Binocular viewing system
A binocular viewing system provides images from electronic display elements to the left and right eyes of a user transmitted via right eye and left eye display assemblies connected by a nose bridging element. The binocular viewing system includes an interpupillary distance adjustment mechanism to accommodate multiple users. Accommodation for vision correction and a focus mechanism may also be provided. Component parts can be formed integrally. A source of image date is communication with the electronic display elements includes a television, a digital video disc player, an MPEG4 player, a camcorder, a digital camera, a video tape player, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, or a cellular telephone.
Latest Patents:
- METHODS AND THREAPEUTIC COMBINATIONS FOR TREATING IDIOPATHIC INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION AND CLUSTER HEADACHES
- OXIDATION RESISTANT POLYMERS FOR USE AS ANION EXCHANGE MEMBRANES AND IONOMERS
- ANALOG PROGRAMMABLE RESISTIVE MEMORY
- Echinacea Plant Named 'BullEchipur 115'
- RESISTIVE MEMORY CELL WITH SWITCHING LAYER COMPRISING ONE OR MORE DOPANTS
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/465,441, filed on Apr. 25, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/656,905, filed Sep. 5, 2003, entitled Binocular Viewing System, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTN/A
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to the field of binocular viewing systems.
Information storage and processing, electronic recording of sound and images, electronic communications, and electronic entertainment systems have become widespread, and portable applications of these technologies are growing rapidly. Monocular optical viewing systems integrated into or attachable to eyeglasses have been described. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,822. It is also known to form two monocular viewers into binocular viewers. For example, a binocular eyewear display is illustrated in
Generally, optical components of binocular viewing systems have been attached to a frame structure that extends across the face and in front of the user's eyes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,716 is an example of a stereoscopic wearable display appliance which utilizes a transparent frame that extends across the face and in front of the eyes, but the frame performs no optical functions in transmitting light from the image displays to the eyes. Instead, optical components in an optical train from the image displays are provided separately from the frame, the frame being present to mount and support the optical components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to binocular viewing systems that increase user comfort and usability, particularly for applications such as DVD and other video viewing during which the user will wear the unit for extended periods of time. These objects are addressed by providing a binocular viewing system in which the optical components are self-supporting and do not need to be attached to a frame in front of the face. Temple pieces at the sides support the binocular viewing system on a user's ears. The binocular viewing system also accounts for differences in the interpupillary distance between various users. Adjustment of the location of a virtual image at a comfortable distance less than optical infinity can also be provided. The binocular viewing system can also provide a focus adjustment and vision correction for a user with imperfect vision.
In one embodiment, the binocular viewing system of the present invention provides left eye and right eye displays that are connected through a nose bridge. Each display is adjustable, for example, by providing an optical pipe element that is slidable with respect to the nose bridge, which allows adjustment for a variety of interpupillary distances. The binocular viewing system can be manufactured at a reduced cost and reduced weight.
In another embodiment, the binocular viewing system of the present invention can accommodate users having a range of interpupillary distances by fixing the location of the virtual image seen by the user at a distance less than infinity. In one embodiment, the optical axis of each eye's display assembly is arranged to move the virtual image toward the center. In another embodiment, a pivot point is provided in the nose bridging element.
In other aspects of the invention, the binocular viewing system incorporates face curvature to more comfortably fit a user's head, and places the electronic display elements close to the user's eye, either in the line of sight, or within the nose bridging element.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The binocular viewing system is adjustable to fit a wide range of people. More particularly, the viewing system has an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the interpupillary distance (IPD). The IPD is the distance between the user's pupils, which must approximately align with the distance between the pupils of the eyepiece assemblies of the viewing system.
Binocular systems require that the optical subsystems delivering images to the left and right eyes be aligned to a tight tolerance. Vertical displacement must be less than 30 microns in the object plane, and angular separation of the central rays for the left and right eyes should be less than 5 min. of arc in the vertical axis. The IPD adjustment mechanism of the present system is able to maintain this alignment.
The IPD adjustment mechanism of the present invention includes a nose bridging element that remains centered over the user's nose. The right and left display assemblies are movably mounted to the nose bridging element. The right and left display assemblies and the nose-bridging element are self-supporting across the user's face and do not need to be attached to a frame in front of the face for this purpose. Temple pieces are provided at the opposite ends of the right and left display assemblies to support the binocular viewing system on the user's ears. A frame may be provided in addition to mount corrective lenses, described further below.
