Visual axis detecting apparatus

A visual axis detecting apparatus comprising:

• means for illuminating an observer's eyeball;
• first means for detecting the characteristic portion of the image of the observer's eyeball;
• second means for detecting a corneal relfected image from the image of the observer's eyeball;
• means for selecting some corneal reflected image from among a plurality of corneal reflected images obtained by said second means;
• visual axis detecting means for detecting the observer's visual axis from the positional relation between said characteristic portion and said selected corneal reflected image, said visual axis detecting means being also effective to detect the visual axis from another corneal reflected image and said characteristic portion;
• and
• determination means for determining a visual axis from a plurality of visual axes detected by said visual axis detecting means.

A visual axis detecting apparatus comprising:

• illuminating means for illuminating an observers' eyeball;
• light receiving means having a plurality of sensor elements and receiving light reflected from the eyeball;
• evaluating means for evaluating the state of visual axis on the basis of the positional information of a sensor element exhibiting a relatively high output;
• and
• means for extracting the position of another sensor element exhibiting a relatively high output when the state of visual axis is evaluated to be inappreciative by said evaluating means.