144 is screwed to narrow the distance between the first graspingmember142aand the second graspingmember143 so that both graspingmembers142aand143 grasp theheadphone arm112 between them.
• Theattachment140bas the second variant is shown inFIG. 24, and different from the first variant in that thescrew member144 as the pressing member is replaced by aspring coil144bas an elastic member.
• To couple thisattachment140bto theheadphone arm112, a space between the first graspingmember142aand the second graspingmember143 is widened to shrink thespring coil144b. Then, a part of theheadphone arm112 is placed between the first and second graspingmembers142aand143 so that the elastic force of thespring coil144bpushes the second graspingmember143 toward the first graspingmember142bto grasp theheadphone arm112 between the graspingmembers142band143.
• Thus, in both the first and second variants, the wearable display unit can be coupled to theheadphone arm112 simply by grasping theheadphone arm112. Further, in these variants, theheadphone arm112 is grasped when theattachment140a,140bchanges its form as a result of movement of the second graspingmember143. Accordingly, these variants can be adapted for aheadphone arm112 that has a slightly different cross section.
• Next, will be described a variant of theheadphones110 in the second embodiment, referring toFIG. 25.
• In headphones10aof the present variant, thecable connection part114 in the second embodiment is divided into three parts. In detail,cable connection parts114a,114R and114L in the present variant are a controllercable connection part114ato which thecontroller cable161 from thecontroller160 is connected, and two displaycable connection parts114R and114L to which thedisplay cable139 from thewearable display unit120 is connected.
• The controllercable connection part114ais provided at the same position as thecable connection part114 in the second embodiment, namely at the center of theheadphone arm112. And, two displaycable connection parts114R and114L are each provided between the left orright speaker111R or111L and the controllercable connection part114a. Each displaycable connection part114R,114L has a connector to which theconnector139aof thedisplay cable139 can be connected. Similarly to the second embodiment described referring toFIG. 22, each connector of the displaycable connection parts114R and114L is connected with the power line P2, the image signal line I2, the control signal line C2 and the ground line from the connector of the controllercable connection part114a.
• By placing the two displaycable connection parts114R and114L in the neighborhoods of the left andright speakers111R and111L respectively, it is possible to shorten the length of thedisplay cable139 to be connected to these displaycable connection parts114R and114L.
Third Embodiment
• Next, referring toFIGS. 26-28, will be described a third embodiment of the wearable display system which can be arranged near a user's eye.FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system (in a coupled state) of the third embodiment;FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system (in a non-coupled state); andFIG. 28 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system.
• As shown inFIGS. 26 and 27, the wearable display system of the present embodiment has the basically same mechanical configuration as the configuration of the second embodiment except that arrangement of the power line, the signal line and the like is different.
• The displaysupport member housing136 of thewearable display unit120bis provided with connection parts at the end portion on the opposite side to the insertion hole for theheadphone support member131. These connection parts are connected with aheadphone cable119 extending from theheadphones110band thecontroller cable161 extending from the controller. As shown inFIG. 28, within the displaysupport member housing136, are provided thedisplay processing part124, the display support memberdrive control part125, thegravity sensor128 and thepower supply circuit129 similarly to the second embodiment. The connection part to which thecontroller cable161 is connected has a controller-side connector (an external connection part)139cand the connection part to which theheadphone cable119 is connected has a headphone-side connector139b. The controller-side connector139cis connected with: an image signal line I2bconnected to the image signal line I1 of thecontroller cable161 through theconnector161a; a control signal line C2bconnected to the control signal line C1 of thecontroller cable161 through theconnector161a; a power line P2bconnected to the power line P1 of thecontroller cable161 through theconnector161a; and an audio signal line S2bconnected to the audio signal line S1 of thecontroller cable161 through theconnector161a. Further, ground lines not shown in the figure are connected to each other. The image signal line I2bextending from the controller-side connector139cis connected with thedisplay processing part124. The control signal line C2bis connected with thedisplay processing part124, the display support memberdrive control part125 and thegravity sensor128. And, the power line P2bis connected with thepower supply circuit129. Further, the audio signal line S2band the ground line are connected to the headphone-side connector139b.
• Thecable connection part114bof theheadphones110bis provided with theheadphone cable119, and a connector (a headphone-side electric connection part)119bof theheadphone cable119 is connected to the headphone-side connector (a display-side electric connection part)139bof thewearable display unit120b.
• Namely, in the present embodiment, the image signal, the audio signal and the electric power from thecontroller160 are sent to thewearable display unit120b. Among these, only the audio signal is sent to theheadphones110bthrough thewearable display unit120b. The other signal and the like are processed in thewearable display unit120b.
• As described above, in the present embodiment, all the signals and the like sent from thecontroller160 to thewearable display unit120band theheadphones110bare once sent to thewearable display unit120b. As a result, the number of cables extending from thecontroller160 is reduced. Further, theheadphones110bof the present embodiment receives only the audio signal from thewearable display unit120band uses theheadphone cable119 for receiving the audio signal. In addition, theheadphones110bdo not need a special fixing structure for mechanical coupling to thewearable display unit120b. As a result, ordinary headphones sold on the market can be used as theheadphones110b. Further, lead wires provided in theheadphone cable119 and theheadphone arm112 are only a right signal line, a left signal line and a ground line. Thus, thin wires can be used as the lead wires in theheadphone cable119 and theheadphone arm112. As a result, theheadphones110bitself can be made smaller and lighter and uncomfortable feeling at the time of mounting on the user's head can be reduced.
Fourth Embodiment
• Next, referring toFIGS. 29-33, will be described a fourth embodiment of the wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye.FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system (in a non-coupled state) of the fourth embodiment;FIG. 30 is a horizontal cross section showing main parts of the wearable display system of the fourth embodiment;FIG. 31 is a vertical cross section showing an attachment of the wearable display system;FIG. 32 is an explanatory view showing arrangement of electric contacts in left and right coupling portions of the wearable display system; andFIG. 33 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system.
• As shown inFIG. 29, the wearable display system of the present embodiment also comprisesheadphones110cand awearable display unit120csimilarly to the above-described embodiments.
• At an almost central portion of theheadphone arm112 of theheadphones110c, there is provided a cable connection part1114cto which thecontroller cable161 is connected. Further, in the neighborhoods of the left andright speakers111R and111L of theheadphone arm112, there are formedrespective coupling portions116,116 to which thewearable display unit120cis coupled. Further, multipleelectric contacts116a,116a, . . . are provided in each of thesecoupling portions116,116. On both sides of eachcoupling portion116, are formedprojections117,117 for restricting a shift of thewearable display unit120cin the longitudinal direction of theheadphone arm112. Theelectric contacts116aof eachcoupling portion116 are formed on the outer side of theheadphone arm112 of an arc shape adapted for a shape of a head. Further, ananti-rotation member116bfor preventing rotation of thewearable display unit120cis formed on the inner side of each coupling portion. As shown inFIG. 31, thisanti-rotation member116bprojects toward the opposite side to theelectric contacts116aand has a width corresponding to the opening width of theattachment140chaving a C-shaped cross section.FIG. 31 shows cross sections of acoupling portion116 and theattachment140ccoupled to thecoupling portion116.
• As shown inFIG. 30 illustrating the cross section of the displaysupport member housing136, theclearance part135 of the displaysupport member housing136 is provided with adisplacement mechanism150. Thedisplacement mechanism150 is used for changing the relative position and direction of theimage display unit121 with respect to theattachment140. Thedisplacement mechanism150 comprises aball151 provided in theattachment140 and aball socket152 formed in theclearance part135 of the displaysupport member housing136. Frictional force larger than a certain magnitude acts between theball151 and theball socket152. Thus, theball socket152 can not rotate relatively to theball151 unless turning force larger than a certain magnitude acts on theball socket152 in relation to theball151. Further, as shown in the figure, lead wires are provided within thedisplacement mechanism150.
• As shown inFIGS. 30 and 31, the internal surface of theattachment140cof the C-shaped cross section is provided with a plurality ofelectric contacts145c,145c, that are respectively in contact with a plurality ofelectric contacts116a,116a, . . . provided in eachcoupling portion116 of theheadphone arm112. Theseselectric contacts145care connected with the lead wires that form the signal lines and the power line. These lead wires pass through the insides of theattachment140cand theball151 and extend toward the inside of the displaysupport member housing136.
