JP2000284742A - Image reproduction system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image reproduction system small in size, excellent in portability, soft to the eyes of a user and good in operability. SOLUTION: In this image reproduction system consisting of an electronic book player 10, a head-mount display 20, and an operation part 30; a recording medium such as a MD is loaded on the electronic book player 10 and its recorded image data are displayed to the display 20. The display 20 is mounted on the head of the user and projects an image in front of the eyes. The player 10 and display 20 are electrically connected together by a cable 41 and the operation part 30 is provided almost halfway on the cable 41. When a display image is switched, the lighting device for the screen of the display 20 is dimmed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reproducing system, and in particular, to an image display unit (for example,
(Head-mounted display).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an electronic book system that reads image data from a recording medium such as an MD provided as a publication and reproduces the image data on a display screen has been put to practical use.

On the other hand, as a display device for displaying image data, a so-called head-mounted display (hereinafter, referred to as HMD) in which a display unit is installed near a user's eyes has been put to practical use. If this HMD is adopted as a display device in an electronic book player, it is considered that the electronic book player main body and the display unit can be separated, and portability is improved. However, when the HMD is used as a display device in an electronic book player, the following problems have emerged.

[0004] First, in an electronic book player,
Although the process of switching the display content as a still image is often performed, a burden is placed on the eyes of the user because the display device is an HMD. Specifically, for example, when the background of the currently displayed screen is dark and the background portion of the display screen after switching is bright, the user is forced to look at the bright screen rapidly by the screen switching process. You.

Second, since the user wears the HMD, the user cannot visually recognize the operation unit of the electronic book player. In particular, in the case of an HMD that uses both eyes, it is necessary to remove the HMD once to view the operation unit, and the operability is very poor.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image reproducing system which is small and has good portability. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image reproducing system capable of switching a screen which is easy on a user's eyes. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image reproducing system with good operability even when the field of view is blocked.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an image reproducing system according to the present invention comprises a display means which can be mounted close to the eyes of a user and displays image information, and a display means for displaying the image information. An instruction unit for instructing switching of display contents displayed on the unit, and a control unit for switching display contents of image information displayed on the display unit based on the switching instruction by the instruction unit. According to the present invention, the display means is designed in a compact form that can be worn close to the eyes of the user, and is portable by being combined with a small playback electronic device such as an electronic book player. , A good image reproduction system can be obtained.

In addition, when the control means switches the display contents, the illumination device for illuminating the display screen is dimmed, so that the light is prevented from being rapidly radiated to the eyes of the user. Gently and can reduce user fatigue. Further, if the instructing means instructs to switch the display content in response to the voice, the user can issue an instruction without any trouble even if the eyes are closed by the displaying means, and the usability is improved. .

Further, the image reproducing system according to the present invention comprises a first unit including a display means which can be mounted close to the user's eyes and includes display means for displaying image information; A second unit including a control unit for controlling reading of image information, a third unit including an operation unit for instructing switching of image information displayed on the display unit, and electrically connecting the first unit and the second unit. connection,
A cable in which the third unit is provided substantially in the middle. According to the present invention, not only can each unit be configured compactly to enhance portability, but also the user can easily find the operation unit by operating the cable and operate it with blinds. And the operability becomes extremely good.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image reproducing system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First Embodiment, see FIGS. 1 and 2) FIG.
1 shows an overall configuration of an electronic book type image reproducing system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This image reproduction system 1
Generally comprises an electronic book player 10, a head mounted display (HMD) 20, and an operation unit 30.

The electronic book player 10 includes a mini disk (MD) drive device 14 described below, and reads electronic book contents recorded on an MD serving as a recording medium. The HMD 20 is an electronic book player 10
Functions as a display unit for displaying the content read by the as an image. E-book player 10 and HM
D20 is connected by a cable 41,
An operation unit 30 is provided in the middle of the operation. A switch 31 operated by a user's finger is attached to the operation unit 30.

FIG. 2 shows a control circuit of the image reproducing system 1. The control unit of the electronic book player 10 includes a CPU 11
ROM 12, RAM 13, MD
A drive device 14, an interface unit 15, and a connector 16 are provided.

The HMD 20 includes a display control unit 21, a liquid crystal display unit 22, a backlight 23, and a bit map memory 24 having a storage capacity for one screen. The display control unit 21 is connected to the interface unit 15 of the electronic book player 10 by a cable 41. The operation unit 30 includes an input control unit 32, and the operation switch 3
The instruction signal input from 1 is output to the interface unit 15 via the cable 42.

In the image reproducing system 1 having the above configuration, since the operation unit 30 is formed separately from the electronic book player 10, even if the electronic book player 10 is not at hand, the user can operate the electronic book player. The book player 10 can be operated. In addition, since the user wears the HMD 20 on the head, it is difficult to see where the operation unit 30 is located. However, in the present image reproducing system 1, since the operation unit 30 is provided in the middle of the cable 41, the user can easily find the operation unit 30 by groping along the cable 41.

The CPU 11 controls the entire image reproducing system 1 in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. Specifically, based on a signal input from the input control unit 32, the CPU 11
Control. The RAM 13 is also used to store image data of five pages before and after the page currently displayed on the display unit 22 among the electronic book contents stored in the recording medium.

