JP5233941B2 - Image display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device that projects image light according to image information onto the eyes of an observer so that the observer can visually recognize an image according to the image information.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image display device that includes a projection unit that projects image light according to image information onto the eyes of an observer, and allows the observer to visually recognize an image according to image information. In this type of image display device, in order for the observer to visually recognize the image, it is necessary to match the exit pupil formed by the projection unit with the pupil of the observer. However, the observer's eyeball rotates somewhat, and therefore the observer's pupil position is usually moved. In addition, since there are individual differences among observers, the pupil positions are usually different. Therefore, the degree of adjustment performed to match the exit pupil and the pupil is different for each individual.

  In particular, when the exit pupil by the projection unit is smaller than the pupil of the observer, the exit pupil by the projection unit may come off the observer's pupil due to the rotation of the eyeball. In other words, when the exit pupil of the image display device is smaller than the pupil of the observer, the image light emitted from the image display device does not sufficiently enter the observer's pupil, so that the image formation on the retina is normal. May not be done.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, in order to enlarge the effective diameter of the exit pupil, a pupil enlarging element is placed on the optical path between the light source unit and the projection unit at the position of the intermediate image plane existing between them. A technique of providing a means (for example, a diffraction grating) for enlarging an exit pupil, which is called, is disclosed.

US Pat. No. 5,701,132

  In the image display device provided with the pupil magnifying element as described above, the possibility that the exit pupil of the projection unit is positioned at the pupil position of the observer is high, so that the observer can easily view the image on the image display device. .

  However, on the other hand, the diameter of the image light incident on the pupil of the observer increases. For this reason, there has been a problem that the observer cannot enjoy the merits of the apparatus, which is characteristic when the focal depth becomes shallow and the exit pupil diameter is small, that the observer can easily focus on the image of the image display apparatus.

  On the other hand, for those who have little eyeball rotation and can easily adjust the pupil position to the exit pupil, and those who can easily adjust the pupil position to the exit pupil as a result of familiarity, focusing is difficult due to the unnecessary pupil enlargement function. , Usability was severely impaired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an image display device that has a pupil enlargement function and facilitates focus adjustment for an observer who can easily align the pupil position with the exit pupil. The purpose is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a projection unit that projects image light according to image information onto the eyes of an observer, and an ejection that changes an effective diameter or shape of an exit pupil by the projection unit. A pupil changing unit, a position changing unit that displaces the relative position and posture of the exit pupil with respect to the pupil position of the observer according to the adjusting operation of the observer, and mastering of the adjusting operation of the position changing unit by the observer A proficiency level determination unit that determines the degree, and an exit pupil determination unit that determines an effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil to be changed by the exit pupil change unit according to the proficiency level determined by the proficiency level determination unit It was decided.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the image display device according to claim 1, wherein the proficiency level determination unit determines the proficiency level based on a time required for the adjustment operation.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the first or second aspect, the proficiency level determination unit determines the proficiency level based on a displacement transition or a total displacement amount by the adjustment operation. It has a special feature.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the proficiency level determination unit is configured to adjust the position changing unit by the observer after the adjustment operation. The proficiency level is determined based on a deviation of the position of the exit pupil from the pupil position of the observer.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the exit pupil changing unit is an optical that changes an effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit. An element is arranged to be exchangeable by the observer's operation, and the exit pupil determining unit notifies the observer of the optical element of the exit pupil changing unit corresponding to the determined effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil. It has the characteristics.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the exit pupil changing unit switches the optical elements having a plurality of different optical characteristics to perform the projection. It is characterized in that a changing mechanism for changing the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the unit is provided.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the image display device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the optical element is a diffraction grating.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the image display device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the optical element is an optical element having a scattering surface for scattering incident light.

  Moreover, the invention which concerns on Claim 9 is an image display apparatus of any one of Claims 1-8. According to the effective diameter or shape of the said exit pupil, the image light projected from the said projection part is provided. It is characterized by changing strength.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the ninth aspect, the intensity of the image light projected from the projection unit is changed by disposing a neutral density filter on the optical path of the image light. It has a special feature.

  In the present invention, the exit pupil changing unit that changes the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit, and the position changing unit that displaces the relative position and posture of the exit pupil with respect to the pupil position of the observer according to the adjustment operation of the observer With. Then, the proficiency level of the position changing unit by the observer is determined, and the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil to be changed is determined by the exit pupil changing unit according to the proficiency level. The effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil can be different between a difficult observer and an observer who can easily align the pupil position with the exit pupil. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the trouble of adjusting the focus for an observer who can easily adjust the pupil position to the exit pupil.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the observer equipped with the image display apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed typically expansion of the effective diameter of the exit pupil by a pupil expansion element. It is explanatory drawing which showed the image light divided | segmented by the pupil expansion element. It is explanatory drawing which showed the positional relationship of a pupil and image light. It is explanatory drawing which showed the relationship between the effective diameter of the image light which injects into a pupil, and a focal depth. It is explanatory drawing which showed the whole image display apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the electrical structure and optical structure of the image display apparatus which concern on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the pupil expansion element. It is the block diagram which showed the electrical structure of the display control part. It is explanatory drawing which showed the various tables memorize | stored in ROM. 5 is a flowchart illustrating main processing of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the adjustment familiarity determination process. It is the flowchart which showed the 1st mode process. It is the flowchart which showed the 2nd mode process. It is the flowchart which showed the 3rd mode process. It is explanatory drawing which showed the concept of the count value counted by a 2nd mode process. It is explanatory drawing which imaged and showed the imaging data used by a 3rd mode process. It is explanatory drawing of the step which determines a proficiency level based on total displacement. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the image display apparatus which concerns on a modification.

  Hereinafter, an example of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the image display device scans the image light generated based on the image information two-dimensionally, and the scanned image light is applied to the eyes of an observer who is the user of the image display device. Although described as a retinal scanning type that projects and forms an image on the retina, the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, any image display device that makes image light according to image information incident on the observer's eyes and displays an image according to the image information can be applied to all similar devices using liquid crystal or organic EL. Can do.

[Outline of image display device]
First, an outline of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a see-through type head mounted display will be described as an example of the image display device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image display unit 2 that displays an image according to image information, and the image display unit 2 is supported via a connecting unit 3. Supported by the frame 4.

  The support frame 4 is a spectacles-type support frame that is connected to both ends of the front portion 4a and left and right temple portions 4b and 4b. The observer P wears this support frame on the head as if wearing glasses.

  The image display unit 2 includes a projection unit 8 (see FIG. 2) that projects image light according to image information onto the eyes of the observer P. In order to allow the observer P to visually recognize the image of the image display unit 2, it is necessary to match the position of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 with the pupil position of the eye of the observer P. However, the position of the eye on the head varies from person to person, and the size of the pupil also varies depending on the brightness of the surroundings. Therefore, it may be difficult to match the position of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 with the pupil position of the eye of the observer P.

  Therefore, the image display device 1 includes a pupil enlarging element that enlarges the effective diameter of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8. Thereby, the effective diameter of the exit pupil by the projection part 8 is expanded, and it becomes easy for image light to inject into the pupil of the eyes of the observer P.

  Further, the connecting unit 3 of the image display device 1 functions as a position changing unit that changes the position and orientation of the image display unit 2 in accordance with the adjustment operation of the observer P. Thereby, the position of the image display unit 2 with respect to the eyes of the observer P can be moved to match the position of the exit pupil with the pupil position of the eyes of the observer P.

  Here, the function of enlarging the effective diameter of the exit pupil by the pupil enlarging element 70 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. In addition, although the half mirror 43 exists between the projection part 8 and the observer's P eyes, it is abbreviate | omitting in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pupil enlarging element 70 is formed by overlapping a first diffractive part 71 and a second diffractive part 72, and is arranged at an intermediate image plane position 73. This intermediate image plane position is an image plane that is formed in the image display device 1 and has a conjugate relationship with the retina 110b of the observer P. The first diffractive portion 71 is configured by forming a transmission type diffraction grating by forming a plurality of grooves along the Y-axis direction in parallel on the transparent resin plate. The second diffractive portion 72 is configured by forming a transmission diffraction grating by forming a plurality of grooves along the X-axis direction in parallel on the transparent resin plate.