• As shown inFIG. 33, wiring of the signal lines and the like in thewearable display unit120 and theheadphones110 is basically similar to the wiring of the second embodiment. However, as described above, theheadphone arm112 has a plurality ofelectric contacts116a,116ain each of the two portions (i.e. the left and right portions) in order to establish electric connection with thewearable display unit120. Accordingly, the power line P2, the control signal line C2 and the image signal line I2 extending from the controller-side connector115cof theheadphones110 are each branched on the way to extend to twoelectric contacts116a,116a. Out of two sets ofelectric contacts116a,116aprovided respectively at the two portions of theheadphone arm112, one set ofelectric contacts116abecome in contact with a plurality ofelectric contacts145cprovided in theattachment140cat the time of mechanical coupling between theattachment140cof thewearable display unit120cand theheadphone arm112. The other set ofelectric contacts116aare connected with terminating resistance for consuming a signal transmitted through the image signal line I2 so that the image signal is efficiently supplied to thedisplay processing part124. In fact, considering the external appearance also, a cap having terminating resistance is put on the other set ofelectric contacts116a.
• The top and the bottom of thewearable display unit120care reversed between the case where thewearable display unit120cis coupled to thecoupling portion116 on the right side of theheadphone arm112 and the case where thewearable display unit120cis coupled to thecoupling portion116 on the left side of theheadphone arm112. Accordingly, it is necessary to differentiate the arrangement of a plurality ofelectric contacts116ain thecoupling portion116 on the right side from the arrangement of a plurality ofelectric contacts116ain thecoupling portion116 on the left side.
• FIG. 32 is a view showing a state of the arrangements, seeing the leftside coupling portion116 and the rightside coupling portion116 from respective fronts of the surfaces in which electric contacts are arranged. As shown in the figure, it is assumed that, as a plurality ofelectric contacts116ain eachcoupling portion116, there exist contacts1-8, and that, in theleft coupling portion116, the contacts1-4 are placed from left to right in a row, and under this group of contacts, the contacts5-8 are placed from left to right. As described above, when the coupling position is changed from left to right or vice versa, the top and the bottom of thewearable display unit120 are reversed and, as a result, also a plurality ofelectric contacts145cprovided in theattachment140 are turned upside down. Accordingly, in theright coupling portion116, the contacts5-8 (which are placed on the lower side in the left coupling portion116) are placed on the upper side and the contacts1-4 (which are placed on the upper side in the left coupling portion116) are placed on the lower side. Further, in theright coupling portion116, the contacts1-4 are placed from right to left, i.e. to the direction to which theheadphone arm112 extends, and the contacts5-8 are placed from right to left also.
• In other words, as for contacts positioned side by side in a nearly vertical direction in a state that theheadphones110care mounted on a user's head, their positional relationship in the vertical direction is reversed between the left andright coupling portions116,116. And, as for contacts positioned side by side in a nearly horizontal direction in a state that theheadphones110care mounted on the user's head, their positional relationship in the horizontal direction is reversed between the left andright coupling portions116,116.
• As described above, in the present embodiment also, it is possible to release the mechanical and electric connections between theheadphones110cand thewearable display unit120 similarly to the above-described embodiments. Thus, theheadphones110ccan be used by themselves. Further, since theelectric contacts116a,145care provided in theheadphones110cand themechanical attachment140cfor electrically connecting theheadphones110cand thewearable display unit120c, cables for electrically connecting theheadphones110cand thewearable display unit120care not required. Thus, the external appearance is improved.
• In the second embodiment, thegravity sensor128 can detect vertical inversion of theimage display unit121 caused by a change of the position of coupling thewearable display unit120. In the present embodiment, instead, it is possible to provide a sensor that detects a state of an electrical connection of at least one contact among a plurality of electric contacts in theattachment120cof thewearable display unit120 or at least one contact among a plurality of electric contacts in the left andright coupling portions116. Output of this sensor is sent to thedisplay processing part124, similarly to the output of thegravity sensor128 in the second embodiment. Based on the output of this sensor, thedisplay processing part124 can recognize whether thewearable display unit120cis coupled on the right side or the left side and reverse the top and the bottom of the image.
• Instead of themechanical attachment140cof the present embodiment, theattachment140aor140bof the first or second variant in the second embodiment may be used while providing electric contacts to theattachment140aor140b. This can produce similar effects, of course.
• Next, referring toFIG. 34, will be described a variant of thedisplacement mechanism150 in the above-described fourth embodiment.
• Adisplacement mechanism150aof this variant uses aflexible wire153 instead of theball151 in thedisplacement mechanism150 of the fourth embodiment. Thisflexible wire153 is obtained by weaving fine wires into a wire rod of a certain thickness and filling resin into gaps between the fine wires and around the rod of the certain thickness. Thus, theflexible wire153 is deformed under a force of a certain intensity and keeps the deformed state unless a force of a certain intensity is applied again.
• One end of thisflexible wire153 is fixed to theclearance part135 of the displaysupport member housing136, and the other end to theattachment140c. Thus, using thisflexible wire153 instead of theball151 in the fourth embodiment and deforming theflexible wire153 in various directions, the holdingpart130 and theimage display unit121 held by the holdingpart130 can be displaced around each of three independent axes in the three-dimensional space, similarly to the fourth embodiment.
• Thedisplacement mechanism150 of the fourth embodiment or thedisplacement mechanism150aof the present variant can be used in each of the above- and below-described embodiments.
Fifth Embodiment
• Next, referring toFIGS. 35 and 36, will be described a fifth embodiment of the wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arrange near a user's eye.FIG. 35 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system of the fifth embodiment, andFIG. 36 is a circuit block diagram of the wearable display system.
• As shown inFIG. 35, also the wearable display system of the present embodiment comprisesheadphones110dand awearable display unit120dsimilarly to the above-described embodiments.
• In the neighborhoods of the left andright speakers111R and111L of theheadphone arm112 of theheadphones110d, are formedrespective coupling portions116,116 to which thewearable display unit120dis to be coupled. Thesecoupling portions116,116 are each provided with a plurality ofelectric contacts116d. On both sides of eachcoupling portion116, are formedprojections117,117 for restricting a shift of thewearable display unit120din the longitudinal direction of theheadphone arm112. Theelectric contacts116dof eachcoupling portion116 are formed on the outer side of theheadphone arm112 of an arch shape adapted for a shape of a head. And, on the inner side of theheadphone arm112, is formed ananti-rotation member116bfor preventing rotation of thewearable display unit120d.
• On the other hand, anattachment140dof thewearable display unit120 is coupled to acoupling portion116 of theheadphones110d. Theattachment140dis basically similar to the attachment of the fourth embodiment, and the internal surface of theattachment140dis provided with a plurality of electric contacts that are in contact with a plurality ofelectric contacts116d,116dprovided in eachcoupling portion116 of theheadphone arm112. These electric contacts are connected with lead wires that form the signal lines and the power line. These lead wires pass through the inside of theattachment140dand extend toward the inside of the displaysupport member housing136. The width (i.e. the length in the direction of the extension of the headphone arm112) W2 of thisattachment140dis shorter than the width W1 of eachcoupling portion116 of theheadphone arm112. As a result, theattachment140dcan move relatively to eachcoupling portion116 of theheadphone arm112 by the length (W1−W2) in the direction of the extension of theheadphone arm112. Accordingly, to ensure electric connections between theelectric contacts116dof eachcoupling portion116 and the electric contacts in theattachment140d, eachelectric contact116din thecoupling portions116 has the length larger than (W1−W2) in the direction of the extension of the headphone arm. In the present embodiment also, as for contacts positioned side by side in a nearly horizontal direction in a state that theheadphones110dare mounted on a user's head, their positional relationship in the horizontal direction is reversed between the left andright coupling portions116,116.
• As shown inFIG. 36, wiring of the signal lines and the like in thewearable display unit120cand theheadphones110cis basically similar to the wiring of the third embodiment. However, as described above, theheadphone arm112 has a plurality ofelectric contacts116d,116din each of the two portions (i.e. the left and right portions) in order to establish electric connection with thewearable display unit120d. Accordingly, the audio signal line S3bextending from eachspeaker111R,111L of theheadphones110dare branched on the way to extend to twoelectric contacts116d,116d. Out of two sets ofelectric contacts116d,116dprovided respectively at the two portions of theheadphone arm112, one set ofelectric contacts116dbecome in contact with a plurality ofelectric contacts145dprovided in theattachment140dat the time of mechanical coupling between theattachment140dof thewearable display unit120dand theheadphone arm112.
