Patent Description:
As described in Patent Document <CIT>, for example, a head mounted display that provides a user with video related to virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) is known. The head mounted display is worn on the head of the user so as to cover the eyes of the user, and provides the user with video related to virtual reality or augmented reality via a video display unit disposed in front of the eyes of the user.

Patent document <CIT> discloses a head-mounted display device with a head gear and a display unit releasably fixed to the head gear. Similar head-mounted display devices are also disclosed in patent documents <CIT>, <CIT>, and <CIT>.

By the way, in recent years, it has been desired to provide users (customers) with attractions that use head mounted displays in amusement facilities such as theme parks. However, since an unspecified large number of users use one head mounted display, the operator of the amusement facility needs to clean the head mounted display, especially a part that comes into contact with the head of the user. Moreover, depending on the user, it may take time to wear the head mounted display. As a result, the operating rate of the head mounted display decreases.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to increase the operating rate of a head mounted display to be used by an unspecified large number of users.

This is achieved by the features of the independent claim. Preferred embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

Any references to embodiments that do not fall under the scope of the claims are to be understood as examples useful for understanding the invention.

It is possible with the present disclosure to increase the operating rate of a head mounted display to be used by an unspecified large number of users.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to appropriate figures. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed description of already well-known matters or redundant description of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary redundancy in the following description and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

It is to be noted that the inventor(s) provides the accompanying drawings and the following description to allow those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and the accompanying drawings and the following description are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

A head mounted display according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating a head mounted display according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Moreover, <FIG> is a side view of the head mounted display. Moreover, <FIG> is an exploded perspective view of the head mounted display. It is to be noted that the X-Y-Z coordinate system illustrated in the figures is to facilitate understanding of the embodiment, and does not limit the embodiment. In the X-Y-Z coordinate system, the X-axis direction is the front-rear direction of the user who wears and uses the head mounted display, the Y-axis direction is a right-left direction, and the Z-axis direction is an up-down direction.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a head mounted display <NUM> generally includes: a headgear <NUM> having an attachment <NUM> that comes into close contact with the face of the user and a fixture <NUM> to be used for fixing the attachment <NUM> to the head of the user; and a display unit <NUM> that is detachable from the attachment <NUM> of the headgear <NUM>.

The attachment <NUM> of the headgear <NUM> functions as a bracket to be used for attaching the display unit <NUM> to the head of the user.

<FIG> is a perspective view of the display unit and the attachment. Moreover, <FIG> is a side view of the display unit and the attachment. In addition, <FIG> is a top view of the display unit and the attachment.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the attachment <NUM> of the headgear <NUM> is a device that comes into close contact with the face of the user, particularly the periphery of the eyes, in a manner such that the user can see at least the front. In the case of the present embodiment, the attachment <NUM> is in the shape of goggles in which a through hole 12a is formed in front of each of the eyes of the user. Moreover, the attachment <NUM> is prepared from a cleanable material for a reason described later. Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, the attachment <NUM> includes a nose pad 12b to be placed on the nose of the user in order to achieve positioning with respect to the face of the user. The nose pad 12b positions the attachment <NUM> with respect to the face of the user in the right-left direction (Y-axis direction) and the up-down direction (Z-axis direction).

Moreover, in the case of the present embodiment, the attachment <NUM> includes, on the front side, a convex portion 12c that curves convexly toward the front of the user as viewed in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) of the user as illustrated in <FIG>. In the case of the present embodiment, the convex portion 12c of the attachment <NUM> has an arc shape. The reason of providing such a convex portion will be described later.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the fixture <NUM> of the headgear <NUM> is a device that is attached to the attachment <NUM> and is used for fixing the attachment <NUM> to the head of the user while maintaining the close contact with the face of the user. In the case of the present embodiment, the fixture <NUM> is composed of a first stretchable belt 14a that extends from one end toward the other end in the right-left direction (Y-axis direction) of the attachment <NUM>, and a second stretchable belt 14b that extends from an upper end of the attachment <NUM> toward a central part of the first belt 14a. The fixture <NUM> is also prepared from a cleanable material as with the attachment <NUM> for a reason described later. With such a fixture <NUM>, the attachment <NUM> is fixed to the head of the user in close contact with the face of the user.