  The first diffracting unit 71 of the pupil enlarging element 70 branches the incident image light Lb into 0th-order light Lbx (0), −1st-order light Lbx (−1), and 1st-order light Lbx (+1). Grooves are formed so as to have diffraction characteristics. The zero-order light Lbx (0) is light that is transmitted through the incident image light Lb as it is, and the −1st-order light Lbx (−1) is light having a predetermined angle in the −X direction with respect to the image light Lb. The + first-order light Lbx (+1) is light having a predetermined angle in the + X direction with respect to the image light Lb. Further, the second diffractive portion 72 of the pupil enlarging element 70 assumes that the incident light is the 0th order light Lbx (0) of the first diffractive portion 71, and the 0th order light Lbx (0) y (0) Grooves are formed so as to have diffraction characteristics for branching into the light Lbx (0) y (-1) and the + 1st order light Lbx (0) y (+1). The 0th-order light Lbx (0) y (0) is light that is transmitted through the incident light Lbx (0) as it is, and the −1st-order light Lbx (0) y (−1) is the incident light Lbx (0). On the other hand, the light has a predetermined angle in the −Y direction, and the + first-order light Lbx (0) y (+1) is light having a predetermined angle in the + Y direction with respect to the incident light Lbx (0). .

  The pupil enlarging element 70 has a first diffractive part 71 and a second diffractive part 72 having such characteristics, and incident light Lb is divided into nine pieces by the first diffractive part 71 and the second diffractive part 72. Branched into light. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the incident image light Lb is light Lbx (0) y (0), light Lbx (0) y (-1), light Lbx (0) y (+1), light Lbx. (-1) y (0), light Lbx (-1) y (-1), light Lbx (-1) y (+1), light Lbx (+1) y (0), light Lbx (+1) The light is branched into y (-1) and light Lbx (+1) y (+1). Note that x (α) is the α-order light of the first diffracting unit 71, and y (β) is the β-order light of the second diffracting unit 72. For example, the light Lbx (−1) y (+1) is the −1st order light of the first diffracting unit 71 and the + 1st order light of the second diffracting unit 72.

  The image light Lb branched into nine by the pupil enlarging element 70 is directed to the eye 110 of the observer P, and the exit pupil is divided and enlarged at the exit pupil position as shown in FIGS. That is, the exit pupil when the pupil enlarging element 70 is not disposed is in the range of Lbx (0) y (0) shown in FIG. 3, and the eye 110 is moved as shown in FIG. When the pupil 110a is no longer positioned within the range, the observer P cannot visually recognize the image. On the other hand, the appearance of the exit pupil when the pupil enlarging element 70 is arranged is as shown in FIG. Even if the eye 110 is moved, as long as the pupil 110a is located within this range, the observer P can visually recognize the image. As described above, in the image display device 1, the pupil enlarging element 70 is arranged to enlarge the exit pupil.

  By the way, it is difficult for the observer P who is not used to the operation of the image display device 1 to align the position of the image display unit 2 with the position of the eyes of the observer P. Thus, in order to make it easier for the observer P who is not familiar with the operation to enter the image light into the pupil 110a, the larger the effective diameter of the exit pupil that is magnified by the pupil enlarging element 70 is better. For example, assume that the position of the image display unit 2 is such that the image light Lb does not enter the pupil 110a as shown in FIG. Even in such a case, as shown in FIG. 4D, the image light Lb can be incident on the pupil 110a by branching the image light Lb into 16 pieces and further increasing the effective diameter of the exit pupil. .

  However, as the effective diameter of the exit pupil is set larger, the effective diameter of the image light incident on the pupil 110a is likely to increase when the position of the image display unit 2 matches the eye position of the observer P. Become. When the effective diameter of the image light incident on the pupil increases, the depth of focus becomes shallow as shown in FIG. If the depth of focus is shallow, it takes time to adjust the focus and the usability is significantly impaired. In particular, if the person can easily adjust the pupil position to the exit pupil due to familiarity, the position of the image display unit 2 matches the position of the eye, so the depth of focus becomes shallow, which is a problem.

  Therefore, in the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment, the pupil enlarging element 70 can be changed, and the effective diameter of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 can be changed. Then, the effective diameter of the exit pupil to be changed is determined in accordance with the proficiency level of the position adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 provided in the connecting portion 3.

  That is, the effective diameter of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 is set to be small for the observer P who can accurately adjust the position of the image display unit 2 to the position of the eye due to familiarity or individual differences. As a result, the effective diameter of the image light incident on the pupil 110a is reduced, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the depth of focus is increased, and the familiar observer P can easily adjust the focus.

  In the pupil enlargement element 70 described above, the effective diameter of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 is changed. However, the shape of the exit pupil may be changed, and both the effective diameter and the shape of the exit pupil, Or you may make it change including the way of distribution. For example, the distribution shape of the exit pupil can be a rectangular shape, a cross shape, a star shape, a triangular shape, or the like in addition to the substantially square shape as described above. May be shaped into a hexagon or the like. Further, a distribution shape having a close-packed structure may be provided by giving a characteristic of arranging hexagonal pupils in a honeycomb shape.

  Further, the effective diameter and shape of the exit pupil can be changed by arranging a plurality of pupil enlarging elements having different optical characteristics so as to be exchangeable by the operation of the observer P. Moreover, it comprises pupil expanding elements 70a, 70b, 70c,... Having a plurality of different optical characteristics, and switching these pupil expanding elements 70a, 70b, 70c,. You may make it provide the change mechanism to change.

The image display device 1 has a proficiency level determination unit that determines the proficiency level of the position adjustment operation of the image display unit 2, and thereby makes the effective diameter and shape of the exit pupil appropriate for the observer P. be able to. The proficiency level determination unit determines the proficiency level according to the position adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 by the observer P. For example, the proficiency level is determined based on one of the following. This determination will be described in detail later.
(1) Time required for the position adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 (2) Transition of displacement or total displacement amount by the position adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 (3) Viewer after the position adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 Deviation (positional deviation) of exit pupil position with respect to P pupil 110a position

  The pupil enlarging element 70 may be an optical element having a scattering surface that scatters incident light instead of a diffraction grating. The diffraction grating is not limited to a passive element formed of glass or resin, but may be an active element using a reflective or transmissive liquid crystal. The same applies to the elements to be scattered.

  Since the image display apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil differs between the observer P who is difficult to align the pupil position with the exit pupil and the observer P who is easy to align the pupil position. Can be. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the trouble of focus adjustment for the observer P who can easily align the pupil position with the exit pupil.

[Specific Configuration and Operation of Image Display Device 1]
Hereinafter, an example of a specific configuration and operation of the image display apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the observer P in a state where the image display device 1 is mounted, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an electrical configuration and an optical configuration of the image display device 1.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a waist unit 7 to be worn on the waist of the observer P, a head wearing tool 9 to be worn on the head of the observer P, and a waist unit 7. And a transmission cable 5 connected to the head mounting tool 9.

  The waist unit 7 forms an image signal S based on content information stored in a built-in content storage unit 12 to be described later, and the intensity is modulated for each color (R, G, B) according to the image signal S. The image light formed by the laser light is emitted to the transmission cable 5. Further, the waist unit 7 is formed with an external input / output terminal 13 for inputting / receiving content information for inputting an image signal from the outside or forming an image signal with a personal computer (not shown). Is possible. Here, the content information is image information composed of at least one of data for displaying characters, data for displaying images, and data for displaying moving images. Document files, image files, moving image files, and the like used in personal computers and the like.

  A power button 77 for turning on / off the power of the image display device 1 is disposed on the surface of the waist unit 7.