• As described above, the present embodiment can obtain basically same effects as ones obtained by the fourth embodiment. Further, in the present embodiment, thewearable display unit120dcan be moved relatively to theheadphones110 in the direction in which theheadphone arm112 extends. As a result, it is possible to have a larger degree of freedom of displacement of thewearable display unit120din relation to theheadphones110d, in comparison with the fourth embodiment.
Sixth Embodiment
• Next, referring toFIGS. 37-39, will be described a sixth embodiment of the wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye.FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system of the sixth embodiment;FIG. 38 is a cross section showing a speaker, an attachment and a displacement mechanism of the wearable display system; andFIG. 39 is a cross section showing a speaker and an outer cap of the wearable display system.
• As shown inFIG. 37, the wearable display system of the present embodiment comprisesheadphones110eand awearable display unit120e, similarly to the above-described embodiments.
• The wearable display system of the present embodiment has the basically same circuit configuration, wiring of the signal lines and the like as those of the wearable display system of the fifth embodiment described referring toFIG. 36. However, as described in the following, the present embodiment is different from the above-described embodiments in that thewearable display unit120eis coupled to a speaker111 of theheadphones110e. As a result, positions of electric contacts for electrically connecting theheadphones110 and thewearable display unit120eare different from ones in the fourth embodiment.
• Acoupling portion118, to which thewearable display unit120eis to be coupled, is formed in each of left andright speakers111R and111L of theheadphones110eon the side opposite to the side contacting with a user's head. As shown inFIG. 38, thiscoupling portion118 is formed with acollar118aprojecting toward the inner side at an opening edge of a groove. Thiscollar118ais formed with elastic resin and can be deformed. In a portion corresponding to the bottom of the groove of eachcoupling portion118, there are provided a plurality ofelectric contacts116d,116d, . . . for receiving the audio signal.
• Thewearable display unit120ecomprises: animage display unit121 for displaying an image in front of a user's eye; anattachment140ethat can be coupled to thecoupling portion118 of eachspeaker111R,111L; and a holdingpart130 that connects theimage display unit121 to theattachment140e.
• As shown inFIG. 38, theattachment140ehas a shape that can be inserted into thecoupling portion118 of a speaker111. In detail, theattachment140ecomprises: an attachmentmain body141eof a hollow cylinder shape; and acoupling collar142ethat enters between the bottom of acoupling portion118 and thecollar118aof thecoupling portion118. Thecoupling collar142eis provided on the outer periphery of the bottom143eof the attachmentmain body141e. To couple theattachment140eto a speaker111, thecollar118aof thecoupling portion118 of the speaker111 is deformed elastically, to insert thecoupling collar142eof theattachment140ebetween the bottom of thecoupling portion118 and itscollar118a. The bottom143eof the attachmentmain body140eis provided withelectric contacts145dthat are to be connected to theelectric contacts116dof a speaker111. When theattachment140ehas been coupled to thecoupling portion118 of a speaker111, theseelectric contacts145dare electrically connected to theelectric contacts116dof thecoupling portion118.
• As described above, the wearable display system of the present embodiment has the basically same circuit configuration, wiring of the signal lines and the like as those of the fifth embodiment. However, the present embodiment is different from the fifth embodiment in that a part of the circuit configuration provided in the displaysupport member housing136 is placed inside the hollow attachmentmain body141e. Further, a circuit board formed with such circuits is connected with thecontroller cable161 extending from thecontroller160. The above-mentionedelectric contacts145dof theattachment140eare connected, through thecircuit board143, with the audio signal line included in thecontroller cable161. Further, the control signal lines, the image signal line, the power line and the like extend from eachcircuit124,129 or the like on thecircuit board143. The control signal lines are connected to the display support memberdrive control part125 and the like provided in the displaysupport member housing136 of the holdingpart130. The image signal line is connected to theimage display unit121. And, the power line supplies electric power to the display support memberdrive control part125 and theimage display unit121.
• Adisplacement mechanism150efor changing the directions and positions of the holdingpart130 and theimage display unit121 relatively to theattachment140eis provided between the displaysupport member housing136 and theattachment140e. Thedisplacement mechanism150ecomprises: an up-and-down movementrotation axis member151efor moving theimage display unit121 up and down; and a left-and-right movementrotation axis member154efor moving theimage display unit121 to the left and to the right. The up-and-down movementrotation axis member151ecomprises: anaxis member152ethat is fixed to theattachment140eon the opposite side to theelectric contacts145d; and abracket member153ethat extends from theaxis member152etoward the holdingpart130. The left-and-right movementrotation axis member154epasses through thebracket member153eof the up-and-down movementrotation axis member151eand abracket member136eof the displaysupport member housing136. In thedisplacement mechanism150e, frictional force larger than a certain magnitude acts between the axial parts and the socket parts, and thus a socket part does not rotate relatively to an axial part unless a force larger than a certain level is applied from the side of the displaysupport member housing136.
• In the present embodiment, each of theright speaker111R and theleft speaker111L is formed with acoupling portion118. Thus, when thewearable display unit120eis coupled to theright speaker111R for example, thecoupling portion118 of theleft speaker111L is exposed. This is not favorable from the viewpoint of the external appearance. Thus, the present embodiment has anouter cap140ffor covering thecoupling portion118 of a speaker111 to which thewearable display unit120eis not coupled. As shown inFIG. 39, theouter cap140fis similar to theattachment140ein their external appearances, and has acollar142fthat is fit into thecoupling portion118 of each speaker111. Further, theouter cap140fis hollow similarly to theattachment140e, and adivision plate143fsimilar to thecircuit board143 of theattachment140eis provided inside theouter cap140f. Thedivision plate143fis provided in order to form the same space Sf within theouter cap140fas a space Se formed between thecircuit board143 and the bottom143eof the attachmentmain body141eas a result of providing thecircuit board143 in theattachment140e. Owing to this arrangement, it is possible to obtain the same sound quality both from theleft speaker111L and theright speaker111R.
• As described above, also in the present embodiment, all the signals and the like sent from thecontroller160 to thewearable display unit120eand theheadphones110eare once sent to thewearable display unit120esimilarly to the third and fifth embodiments. As a result, the number of cables extending from thecontroller160 can be reduced. Further, it is not necessary to provide the image signal line in the headphones. This reduces the weight of the headphones. Further, theouter cap140fcan consume the image signal, it is not necessary to provide a terminating resistance separately.
• In the present embodiment, all the signals and the like sent from thecontroller160 to thewearable display unit120eand theheadphones110 are once sent to thewearable display unit120e. However, similarly to the second and fifth embodiments, it is possible that all the signals and the like sent from thecontroller160 to thewearable display unit120 and theheadphones110eare once sent to theheadphones110e, and thewearable display unit120ereceives the image signal and electric power from theheadphones110.
• Further, in the present embodiment, theattachment140eis coupled to a speaker111 by deformation of an elastic body. However, as shown inFIG. 40, for example amagnet149 may be provided to either of theattachment140eand a speaker111, and a magnetic body such as iron may be provided to the other so that theattachment140eis attached to the speaker111.
• Further, in the case where a plurality of electric contacts exist as theelectric contacts116dof thecoupling portion118 of each speaker111, it is favorable that these contacts are arranged as described above referring toFIG. 32.
• Further, into the present embodiment, may be combined various structures of the above-described embodiment and their variants such as the various constructions of the display support member and its support forms described in the first embodiment, the circuit configuration of the system described in the second embodiment or the like, and the constructions of the auxiliary holding parts that will be described in the seventh embodiment.
Seventh Embodiment
• Referring toFIGS. 41-44, will be described a seventh embodiment of the wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye.
• FIG. 41 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the wearable display system in the case where the wearable display system is mounted on a head H of a user U. In the present embodiment, the head H includes the neck of the user U who uses the wearable display system, and thus refers to the neck and a part above the neck.
• The wearable display system of the present embodiment comprises:headphones210 that is to be mounted on a head H and has functions of generating sound such as voice, music, sound effects and the like; and awearable display unit220 that has a function of displaying an image for a user U. Further, thewearable display unit220 is connected with acable230. Thecable230 supplies electric power and sound/image signals from a power supply unit (not shown) and a sound/image signal generation unit (not shown) to the wearable display system.
• Theheadphones210 comprise: aright speaker211a; aleft speaker211b; aright earpiece212a; aleft earpiece212b; and aheadphone arm213 that connects the right and leftspeakers211aand211b.