In a case where the head mounted display <NUM> is used for an attraction in which the head of the user repeatedly moves up and down, for example, in a case where the head mounted display <NUM> is worn by a user who gets on a moving casing such as a roller coaster, it is to be noted that the headgear <NUM> of the head mounted display <NUM> preferably includes a head pad unit <NUM> as in the present embodiment.

The head pad unit <NUM> includes a front pad 20a that abuts on the forehead of the user and a rear pad 20b that abuts on the occipital region of the user, and the rear pad 20b is configured to be able to get close to and away from the front pad 20a. Moreover, the front pad 20a is attached to the attachment <NUM> so as to be rotatable. Specifically, as illustrated in <FIG>, the head pad unit <NUM> is attached so as to be rotatable with respect to a support shaft 12d that is provided at the attachment <NUM> and extends in the right-left direction (Y-axis direction). Since the front pad 20a and the rear pad 20b sandwich the head of the user in the front-rear direction, the attachment <NUM> with the display unit <NUM> attached is suppressed from being displaced during the attraction. The head pad unit <NUM> is also prepared from a cleanable material as with the attachment <NUM> and the fixture <NUM>.

The display unit <NUM> is substantially a main body of the head mounted display <NUM>, and includes a casing 18a that is detachable from the attachment <NUM> of the headgear <NUM>. Moreover, as illustrated in <FIG>, the display unit <NUM> has, in the casing 18a, a video display unit 18b such as a liquid crystal display that displays video. Moreover, the display unit <NUM> includes a lens (not shown) to be disposed between the video display unit 18b and the attachment <NUM>. When the display unit <NUM> is attached to the attachment <NUM>, the lens and the video display unit 18b are disposed in front of the eyes of the user wearing the attachment <NUM>. This provides the user with video displayed on the video display unit 18b via the lens.

Moreover, in the case of the present embodiment, the casing 18a of the display unit <NUM> has a concave portion 18c that engages with the convex portion 12c of the attachment <NUM> on the rear side, that is, on the side of the attachment 12c as viewed in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) of the user as illustrated in <FIG>.

Since the rear end of the display unit <NUM> includes the concave portion 18c that engages with the convex portion 12c at the front end of the attachment <NUM>, the attachment/detachment direction of the display unit <NUM> to/from the attachment <NUM>, that is, the engagement direction is limited to the front-rear direction of the user. That is, the display cannot be attached to or detached from the attachment <NUM> in the right-left direction of the user. The reason of limiting the attachment/detachment direction of the display unit <NUM> to/from the attachment <NUM> to the front-rear direction of the user as described above and the effect thereof will be described later.

Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, the display unit <NUM> includes a pair of side guide portions 18d that guide the display unit <NUM> itself in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) of the user when the display unit <NUM> is attached to and detached from the attachment <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Specifically, the pair of side guide portions 18d are disposed at both ends of the concave portion 18c of the display unit <NUM>. By facing each of the end portions 12e of the attachment <NUM> in the right-left direction (Y-axis direction), the pair of side guide portions 18d guide the display unit <NUM> in the front-rear direction while positioning the display unit <NUM> with respect to the attachment <NUM> in the right-left direction. While the display unit <NUM> is attached to the attachment <NUM>, the attachment <NUM> exists between the pair of side guide portions 18d. Such a pair of side guide portions 18d also limit the attachment/detachment direction of the display unit <NUM> to/from the attachment <NUM> to the front-rear direction of the user.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the head mounted display <NUM> has a lock mechanism <NUM> that fixes the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM> in a manner such that the fixing can be released. In the case of the present embodiment, the lock mechanism <NUM> is provided at a central part of the display unit <NUM> in the right-left direction (Y-axis direction).

Moreover, in the case of the present embodiment, the lock mechanism <NUM> includes a pair of clamp arms 22a and 22b that sandwich the attachment <NUM> in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) of the user. Specifically, one clamp arm 22a is provided at an upper portion of the display unit <NUM>, and the other clamp arm 22b is provided at a lower portion of the display unit <NUM>. Moreover, each of the clamp arms 22a and 22b includes a slip stopper pad 22c that has a tip configured to come into contact with the display unit <NUM> and is prepared from an elastic material such as rubber, for example.

The clamp arms 22a and 22b of the lock mechanism <NUM> are each biased by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown) so that the attachment <NUM> is sandwiched in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction), that is, the tips (i.e., slip stopper pads 22c) of the clamp arms get close to each other. Moreover, the display unit <NUM> is provided with unlock buttons 22d and 22e to be used for turning the clamp arms 22a and 22b so that the tips of the clamp arms 22a and 22b are separated from each other (two-dot chain line) against the biasing. Pressing the unlock button 22d turns one clamp arm 22a to tilt forward, and pressing the unlock button 22e turns the other clamp arm 22b to tilt forward, so that the tips of the clamp arms move away from each other.

The attachment <NUM> is provided with an upper contact surface 12f and a lower contact surface <NUM> that come into surface contact with the tips (i.e., slip stopper pads 22c) of the clamp arms 22a and 22b. The upper contact surface 12f and the lower contact surface <NUM> are provided on opposite sides from each other in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction). Moreover, the upper contact surface 12f and the lower contact surface <NUM> are not parallel to each other, and one is tilted with respect to the other so that a plane including the upper contact surface 12f and a plane including the lower contact surface <NUM> intersect with each other in front of the attachment <NUM>.

Now, a method of fixing the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM> using such a lock mechanism <NUM> will be described. First, the display unit <NUM> is moved toward the attachment <NUM> in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) of the user. This pushes the attachment <NUM> into between the tips of the pair of clamp arms 22a and 22b of the lock mechanism <NUM>. When the display unit <NUM> is further brought closer to the attachment <NUM>, the display unit <NUM> comes into contact with the attachment <NUM>, and moreover, the attachment <NUM> is sandwiched by the pair of clamp arms 22a and 22b in the front-rear direction (Z-axis direction). As a result, the display unit <NUM> is fixed to the attachment <NUM>.

When the unlock buttons 22d and 22e are pressed in a state in which the display unit <NUM> is fixed to the attachment <NUM>, the pair of clamp arms 22a and 22b can release the attachment <NUM>, so that the display unit <NUM> can be detached from the attachment <NUM>.

Since the clamp arms 22a and 22b of the lock mechanism <NUM> sandwich the attachment <NUM> in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) of the user as described above, the display unit <NUM> can be firmly fixed to the attachment <NUM> fixed to the head of the user that repeatedly moves up and down during the attraction. That is, the display unit <NUM> is suppressed from moving up and down with respect to the attachment <NUM>.

Moreover, since the upper contact surface 12f and the lower contact surface <NUM> of the attachment <NUM> are inclined with respect to each other as illustrated in <FIG>, the display unit <NUM> fixed to the attachment <NUM> via the lock mechanism <NUM> is suppressed from falling to the front of the attachment <NUM>.

Furthermore, according to the invention, the head mounted display <NUM> has a notification unit <NUM> that gives notification of completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM> by the lock mechanism <NUM>.

Specifically, according to the invention, the head mounted display <NUM> has a light emitting unit <NUM> such as an LED provided on an upper surface of the display unit <NUM> as the notification unit <NUM>.

