Abstract:
A microdisplay attached to either lens of spectacles includes: a display body; a vertical extending section attached to approximately the center of the display body in the horizontal direction that extend to in the vertical direction; and a horizontal extending section of which one end is connected to a nose bridge of the spectacles and the other end is connected to end pieces of the spectacles that slidably holds the vertical extending section in the horizontal direction.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   The present application claims priority from a Japanese Patent Application(s) No. 2006-073524 filed on Mar. 16, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
   BACKGROUND 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a connector and an image forming apparatus. Particularly, the present invention relates to a connector used for attaching a microdisplay to a pair of glasses, and an image forming apparatus using the microdisplay. 
   2. Related Art 
     FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a known microdisplay  10  attached to spectacles  500 .  FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing the spectacles  500  used with the microdisplay  10 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the microdisplay  10  generates an image and displays the same to the user wearing the spectacles  500 . The microdisplay  10  includes an image information generating section  30  that generates information on the image and a display body  40  that displays the image information generated by the image information generating section  30 . 
   The image information generating section  30  has a generating section body  32  and a cable  34  that connects electrically between the generating section body  32  and the display body  40 . The generating section body  32  reads out the image stored in a storage medium to generate the image information, and sends the same to the display body  40  via the cable  34 . 
   The display body  40  has a display section  42  and main body  44 . The display body  42  has, for example, a 1-inch liquid crystal panel and a lens to display the image information sent from the generating section body  32 . A fixture  52  is fixed to the outside of the main body  44 , and an edge  54  of the fixture  52  protrudes from the side of the main body  44 . The edge  54  includes a screw section  56  having a threaded hole penetrating the upper surface and the bottom surface thereof in the vertical direction. A vertical position adjusting screw  62  is screwed into the threaded hole, and one end thereof is connected to the sliding member  64  with an arm  66 . The sliding member  64  has a through-hole penetrating between the pair of the opposite surfaces. A horizontal extending section  70  is disposed through the through-hole of the sliding member  64  to slidably hold the sliding member  64 . Magnets  82  and  84  are provided on both ends of the horizontal extending section  70 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 7 , the spectacles  500  includes a nose bridge  510 , rims  521  and  523 , lenses  531  and  533 , end pieces  541  and  543 , hinges  551  and  553 , and temples  561  and  563 . Magnetic surfaces  571  and  573  are formed on both sides of the upper surface of the nose bridge  510 . Additionally, magnetic surcaces  575  and  577  are formed on the upper surface of the end pieces  541  and  543 . 
   The microdisplay  10  is attached to either the lens  531  or the lens  533  of the spectacles  500 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the microdisplay  10  is attached to the lens  531  side, the magnet  82  on one end of the horizontal extending section  70  is abutted with the magnetic surface  571  formed on the upper surface of the nose bridge  510  on the lens  531  side of the spectacles  500  and adhered to the same by magnetic force. Meanwhile, the magnet  24  on the other end of the horizontal extending section  70  is abutted with the magnetic surface  575  formed on the upper surface of the end piece  541  of the spectacles  500  and adhered to the same by magnetic force. Therefore, the horizontal extending section  70  is put over the upper portion of the lens  531  while the microdisplay  10  connected to the sliding member  64  through which the horizontal extending section  70  penetrates via the vertical position adjusting screw  62  and the fixture  52  is disposed at the outside of the lens  531 . At this time, the surface of the display section  42  on which image information is shown is faced to the lens  531 , so that the user wearing the spectacles  500  can view the image information displayed on the display section  42  through the lens  531 . 
   Meanwhile, when the microdisplay  10  is attached to the lens  533  side, the magnet  82  on one end of the horizontal extending section  70  is abutted with the magnetic surface  573  formed on the upper surface of the nose bridge  510  on the lens  533  side of the spectacles  500  and adhered to the same by magnetic force. Then, the magnet  84  on the other end of the horizontal extending section  70  is abutted with the magnetic surface  577  formed on the upper surface of the end piece  543  of the spectacles  500  and adhered to the same by magnetic force. While the display body  40  is attached to the lens  531  or the lens  533 , it can be moved to a desired position on the lens  531  or the lens  533  in the horizontal direction by moving the sliding member  64  on the horizontal extending section  70  in substantially the horizontal direction. The display body  40  also can be moved to a desired position on the lens  531  or the lens  533  in the vertical direction by adjusting the position of the screw section  56  on the vertical position adjusting screw  62 . 