• Theright speaker211aand theleft speaker211bhave a sound output function, and a sound signal from thecable230 is supplied to thesespeakers211aand211b.
• Theright earpiece212ais connected to theright speaker211aand assists theright speaker211ato be mounted on and in close contact with the head H. Further, theleft earpiece212bis connected to theleft speaker211band assists theleft speaker211bto be mounted on and in close contact with the head H.
• Theheadphone arm213 holds the head H of the user U inside theheadphone arm213 by its elastic force and connects theright speaker211aand theleft speaker211bwith each other.
• Thewearable display unit220 comprises: aimage display unit222; a holdingpart221 that can hold theimage display unit222 in front of an eye of the user U; anattachment227 that connects the holdingpart221 and theheadphone arm213; anauxiliary holding part240 provided to the holdingpart221; a head pressingdetection sensor250 provided in theauxiliary holding part240.
• Theauxiliary holding part240 is provided to the holdingpart221 at a position where theauxiliary holding part240 does not enter the field of vision of the user U in a state that the center of the field of vision of the user U coincides with the center of an image on theimage display unit222.
• Theimage display unit222 reproduces and displays the image signal sent through thecable230. The known techniques can be used for reproduction and display of the image signal.
• The holdingpart221 comprises: aconnection part223; adisplay support member224; and a display supportmember housing part225.
• Theconnection part223 connects theimage display unit222 and thedisplay support member224. Theconnection part223 may use a ball joint so that the direction of displaying an image on theimage display unit222 can be changed continuously centering on theconnection part223.
• One end of thedisplay support member224 is connected to theimage display unit222 through theconnection part223. The other end of thedisplay support member224 is slidably held by the display supportmember housing part225. Further, as shown inFIG. 42, thedisplay support member224 is provided with a holdingmember224a, apin224band aspring fixing member224cin the surface that faces the head H.FIG. 42 is a cross section showing main parts of the wearable display system.
• Thedisplay support member224 is a pipe-shaped arm and draws a curve running along a curve extending from the temporal part of the head H to the face part. Thedisplay support member224 has strength that bears the weight of theimage display unit222 and theconnection part223.
• The display supportmember housing part225 houses at least a part of thedisplay support member224 as well as at least a part of theauxiliary holding part240 in its inside.
• In the present embodiment, when theimage display unit222 is retracted from the front of an eye of the user U and at least a part of the display support member is housed in the display supportmember housing part225 as shown inFIG. 42, it is said that thedisplay support member224 is in a housed position. Further, when thedisplay support member224 supports theimage display unit222 in front of a user's eye (FIG. 41), it is said that thedisplay support member224 is in a projecting position.
• The display supportmember housing part225 comprises: a displaysupport member housing226; a display support memberposition detection sensor231; a holdingpart driving unit232; acontrol unit235; and amode selection switch236.
• Ahousing space226ainside the displaysupport member housing226 has sufficient size for housing thedisplay support member224 and theauxiliary holding part240 positioned along thedisplay support member224. Further, thehousing space226ahas depth for housing at least a part of thedisplay support member224.
• The display support memberposition detection sensor231 is a pressure sensor. Instead of thissensor231, the sensors of the first embodiment may be used. A fixing location of the display support memberposition detection sensor231 is the innermost portion of thehousing space226a. In the present embodiment, when thedisplay support member224 is positioned at the housed position, oneend224dof thedisplay support member224 at which theimage display unit222 is not fixed presses the innermost portion of thehousing space226. As a result, the display support memberposition detection sensor231 detects the pressure from thedisplay support member224, and thus detects that thedisplay support member224 is at the housed position.
• The holdingpart driving unit232 comprises: a display support member driving motor (not shown); a power line (not shown) and a control line (not shown) connected to the display support member driving motor; amotor shaft233; and a drivingroller234 fixed to themotor shaft233. An outer periphery of the drivingroller234 is in contact with an inner side surface of the curveddisplay support member224. The drivingroller234 can move thedisplay support member224 slidingly by the turning force given from the electric motor to themotor shaft233.
• As shown inFIG. 42, themode selection switch236 is partly projecting outside the displaysupport member housing226, and thus it is possible to operate themode selection switch236 while using the displaysupport member housing226. Themode selection switch236 switches between three modes, i.e. a manual mode in which sliding operation of thedisplay support member224 is carried out manually, an electric operation mode in which the holdingpart driving unit232 is activated electrically, and an off mode in which the switch is turned off. In the cases of the electric operation mode and the manual mode, a stopper for stopping rotation of the drivingroller234 is released.
• FIG. 43 is a cross section showing a part of thedisplay support member224, theauxiliary holding part240 and the head pressingdetection sensor250.
• Theauxiliary holding part240 comprises: a pressingmember401 that presses the head H at a pressure larger than a certain value; ashaft member402; aspring fixing member403; and a mountingmember405 for mounting theshaft member402 to thedisplay support member224. The pressingmember401 is provided with the head pressingdetection sensor250. Further, amovement sensor407 for detecting a change in movement of the head H is provided within the pressingmember401.
• The pressingmember401 has a spherical shape and is connected to theshaft member402. Further, the pressingmember401 presses the head H.
• Theshaft member402 is swingably mounted to thedisplay support member224 by means of the holdingmember224aand thepin224bthrough the mountingmember405.
• A pressingforce generation unit245 generates a pressing force of theauxiliary holding part240, and compriseselectromagnets451 and452 and aspring453. Theelectromagnet452 is fixed to theshaft member402, and theelectromagnet451 is fixed to thedisplay support member224 to face theelectromagnet452. Theelectromagnets451 and452 are supplied with electric power from the display supportmember housing part225 through power lines not shown. Further, directions and strengths of electric currents to theelectromagnets451 and452 can be controlled by the control unit235 (FIG. 44: described below) in the display supportmember housing part225. Thus, it is possible to control electromagnetic forces such that theelectromagnets451 and452 attract or repel each other.
• One end of thespring453 is fixed to thespring fixing member224con thedisplay support member224. The other end of thespring453 is fixed to thespring fixing member403 on theshaft member402. When thepressing member401 swings in the direction of moving toward the display support member224 (i.e. the direction of the arrow B) around thepin224bas the rotation axis, thespring453 exercise its elastic force in the direction of canceling the swinging (i.e. the direction of the arrow A).
• Themovement sensor407 provided within the pressingmember401 comprises a gyro sensor. Themovement sensor407 detects a change in movement of the head H in a state that thepressing member401 presses against the head H.
• The head pressingdetection sensor250 is mounted on the surface of thepressing member401 at a portion that presses against the head H.
• Output of themovement sensor407 and output of the head pressingdetection sensor250 are sent to thecontrol unit235 provided in the display supportmember housing part225 through respective signal lines (FIG. 44).
• In the present embodiment, when thepressing member401 of theauxiliary holding part240 is at a position where thepressing member401 can press against the head H, that position is referred to as a pressing position of theauxiliary holding part240. Further, when thepressing member401 of theauxiliary holding part240 is at a position where thepressing member401 can not press against the head H, that position is referred to as a retracted position of theauxiliary holding part240. Theauxiliary holding part240 is provided in such a manner that theauxiliary holding part240 can swing between the pressing position and the retracted position.
• FIG. 44 is a circuit block diagram relating to driving/control of the wearable display system.
• Thecontrol unit235 is connected with the display support memberposition detection sensor231, the holdingpart driving unit232 and themode selection switch236 provided in the display supportmember housing part225, themovement sensor407 and the pressingforce generation unit245 placed in theauxiliary holding part240, the head pressingdetection sensor250, and theimage display unit222, through respective signal lines. Thecontrol unit235 sends and receives signals through those signal lines. Further, based on the output S1 of the head pressingdetection sensor250, thecontrol unit235 controls the pressingforce generation unit245 such that the pressing level stays within a predetermined range. Further, based on the output S3 of the display support memberposition detection sensor231, thecontrol unit235 controls the display support member driving motor of the holdingpart driving unit232 such that thedisplay support member224 is positioned at the projecting position or the housed position.
• Control and operation from the start of using the wearable display system and to the end of using will be described in order. In the following description, control signals between blocks will not be mentioned and only data from each sensor will be mentioned.
• (1) The user U mounts the wearable display system of the present embodiment on his head H.