Referring more particularly to
In an alternative embodiment, the joint may be spring loaded or otherwise biased to force the chamfered edges together along one side to take manufacturing tolerances into account. In the embodiment illustrated in
Note that these rail embodiments may also be provided with a curved channel, with the optical pipe provided with a matching curve, so that as the IPD is adjusted by motion along the rail, the optical convergence angle (y in
Nose pieces 210 are attached to the rail 100. (See
Pipe 10 and rail 110 may be formed as separate pieces that are joined by gluing or welding, or may be formed integrally; for example, if the optical pipe is injection molded, the rails can be formed as part of the material in the molding process. Alternatively, the necessary chamfer can be machined into the pipe. Any suitable material can be used, such as a plastic suitable for optical use, as would be known in the art.
Note also that the sliding axis may not necessarily be aligned to the optical axis. The optical axis may have a tilt so that the eyes perceive a stereo image at a fixed distance. However, the translation of the optical pipes 10, and more specifically the pupils of the optical system, should be perpendicular to the user's line of sight when gazing at a distant object, and should be in the horizontal plane. The alignment rails may be placed either on the top or bottom surface of the optical elements, or on both surfaces.
The present system is an improvement over prior art optical systems in which the pupils are sufficiently large that no adjustment is needed, but that are, however, necessarily large and heavy. The present system provides a more comfortable design by combining an optical system of a smaller, more appropriate, size with IPD adjustment.
The system shown in the foregoing figures may optionally be mounted into a housing 200, as shown in
Referring to FIGS. 6A-C, 7, and 8, a binocular viewing system is provided that allows additional correction for a user's imperfect vision. The viewing system is mounted to an eyewear frame that is designed so that lenses may be installed to correct the user's vision. The frame can be designed so that it has an appealing look whether or not the corrective lenses are installed.
The frame 300 may be attached to the optical system 325 at the nose bridging element so that adjustment of the IPD is possible without any restriction of motion that would be imposed by the frame 300. Alternatively, the frame may be provided with a slideable bridge or other adjustments so that the frame 300 can be supported by optical system 325 at the temples without restricting the IPD adjustment of the optical system. The frame 300 and associated corrective eyeglass lenses may also be used with any of the other embodiments that will be described.
Additionally, the left and right lens retainers 320 may be formed as a single lens retainer that holds both lenses, and in which the lenses can be semi-permanently fixed within eye-ring retainers. Such a lens retaining system can mount to the frame 300 in any number of ways, including use of screws as previously described, clamps, magnets or other attachment mechanisms. This feature allows the frame 300 to be used by a number of users, each of whom can install his own spectacle lenses when using the system.
A further embodiment for correcting for a user's imperfect vision utilizes a focus adjustment mechanism, illustrated in
A thumbwheel 440 is connected to the carrier 410 by a leadscrew 450. Rotation of the thumbwheel moves the display carrier. Note that a full focus range, with a virtual image distance adjustable between approximately 25 cm and infinity, is obtained with only a few millimeters of motion of the display carrier.
It is desirable to obtain the lowest possible cost in the manufacture of the binocular viewer system. Low cost can be obtained if the component parts are formed by injection molding and by building into the parts the features needed for alignment, focus adjustment and ease of assembly. The optical pipe may be formed as one part that includes the needed dovetail or rail system for IPD adjustment, as well as an integral eye lens and/or field lens. For viewers that do not utilize IPD adjustment, the left and right optical pipes may be formed in one injection molding operation as one unitary part.
An optical pipe with integral rails 550 and an integral eye lens 560 is shown in
In some designs it may be advantageous to have only one cable to the head. This requires the left and right displays to be connected by wires that are positioned against one side of the optical pipe, preferably the top or bottom side. The wires may comprise a flexible circuit. A shallow cavity 570 can be formed in the injection molding process that will provide space for the flexible circuit or other wiring, as shown in
The flexible circuit or wiring 580 can extend into a cavity 581 in the nose bridge 582. See
As an alternative, service loops 585 may be placed in the right and left temple housing 595 that holds the display assemblies 420, as shown in
The use of cavities in the nose bridge and elsewhere make possible the reduction of weight of the system. Cavities may also be employed in the optical pipes, provided that the focal length of the lenses are suitably modified.