  The transmission cable 5 includes an optical fiber cable that transmits the image light emitted from the waist unit 7. The transmission cable 5 is synchronized between a later-described high-speed scanning unit 22 and a low-speed scanning unit 24 provided in the image display unit 2 and an after-mentioned image light generation unit 11 provided in the waist unit 7. Drive signal transmission cable for transmitting a high-speed drive signal 23 and a low-speed drive signal 25. The transmission cable 5 transmits signals output from a CCD camera 16, an acceleration sensor 19, and an adjustment pressing button 20 described later, and transmits signals to an optical element disk drive circuit 18 described later. It also has a cable.

  The head wearing tool 9 scans the transmitted image light and projects it on the eyes of the observer P in a state worn on the head of the observer P, and displays an image for the observer P. . The head mounting tool 9 includes an image display unit 2, a support frame 4, and a connecting portion 3 that connects the image display unit 2 to the support frame 4 so as to be movable.

  The connecting portion 3 includes a connecting base portion 74 attached to the temple portion 4 b of the support frame 4, a first arm 75 connected to the connecting base portion 74, and a second arm 76 connected to the first arm 75. It is configured. The connection base 74 and the first arm 75, the first arm 75 and the second arm 76, and the second arm 76 and the image display unit 2 are connected by a ball joint structure, and the image display unit 2 is moved up and down with respect to the support frame 4. It can be moved left and right and back and forth. Note that these ball joint structures have a frictional force against the weight of the image display unit 2, and the image display unit 2 is fixed to the support frame 4 unless the observer P applies a force. The The connecting unit 3 is configured as described above, and functions as a position changing unit that changes the position and orientation of the image display unit 2.

  The connecting unit 3 is configured to set the image display unit 2 to a position (hereinafter, referred to as “reference position”) set so that the image light Lb can be emitted toward a general human pupil position. It has.

  Specifically, the receiving portion and the ball portion constituting each ball joint structure are respectively formed with positioning concave portions and convex portions on the contact surfaces, and the observer P adjusts the angle of the connecting portion 3. However, the image display unit 2 is configured to be the reference position when the concave and convex portions of each ball joint portion are fitted.

  Note that the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment uses the connecting portion 3 connected by a ball joint structure as a position changing portion. For example, the image display unit 2 is electrically operated with respect to the support frame 4 in the vertical and horizontal directions. You may employ | adopt the mechanism which moves to the front-back direction. However, even in this case, it is necessary to set the reference position in advance.

  The image display unit 2 causes the image light Lb scanned in the two-dimensional direction to enter the eye 110 of the observer P, and scans the image light Lb in the two-dimensional direction on the retina of the eye 110 of the observer P. Thereby, the observer P can be made to visually recognize the image according to image information.

  The image display unit 2 is provided with a second half mirror 43 at a position facing the eye 110 of the observer P. Therefore, the external light La passes through the second half mirror 43 and is incident on the eyes 110 of the observer P, and the image light Lb emitted from the image display unit 2 is reflected by the second half mirror 43 and is reflected by the observer P. It enters the eye 110. Thereby, the observer P can visually recognize the image of the image light Lb superimposed on the outside scene of the outside light La.

  As described above, the image display device 1 is a see-through type head mounted display that projects image light onto the eye 110 of the observer P while transmitting external light.

  Further, the image display unit 2 has an adjustment time push button 20 at a position (see FIG. 6) pressed by the observer P when the observer P adjusts the position of the image display unit 2 as shown in FIG. It is arranged (see FIG. 1). The pressing button 20 at the time of adjustment is in an ON state when pressed and is in an OFF state when not pressed. The ON / OFF state of the pressing button 20 at the time of adjustment is transmitted to the waist unit 7 by a signal transmission cable accommodated in the transmission cable 5.

  Next, the electrical configuration and optical configuration of the image display apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the waist unit 7 includes a display control unit 10 and an image light generation unit 11.

(Display control unit 10)
The display control unit 10 reads content information stored in advance in the content storage unit 12 having a relatively large storage area, converts the content information into an image signal S, and supplies the image signal S to the image light generation unit 11. In addition, the display control unit 10 can convert content information supplied from non-illustrated equipment externally connected via the external input / output terminal 13 into an image signal S and supply the image signal S to the image light generation unit 11. The content storage unit 12 can be, for example, a magnetic storage medium such as a hard disk, an optical recording medium such as a CD-R, or a flash memory.

  The display control unit 10 is electrically connected to a slide switch type mode switch 14 for switching a mode for determining the proficiency level of the adjustment operation of the observer P. Specifically, when the observer P operates the mode change switch 14, the first mode for determining the proficiency level based on the time required for the adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 and the adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 A second mode for determining the proficiency level based on the displacement transition or the total displacement amount, a third mode for determining the proficiency level based on the deviation of the exit pupil position from the pupil position of the observer P after the adjustment operation, and the proficiency level The fourth mode in which the degree determination is not performed can be switched.

  The display control unit 10 is electrically connected to a CCD camera 16, an optical element disk drive circuit 18 of an exit pupil changing unit 17, which will be described later, an acceleration sensor 19, and an adjustment pressing button 20.

  The CCD camera 16 is disposed in the image display unit 2 and can image the pupil 110a of the eye 110 and its periphery. This is for imaging the irradiation part of the image light emitted toward the pupil 110a and the eye 110, that is, the appearance of the exit pupil, and a specific operation will be described later. The pupil 110a picked up by the CCD camera 16 and the surrounding picked-up images are transmitted to the display control unit 10.

  The optical element disk drive circuit 18 is disposed in the image display unit 2 and rotates an optical element disk 26 described later. The optical element disk drive circuit 18 rotates the optical element disk 26, which will be described later, in response to an optical element selection signal transmitted from the display control unit 10.

  The acceleration sensor 19 is disposed in the image display unit 2 and detects the movement of the image display unit 2 by the observer P. The acceleration sensor 19 is a three-axis acceleration sensor that can detect movement in the up / down / left / right / front / rear direction. The acceleration sensor 19 generates acceleration signals corresponding to the acceleration in the up / down direction, the acceleration in the left / right direction, and the acceleration in the front / rear direction. Output to the display control unit 10.

  The adjustment push button 20 is a push switch that is provided in the image display unit 2 and is turned on when pressed by the observer P and turned off when the hand is released. The display control unit 10 detects the ON / OFF state of the pressing button 20 during adjustment. The observer P adjusts the position of the image display unit 2 while pressing the pressing button 20 during adjustment. Thereby, the display control unit 10 detects that the observer P is adjusting the image display unit 2.

  The image light generation unit 11 is a part that generates image light that forms an image to be displayed on the eyes of the observer P, and includes a drive signal supply circuit 15 that is electrically connected to the display control unit 10. Yes. Based on the image signal S supplied from the display control unit 10, the drive signal supply circuit 15 generates drive signals 21r, 21g, and 21b, which will be described later, which are elements for forming a display image, in units of pixels. The drive signal supply circuit 15 outputs a high-speed drive signal 23 used in a high-speed scanning unit 22 described later and a low-speed drive signal 25 used in the low-speed scanning unit 24, respectively.

  The image light generator 11 includes an R laser driver 31, a G laser driver 32, and a B laser driver 33 for driving an R (red) laser 27, a G (green) laser 28, and a B (blue) laser 29, respectively. Is provided. The R, G, B laser drivers 31, 32, 33 receive R, G, B drive signals 21r, 21g, 21b output from the drive signal supply circuit 15 in units of pixels, respectively, and R, G, B drive signals 21r. A drive current having a magnitude corresponding to the above is output to the R, G, B lasers 27, 28, 29. As a result, each of the lasers 27, 28, and 29 emits laser light (also referred to as “light beam”) that is intensity-modulated in accordance with the drive signals 21 r, 21 g, and 21 b generated based on the image signal S. .

  Each of the lasers 27, 28, and 29 can be configured as, for example, a semiconductor laser or a solid-state laser with a harmonic generation mechanism. If a semiconductor laser is used, the drive current can be directly modulated to modulate the intensity of the laser beam. However, if a solid-state laser is used, each laser is equipped with an external modulator, and the intensity of the laser beam is modulated. Need to do.