• (2) The user U selects either the electric operation mode or the manual mode, using themode selection switch236.
• When the electric operation mode is selected, (3) thecontrol unit235 controls the holdingpart driving unit232 to drive thedisplay support member224 from the housed position to the projecting position. As a result, theimage display unit222 is held in front of an eye.
• When the manual mode is selected, (4) thecontrol unit235 releases the stopper for thedisplay support member224. Here, the stopper is provided in the holdingpart driving unit232. (5) Then, the user manually pulls thedisplay support member224 from the housed position to the projecting position.
• Parallel with the above step (3) or the steps (4) and (5), the following steps (6)-(7) are performed
• (6) The display support memberposition detection sensor231 detects that theend224dof thedisplay support member224 leaves the innermost portion of the display supportmember housing part225, and sends a display support member position detection signal S3 to thecontrol unit235. (7) Thecontrol unit235 receives the display support member position detection signal S3 and controls the pressingforce generation unit245 to displace theauxiliary holding part240 from the retracted position to the pressing position.
• Further, the following control/operation is performed.
• (8) Thecontrol unit235 activates the head pressingdetection sensor250. (9) Thecontrol unit235 activates themovement sensor407. (10) The pressingmember401 of theauxiliary holding part240 presses against the temporal part of the head H. (11) The head pressingdetection sensor250 detects the pressing level, and sends a head pressing detection signal S1 to thecontrol unit235. (12) Thecontrol unit235 receives the head pressing detection signal S1. When the pressing level is in the predetermined range, thecontrol unit235 makes theimage display unit222 display an image. (13) Further, thecontrol unit235 controls the pressingforce generation unit245 such that the level of the pressing force is maintained within the predetermined range. In detail, thecontrol unit235 controls electric currents to the pressingforce generation unit245 to adjust the electromagnetic forces of theelectromagnets451 and452.
• When the user intends to end viewing of the image, operation/control of the wearable display system becomes as follows.
• (14) When the user U returns the mode selection switch to the position of the off mode, thecontrol unit235 makes theimage display unit222 stop displaying the image. (15) Thecontrol unit235 drives the pressingforce generation unit245 so that theauxiliary holding part240 moves from the pressing position to the retracted position. (16) In the case where the user U has used the electric operation mode, thecontrol unit235 drives the holdingpart driving unit232 so that thedisplay support member224 moves from the projecting position to the housed position. In the case where the user U has used the manual mode, the user U manually moves thedisplay support member224 into the display supportmember housing part225. At that time, also theauxiliary holding part240 is housed in the display supportmember housing part240.
• It is possible to consider that thecontrol unit235 uses a movement detection signal S2 of themovement sensor407 to control the pressingforce generation unit245. For example, based on the movement detection signal S2 from themovement sensor407, thecontrol unit235 calculates a change in movement of the head H. Then, according to the calculated change, thecontrol unit235 may control the pressingforce generation unit245 such that the pressing level of thepressing member402 remains within the predetermined range. Further, switching between the retracted position and the pressing position of theauxiliary holding part240 may be carried out manually. In that case, the manual operation is carried out in a state that themode selection switch236 is at the manual mode. Further, in the pressingforce generation unit245, one of theelectromagnets451 and452 may be a magnetic body such as iron. To put theauxiliary holding part240 at the pressing position, the electromagnetic force may be turned off and only the elastic force of thespring453 may be used. To put theauxiliary holding part240 at the retracted position, it is sufficient to control the electromagnetic forces of the electromagnet such that the electromagnetic force larger than the elastic force attracts the magnetic body. Further, a lock mechanism may be provided for keeping the retracted position.
• As shown inFIG. 41, in thewearable display unit220 of the present embodiment, theauxiliary holding part240 is provided to thedisplay support member224 on the side of the display supportmember housing part225 at the position where theauxiliary holding part240 exists outside the field of vision of the user U when the user U views the image on theimage display unit222. Thus, theauxiliary holding part240 rarely interrupts the field of vision of the user U to an uncomfortable degree. Thus, the wearable display system of the present embodiment does not spoil visibility of surroundings.
• Theauxiliary holding part240, the pressingforce generation unit245 and structure of members required for operations and the like of these components of the present embodiment may be employed in the first through sixth and eighth through eleventh embodiments.
Eighth Embodiment
• Referring toFIGS. 45 and 46, will be described a wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye according to the eighth embodiment.
• As shown inFIG. 45, in the present embodiment, anauxiliary holding part240 similar to the one of the seventh embodiment is provided not on thedisplay support member224 but on the display supportmember housing part225. Accordingly, the holdingmember224a, thepint224band thespring fixing member224care provided not on thedisplay support member224 but on the display supportmember housing part225. Further, theelectromagnet451 of the pressingforce generation unit245 is placed on the display supportmember housing part225. Also, one end of thespring453 is fixed to the display supportmember housing part225. The other structures are common to the seventh embodiment. Thus, the same reference numbers are given to the common components. Further, repeated description with respect to the common components and their operation and control will be omitted.FIG. 45 shows a state that thedisplay support member224 is in the projecting position and theauxiliary holding part240 provided swingably on the display supportmember housing part225 is in the pressing position where theauxiliary holding part240 presses against the temporal part.
• To mount the wearable display system, the following operation will be carried out. (1) Depending on the mode selected by the user U using themode selection switch236, thedisplay support member224 is driven to the projecting position manually or by the holding part driving unit232 (the arrow A). (2) In that process, the pressingforce generation unit245 operates according to control similar to the control in the seventh embodiment. (3) Theauxiliary holding part240 is positioned at the pressing position where thepressing member401 presses against the temporal part of the head H (the arrow B).
• FIG. 46 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the wearable display system of the present embodiment in a state that thedisplay support member224 is at the housed position. Theauxiliary holding part240 provided on the display supportmember housing part225 is at the retracted position.
• To dismount the wearable display system, the following operation will be carried out. (1) Depending on the mode selected by the user U using themode selection switch236, thedisplay support member224 is housed to the housed position manually or by the holding part driving unit232 (the arrow C). (2) In the process of housing thedisplay support member224, the pressingforce generation unit245 operates according to control similar to the control in the seventh embodiment. (3) Theauxiliary holding part240 is positioned at the retracted position (the arrow D).
• In the present embodiment, theauxiliary holding part240 presses against the temporal part of the head H. However, it may be arrange such that theauxiliary holding part240 presses against theleft speaker211b. Further, similarly to the first embodiment, a change in movement of the head H may be detected by themovement sensor407. Then, pressing by theauxiliary holding part240 may be controlled depending on the change in movement of the head H. Further, similarly to the seventh embodiment, switching between the retracted position and the pressing position of theauxiliary holding part240 may be carried out manually. In that case, this operation may be carried out under the manual mode selected by themode selection switch236.
• According to the eighth embodiment, theauxiliary holding part240 provided on the display supportmember housing part225 presses against the temporal part of the head. As a result, theauxiliary holding part240 is positioned outside the field of vision of the user U, and theauxiliary holding part240 scarcely enters the field of vision of the user U viewing the image. Thus, thewearable display unit220 of the present embodiment can suppress movement of theimage display unit222 and improves visibility of surroundings.
Ninth Embodiment
• A wearable display system, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye, of a ninth embodiment will be described referring toFIGS. 47 and 48.
• As shown inFIG. 47, in the present embodiment, anauxiliary holding part241 having a new mechanism is provided on the display supportmember housing part225. Further, theauxiliary holding part241 is in a pressing position where theauxiliary holding part241 can press, before mounting the wearable display system on the head. The other features of the present embodiment are common to the second embodiment. Accordingly, the same reference numbers are given to the common components. Further, repeated description with respect to the common components and their operation will be omitted.FIG. 47 shows a state that thedisplay support member224 is at the projecting position and theauxiliary holding part241 provided on the display supportmember housing part225 is at the pressing position.
• FIG. 48 is a cross section showing theauxiliary holding part241 at the pressing position and a part of the display supportmember housing part225.
• Theauxiliary holding part241 comprises: a disk-shapedpressing member411; and acylinder412 that is connected to thepressing member411 at one end and has a cylinder-shapedhollow portion413. Further, an open end of thecylinder412 is slidably inserted into a hole that is provided in the display supportmember housing part225 and has a diameter nearly same as the diameter of thecylinder412. Further, theauxiliary holding part241 has a pressing force generation unit245a.
• The pressing force generation unit245ahas aspring453. Thespring453 has a diameter nearly same as the diameter of thehollow portion413. One end of thespring453 is fixed to thespring fixing portion414 of theauxiliary holding part241. The other end of thespring453 is fixed to aspring fixing portion258 provided in the bottom of the hole of the display supportmember housing part225.
• Elastic force of thespring453 applied to thespring fixing portion414 of theauxiliary holding part241 is adjusted such that theauxiliary holding part241 can keep the pressing position irrespective of a posture of the wearable display system.
• Operation/control of the wearable display system (FIG. 47) are almost similar to those of the eighth embodiment except that theauxiliary holding part241 is at the pressing position already before mounting the wearable display system on the head. Namely, the user U mounts the wearable display system on his head H while his head H is pressing back theauxiliary holding part241 positioned at the pressing position. Mounting operation after that is similar to the operation in the eighth embodiment except that theauxiliary holding part241 is always at the pressing position where theauxiliary holding part241 can press.
• Here, it is possible to consider such an arrangement that an electromagnet is provided on the bottom of the hole (FIG. 48) in the display supportmember housing part225 and a magnetic body such as iron is provided at a part of thepressing member411. In this arrangement, to place theauxiliary holding part241 at the retracted position, the electromagnetic force attracts thepressing member411 to the electromagnet in the bottom of the hole against the elastic force of thespring453. Further, at least a part of theauxiliary holding part241 may be housed in the hole in the display supportmember housing part225. Further, to place theauxiliary holding part241 at the pressing position, it is sufficient to turn off the electromagnetic force of the electromagnet so that only the elastic force of thespring453 makes theauxiliary holding part241 project.
• In the ninth embodiment, similarly to the eighth embodiment, theauxiliary holding part241 provided on the display supportmember housing part225 presses against the temporal part of the head. As a result, theauxiliary holding part241 is positioned outside the field of vision of the user U, and theauxiliary holding part241 scarcely enters the field of vision of the user U viewing the image. Thus, according to the wearable display unit of the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress movement of theimage display unit222 and to improve visibility of surroundings.
• FIG. 49 shows a first variant of the ninth embodiment. In this first variant, anattachment227 connects the display supportmember housing part225 not to theheadphone arm213 but to theleft speaker211b. The other components and their operations are similar to the ones in the ninth embodiment. Fixing structure of thisattachment227 to thespeaker211bmay be the above-described structure shown inFIG. 39.
• According to the first variant, the display supportmember housing part225 is connected to theleft speaker211b, and thus theauxiliary holding part241 scarcely enters the field of vision of the user U viewing the image. Thus, according to the wearable display unit of the present variant, it is possible to suppress movement of theimage display unit222 and to improve visibility of surroundings.
• FIG. 50 shows a second variant of the ninth embodiment. In this second variant, theauxiliary holding part241 presses against not the head H but theleft speaker211b. The other components and their operations are similar to the one in the ninth embodiment.
• According to the second variant, theauxiliary holding part241 presses against the head H through theleft speaker211b. As a result, theauxiliary holding part241 scarcely enters the field of vision of the user U viewing the image. Thus, according to the wearable display unit of the present variant, it is possible to movement of theimage display unit222 and to improve visibility of surroundings.
Tenth Embodiment
• A tenth embodiment of a wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye will be described referring toFIGS. 51-54.FIG. 51 is a perspective view showing the wearable display system of the present embodiment;FIG. 52 is a cutaway plan view showing main parts of the wearable display system;FIG. 53 is a cross section taken along the A-A line inFIG. 52.
• As shown inFIG. 51, also the wearable display system of the present embodiment comprises:headphones210aand awearable display unit220asimilarly to the above-described embodiments.
• Theheadphones210acomprises: aright speaker211a; aleft speaker211b; and aheadphone arm213athat connects theright speaker211aand theleft speaker211bwith each other. Differently from the above-described embodiments, theheadphone arm213ais curved in the respective neighborhoods of thespeakers211aand211b, and these curved portions formearpieces214.
• Further, similarly to the above-described embodiments, thewearable display unit220acomprises: animage display unit222; a holdingpart221; anattachment227; and anauxiliary holding part240a. As shown inFIG. 52, thewearable display unit220aof the present embodiment further comprises: a projectionlength adjustment part260 for adjusting the projection length of theauxiliary holding part240a; adistance adjustment part265 for adjusting the distance from theattachment227 to the holdingpart221; a joint270 for fixing the holdingpart221 swingably to theattachment227; and aspring coil275 as a pressing force generation means that generates a pressing force F at theauxiliary holding part240a.
• On the side of theimage display unit222 of the display supportmember housing part225 of the holdingpart221, is provided a fixing part for fixing theauxiliary holding part240a. A shaft portion of theauxiliary holding part240aof the present embodiment is formed with amale screw261. The fixing part of the display supportmember housing part225 is formed with afemale screw262 into which themale screw261 of theauxiliary holding part240ais screwed and coupled. The projectionlength adjustment part260 comprises themale screw261 formed in the shaft portion of theauxiliary holding part240aand thefemale screw262 formed in the fixing part of the display supportmember housing part225. Thus, theauxiliary holding part240acan change its projection length in relation to the display supportmember housing part225 by rotating its shaft portion.
• As shown inFIGS. 52 and 53, theattachment227 is formed with aprojection227athat projects toward the holdingpart221. Thedistance adjustment part265 comprises: acoupling recess265bthat is coupled with theprojection227aof theattachment227; and aprojection265athat is similar in shape to theprojection227aof theattachment227. As shown inFIG. 54, by determining whether thedistance adjustment part265 is used or not, or one or moredistance adjustment parts265 should be used, or in other words, by changing the number of thedistance adjustment part265 used in layers, it is possible to adjust the distance from theattachment227 to the holdingpart221 at a connection part connecting theattachment227 and the holdingpart221.
• As shown inFIGS. 52 and 53, the joint270 comprises: a bearingmember271 that is coupled with theprojection227aof the attachment or theprojection265aof thedistance adjustment part265; and ashaft member272 that can be rotated in relation to the bearingmember271. One end of theshaft member272 is rotatably received in the bearingmember271, and the other end is fixed to the display supportmember housing part225. Further, theshaft member272 is arranged to become almost parallel with the vertical direction when the wearable display system of the present embodiment is mounted on the head H. As a result, owing to this joint270, the holdingpart221 can swing in the direction of V□ with respect to theattachment227 within a horizontal plane in a state where the wearable display system of the present embodiment is mounted oh the head H, or in other words within a plane that includes theattachment227 and the direction of action of the pressing force F of theauxiliary holding part240a.
• As shown inFIG. 52, thespring coil275 is placed on the side of the image display unit, in relation to theshaft member272 of the joint270. One end of thespring coil275 is fixed to the bearingmember271 of the joint270, and the other end is fixed to the inside wall surface on the outer side of the display supportmember housing part225. Thecoil spring275 is arranged in a stretched state, and thus biases the holdingpart221 as well as theauxiliary holding part240aprovided on the holdingpart221 toward the head H. As a result, owing to thespring275, theauxiliary holding part240amaintains the pressing force F of certain strength against the head H.
• As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to incline the holdingpart221 within the plane that includes the direction of action of the pressing force F of theauxiliary holding part240a, i.e. a horizontal plane at the time of using the wearable display unit, by changing the number of thedistance adjustment parts265 and/or by rotating theauxiliary holding part240a. Thus, it is possible to adjust the position of theimage display unit222 in the horizontal direction in relation to the head H. In particular, by providing the projectionlength adjustment part260, it is possible to make fine adjustment of the horizontal position of theimage display unit222 in relation to the head H, even when the wearable display unit is mounted on the head H and the pressing force F of theauxiliary holding part240ais acting.
• The present embodiment is provided with both thedistance adjustment part265 and the projectionlength adjustment part260 in order to incline the holdingpart221 within the plane including the direction of action of the pressing force F of theauxiliary holding part240a. However, only one of theseparts265 and260 may be used. Here, it is necessary to prepare the distance adjustment part(s)265 in advance before using the wearable display unit. On the other hand, the projectionlength adjustment part260 can change the inclination of the holdingpart221 both before and in course of using the wearable display unit. Thus, in the case where one of theseparts265 and260 is employed, it is favorable in the present embodiment to provide only the projectionlength adjustment part260, i.e. one that can change the inclination of the holdingpart221 even when the wearable display unit is in use.
• Further, the projectionlength adjustment part260 of the present embodiment employs the screw mechanism to adjust the projection length of theauxiliary holding part240a. However, for example a cam mechanism or a mechanism using an electromagnet may be employed as far as the projection length of theauxiliary holding part240 can be adjusted. Further, the present embodiment employs thecoil spring275 as a pressing force generation means. Of course, instead of thecoil spring275, another elastic member, an electromagnet, or the like may be used. Further, the present embodiment employs thedistance adjustment part265 as a distance adjustment means. Instead, a screw mechanism may be employed similarly to the case of the projection length adjustment part.
• As described above, according to the seventh through tenth embodiments, it is possible to provide a wearable display unit that has improved visibility of surroundings. In particular, by providing the auxiliary holding part on the holding part, it is possible to improve the wearable display unit in its visibility of surroundings, since the auxiliary holding part scarcely enters the field of vision of the user.
• In the seventh through tenth embodiments, the wearable display unit is fixed to the left side of the headphones. However, the wearable display unit may be fixed either left or right side of the head, and it may be arranged that the control unit can suitably switch the display image.
• Further, it is not necessary to provide the power source in the outside. For example, a battery may be provided in the display support member housing part. Further, it may be arranged that sound/picture signals are received wirelessly.
Eleventh Embodiment
• An eleventh embodiment of a wearable display system of which the image display unit can be arranged near a user's eye will be described referring toFIGS. 55-58.
• FIG. 55 is a perspective view showing a state that the wearable display unit of the present embodiment is mounted on the head; andFIG. 56 is a cutaway plan view showing main parts of the wearable display unit in the mounted state.
• The wearable display unit of the present embodiment comprises: animage display unit310 for displaying an image in front of a user's eye; ahead mounting belt330 that is mounted on a head of a user; anattachment340 fixed to thehead mounting belt330; a holdingpart320 whose one end is fixed to theimage display unit310 while the other end extends up to a position opposed to theattachment340; andjoint parts351 and355 for fixing the holdingpart320 swingably to theattachment340.
• In the present embodiment, thehead mounting belt330 is headphones, and comprises: a pair of left andright speakers331R and33aL; and aheadphone arm332 that connects the left andright speakers331R and331L with each other. Further, the holdingpart320 comprises: adisplay support member321 whose one end is fixed to theimage display unit310; and a display supportmember housing part322 for housing thedisplay support member321. The display supportmember housing part322 holds thedisplay support member321 such that thedisplay support member321 can be displaced between a housed state in which thedisplay support member321 is almost housed and a using state in which theimage display unit310 fixed at the end of thedisplay support member321 can be positioned in front of a user's eye.
• FIG. 57 is a cross section taken along the A-A line inFIG. 56.
• Similarly to the first embodiment, theattachment340 is made of elastic material such as resin and is formed to have a C-shaped cross section to grasp theheadphone arm332.
• Here, for the sake of convenience of description in the following, an axis in which theheadphone arm332 extends at the position where theattachment340 is mounted is referred to as the Z-axis; an axis perpendicular to the Z-axis, extending in the direction from theattachment340 toward the side where the display supportmember housing part322 is provided, is referred to as the H-axis; and an axis perpendicular both to the Z-axis and H-axis is referred to as the V-axis. Further, the direction around the Z-axis is referred to as Zθ, the direction around the H-axis as Hθ, and the direction around the V-axis as Vθ.
• As shown inFIGS. 56 and 57, theattachment340 comprises: a firstjoint part351 that indirectly supports the holdingpart320 such that the holdingpart320 can swing in relation to theattachment340 in the Hθ direction; and a secondjoint part355 that indirectly supports the holdingpart320 such that the holdingpart320 can swing in relation to theattachment340 in the Vθ direction.
• The firstjoint part351 comprises: ashaft member352 that extends from theattachment340 in the direction parallel with the H-axis; a bearingmember353athat support theshaft member352 in a relatively rotatable manner around the H-axis. Further, the secondjoint part355 comprises: ashaft member356 that extends in the direction parallel with the V-axis within the display supportmember housing part322 of the holdingpart320; and a bearingmember353bthat supports theshaft member356 in a relatively rotatable manner around the V-axis. The bearingmember353aof the firstjoint part351 and the bearingmember353bof the secondjoint part355 are thesame bearing member353. The torque required for the bearingmember353ato rotate around the H-axis relatively to theshaft member352 of the firstjoint part351 is larger than the torque required for the bearingmember353bto rotate around the V-axis relatively to theshaft member356 of the secondjoint part353. Namely, as shown inFIG. 55, the torque required for theimage display unit310 to swing around the H-axis in the direction including vertical direction is larger than the torque required for theimage display unit310 to swing around the V-axis in the direction including horizontal direction. Thus, the torque around the H-axis is determined such that theimage display unit310 does not easily move down by rotating around the H-axis owing to its own weight or owing to vertical movement of the head. On the other hand, the swinging torque required for theimage display unit310 to swing around the V-axis in the direction including the horizontal direction is determined such that theimage display unit310 does not easily rotate around the V-axis only owing to swing of the head in the horizontal direction. In the present embodiment, to differentiate the torque in thejoint part351 and the torque in thejoint part355, materials of the sliding parts of each joint part are selected such that the coefficient of friction between theshaft member352 and the bearingmember353aof the firstjoint part351 is different from the coefficient of friction between theshaft member356 and the bearingmember353bof the second joint part.
• As described above, in the present embodiment, the torque required for swinging the holdingpart320 around the H-axis is relatively large. As a result, after the vertical position of theimage display unit310 fixed to the holdingpart320 is once adjusted, theimage display unit310 does not happen to move relatively to the head owing to the weight of theimage display unit310 itself or owing to swinging of the head. Further, the torque required for swinging the holdingpart320 around the V-axis is relatively small, and thus the horizontal position of theimage display unit310 fixed to the holdingpart320 can be easily adjusted. Further, in the present embodiment, theattachment340 can be rotated in relation to theheadphone arm332 around the Z-axis, it is possible to adjust the position of theimage display unit310 around the Z-axis, i.e. to adjust the inclination of the screen of theimage display unit310.
• Further, in the present embodiment, multiple joint parts are gathered at the end portion of the holdingpart320. Thus, simple operation can move theimage display unit310 in various directions. For example, if a first joint part for moving theimage display unit310 vertically were provided between the holdingpart320 and theattachment340 and a second joint part for moving theimage display unit310 horizontally were provided in the mid portion of the holdingpart320, then one joint part might be fixed not to move in the course of operating the other joint part. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, operation of fixing one of a plurality of joint parts is not necessary when theimage display unit310 is moved, similarly to a joint part having a spherical seat that enables movement in various directions as shown in the technique described inPatent Document 3 mentioned as the background technique above.
• As in the above embodiment, as a method of making the torque of onejoint part351 larger than the torque of the otherjoint part355 among a plurality ofjoint parts351,355, there is a method of selecting materials ofshaft members351,356 and bearingmembers353. As another method, may be mentioned a method of interposing atorque adjustment member357 such as an O-ring as shown inFIG. 58, or a method of forming a plurality of notches in one of ashaft member51 and a bearing member53 to change the coefficient of friction.
• Further, in the above embodiment, as the firstjoint part351, ashaft member352 is formed in theattachment340. However, theattachment340 may be formed with a bearing member. Further, as the secondjoint part355, theshaft member356 is fixed to the display supportmember holding part322 of the holdingpart320. However, a bearing member may be provided in the display supportmember holding part322. In that case, a member common to the first and second joint parts becomes a shaft member that couples both into the bearing member of the first joint part and into the bearing member of the second joint part.
• Further, in the above embodiment, the attachment can be coupled to and removed from theheadphone arm322 of thehead mounting belt330. However, an attachment that can not be removed from theheadphone arm332 may be used.
• Further, of course, the displacement mechanism having a plurality ofjoint parts351,355, which is described in the present embodiment, may be applied to the first through tenth embodiments and the variants of those embodiments, giving the similar effects.