   In the microdisplay  10  described above, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the display body  40  has the edge  54  of the fixture  52 , the screw section  56 , and the vertical position adjusting screw  62  on the lateral side thereof. Therefore, especially if the user puts the display body  40  on either the lens  531  or the lens  533  on the nose bridge  510  side, which is near the center of the spectacles  500 , the user will be unsighted by the edge  54  of the fixture  52 , the screw section  56 , and the vertical position adjusting screw  62  when the user looks away from the image information displayed on the display section  42 . In addition, the display body  40  attached to either the lens  531  or the lens  533  cannot be moved in the vertical direction. Therefore, if the display body  40  is moved in the vertical direction, firstly the display body  40  is removed from the spectacles  500 , and then the position of the screw section  56  on the vertical position adjusting screw  62  has to be adjusted. Moreover, if the display body  40  attached to either the lens  531  or the lens  533  is moved temporarily to the position outside of the user&#39;s view, the horizontal extending section  70  and the vertical position adjusting screw  62  as well as the display body  40  must have been removed from the spectacles  500 . 
   Generally, there has been an attachment used for fixing a magnifying glass to a pair of glasses as, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-295128. The attachment includes a clip griping a part of the glasses and a bar to which a magnifying glass is attached, which are connected to each other by a two-step link. 
   The attachment of magnifying lens disclosed in the above related art can be moved outside of the user&#39;s view by moving the link without removing the clip and the arm from the spectacles. If, however, the display body  40  is attached to the spectacles with the attachment, the arm extending from the clip to the left and right sides may cut across the user&#39;s view when the user looks away from the image information displayed on the display section  42  of the display body  40 . 
   SUMMARY 
   To solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides a microdisplay attached to either lens of spectacles. The microdisplay includes: a display body; a vertical extending section attached to approximately the center of the display body in the horizontal direction that extend to in the vertical direction; and a horizontal extending section of which one end is connected to a nose bridge of the spectacles and the other end is connected to end pieces of the spectacles that slidably holds the vertical extending section in the horizontal direction. Thereby the microdisplay fixed to the spectacles will not relatively disturb the user&#39;s view in comparison with the case that the vertical extending section arranged on the side of the display body. 
   The microdisplay may further include a joint section that rotates the display body in at least the vertical plane. Thereby the microdisplay can be moved outside of the user&#39;s view without removing the microdisplay from the spectacles. 
   In the microdisplay, the vertical extending section may include a first support member attached to the display body that supports, the display body, a second support member attached to the horizontal extending section that slidably supports the first support section in the vertical direction and a fixing section that fixes the first support member to the second support member in the vertical direction. Thereby the display body can be moved to a desired position in the vertical direction without removing the microdisplay from the spectacles. 
   Here, all necessary features of the present invention are not listed in the summary of the invention. The sub-combinations of the features may become the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a microdisplay  11  according to a first embodiment attached to a spectacles  500 . 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged view showing a portion at which a display body  40  is connected to a horizontal extending section  70  in the microdisplay  11 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the microdisplay  12  according to a second embodiment of the present invention attached to the spectacle  500 ; 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged view showing a portion area at which the display body  40  is connected to the horizontal extending section  70  in the microdisplay  12 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing the inner structure of a second support member  210 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a known microdisplay  10  attached to spectacles  500 , 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing the spectacles  500  used with the microdisplay  10 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
   Hereinafter, the present invention will now be described through preferred embodiments. The embodiments do not limit the invention according to claims and all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to means for solving the problems of the invention. 
     FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a microdisplay  11  according to a first embodiment attached to the spectacles  500 .  FIG. 2  is an enlarged view showing a portion at which the display body  40  is connected to the horizontal extending section  70  in the microdisplay  11 . The components with the same reference numerals shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  have the same configuration as the components of the microdisplay  10  shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , so that the description thereof is omitted. In the microdisplay  11 , the fixture  152  is attached to the outside of a main body  44 . An edge  154  of the fixture  152  is located on approximately the center of the upper surface of the main body  44  in the horizontal direction, and protrudes thereover. The edge  154  having a horizontal through-hole, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , is connected to one end of the vertical extending section  100  and is fixed with a screw  158  and a nut  159 . 
   The vertical extending section  100 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , is attached to the edge  154  of the fixture  152  on approximately the center of the display body  40  in the horizontal direction, and extended to the vertical direction. The vertical extending section  100  also has a ball  112  on the other end thereon, which is opposite to the end attached to the edge  154 . The ball  112  is rotatably fitted into a support  114  formed on the front edge of an arm  166  extending from a sliding member  164  to form a ball joint. These ball  112  and support  114  are examples of the embodiment of the joint of the present invention. The sliding member  164  has the same shape of the sliding member  64  of the mocrodisplay  10  described above, includes the through-hole through which the horizontal extending section  70  is penetrated and is slidably held by the horizontal extending section  70 . 