  Further, the image light generator 11 includes collimating optical systems 35, 36, and 37 provided to collimate the laser light emitted from the lasers 27, 28, and 29 into parallel light, and the collimated laser light. Are provided, and dichroic mirrors 38, 39, and 40 for combining the signals, and a coupling optical system 41 that guides the combined laser light to the transmission cable 5. Therefore, the laser beams emitted from the lasers 27, 28, and 29 are collimated by the collimating optical systems 35, 36, and 37, respectively, and then enter the dichroic mirrors 38, 39, and 40. Thereafter, these dichroic mirrors 38, 39 and 40 reflect or transmit each laser beam in a wavelength selective manner, reach the coupling optical system 41, and are condensed and output to the transmission cable 5.

(Image display unit 2)
The image display unit 2 scans the image light incident through the transmission cable 5 and projects it onto the eye 110 of the observer P. The image display unit 2 includes a scanning unit 50, a lens 51a, an eyepiece lens 51b, a first half mirror 42, and a second half mirror 43. The scanning unit 50 scans laser light (image light) generated by the image light generation unit 11 and emitted through the transmission cable 5 in a two-dimensional direction.

  Specifically, the scanning unit 50 collimates an optical system 52 that collimates laser light emitted via the transmission cable 5, and displays the laser light collimated by the collimating optical system 52 for image display. Therefore, a high-speed scanning unit 22 that reciprocates in the first direction is provided. The scanning unit 50 includes a low-speed scanning unit 24 that scans the laser beam scanned in the first direction by the high-speed scanning unit 22 in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and a high-speed scanning unit 22. A relay optical system 53 is provided between the low-speed scanning unit 24 and emits the scanned laser light toward the lens 51a. In the first direction and the second direction described above, for example, the horizontal direction of the image to be displayed can be the first direction, and the vertical direction of the image to be displayed can be the second direction. Needless to say, the first direction may be the vertical direction and the second direction may be the horizontal direction. The image display apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with the first direction as the horizontal direction and the second direction as the vertical direction.

  The high-speed scanning unit 22 and the low-speed scanning unit 24 scan and scan in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction so that the laser light incident from the transmission cable 5 can be projected as an image onto the retina 110b of the observer P. It is an optical system that uses a light beam.

  The high-speed scanning unit 22 includes a resonance-type deflection element 22a having a deflection surface (reflection surface) 22b for scanning laser light in the horizontal direction, and a drive signal for causing the deflection element 22a to resonate and swing the deflection surface 22b. Is provided on the basis of a high-speed drive signal 23. On the other hand, the low-speed scanning unit 24 forces the non-resonant deflection element 24a having a deflection surface (reflection surface) 24b for scanning the laser beam in the vertical direction and the deflection surface 24b of the deflection element 24a in a non-resonant state. And a low-speed scanning control circuit 24c that generates a drive signal for swinging based on the low-speed drive signal 25. The low-speed scanning unit 24 forms a two-dimensionally scanned image by scanning a laser beam for forming a horizontally scanned image in the vertical direction for each frame of an image to be displayed. . A galvanometer mirror or the like can be used as the deflection elements 22a and 24b.

  The relay optical system 53 that relays the laser light between the high-speed scanning unit 22 and the low-speed scanning unit 24 converts the laser light scanned in the horizontal direction by the deflection surface 22b of the deflection element 22a into the deflection surface 24b of the deflection element 24a. To converge. Then, this laser beam is scanned in the vertical direction by the deflection surface 24b of the deflection element 24a and emitted toward the lens 51a.

  The lens 51a is a lens having a positive refractive power, and emits incident light toward the eyepiece lens 51b. The eyepiece 51b is also a lens having a positive refractive power, and is arranged in series with the lens 51a.

  The lens 51a and the eyepiece lens 51b converge the laser light scanned by the scanning unit 50, pass through the first half mirror 42 and the second half mirror 43, and pass through the pupil 110a to the eye 110 of the observer P. Incident. Thereby, the observer P can recognize the image by the laser beam scanned on the retina 110b.

  Here, the first half mirror 42 plays a role of guiding the light reflected by the pupil 110 a of the eye 110 and its periphery to the CCD camera 16 via the second half mirror 43. As a result, the CCD camera 16 can image the pupil 110a and its periphery.

  Further, in the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment, the exit pupil changing unit 17 is arranged at the intermediate image plane position 73 between the lens 51a and the eyepiece lens 51b.

  The exit pupil changing unit 17 includes an optical element disk drive circuit 18, a drive shaft 78 connected to a motor (not shown) disposed in the optical element disk drive circuit 18, and the rotational force of the drive shaft 78. And the optical element disk 26 rotated by the rotation.

  The optical element disk drive circuit 18 rotates the drive shaft 78 by a predetermined angle by receiving the optical element selection signal transmitted from the display control unit 10.

  The optical element disk 26 is fitted with pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c having diffraction gratings as optical elements for changing the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit. These pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, and 70c are further provided with a neutral density filter in addition to the diffraction grating.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the first diffractive portion 71, the second diffractive portion 72, and the neutral density filter 79 are overlapped to constitute an optical element. With this configuration, the effective diameter of the exit pupil is expanded by the diffraction units 71 and 72, and the image light Lb is dimmed by arranging a neutral density filter on the optical path of the image light Lb and projected from the projection unit 8. The intensity of the image light Lb is changed. Note that the effective diameters of the exit pupils that are magnified by the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, and 70c are different from each other. The 2 × 2 divided into four, the pupil enlarging element 70b is divided into 9 × 3 × 3 as shown in FIG. 4B, and 70c is divided into 25 × 5 × 5 as shown in FIG. 4D. Further, the light reduction amount of the neutral density filter 79 used in the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c is also made different. That is, the neutral density filter of the pupil magnifying element 70a has more light reduction than the neutral density filter of the pupil magnifying element 70b. Further, the dark filter of the pupil magnifying element 70b has a larger amount of light reduction than the dark filter of the pupil magnifying element 70c.

  Further, the optical element disk 26 is not fitted with a diffraction grating, and is formed with a translucent part 80 made of only a neutral density filter. When the image light Lb passes through the translucent part 80, the image light Lb Will not be divided. It should be noted that the light reducing filter of the translucent portion 80 has more light reduction than the light reducing filter of the pupil enlarging element 70a.

  In the exit pupil changing unit 17 having such a configuration, when the optical element disk drive circuit 18 receives the optical element selection signal transmitted from the display control unit 10, the optical element disk drive circuit 18 is driven by a predetermined angle. The shaft 78 is rotated so that the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c and the light transmitting portion 80 are positioned at the intermediate image plane position 73. That is, the exit pupil changing unit 17 includes a changing mechanism that changes the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 by switching a plurality of optical elements having different optical characteristics. In the present embodiment, the plurality of pupil enlarging elements 70 are arranged in a disk shape so as to be exchangeable. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pupil enlarging element 70 is replaced by the operation of the observer P. It may be configured to be exchangeable. In addition, the diffraction grating is used as a means for expanding the effective diameter of the exit pupil, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, an optical element having a scattering surface for scattering incident light is used. Also good.

  Further, although the neutral density filter is disposed on the optical path of the image light Lb and the intensity of the image light is changed, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image is changed according to the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil. You may comprise so that the intensity | strength of the light radiate | emitted from the light generation part 11 may be adjusted and the intensity | strength of the image light Lb projected from the projection part 8 may be changed. For example, an amplifying unit for amplifying the drive signals 21r, 21g, and 21b is provided. The amplifying unit amplifies the 80 drive signals 21r, 21g, and 21b and inputs the amplified signals to the laser drivers 31, 32, and 33, respectively. Then, the amplification factor is changed according to the pupil enlarging element 70 or the translucent unit 80 in which the amplification factor of the amplification unit is arranged. Specifically, the amplification factor of the amplification unit is increased as the effective diameter of the exit pupil increases.

  The image display unit 2 is also provided with the aforementioned acceleration sensor 19 and an adjustment pressing button 20.

[Electrical Configuration of Display Control Unit 10]
Next, the configuration of the display control unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the display control unit 10.