The electronics may be integrated in the temples 220 shown in
A further binocular system that can be viewed by people with a range of interpupillary distances is illustrated in
If the separation distance 691 of the lenses 660 were to correspond to the interpupillary distance (IPD) of the user, the direction of gaze would be straight toward an image that the eyes perceive to be at infinity. In this case, the angles α and β associated with the mirrors are each 45°. The present invention, however, provides an improvement to this system by adjusting the location of the virtual image so that the image is not perceived to be at infinity. This is important in any system in which the user is to be provided with a virtual image at a comfortable viewing distance of between 25 cm and 5 m. In this range, the user perceives distance in several ways, including (among other ways) the judgment of distance by the convergence of the user's gaze (as determined by eye rotation), and by judgment of the focal plane (determined by the position of the muscles that focus the eye). To produce a pleasing image perceived at a certain depth, the eyes should rotate to the approximate angles that would be used to view a real object at that distance. Providing for the convergence of gaze is also important in displays intended for 3-D stereo images.
If the directions of gaze for the user's two eyes are parallel, the virtual image is perceived at infinity. For the case in which the directions of gaze of the two eyes are convergent, as in
The distance 109 may be adjustable to accommodate a range of user IPDs, being made greater for larger IPD, and less for smaller IPD. Thus, adjustable fixtures in the frame for holding the viewer on the head may be used to change the distance 109, allowing the viewing device to be used comfortably by people with different IPD. For example, if the virtual image distance 105 is set to 1 m, and the lens spacing 106 is set to 60 mm, then adjustment of the distance 109 over a range of 25 mm will provide for a range of IPD from 60 mm to 61.5 mm.
A further embodiment combining the inventions shown in
The type of optical tilting shown in
According to another aspect of the present invention, curvature of the optical system to follow the face (so-called “face curve”) can be added by appropriately modifying the optical system.
Note that the optical pipe need not be solid; it can also be hollow to reduce weight. If the pipe is made hollow, the optical path length is changed. Alternative lenses using different focal length can be employed, or alternative designs can be employed.
The optical design of each lens system 820 is shown in
The collimating lens 867 may also be employed at the entrance to the pipe as shown in
The display 830 and backlight 840 can both be moved close to the lens subassembly 820 as shown in
In all of the embodiments described, use of an optical material is shown in the optical pipe element and elsewhere. The inventions may also be attained with air or other gas inside the pipe, provided that the user is able to see through the flat sides of the pipe. In some cases the lowest weight and cost will be attained by removing the optical material. For example, the display system in
In the embodiment of
The optical system employed in
In an alternative embodiment, the interface circuits may be entirely placed in the image source 994 or in the temples (285 in
The cables 991, 993 may also be eliminated by replacing them with RF or IR methods of transmitting the signal to the binocular viewer 990, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,546.
It will be appreciated that some aspects of the present invention can be employed in a monocular system, in which a display assembly is provided for only one eye. The invention is not to be limited by what has been particularly shown and described, except as indicated by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A binocular viewing system comprising:
- a right eye display assembly and a left eye display assembly connected by a nose bridging element, each display assembly comprising: an electronic display element operative to provide an image, and an eyepiece assembly comprising an eyelens and at least one at least partially reflective surface arranged to relay light from the electronic display element toward an eye of a user;
- a frame wearable on a user's head, the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly mounted to the frame; and
- a right eyeglass lens and a left eyeglass lens detachably mountable to the frame.
2. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, wherein the frame includes a detachable lens retainer configured to retain the right eyeglass lens and the left eyeglass lens in the frame.
3. The binocular viewing system of claim 2, wherein the detachable lens retainer comprises a right retainer for the right eyeglass lens and a left retainer for the left eyeglass lens.
4. The binocular viewing system of claim 2, wherein the detachable lens retainer is removably attached to the frame at hinges at temples of the frame.
5. The binocular viewing system of claim 2, wherein the detachable lens retainer is removably attached to the frame at nose pieces of the frame.
6. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, wherein the frame includes a right detachable lens retainer configured to retain the right eyeglass lens in the frame and a left detachable lens retainer configured to retain the left eyeglass lens in the frame.
7. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the right eyeglass lens and the left eyeglass lens provide optical correction for a user.
8. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, further comprising an interpupillary adjustment mechanism configured to movably mount the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly to the nose bridging element to adjust a spacing between the eyepiece assembly of the right eye display assembly and the eyepiece assembly of the left eye display assembly, whereby an interpupillary distance between the user's eyes can be accommodated.
9. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, wherein the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly each further comprise an optical pipe element.
10. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, wherein the nose bridging element comprises an optical pipe.
11. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, wherein the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly each further include a focusing adjustment mechanism.
12. The binocular viewing system of claim 1, wherein the electronic display elements are in communication with a source of image data.
13. The binocular viewing system of claim 12, wherein the source of image date comprises a television, a digital video disc player, an MPEG4 player, a camcorder, a digital camera, a video tape player, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, or a cellular telephone.
