Head mount display apparatus allowing easy switching operation from electronic image to external field image

A display apparatus, which can be mounted on a head portion of a person using the display apparatus, the display apparatus comprising:

• first and second two-dimensional display units, arranged at positions away from a field of vision of right and left eyeballs of a user, for displaying images corresponding to the right and left eyeballs of the user, respectively;
• image enlargement and projection optical systems for optically enlarging the images displayed on said first and second two-dimensional display units;
• a shutter unit, arranged in front of the eyeball of the user;
• an inclination detector for detecting at least a downward motion of a visual axis direction of the user;
• control means for controlling said shutter unit in accordance with an output signal from said inclination detector, and for switching said shutter unit between a light transmission state when the user inclines the head portion downward, and a light-shielding state when the user does not incline the head portion downward;
• first and second semi-transparent reflection units, arranged between said shutter unit and said right and left eyeballs, for overlapping in a certain region the first and second images enlarged by said image enlargement and projection optical systems and an external image transmitted through said shutter unit and for projecting said first and second images and said external images onto retinas of said right and left eyeballs;
• and
• a housing, which encloses and holds all of said first and second two-dimensional display units, said first and second image enlargement and projection optical systems, said shutter unit, said first and second semi-transparent reflection units and said inclination detector, and wherein said housing is mountable on the head portion of the user and wherein said housing is arranged to prevent light other than light transmitted through said shutter unit from being incident on the eyeballs of the user.

A display apparatus, which can be mounted on a head portion of a person using the display apparatus, the display apparatus comprising:

• a two-dimensional display unit for displaying an image;
• a projection optical system for projecting the image displayed on said two-dimensional display unit onto a retina of an eyeball of a user;
• a shutter unit, arranged in front of the eyeball of the user, for switching an arbitrary region between a light-transmission state and a light-shielding state;
• an inclination detector for detecting at least a forward inclination of motions of the head portion of the user and for outputting a detection signal;
• image signal control means for delaying a scan start line number of an image signal supplied to said two-dimensional display unit, in proportion to the detection signal which is outputted from said inclination detector;
• shutter control means, operating in synchronism with the image signal control means, for controlling said shutter unit to be in said light-shielding sate during a time period between a scan start time and a scan end time of said image signal control means, and in said light-transmission state during other time periods;
• and
• a housing, which encloses and holds all of said two-dimensional display unit, said projection optical system, said shutter unit, and said inclination detector, and wherein said housing is mountable on the head portion of the user.