Claims (10)

1. A wearable display unit provided with an image display unit for displaying an image in front of an eye of a user and, the image display unit of which can be arranged near a user's eye, comprising:

a display support member that has a bar shape and is fixed to said image display unit;

a display support member holding part that holds said display support member movably between a projecting position where said image display unit can be positioned in front of the eye of the user and a retracted position where said image display unit has been retracted from the front of the eye of the user; and

an anti-rotation means that prevents rotation of said display support member in relation to said display support member holding part in a neighborhood of, and including at least, said projecting position between said projecting position and said retracted position, with respect to rotation in a direction within a plane nearly perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the display support member, even when said display support member is in a movable state.

2. A wearable display unit according toclaim 1, wherein said anti-rotation means comprises:

an anti-rotation-shape part formed, at least in a part of said display support member, to have an outer peripheral shape of a cross section having parts whose distances from a center of gravity in said cross section are different from each other, with said cross section being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the display support member; and

an abutting part that is a part of said display support member holding part and can not be rotated in a sense of said rotation, with said abutting part abutting on said anti-rotation-shape part of said display support member at least in said neighborhood of the projecting position.

3. A wearable display unit according toclaim 1, wherein said anti-rotation means comprises:

an anti-rotation-shape part formed, at least in a part of said display support member, to have an outer peripheral shape of a cross section different from a circle, with said cross section being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the display support member; and

an abutting part that is a part of said display support member holding part and can not be rotated in a sense of said rotation, with said abutting part abutting on said anti-rotation-shape part of said display support member at least in said neighborhood of the projecting position.

4. A wearable display unit according toclaim 2, wherein:

an outer peripheral shape of said cross section of said display support member is different between on a tip end side to which said image display unit is fixed and on a base end side opposite to said tip end side; and

said base end portion of the display support member forms said anti-rotation-shape part.

5. A wearable display unit according toclaim 4, wherein an outer peripheral shape of said cross section on said tip end side of said display support member is a circle.

6. A wearable display unit according toclaim 2, wherein:

said display support member is formed with a groove extending in said longitudinal direction; said display su port member holding part has a guide roller that is in contact with a surface of said display support member, with said surface being formed with said groove; and

a part of said display support member, said part having said grove, is said anti-rotation-shape part, and said guide roller is said abutting part.

7. A wearable display unit according toclaim 1, wherein:

said display support member holding part has a driving source that moves said display support member; and

a drive transmission part of said driving source is in contact with said display support member.

8. A wearable display unit according toclaim 7, further comprising a holding means that holds said drive transmission part toward said display support member.

9. A wearable display unit according toclaim 1, wherein:

said display support member has a shape curved in the longitudinal direction so that said shape extends along a head of the user; and

said image display unit can be moved in a locus corresponding to said curved shape, between said projecting position and said retracted position.

10. A wearable display unit according toclaim 1, wherein said display support member holding part comprises a display support member housing that houses said display support member at the retracted position.

Images