Here, based on the operation of the operation switch 31, the screen displayed on the display unit 22 is changed from an image of a predetermined page (see FIG. 3A) to an image of the next page (see FIG. 3B). The following describes an example of control for switching to. FIG. 3 (A)
Is displayed on the display unit 22, the bitmap memory 24 stores bitmap data of the image. That is, the bitmap memory 24 is occupied by the bitmap data of the image. On the other hand, R
The AM 13 has already stored image data for five pages before and after the image data of the predetermined page.

First, when the user instructs to switch to the next screen by operating the operation switch 31, a signal corresponding to the instruction is input from the input control unit 32 to the CPU 11. Upon receiving this signal, the CPU 11
The image data of the next page stored in the RAM 13 is developed in the bit map memory 24.

Thereafter, the CPU 11 outputs an instruction signal to the display control section 21 to switch the display contents. Upon receiving the instruction signal, the display control unit 21 sets the display unit 2
Then, a process of dimming the backlight 23 is performed, and a signal indicating that the dimming process has been completed is output to the CPU 11. Upon receiving this end signal, the CPU 11 transmits the bitmap data of the next page developed earlier to the display unit 22 via the display control unit 21.
To be displayed. Thereafter, the backlight 23 is increased in its original state.

FIGS. 4A and 4B schematically show the above-described dimming / light-increase control. In the example of FIG. 4A, the voltage applied to the backlight 23 is controlled on / off. In the example of FIG. 4B, the control is performed so that the voltage applied to the backlight 23 is gradually increased.

That is, in the above control, since the backlight dimming process is performed at the time of page switching, sudden display switching that causes a burden on the user's eyes can be avoided. In particular, FIGS.
In the example, the background portion of the image after the switching is brighter than the image before the switching, and if the display on the display unit 22 is suddenly switched in such a case, a heavy load is imposed on the eyes of the user. However, such a burden is reduced in the display switching processing by the image reproducing system 1. Therefore, the HMD 20 provided with the display unit 22 close to the eyes of the user can be suitably applied as the display unit of the electronic book system.

(Second Embodiment, see FIGS. 5 and 6) Next, an electronic book type image reproducing system 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 shows the overall configuration of the image reproduction system 2, and FIG. 6 shows a control circuit thereof. This image reproduction system 2 has basically the same configuration as the image reproduction system 1 described as the first embodiment. Therefore, FIG.
In FIG. 6 and FIG. 6, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the operation unit 30 is configured to receive a user's instruction by key input. However, in the second embodiment, the operation unit 30 is configured to receive the user's instruction by voice. Are different in that

That is, the operation unit 30 includes a microphone 33,
The electronic book player 10 includes an audio analyzing unit 34 and a signal generating unit 35. The signal generating unit 35 is connected to the interface unit 15 of the electronic book player 10 via a cable 42. In the image reproduction system 2, the user's voice is received by the microphone 33 and analyzed by the voice analysis unit 34. The signal generator 35 generates a signal corresponding to the analysis result,
Output to 1.

In the above image reproducing system 2, the HM
The user wearing the D20 does not need to perform an operation by manual input, and can input an instruction by voice without being particularly aware of the position of the operation unit 30, which is convenient. Display screen switching control (particularly, dimming processing at the time of display switching)
Is the same as in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

(Other Embodiments) The image reproducing system according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
Various changes can be made within the scope of the gist.

In particular, the HMD can adopt various configurations, and it is preferable that the electronic book player itself has a display for displaying images or necessary information.

Further, the cable 41 is connected to the player 10
And the HMD 20 may be electrically connected directly or indirectly via a connector provided in the operation unit 30.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an image reproduction system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a displayed screen.

FIG. 4 is a chart showing light amount control of a backlight.

FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram showing an image reproduction system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control circuit according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 ... Image reproduction system 10 ... Electronic book player 11 ... CPU 20 ... HMD 22 ... Liquid crystal display unit 30 ... Operation unit 33 ... Microphone 41 ... Cable

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideo Hotomi 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsuyuki Namba Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 2-3-1-13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koji Kondo 2-3-1-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka F-term in Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. 5B069 AA20 BB07 BC02 HA09 HA19 5C080 AA10 BB05 CC03 DD02 DD13 EE01 EE17 EE26 EE28 FF09 GG12 JJ01 JJ02 JJ04 JJ06 KK52

Claims (6)

[Claims] A display unit that can be worn close to the eyes of a user and displays image information; an instruction unit that instructs switching of display contents displayed on the display unit; Control means for switching display contents of image information displayed on the display means based on an instruction; and an image reproduction system comprising: 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes a display screen and an illumination device that illuminates the display screen, and the control unit dims the illumination device when switching display contents. Item 2. The image reproduction system according to Item 1. 3. The image reproducing system according to claim 1, wherein said instruction means instructs switching of display contents in response to a voice. 4. The image reproducing system according to claim 1, wherein said display means is a head-mounted display. 5. A first unit including a display unit that can be worn close to a user's eyes and displays image information, and a control unit that controls reading of image information from a recording medium storing the image information. A third unit including an operation unit for instructing switching of image information displayed on the display unit; an electrical connection between the first unit and the second unit; An image reproducing system, comprising: a cable provided with the third unit. 6. The image reproducing system according to claim 5, wherein said recording medium is detachable from said second unit.