  The display control unit 10 includes a CPU 100, a ROM 101, a RAM 102, a clock circuit 107, an EEPROM 109, a drive signal supply circuit interface 103, a drive signal supply circuit VRAM 104, a peripheral device interface 105, and a communication interface 106. And are connected to each other via a system bus 108.

  The ROM 101 stores a program for realizing processing according to a flowchart to be described later and a specified acceleration value for calculating a count value to be described later when executed by the CPU 100. The ROM 101 also includes an adjustment time table for determining a level value in a first mode process described later, an adjustment acceleration table for determining a level value in a second mode process described later, An overlap area ratio table for determining a level value in the three-mode process and a pupil magnifying element determination table for determining a pupil magnifying element in each of the first to third mode processes are stored.

  Here, each table stored in the ROM 101 will be described. The adjustment time table is a table in which the time required for the observer P to adjust the position of the image display unit 2 in the first mode process is associated with the level value.

  In this adjustment time table, the time required for adjustment is short and the level value is set to a large value for the observer P who is accustomed to adjustment, while the time required for adjustment is long and the observer P who is not accustomed to adjustment is used. On the other hand, the level value is a small value. For example, as shown in FIG. 10A, the adjustment time is divided into four types: “less than 5 seconds”, “5 seconds to less than 10 seconds”, “10 seconds to less than 15 seconds”, and “15 seconds or more”. The level value is defined in four stages of 1-4.

  Similarly, in the adjusted acceleration table, when the observer P adjusts the position of the image display unit 2 in the second mode process, an acceleration exceeding the specified acceleration value is applied to the image display unit 2. It is a table in which the number of times (hereinafter also referred to as “count value”) is associated with a level value.

  In this adjustment acceleration table, the count value counted at the time of adjustment is small, and for the observer P who is used to adjustment, the level value is set to a large value, while the count value counted at the time of adjustment is large. The level value is set to a small value for the observer P who is not used to adjustment. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), the count value is divided into four categories: “less than 5 times”, “5 times or more and less than 10 times”, “10 times or more and less than 15 times”, and “15 times or more”. The level value is defined in four stages of 1-4.

  The overlap area ratio table associates the area ratio of the overlapped display image with the pupil position and the level value after the observer P adjusts the position of the image display unit 2 in the third mode process. It is a table.

  In this overlap area ratio table, the overlapping area is large after adjustment, and a large value is set for the observer P who is accustomed to adjustment, while the overlapping area is small after adjustment. The level value is set to a small value for the observer P who is not used to adjustment. For example, as shown in FIG. 10C, the ratio of the overlap area to the display image area is “less than 25%”, “25% or more and less than 50%”, “50% or more and less than 75%”, “75% or more”. The level value is defined in four stages of 1-4.

  The pupil magnifying element determination table is a table in which the level value determined in each of the first to third mode processes is associated with the pupil magnifying element 70 or the light transmitting unit 80 to be used.

  In this pupil enlarging element determination table, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), the pupil enlarging element 70 and the translucent portion 80 arranged in the optical element disk 26 are assigned to each level 1 to 4. For the observer P who is accustomed to adjustment with a high level value, the translucent unit 80 which can provide an image with a deep focal depth without performing pupil enlargement is selected, but is not accustomed to adjustment with a low level value. For the observer P, the definition is made in four stages in order to select the pupil enlarging element 70 having a large effective diameter of the exit pupil.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 9, the RAM 102 functions as a temporary storage area for storing various variables to be referred to when the CPU 100 executes the program stored in the ROM 101. Examples of the values stored in the RAM 102 include adjustment time, count value, overlap area and level value, and the value of the time measured by the time measuring circuit 107 described below.

  The time measuring circuit 107 is a circuit for measuring time. The timer in the time measuring circuit 107 is activated or stopped by an instruction from the CPU 100, and the value of the time in the meantime is written to a predetermined address in the RAM 102.

  The EEPROM 109 functions as a storage area for storing values and the like that should be retained even after the image display apparatus 1 is turned off. For example, the proficiency level determined by a proficiency level determination unit described later is used. Values etc. are stored.

  The drive signal supply circuit interface 103 is responsible for connection with the drive signal supply circuit 15, refers to the drive signal supply circuit VRAM 104, generates an image signal S, and supplies the image signal S to the drive signal supply circuit 15. The data of the drive signal supply circuit VRAM 104 is written by the CPU 100. That is, the CPU 100 reads content information from the content storage unit 12 via the peripheral device interface 105, writes the content information in the drive signal supply circuit VRAM 104, and expands it.

  The peripheral device interface 105 is responsible for operation control and signal transmission / reception of peripheral devices connected to the display control unit 10. The peripheral device interface 105 includes a content storage unit 12, a mode switch 14, a CCD camera 16, an optical element disk drive circuit 18, an acceleration sensor 19, an adjustment pressing button 20, and a power button 77. It is connected.

  The peripheral device interface 105 that has received the operation signal transmitted from the adjustment pressing button 20 or the power button 77 sets a flag indicating that these buttons have been operated at predetermined addresses on the RAM 102 corresponding thereto. . The peripheral device interface 105 monitors the slide position of the mode switch 14 and writes the slide position to a predetermined address on the RAM 102.

  In addition, the peripheral device interface 105 that has received the imaging signal transmitted from the CCD camera 16 converts the data into data corresponding to the imaging signal (hereinafter also referred to as “imaging data”) and writes the data to a predetermined address in the RAM 102. .

  In addition, the peripheral device interface 105 that has received the acceleration information transmitted from the acceleration sensor 19 converts it into numerical data (hereinafter also referred to as “acceleration data”) corresponding to acceleration in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the front-back direction. Then, writing is performed at a predetermined address in the RAM 102.

  Further, the peripheral device interface 105 that has received a command to rotate the optical element disk 26 from the CPU 100 causes the optical element disk drive circuit 18 to place a predetermined pupil enlarging element 70 or translucent part 80 on the intermediate image plane. An optical element selection signal to be arranged at the position 73 is transmitted.

  The flag stored in the RAM 102 and the slide position of the mode changeover switch 91 can be referred to by the CPU 100 when executing the processing shown in the flowchart described later. An operation by the observer P is detected. In particular, when the adjustment push button 20 is pressed, it is detected that the observer P is adjusting the position of the image display unit 2. Further, the imaging data and acceleration data stored in the RAM 102 can be referred to from the CPU 100.

  The communication interface 106 is responsible for transmission / reception of signals to / from devices connected to the display control unit 10, and is connected to the external input / output terminal 13.

[Processing Operation of Display Control Unit 10]
Next, processing in the display control unit 10 in the image display apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the main process of the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the adjustment familiarity determination process executed in the main process, and FIG. 13 is the adjustment familiarity determination. 14 is a flowchart showing a first mode process executed in the process, FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a second mode process executed in the adjustment familiarity determination process, and FIG. 15 is executed in the adjustment familiarity determination process. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept of the count value counted in the second mode process, and FIG. 17 is an imaging used in the third mode process. It is explanatory drawing which imaged and showed data.

  Prior to the description of the flowchart, first, the operation of the observer P will be described. In using the image display apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the observer P holds the support frame 4 and wears the head mounting tool 9 on the head in the manner of wearing glasses. Next, the observer P fits the positioning concave portion and the convex portion formed in the ball joint portion of the connecting portion 3 to set the image display unit 2 as the reference position. When the power button 77 is pressed, the following flowchart is executed.

  Next, the main process in FIG. 11 will be described in order. The CPU 100 of the display control unit 10 executes initial settings such as permitting access to the RAM 102 and initializing the work area (step S11). At this time, the CPU 100 refers to the EEPROM 109 to read the proficiency level value. The CPU 100 controls the optical element disk drive circuit 18 so that the translucent part 80 or the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c corresponding to the read proficiency level value are arranged on the optical path. If the proficiency level value is not yet defined, the CPU 100 controls the optical element disk drive circuit 18 so that the light transmitting unit 80 is disposed on the optical path of the image light Lb. When the translucent part 80 is arranged in this way, the adjustment operation becomes difficult, so the accuracy of adjustment familiarity determination can be improved. Further, the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment uses the connecting portion 3 connected by the ball joint structure as a position changing portion. However, in the case where the position changing portion has an electric structure, in this step S11. The process of setting the position of the image display unit 2 as the reference position is also executed.