The light emitting unit <NUM> emits, for example, green light when the fixing of the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM> by the lock mechanism <NUM> is completed. This notifies a third party other than the user wearing the head mounted display <NUM>, for example, an operator of the attraction that uses the head mounted display <NUM>, of the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM>. As a result, the operator can start the attraction for the user wearing the head mounted display <NUM>.

It is to be noted that the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM> may be detected, for example, by pressing a detection switch of the display unit <NUM> with a protrusion projecting forward from the attachment <NUM>. Moreover, for example, an integrated circuit (IC) and a plurality of contact electrodes connected to the IC are provided in the attachment <NUM>, and a plurality of terminals that come into contact with the plurality of contact electrodes are provided in the display unit <NUM>. The display unit <NUM> may transmit a signal via a terminal and receive a signal corresponding to the signal from the IC so as to detect the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM>. This completion of fixing is variously changed according to the usage pattern of the head mounted display <NUM>.

Moreover, the light emission of the light emitting unit <NUM> is invisible to the user because the light emission is to notify a third party other than the user wearing the head mounted display <NUM> of the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM>. The user may be notified of the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> via the video display unit 18b of the display unit <NUM>.

It is possible with the present embodiment described above to increase the operating rate of a head mounted display to be used by an unspecified large number of users.

A concrete description on this will now be given.

First, as described above and as illustrated in <FIG>, the display unit <NUM> that is substantially a main body of the head mounted display <NUM>, and the headgear <NUM> (attachment <NUM>, fixture <NUM>, and head pad unit <NUM>) that is a part of the head mounted display <NUM> to come into contact with the user are separable from each other.

Accordingly, if a plurality of headgears <NUM> are prepared for one display unit <NUM>, the display unit <NUM>, that is, the head mounted display <NUM> can be continuously used by using some headgears <NUM> while other headgears <NUM> are cleaned.

Moreover, it is possible to allow many users waiting for an attraction that uses the head mounted display <NUM> to wear a headgear <NUM> previously. Then, the display unit <NUM> can be attached to the attachment <NUM> of the headgear <NUM> worn by a user who is going to experience the attraction. For example, a user wearing a headgear <NUM> gets on an attraction vehicle, and the display unit <NUM> connected to the vehicle via a signal line can be attached to the attachment <NUM> of the user who has got on the vehicle.

In this case, the time required for the user to wear the head mounted display <NUM> is shortened.

In contrast to the present embodiment, in the case of a head mounted display in which a display unit is undetachable, it is difficult for the user to check whether the head mounted display is normally worn or not, since the head mounted display covers the eyes of the user. Therefore, in some cases, the operator needs to make the check. Moreover, it may be necessary for the operator to assist some users in wearing the head mounted display. On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, the user can normally and easily wear the headgear <NUM> while checking with the eyes of the user and, in some cases, by using a mirror.

Furthermore, as described above and as illustrated in <FIG>, the attachment <NUM> and the display unit <NUM> are configured to engage with each other in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) of the user. This allows the user wearing the headgear <NUM> to easily attach the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM> by disposing the display unit <NUM> in front and bringing the display unit <NUM> closer to the face of the user. In contrast, in a case where the display unit <NUM> engages with the attachment <NUM> in the right-left direction (Y-axis direction) or the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) of the user, the user needs to move the display unit <NUM> outside the field of view toward the attachment <NUM>.

For the above reason, it is possible with the present embodiment to increase the operating rate of a head mounted display to be used by an unspecified large number of users.

Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, since the attachment <NUM> of the headgear <NUM> is in the shape of goggles, the user can intuitively position the attachment <NUM> with respect to the face of the user in a short time without worrying about how to wear the attachment. As a result, the wearing time of the head mounted display <NUM> is shortened, which increases the operating rate.

In addition, in the case of the present embodiment, the light emitting unit <NUM> gives notification of the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM>. Accordingly, the operator can check the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> to each of the plurality of users in a short time. This allows the operator to start the attraction immediately, which increases the operating rate of a head mounted display.

Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the above-described embodiments, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

For example, in the case of the above-described embodiment, fixing of the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM> is achieved by the pair of clamp arms 22a and 22b of the lock mechanism <NUM> sandwiching the attachment <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. However, fixing the display unit to the attachment is not limited to this. As the lock mechanism, for example, the attachment may include a metal portion, and an electromagnet magnetically connected to the metal portion may be provided in the display unit. In this case, the display unit can be fixed to the attachment when the operator of the attraction turns on electricity of the electromagnet or when electricity of the electromagnet is automatically turned on immediately before the start of the attraction.

Moreover, in the case of the above-described embodiment, the lock mechanism <NUM> is provided in the display unit <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Alternatively, a lock mechanism may be provided in the attachment of the headgear.

Furthermore, in the case of the above-described embodiment, the light emission of the light emitting unit <NUM> gives notification of the completion of fixing the display unit <NUM> to the attachment <NUM>. However, notification of the completion of fixing is not limited to this. For example, the display unit <NUM> may transmit a fixing completion signal to a manual operating device of the attraction to be used by the operator to execute the start of the attraction.

Finally, engagement between the attachment <NUM> and the display unit <NUM> in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) of the user means engagement necessary for relatively moving the display unit <NUM> in the front-rear direction toward the attachment <NUM> so that the head mounted display <NUM> is brought into a final usable form. Accordingly, a case where the attachment <NUM> and the display unit <NUM> do not come into contact with each other in the front-rear direction is also included. For example, a case where an engagement pin that is provided in one of the attachment or the display and extends in the front-rear direction of the user, and an engagement hole that is provided in the other and penetrates in the front-rear direction engage with each other is also included.

That is, in a broad sense, a head mounted display according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a headgear having an attachment that comes into close contact with the face of the user in a manner such that the user can see at least the front and a fixture that is attached to the attachment and is used for fixing the attachment to the head of the user while maintaining the close contact with the face of the user; a display unit that has a video display unit configured to display video and is detachable from the attachment; and a lock mechanism that is provided in at least one of the attachment or the display unit, and fixes the display unit to the attachment in a manner such that the fixing can be released, in which the attachment and the display unit are configured to engage with each other in the front-rear direction of the user.

As described above, a plurality of embodiments have been described as illustrations of the technique in the present disclosure. The accompanying drawings and the detailed description are provided for that purpose.

Accordingly, components described in the accompanying drawings and the detailed description may include not only components essential for solving the problems, but also components not essential for solving the problems in order to illustrate the above technique. Therefore, it should not be immediately recognized that these non-essential components are essential even though those non-essential components are described in the accompanying drawings or the detailed description.

Claim 1:
A head mounted display (<NUM>) comprising:
a headgear (<NUM>) having an attachment (<NUM>) that comes into close contact with a face of a user in a manner such that the user can see at least a front and a fixture (<NUM>) that is attached to the attachment (<NUM>) and is used for fixing the attachment (<NUM>) to a head of the user while maintaining close contact with the face of the user;
a display unit (<NUM>) that has a video display unit (18b) configured to display video, wherein the display unit (<NUM>) is detachable from the attachment (<NUM>); and
a lock mechanism (<NUM>) that is provided in at least one of the attachment (<NUM>) or the display unit (<NUM>), and fixes the display unit (<NUM>) to the attachment (<NUM>) in a manner such that fixing can be released,
wherein the attachment (<NUM>) and the display unit (<NUM>) are configured to engage with each other in a front-rear direction of the user,
characterized by
a detection switch for detecting completion of fixing the display unit (<NUM>) to the attachment (<NUM>) by the lock mechanism (<NUM>); and
a light emitting unit (<NUM>) for notifying the detected completion of fixing the display unit (<NUM>) to the attachment (<NUM>), wherein light emission of the light emitting unit (<NUM>) is visible to a third party but not to the user wearing the head-mounted display.