14. A binocular viewing system comprising:
- a nose bridging element arrangeable over a user's nose; and
- a right eye display assembly and a left eye display assembly mounted to the nose bridging elements, each comprising: an electronic display element operative to provide an image, and an optical pipe element comprising an integral solid transparent pipe and eyepiece assembly, the integral solid transparent pipe and eyepiece assembly arranged to relay light internally from the electronic display element to the user's eye.
15. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly comprise a single injection molding.
16. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly each is comprised of an optical plastic material.
17. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly each is comprised of polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate resin, epoxy resin, urethane, cyclo-olefin, or glass.
18. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, further comprising an interpupillary adjustment mechanism configured to movably mount the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly to the nose bridging element to adjust a spacing between the eyepiece assembly of the right eye display assembly and the eyepiece assembly of the left eye display assembly, whereby an interpupillary distance between the user's eyes can be accommodated.
19. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the nose bridging element comprises a rail element, and the interpupillary adjustment mechanism comprises a sliding member integral with each optical pipe element and configured to slide along the rail element.
20. The binocular viewing system of claim 19, wherein the rail element includes an elongated recess therein, and the sliding members are retained within the recess for sliding movement along the recess.
21. The binocular viewing system of claim 20, wherein the sliding members include an elongated dovetail projection on a surface of the optical pipe element and the elongated recess has a mating configuration to receive the dovetail projection.
22. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the interpupillary adjustment mechanism is integral with the optical pipe elements.
23. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the optical pipe elements include a cavity for retention of circuitry or wiring connecting the electronic display elements.
24. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the nose bridging element includes a cavity for retention of circuitry or wiring connecting the electronic display elements.
25. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the transparent pipe of the optical pipe element further includes two optical surfaces arranged to permit passage of ambient light through the two optical surfaces toward the user's eye.
26. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the eyepiece assembly of each optical pipe element comprises a turning mirror and an eyelens arranged to direct light toward the eye.
27. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein each eyepiece assembly includes an eyelens selected to minimize off-axis aberrations.
28. The binocular viewing system of claim 27, wherein the eyelens includes an aspherical lens.
29. The binocular viewing system of claim 27, wherein the diameter of the eyelens is selected to accommodate a range of interpupillary distances.
30. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the nose bridging element comprises an optical pipe element connecting the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly.
31. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the nose bridging element comprises an optical pipe aligned with the optical pipes of the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly.
32. The binocular viewing system of claim 14, wherein the optical pipes of the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly are curved to accommodate curvature of a user's face.
33. A binocular viewing system comprising:
- a right eye display assembly and a left eye display assembly connected by a nose bridging element, each display assembly comprising: an electronic display element operative to provide an image, and an eyepiece assembly comprising an optical pipe element and a surface arranged to relay light from the electronic display element toward an eye of a user;
- a source of image data in communication with the electronic display element, the source of image data comprising a television, a digital video disc player, an MPEG4 player, a camcorder, a digital camera, a video tape player, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, or a cellular telephone.
34. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, further comprising an interpupillary adjustment mechanism configured to movably mount the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly to the nose bridging element to adjust a spacing between the eyepiece assembly of the right eye display assembly and the eyepiece assembly of the left eye display assembly, whereby an interpupillary distance between the user's eyes can be accommodated.
35. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, wherein the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly each further include a focusing adjustment mechanism.
36. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, wherein the nose bridging element includes a cavity for retention of circuitry or wiring connecting the electronic display elements.
37. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, further comprising temple housings disposed at ends of the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly, cavities disposed in the temple housings to hold the electronic display elements and service loops of circuitry or wiring.
38. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, wherein the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly are arranged in a curved configuration to accommodate curvature of a user's face.
39. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, further comprising a frame wearable on a user's head, the right eye display assembly and the left eye display assembly mounted to the frame.
40. The binocular viewing system of claim 39, further comprising a right eyeglass lens and a left eyeglass lens detachably mountable to the frame.
41. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, further comprising a frame wearable on a user's head, the frame including temple pieces, audio transducers attached to the temple pieces.
42. The binocular viewing system of claim 33, further comprising a frame wearable on a user's head, the frame including temple pieces, a microphone attached to at least one of the temple pieces.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 11, 2005
Publication Date: Aug 11, 2005
Applicant:
Inventors: Mark Spitzer (Sharon, MA), Gregory Hunter (Dover, MA), Paul Zavracky (Norwood, MA)
Application Number: 11/103,201