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to a predetermined address in the RAM 102 and determines whether or not the adjustment pressing button 20 has been pressed (step S12). If it is determined that the adjustment push button has been pressed (step S12: Yes), the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, the CPU 100 executes an adjustment familiarity determination process. This adjustment familiarization determination process will be described later with reference to FIG. When step S13 is completed, the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that the adjustment pressing button 20 has not been pressed (step S12: No), the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  In step S <b> 14, the CPU 100 executes image display processing for emitting image light Lb from the display control unit 10 and displaying an image to the observer P.

  Next, the CPU 100 determines whether or not the image display is stopped by pressing a power button 77 or an image stop button (not shown) (step S15). If it is determined that the image display is not stopped (step S15: No), the CPU 100 returns the process to step S12. On the other hand, when it is determined that the image display is stopped (step S15: Yes), the CPU 100 ends the process.

  Next, the adjustment familiarity determination process executed in step S13 in the main flow will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the adjustment familiarity determination process, the CPU 100 refers to a predetermined address in the RAM 102 and obtains a state indicating which mode is selected by the mode switch 14 (step S20). Thereafter, the CPU 100 displays a test image (step S21). In this process, the CPU 100 acquires content information of the test image from the content storage unit 12, converts the content information into an image signal S, and outputs the image signal S to the drive signal supply circuit 15. As a result, the image light Lb corresponding to the test image is emitted from the image display device 1. The test image may be any image, but it is desirable that the test image is an image that shows that it is in the adjustment familiarity determination mode. For example, an image directly indicated by a relatively large character such as “in the adjustment familiarity determination mode” can be considered together with some image.

  Next, the CPU 100 determines whether or not the mode switch 14 is selecting the first mode (step S22). If it is determined that the first mode is being selected (step S22: Yes), the CPU 100 moves the process to step S23.

  In step S23, the CPU 100 executes a first mode process. This first mode process is a process of determining the proficiency level based on the time required for the adjustment operation of the image display unit 2, and determining the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil to be changed by the exit pupil changing unit. Will be described with reference to FIG. After completing this step S23, the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  On the other hand, when the mode changeover switch 14 determines in step S22 that the first mode is not selected (step S22: No), the CPU 100 shifts the processing to step S24. In step S24, the CPU 100 determines whether or not the mode switch 14 is selecting the second mode. If it is determined that the second mode is being selected (step S24: Yes), the CPU 100 moves the process to step S25.

  In step S25, the CPU 100 executes a second mode process. This second mode process is a process of determining the proficiency level based on the transition of displacement by the adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 or the total displacement amount, and determining the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil to be changed by the exit pupil changing unit. This will be described later with reference to FIG. After completing this step S25, the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  On the other hand, when the mode changeover switch 14 determines in step S24 that the second mode is not being selected (step S24: No), the CPU 100 moves the process to step S26. In step S26, the CPU 100 determines whether or not the mode switch 14 is selecting the third mode. If it is determined that the third mode is being selected (step S26: Yes), the CPU 100 moves the process to step S27.

  In step S27, the CPU 100 executes a third mode process. The third mode process is a process of determining the proficiency level based on the deviation of the exit pupil position from the pupil position of the observer P after the adjustment operation, and determining the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil to be changed by the exit pupil changing unit. This will be described later with reference to FIG. After completing this step S27, the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S26 that the mode change switch 14 is not selecting the third mode (step S26: No), the CPU 100 determines that the mode change switch 14 has selected the fourth mode. The process moves to step S26.

  Next, the first mode process executed in step S23 in the adjustment familiarity determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the first mode process, the CPU 100 instructs the timing circuit 107 to start timing (step S31).

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to a predetermined address in the RAM 102 and determines whether or not the adjustment pressing button 20 is in an OFF state (step S32). If it is determined that the adjustment pressing button 20 is not OFF (step S32: No), the CPU 100 executes step S32 again. On the other hand, if it is determined that the adjustment pressing button 20 is in the OFF state (step S32: Yes), the process proceeds to step S33.

  In step S <b> 33, the CPU 100 instructs the timing circuit 107 to end timing, and acquires the timing time written in the RAM 102 by the timing circuit 107. That is, the CPU 100 acquires the time required for the observer P to adjust the position of the image display unit 2.

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to the adjustment time table and acquires a level value corresponding to the time required for the observer P to adjust the position of the image display unit 2 (step S34). That is, when the CPU 100 executes step S34, the CPU 100 functions as a proficiency level determination unit that determines the proficiency level of the adjustment operation of the connecting unit 3 by the observer P.

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to the pupil enlarging element determination table and selects the pupil enlarging element 70 or the translucent unit 80 corresponding to the level value acquired in step S34 (step S35). When the CPU 100 executes step S35, the CPU 100 functions as an exit pupil determining unit that determines the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil to be changed by the exit pupil changing unit 17 according to the proficiency level determined as the maturity determining unit. .

  Next, the CPU 100 instructs the peripheral device interface 105 to drive the optical element disk 26 (step S36). Upon receiving this command, the peripheral device interface 105 transmits an optical element selection signal corresponding to the pupil enlarging element 70 or the translucent unit 80 selected in step S35 to the optical element disk drive circuit 18.

  Next, the CPU 100 writes the acquired level value at a predetermined address in the EEPROM 109 (step S37). The level value written in the EEPROM 109 is referred to in the above-described step S11, and is used to preset the translucent unit 80 or the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, and 70c when the image display device 1 is activated. When step S37 is completed, the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  Next, the second mode process executed in step S25 in the adjustment familiarity determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the second mode process, the CPU 100 starts accumulating acceleration data written on the RAM 102 by the peripheral device interface 105 (step S41). This accumulation of acceleration data is also performed on the RAM 102.

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to a predetermined address in the RAM 102 and determines whether or not the adjustment pressing button 20 is in an OFF state (step S42). If it is determined that the adjustment pressing button 20 is not in the OFF state (step S42: No), the CPU 100 executes step S42 again. On the other hand, if it is determined that the adjustment push button 20 is in the OFF state (step S42: Yes), the process proceeds to step S43.

  In step S43, the CPU 100 ends the accumulation of acceleration data on the RAM 102.

  Then, the CPU 100 calculates the transition of the image display unit 2 from the acceleration data accumulated on the RAM 102, compares with the specified acceleration value stored in advance in the ROM 101, and counts how many times the acceleration exceeds the specified acceleration value. To obtain a count value (step S44).

  Here, the concept of obtaining the count value will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the transition of the image display unit 2 calculated from the acceleration data by the CPU 100 over time. As indicated by the broken line in FIG. 16, the number of peaks exceeding the specified acceleration value indicated by the broken line during the transition process of the image display unit 2 is calculated. In the example shown in FIG. 16, five peaks are detected as indicated by black circles, and the count value in this case is five.

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to the adjustment acceleration table, and obtains a level value corresponding to the count value when the observer P adjusts the position of the image display unit 2 (step S45). That is, as in step S34 described above, the CPU 100 executes this step S45, thereby functioning as a proficiency level determination unit that determines the proficiency level of the adjustment operation of the connecting unit 3 by the observer P. In particular, the CPU 100 that executes this step S45 functions as a proficiency level determination unit that determines the proficiency level based on the transition of displacement due to the adjustment operation.

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to the pupil enlarging element determination table and selects the pupil enlarging element 70 or the translucent unit 80 corresponding to the level value acquired in step S45 (step S46). Similarly to step S35 described above, the effective diameter of the exit pupil that is changed by the exit pupil changing unit according to the proficiency level determined as the maturity level determining unit by the CPU 100 executing this step S46, or It functions as an exit pupil determining unit that determines the shape.

  Next, the CPU 100 instructs the peripheral device interface 105 to drive the optical element disk 26 (step S47). Upon receiving this command, the peripheral device interface 105 transmits an optical element selection signal corresponding to the pupil enlarging element 70 or the translucent unit 80 selected in step S46 to the optical element disk drive circuit 18.