   In the microdisplay  11 , the display body  40  is connected to the horizontal extending section  70  via the vertical extending section  100  which is attached to substantially the center of the display body  40  in the horizontal direction and extended to the vertical direction. Therefore, it can not relatively disturb the user&#39;s view in comparison with the case that the vertical extending section  100  is placed on the side of the display body  40  while the microdisplay  11  is attached to the lens  531  of the spectacles as shown in  FIG. 1 , for example. Additionally, in the above described state, the display body  40  can rotate vertically and along the surface of the ball  112  in a plane vertical to the lens  531 , in a plane parallel to the lens  531  and in a level plane. Further, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a groove  116  is formed in the support  114 . Thereby the display body  40  can be moved vertically in the plane vertical to the lens  531  to a position outside of the user&#39;s view without removing the microdisplay  11  from the spectacles  500 . 
     FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the microdisplay  12  according to a second embodiment of the present invention attached to the spectacle  500 .  FIG. 4  is an enlarged view showing a portion at which the display body  40  is connected to the horizontal extending section  70  in the microdisplay  12 . The components with the same reference numerals shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  have the same configuration as the components of the microdisplay  10  shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , so that the description thereof is omitted. The following further describes another configuration of the microdisplay  12 , which is attached to the lens  531  of the spectacles  500  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
   In the microdisplay  12 , a fixture  252  is attached to the outside of a main body  44 . The edge  254  of the fixture  252  is located on approximately the center of the upper surface of the main body  44  in the horizontal direction, and protrudes thereover. Additionally, the edge  254  has a screw section  256  through which a threaded hole penetrating in the horizontal direction is formed, is connected to one end of a first support member  200  and is fixed with a screw  258  and a nut  259  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
   The first support member  200 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , is attached to the edge  254  of the fixture  252  approximately on the horizontal center of the display body  40 , and extended to the vertical direction. The second support member  210  is connected to the sliding member  264  via an arm  266 . A second support member  210  has a through-hole  212  whose openings are in the both top and bottom surfaces, which have almost the same cross sectional area as that of the first support member  200 . As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first support member  200  penetrates through the through-hole  212  and is slidably held by the second support member  210  in the vertical direction. The sliding member  264  has the same shape of the sliding member  64  of the mocrodisplay  10  and the sliding member  164  of the mocrodisplay  11  described above, includes the through-hole through which the horizontal extending section  70  is penetrated and is slidably held by the horizontal extending section  70 . 
     FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing the inner structure of the second support member  210 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the first support member  200  penetrates through the center of an outer shell  211  of the second support member  210  in the vertical direction. Then, a fixing section  220  including an abutting member  222  and a leaf spring  223  is placed in the inner side of the outer shell  211  of the second support member  210 . One end of the leaf spring  223  is abutted with the one surface of the abutting member  222  and applies bias power to the abutting member  222  in such direction that the abutting member  222  abuts with the first support member  200 . Therefore, while the side surface of the first support member  200  is abutted with the abutting member  222 , the first support member  200  is fixed to the second support member  210  so as not to move in the vertical direction. 
   Meanwhile, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a hook  224  is provided on a surface abutting with the leaf spring  223  on the abutting member  222 . The second support member  210  has a lever  227  protruding outwardly from the opening  225  on the outer shell  211 , and a rotating shaft  226  vertically put over the opening  225 . Both vertical ends of the rotating shaft  226  are fixed to the outer shell  211 . The lever  227  rotates around the rotating shaft  226 . Additionally, a hook  228  is formed opposed to the rotating shaft  228  of the lever  227 , i.e. in the inner side of the outer shell  211  of the second support member  210  of the lever  227 . 
   Here, when the lever  227  is moved to the direction indicated by the arrow “a” shown in  FIG. 5 , the hook  228  hitches the hook  224  of the abutting member  222  to move the abutting member  222  to the direction indicated by the arrow “b” shown in  FIG. 5 . Thereby the abutting member  222  removes from the side surface of the first support member  200 , so that the first support member  200  can freely move with respect to the second support member  210  in the vertical direction. Meanwhile, when the lever  227  moved in the direction indicated by the arrow “a” shown in  FIG. 5  is released, the lever  227  is immediately returned to the position shown in  FIG. 5 , and the abutting member  222  is abutted with the side surface of the first support member  200 . Therefore, the first support member  200  is fixed to the second support member  210  so as not to move in the vertical direction. 
   For example, if the user wearing the spectacles  500  with the microdisplay  12  wants to move the display body  40  in the vertical direction, the user can move the display body  40  supported by the first support member  200  to a desired position in the vertical direction by operating the above lever  227 . Therefore, the display body  40  can be moved to the desired position in the vertical direction without removing the microdisplay  12  from the spectacles  500 . In addition, the first support member  200  has a stopper  202  on one end which is opposite to the other end attached to the edge  254 . Therefore, if the user fails to operate the lever  227  and then the second support member  210  is moved up to the upper end of the first support member  200 , the second support member  210  is abutted with the stopper  202  and stopped, so that the display body  40  cannot fall out by dropping out the second support member  210  from the first support member. 
   While the present invention has been described with the embodiment, the technical scope of the invention not limited to the above described embodiment. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that various alternations and improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that various alternations and improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment.