Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Shoji Yamada

Mitsuyoshi Watanabe

Naoto Iwao

Kazunari Taki

Makoto Suzuki

Masaki Yamaguchi

Akihiro Suzuki

Hideo Ueno

Haruhisa Takayama

Nobuaki Asai

Yasufumi Mase

Shuzo Mizutani

Yumiko Watanabe

A head mounted display capable of displaying necessary and sufficient number of display information in an easily viewable manner even when a large number of identifying objects are detected is provided. A see-through-type head mounted display includes a display unit which is configured to project image light corresponding to display information onto an eye of a user thus allowing the user to visually recognize an image corresponding to the image light while allowing an external light to pass therethrough. The head mounted display selects identifying objects about which associated information associated with the identifying objects are displayed by the display unit based on a result detected within an imaging area. The head mounted display displays the selected associated information associated with the identifying objects in association with the identifying objects which are visually recognized by the user through the display unit in a see-through manner.

Head mounted display

There is provided an optical-emission-signal output apparatus for outputting an optical-emission signal specifying an optical-emission timing to an optical-emission unit for outputting light to an optical-scan unit for scanning incident light by resonance. The optical-emission-signal output apparatus comprises a frequency divider for dividing a master clock output at predetermined intervals, a delay-time setting unit for specifying one of a plurality of delay times, and a signal output unit for outputting the optical-emission signal in accordance with a result of division by the frequency divider and a delay time specified by the delay-time setting unit.

Optical-emission-signal output apparatus

An apparatus is disclosed which projects light onto a retina of a viewer, to thereby allow the viewer to perceive a display object via a virtual image. The apparatus includes: an emitter emitting light; a modulator modulating the light; a display unit outputting the modulated light to the retina of the viewer through an exit of the display unit, to thereby display in an image display region an image representative of the display object in the form of a virtual image; and a controller controlling the emitter and the modulator so that the image is displayed in the image display region. The controller detects a relative motion of the viewer with respect to a position of the viewer, and performs at least one of control of a display/non-display status of the image, and control of a display position of the image, in accordance with the detected relative motion.

Apparatus and method for virtual retinal display capable of controlling presentation of images to viewer in response to viewer's motion

The present invention provides a drive circuit for driving a capacitive electromechanical transducer device. The capacitive electromechanical transducer device is constituted of two electromechanical transducer parts consisting of a first capacitive electromechanical transducer part and a second capacitive electromechanical transducer part and is operated in response to two-phase sinusoidal signals having mutually opposite phases. The drive circuit includes an inductor which resonates with the first electromechanical transducer part and the second electromechanical transducer part, and a resonance frequency of the resonance circuit is set substantially equal to an operation frequency of the electromechanical transducer device.

Driving circuit of electromechanical transducer device and retina scanning display device having the same

A technique is disclosed of tracking a position of a pupil of a viewer's eyeball, by directing light toward the eyeball and using a portion of the light reflected from the eyeball. In the technique, the detection is performed of the intensity of a reflected light beam which is a portion of a light beam entering the eyeball which is reflected therefrom. An intensity signal indicative of the intensity of the reflected light beam is produced. The pupil position is tracked based on intensity changes of the reflected light beam represented by the intensity signal.

Device for tracking pupil of eyeball using intensity changes of reflected light from eyeball and image display using the same

A retinal image scanning device is provided with at least one light source that emits a light beam, an intensity modulating system that modulates the intensity of the light beam emitted by said at least one light source in accordance with a video signal, an optical system that directs the light beam to a pupil of an observer, a scanning system that scans the light beam in a first direction and in a second direction which is substantially perpendicular to the first direction so that a two-dimensional image frame defined by the first and second directions is formed on a retinal of the observer, and a wavefront curvature modulating system that modulates a wavefront curvature of the light beam when the light beam is scanned in at least one of the first direction and the second direction.

Retinal image display device

An optical scanning apparatus for optical scan that oscillates at least partially an oscillating body having a reflective mirror portion, to thereby modulate a direction in which the reflective mirror portion causes incident light thereon to be reflected off, is disclosed, the oscillating body comprising: a first spring portion, coupled to the reflective mirror portion, and excited to generate a torsional oscillation of the first spring portion; and a plurality of second spring portions, coupled to the first spring portion, and coupled to a fixed frame portion of the oscillating body in a bifurcation manner with a bifurcation spacing of the plurality of second spring portions being larger than a width of the first spring portion, the plurality of second spring portions being excited to generate flexural and torsional oscillations thereof.

Optical scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus

An apparatus for use in image display, of projecting a light beam onto a retina of a viewer, to thereby allow the viewer to perceive an image, is disclosed. The apparatus is constructed to include: a light emitter emitting a light beam; a scanner scanning the light beam emitted by the light emitter; an optical system receiving the light beam scanned by the scanner as an incoming light beam, and emitting the received incoming light beam as an outgoing light beam, such that, upon modulation of the light beam with respect to a traveling direction of the light beam, the outgoing light beam is directed to a pupil of the viewer; and a curvature compensator compensating a wavefront curvature of the incoming light beam.

Apparatus for displaying image by projection on retina of viewer with eliminated adverse effect of intervening optics

A wavefront curvature modulating device is provided with a beam generating system that emits a plurality of beams having different wavefront curvatures, and a beam selecting system that selects at least one of the beams generated by the beam generating system.

Image projecting device

An apparatus for introducing a light beam into a pupil of an eye of a viewer, to thereby project an image onto a retina of the eye is disclosed, in which a light beam generator generates and outputs a light beam corresponding to the image, a scanning device scans the light beam output by the light beam generator, a guiding device guides the light beam scanned by the scanning device toward the pupil, and an angle modifying device modifies a pupil incident angle at which a center line of a scanning angle of the scanning device enters the pupil.

Image display apparatus for displaying image in variable direction relative to viewer

In an optical scanning device, a housinghas a spacein the inside thereof. A floating rotational plateis housed in the space, and is caused to float and to rotate by a magnetic force. The floating rotational platehas an optical deflection layerthereon. A diffraction gratingis formed on the optical deflection layeron and around the center axis Z of the floating rotational plate. When a beam of light falls incident on the diffraction gratingin a direction normal to the surface of the optical deflection layer, the diffraction gratingdiffracts the light in a radius direction of the circular-shaped floating rotational plate. The light is transmitted through optical waveguidesandto be emitted outside from the housing. By rotating the small-sized floating rotational plateat a high speed inside the housing, it is possible to scan the light at a high speed and with a high resolution.

Optical scanning device

The rotational shaft 22 is provided with a pair of permanent magnets 31a and 31b, at its opposite ends. The bearing device 30 for the light scanning apparatus includes: a pair of electromagnets 32a and 32b; and a pair of voltage control circuits 33a and 33b. The electromagnet 32a is constructed from an iron core 321a provided with a coil 322a. Similarly, the electromagnet 32b is constructed from an iron core 321b provided with a coil 322b. When the rotational number increases to exceed a predetermined rotational number, the control signal generating circuit 53 switches the electric voltage applied through each of the coils 322a and 322b so as to switch the bearing stiffness of the bearing device. As a result, the resonant frequencies of the conical and cylindrical modes become much lower than the present actual rotational number .omega.0 of the rotational shaft. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the rotational shaft from exhibiting any of the conical and cylindrical mode resonant actions.

Light scanning device

In an image forming apparatus for forming a toner image on image recording medium, an aperture electrode is provided for modulating electrically charged toner particles to be applied on image recording medium to thereby form a toner image on the image recording medium. An oscillating device is provided on the aperture electrode for causing the aperture electrode to vibrate. The image forming apparatus is further provided with modulating device for modulating vibration properties of the vibration caused by the oscillating device. The modulating device modulates amplitude or frequency of the vibration.

Image forming apparatus for forming toner images

An image recording apparatus comprises an aperture electrode for modulating and regulating a flow of charged toner particles, and a vibrating device for vibrating the aperture electrode. The vibration generated by the vibrating device is a progressive wave transmitted in the aperture electrode. Since all of the apertures of the aperture electrode efficiently vibrate at a sufficient amplitude, adhesion of the toner particles to the aperture electrode is easily prevented.

Image recording apparatus

In the piezoelectric transducer, the elastic member vibrates, being excited by the first electromechanical transducing element. The impedance element on the second electromechanical transducing element is adjusted so that the vibration frequency and the resonance frequency of the elastic member should be almost the same. In the ultrasonic motor using the piezoelectric transducer, the vibration having the same frequency as that of the vibration of the elastic member is applied to the elastic member. This applied vibration has a direction differnt from that of the viration of the elastic member. The applied vibration and the vibration of the elastic member form approximate elliptical vibration, thereby rotating the rotor. The piezoelectric transducer of variable structure can control the resonance frequency in a wide range without electric power. The piezoelectric transducer can efficiently transduce applied electricity into approximate elliptical vibration of the elastic member, thereby generating great mechanical drive power. The electromechanical transducing element and the impedance element can compose a simple and compact vibration control unit. Since the electromechanical transcuding element and the impedance element form a closed circuit consuming no electric power, no power source circuit is required. The vibration control unit adjusts the resonance characteristic of the closed circuit, thus quantitatively controlling the frequency distribution and the amplitude of the mechanical vibration.

Growing community of inventors

Konan, Japan

Shoji Yamada