  Next, the CPU 100 writes the acquired level value to a predetermined address of the EEPROM 109 (step S48). The level value written in the EEPROM 109 is referred to in the above-described step S11, and is used to preset the translucent unit 80 or the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, and 70c when the image display device 1 is activated. When step S48 is completed, the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  In the second mode, in step S44 and step S45, the proficiency level is determined based on the transition of displacement due to the adjustment operation, thereby functioning as a proficiency level determination unit. The distance (total displacement) by which the image display unit 2 is moved during the calculation may be calculated from the acceleration data, and the proficiency level may be determined according to the distance.

  Specifically, in step S44, the CPU 100 calculates the total displacement amount of the image display unit 2 from the acceleration data accumulated on the RAM 102 as shown in FIG. FIG. 18A shows a change in time of displacement for easy understanding of the concept of calculating the total displacement, but the total displacement actually calculated by the CPU 100 is the final value in the graph, that is, This is an amount calculated by integrating the displacements that occurred up to t0 when the adjustment push button 20 is turned off.

  Next, in step S45, the CPU 100 refers to the total displacement table shown in FIG. 18B and acquires a level value corresponding to the total displacement when the observer P adjusts the position of the image display unit 2. . If the CPU 100 executes such processing, the CPU 100 can function as a proficiency level determination unit that determines the proficiency level based on the total displacement amount of displacement caused by the adjustment operation.

  Next, the third mode process executed in step S27 in the adjustment familiarity determination process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the third mode process, the CPU 100 drives the optical element disk drive circuit 18 to place the pupil enlarging element 70b on the optical path of the image light Lb (step S51). As shown in FIG. 4B, the pupil enlarging element 70b is about the same size as the pupil 110a, and the more familiar the adjustment operation of the image display unit 2 is, the more the image light Lb enters the pupil 110a. be able to. On the other hand, in the pupil enlarging element 70c, there is a possibility that the area of the image light Lb incident on the pupil 110a does not change even if the user does not get used to the adjustment operation of the image display unit 2, and the pupil enlarging element 70a and the translucent part 80 However, since the exit pupil is small, the accuracy of the adjustment familiarization determination is deteriorated. Therefore, in the third mode, the pupil enlarging element 70b is arranged on the optical path of the image light Lb.

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to a predetermined address in the RAM 102 and determines whether or not the adjustment pressing button 20 is in an OFF state (step S52). If it is determined that the adjustment pressing button 20 is not OFF (step S52: No), the CPU 100 executes step S52 again. On the other hand, if it is determined that the adjustment push button 20 is in the OFF state (step S52: Yes), the process proceeds to step S53.

  In step S <b> 53, the CPU 100 refers to the RAM 102, captures an image with the CCD camera 16, and acquires image data written by the peripheral device interface 105.

  Then, the CPU 100 performs numerical processing on the acquired imaging data, extracts the outer edge of the pupil and the irradiation range of the image light Lb (step S54), and obtains the ratio of the overlap area (step S55). The overlap area means an area where the irradiation range of the image light Lb overlaps the pupil 110a. The ratio of the overlap area is the ratio of the overlap area to the area of the entire irradiation range of the image light Lb.

  This process will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 17 shows captured image data that has undergone extraction processing as an image for convenience of explanation. As shown in FIG. 17, the extracted image data 81 stores at least position information of the irradiation range of the pupil 110a and the image light Lb.

  Then, in step S55, the CPU 100 overlaps the area of the entire image light Lb (the area of the nine circles gathered in FIG. 17) and the area of the pupil 110a in the imaging data 81 as described above. The area of Lb (area shown by shading) is obtained, and the ratio of the overlap area to the entire area of the image light Lb is calculated.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 15, the CPU 100 next refers to the overlap area ratio table and acquires a level value corresponding to the overlap area ratio after the observer P has adjusted the position of the image display unit 2. (Step S56). Here, the larger the overlap area ratio, the smaller the deviation of the position of the exit pupil from the pupil position of the observer P, and while increasing the proficiency level of the observer P, the smaller the overlap area ratio, The proficiency level of the observer P is lowered on the assumption that the deviation of the position of the exit pupil from the pupil position of the observer P is large. That is, similarly to the above-described step S34 and step S45, the CPU 100 executes this step S56, thereby functioning as a proficiency level determination unit that determines the proficiency level of the adjustment operation of the connecting unit 3 by the observer P. .

  Next, the CPU 100 refers to the pupil magnifying element determination table and selects the pupil magnifying element 70 or the translucent unit 80 corresponding to the level value acquired in step S56 (step S57). Similarly to step S35 and step S46 described above, the exit pupil changed by the exit pupil changing unit 17 according to the proficiency level determined as the proficiency level determination unit by the CPU 100 executing this step S57. It functions as an exit pupil determining unit that determines the effective diameter or shape of the lens.

  Next, the CPU 100 instructs the peripheral device interface 105 to drive the optical element disk 26 (step S58). Upon receiving this command, the peripheral device interface 105 transmits an optical element selection signal corresponding to the pupil enlarging element 70 or the translucent unit 80 selected in step S57 to the optical element disk drive circuit 18.

  Next, the CPU 100 writes the acquired level value at a predetermined address in the EEPROM 109 (step S59). The level value written in the EEPROM 109 is referred to in the above-described step S11, and is used to preset the translucent unit 80 or the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, and 70c when the image display device 1 is activated. When step S59 is completed, the CPU 100 moves the process to step S14.

  Thus, the image display apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment operates according to the processing of the flowchart described above.

  Next, a modification of the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. The image display device 120 according to the present modification has substantially the same configuration as that of the image display device 1 described above. The configuration is different in that the disk 26 can be moved manually. In the following description, the same components as those of the image display device 1 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 19A, the image display device 120 omits the description of the waist unit 7 and shows only the head-mounted device 9 and the transmission cable 5.

  Specifically, in the image display device 1 described above, when the exit pupil determining unit determines which pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c and the light transmitting unit 80 are arranged on the optical path, the optical element disk drive circuit 18, the optical element disk 26 is automatically moved. However, in the image display device 120 according to this modification, the observer P is notified of the optical element corresponding to the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil, The predetermined pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, and 70c and the translucent part 80 are manually arranged on the optical path.

  First, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, any of the pupil enlarging elements 70 a, 70 b, 70 c and the translucent unit 80 are provided on the upper surface portion of the image display unit 2 by the exit pupil determining unit. A light emission notification unit 121 for notifying the observer P of whether the determination has been made is provided.

  The light emission notification unit 121 is electrically connected to the display control unit 10 described above. Then, as shown in the table shown in FIG. 19C, the display control unit 10 turns on the lamp of the light emission notification unit 121 corresponding to the pupil enlarging element determined by the exit pupil determination unit.

  In addition, a part of the side surface portion 122 of the optical element disk 26 in which a slip stopper is engraved is exposed on the upper surface portion of the image display unit 2. And the optical element disk 26 is comprised so that rotation is possible, when the observer P turns this side surface part 122 with a finger | toe.

  The side surface portion 122 of the optical element disk 26 is provided with a protrusion notifying portion 123 for indicating which of the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c and the light transmitting portion 80 arranged on the optical path. In the projection notification unit 123, different projection characters 124 are formed for each of the pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c and the light transmitting unit 80 arranged on the optical path, and the projection character 124 is touched with a fingertip. Thus, it can be seen which pupil enlarging elements 70a, 70b, 70c and the translucent part 80 are arranged on the optical path.

  That is, when the observer P rotates the optical element disk 26 with the fingertip, and the protrusion notifying part 122 in which the protrusion character 123 of “C” is formed is set to the top position as shown in FIG. The first pupil enlarging element determined by the pupil determining unit is arranged on the optical path.

  In the description of the flowchart described above, in steps S36, S47, and S58, the peripheral device interface 105 is instructed to rotate the optical element disk 26, but instead, it is determined. The process of lighting the lamp of the light emission notification unit 121 corresponding to the pupil enlarging element is executed. At the same time, a message such as “Move the optical disk to“ C ”” may be displayed to the observer P using the image light Lb.

