Head-mounted image display apparatus

An image display apparatus including:

• an image display device having a screen for displaying an image,
• a semitransparent reflecting surface which is a surface having both reflecting and transmitting functions disposed at an angle of inclination to an optical axis which is determined by a bundle of rays emitted from said display screen, said optical axis being defined as an image axis, and
• a magnifying reflecting mirror disposed so that an optical axis reflected by said semitransparent reflecting surface goes to and returns from said magnifying reflecting mirror to form a turn-back optical path
• wherein the improvement is characterized in that:
• said magnifying reflecting mirror is a partially transmitting-reflecting surface composed of transmitting and reflecting regions which are locally distinguished from each other;
• a straight line that connects an eye point and a position where the optical axis reflected by said partially transmitting-reflecting surface is transmitted by said semitransparent reflecting surface is defined as a visual axis;
• and
• said partially transmitting-reflecting surface is disposed at a tilt to said image axis so that an angle (.phi.) made by intersection of said image axis extending from said image display device and said visual axis extending from said eye point is larger than 90.degree. (.phi.>90.degree.), a space between said semitransparent reflecting surface and said magnifying reflecting mirror being formed from a prism which is filled with a medium having a refractive index (n) larger than 1 (n>1).

A face-mounted image display apparatus including

• a face-mounted unit having an image display device with a screen for displaying an image, a semitransparent reflecting surface which is a surface having both reflecting and transmitting functions disposed at an angle of inclination to an optical axis which is determined by a bundle of rays emitted from said display screen, said optical axis is being defined as an image axis, and a magnifying reflecting mirror disposed so that an optical axis leaving said semitransparent reflecting surface goes to and returns from said magnifying reflecting mirror to form a turn-back optical path, and
• a support member for retaining said face-mounted unit on an observer's head,
• wherein the improvement is characterized in that:
• a straight line that connects an eye point and a position where the optical axis reflected by said magnifying reflecting mirror is tangent to said semitransparent reflecting surface is defined as a visual axis;
• and
• at least one of said semitransparent reflecting surface and said magnifying reflecting mirror is decentered so that an angle (.phi.) made by intersection of said image axis extending from said image display device and said visual axis extending from said eye point is larger than 90.degree. (.phi.>90), a space between said semitransparent reflecting surface and said magnifying reflecting mirror being formed from a prism which is filled with a medium having a refractive index (n) larger than 1 (n>1).