  According to the image display device 120 having such a configuration, the observer P manually changes the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil after knowing which pupil enlargement element 70 should be selected. Can do.

  As described above, according to the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment and the image display device 120 according to the modification, the projection unit 8 that projects the image light Lb according to the image information onto the eye 110 of the observer P, and , An exit pupil changing unit 17 that changes the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8, and a connecting unit that displaces the relative position and posture of the exit pupil with respect to the pupil position of the observer P according to the adjustment operation of the observer P 3 (position changing unit), a proficiency level determining unit (display control unit 10) that determines the proficiency level of the adjusting operation of the connecting unit 3 by the observer P, and injection according to the proficiency level determined by the proficiency level determining unit And an exit pupil determination unit that determines the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil to be changed by the pupil change unit, so that it is possible to adjust the focus with respect to the observer P who easily adjusts the pupil position to the exit pupil while having a pupil enlargement function. Can save time and effort

  Further, since the display control unit 10 (skill level determination unit) determines the level of skill based on the time required for the adjustment operation, the skill level of the observer P can be determined with a relatively inexpensive configuration. .

  Further, since the display control unit 10 (skill level determination unit) determines the level of skill based on the displacement transition or the total displacement amount due to the adjustment operation, the skill level of the observer P is determined relatively accurately. Can do. For example, as in the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment, the proficiency level is determined based on the number of times acceleration exceeding a specified value is detected in the transition process of the displacement by the adjustment operation of the image display unit 2, As described with reference to FIG. 18, the proficiency level of the observer P can be determined relatively accurately by determining the proficiency level based on the total displacement amount of the image display unit 2.

  Further, the display control unit 10 (skill level determination unit) determines the level of skill based on the deviation of the position of the exit pupil from the pupil position of the viewer P after the adjustment operation of the position changing unit by the viewer P. Therefore, the proficiency level of the observer P can be determined relatively accurately. For example, as in the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment, the larger the overlap area ratio between the pupil 110a and the image light Lb (exit pupil), the more the deviation of the position of the exit pupil from the pupil position of the observer P is. On the contrary, the proficiency level of the observer P can be determined relatively accurately by determining the proficiency level of the observer P assuming that the smaller the overlap area ratio is, the larger the deviation is.

  Further, the exit pupil changing unit 17 arranges optical elements that change the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 in an interchangeable manner by the operation of the observer P, and the exit pupil determining unit performs the effective of the determined exit pupil. The pupil enlargement element 70 (optical element) of the exit pupil changing unit 17 corresponding to the diameter or shape may be notified to the observer P. According to such a configuration, the observer P can change the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil after knowing which pupil enlargement element 70 should be selected.

  Further, the exit pupil changing unit 17 may include a changing mechanism that changes the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit 8 by switching a plurality of pupil enlarging elements 70 (optical elements) having different optical characteristics. . According to such a configuration, the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil can be more easily changed by the observer P.

  In addition, since the pupil enlarging element 70 is a diffraction grating, it can easily generate light of a desired order.

  Further, since the pupil enlarging element 70 is an optical element having a scattering surface that scatters incident light, it can scatter light continuously over the entire exit pupil to be enlarged.

  Further, since the intensity of the image light Lb projected from the projection unit 8 is changed according to the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil, the brightness of the image visually recognized by the observer P is the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil. It can suppress that it fluctuates greatly according to. For example, when the effective diameter of the exit pupil is changed, the intensity of the image light Lb per unit area decreases, and when the image light Lb of the same area enters the pupil 110a, the larger the effective diameter of the exit pupil is observed The brightness of the image visually recognized by the person P is lowered. Therefore, the intensity of the image light Lb is increased as the effective diameter of the exit pupil is increased. Similarly, when the shape of the exit pupil is changed from a square shape to a rectangular shape, for example, the area incident on the pupil 110a is reduced, and the brightness of the image visually recognized by the observer P is reduced. Therefore, the intensity of the image light Lb is increased as the shape of the exit pupil is such that the rate at which the image light Lb is incident on the pupil 110a decreases.

  Further, since the intensity of the image light Lb projected from the projection unit 8 is changed by arranging a neutral density filter on the optical path of the image light Lb, the intensity of the image light Lb projected from the projection unit 8 is changed. Similarly to the case, the brightness of the image visually recognized by the observer P can be suppressed from greatly changing according to the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil. In addition, since it is not necessary to change the intensity | strength of the image light Lb projected from the projection part 8 according to the effective diameter or shape of an exit pupil, there exists an advantage that a control process does not need to become complicated.

  Finally, the description of each embodiment described above is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For this reason, it is a matter of course that various modifications can be made in accordance with the design and the like as long as they do not depart from the technical idea according to the present invention other than the embodiments described above.

  The image display apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a configuration in which the image display unit 2 including the projection unit 8 and the waist unit 7 including the image light generation unit 11 are provided separately, and each is connected by the transmission cable 5. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the image display unit 2 and the waist unit 7 may be configured integrally.

  Further, the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment does not necessarily include all the different skill level determination units described as the first to fourth modes, and includes any one or more skill level determination units. May be.

  Further, in the third mode of the image display device 1 according to the present embodiment, the deviation is determined based on the size of the overlap area ratio, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the center of the pupil 110a is determined from the imaging data. The position may be compared with the center of Lbx (0) y (0) described with reference to FIG. 3 to obtain a deviation, and the proficiency level may be determined. With such a configuration, Lbx (0) y (0) can be positioned in the pupil 110a well as the observer P becomes skilled regardless of the effective diameter of the exit pupil. Eventually, it is possible to guide the image so that the image can be viewed without pupil enlargement.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image display apparatus 2 Image display unit 3 Connection part 8 Projection part 10 Display control part 16 CCD camera 17 Exit pupil change part 19 Acceleration sensor 26 Optical element disk 50 Scan part 51a Lens 51b Eyepiece 70 Pupil expansion element 71 1st diffraction part 72 Second diffractive section 79 Neutralizing filter 107 Timing circuit 110 Eye 110a Pupil Lb Image light P Observer S Image signal

Claims (10)

A projection unit that projects image light according to image information onto the eyes of the observer;
An exit pupil changing unit that changes the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit;
A position changing unit for displacing the relative position and posture of the exit pupil with respect to the pupil position of the observer according to the adjustment operation of the observer;
A proficiency level determination unit for determining a proficiency level of the adjustment operation of the position changing unit by the observer;
An image display apparatus comprising: an exit pupil determining unit that determines an effective diameter or shape of an exit pupil to be changed by the exit pupil changing unit in accordance with the proficiency level determined by the proficiency level determining unit.   The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the proficiency level determination unit determines the proficiency level based on a time required for the adjustment operation.   The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the proficiency level determination unit determines the proficiency level based on a displacement transition or a total displacement amount due to the adjustment operation.   The proficiency level determination unit determines the proficiency level based on a deviation of the position of the exit pupil with respect to the pupil position of the viewer after the observer performs an adjustment operation on the position changing unit. Item 4. The image display device according to any one of Items 1 to 3. The exit pupil changing unit arranges an optical element that changes the effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil by the projection unit so as to be exchangeable by the operation of the observer,
The said exit pupil determination part notifies the optical element of the said exit pupil change part corresponding to the effective diameter or shape of the determined exit pupil to the said observer, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The image display device described in 1.   The exit pupil change unit includes a change mechanism that changes an effective diameter or a shape of an exit pupil by the projection unit by switching optical elements having a plurality of different optical characteristics. The image display device according to any one of the above.   The image display device according to claim 5, wherein the optical element is a diffraction grating.   The image display device according to claim 5, wherein the optical element is an optical element having a scattering surface that scatters incident light.   The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intensity of image light projected from the projection unit is changed according to an effective diameter or shape of the exit pupil.   The image display device according to claim 9, wherein the intensity of the image light projected from the projection unit is changed by disposing a neutral density filter on the optical path of the image light.

Images