Apparatus, system, and method for interpupillary-distance-adjustable head-mounted displays
An apparatus for head-mounted displays may include (i) a flexible planar support frame, (ii) a left eye cup coupled to a left side of the flexible planar support frame and a right eye cup coupled to a right side of the flexible planar support frame, (iii) left-eye and right-eye display screen areas mounted to the flexible planar support frame such that the left-eye display screen area projects toward a left eye aperture defined by the left eye cup and the right-eye display screen area projects toward a right eye aperture defined by the right eye cup. The flexible planar support frame may be bendable such that the distance between projections of the left-eye and right-eye display screen areas onto a viewing plane varies as the flexible planar support frame bends, thereby adjusting for varying interpupillary distances. Various other devices, systems, and methods are also disclosed.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a flexible planar support frame;
a left eye cup coupled to a left side of the flexible planar support frame;
a right eye cup coupled to a right side of the flexible planar support frame;
a left-eye display screen area mounted to the flexible planar support frame such that the left-eye display screen area projects toward a left eye aperture defined by the left eye cup; and
a right-eye display screen area mounted to the flexible planar support frame such that the right-eye display screen area projects toward a right eye aperture defined by the right eye cup; and
wherein the flexible planar support frame is bendable along a vertical axis between the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area such that the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area deflect as the flexible planar support frame bends, altering an angle between a direction of a projection of the left-eye display screen area and a projection of the right-eye display screen area to cause a distance between the projection of the left-eye display screen area and the projection of the right-eye display screen area onto a viewing plane to vary as the flexible planar support frame bends, thereby adjusting for varying interpupillary distances.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the flexible planar support frame is bendable toward a user's face such that the distance between the projection of the left-eye display screen area and the projection of the right-eye display screen area decreases, thereby adjusting for a reduced interpupillary distance.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the flexible planar support frame is bendable away from a user's face such that the distance between the projection of the left-eye display screen area and the projection of the right-eye display screen area increases, thereby adjusting for an increased interpupillary distance.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area comprise separate display screens that angle toward each other as the flexible planar support frame bends toward a user's face and that angle away from each other as the flexible planar support frame bends away from the user's face.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area comprise areas of an integral display screen, the integral display screen comprising a flexible display material, allowing the integral display screen to bend as the flexible planar support frame bends.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an actuator that controls a degree to which the flexible planar support frame bends.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the actuator comprises:
a dial; and
a translating element that translates rotation of the dial into linear movement of a bending element that is coupled to the flexible planar support frame and that bends the flexible planar support frame via linear movement.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a rigid holding element, coupled to the flexible planar support frame at a center position between the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area, around which the flexible planar support frame bends.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a pair of lenses coupled to the left eye cup and the right eye cup.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor that detects and transmits a signal describing an extent to which the flexible planar support frame is bent to a compensation module, wherein the compensation module adjusts images displayed by the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area based at least in part on the signal to normalize a projection of the images to a user's eyes to correct for apparent distortion caused by moving the left-eye display screen area and right-eye display screen area relative to the user's eyes.
11. A system comprising:
an adjustable display apparatus comprising:
a flexible planar support frame;
a left eye cup coupled to a left side of the flexible planar support frame;
a right eye cup coupled to a right side of the flexible planar support frame;
a left-eye display screen area mounted to the flexible planar support frame such that the left-eye display screen area projects toward a left eye aperture defined by the left eye cup; and
a right-eye display screen area mounted to the flexible planar support frame such that the right-eye display screen area projects toward a right eye aperture defined by the right eye cup;
wherein the flexible planar support frame is bendable along a vertical axis between the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area such that the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area deflect as the flexible planar support frame bends, altering an angle between a direction of a projection of the left-eye display screen area and a projection of the right-eye display screen area to cause a distance between the projection of the left-eye display screen area and the projection of the right-eye display screen area onto a viewing plane to vary as the flexible planar support frame bends, thereby adjusting for varying interpupillary distances; and
a head mount coupled to the adjustable display apparatus that, when worn by a user, holds the adjustable display apparatus to the user's face such that the left-eye display screen area projects to the user's left eye and the right-eye display screen area projects to the user's right eye.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the flexible planar support frame is bendable toward a user's face such that the distance between the projection of the left-eye display screen area and the projection of the right-eye display screen area decreases, thereby adjusting for a reduced interpupillary distance.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the flexible planar support frame is bendable away from a user's face such that the distance between the projection of the left-eye display screen area and the projection of the right-eye display screen area increases, thereby adjusting for an increased interpupillary distance.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area comprise separate display screens that angle toward each other as the flexible planar support frame bends toward a user's face and that angle away from each other as the flexible planar support frame bends away from the user's face.
15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area comprise areas of an integral display screen, the integral display screen comprising a flexible display material, allowing the integral display screen to bend as the flexible planar support frame bends.
16. The system of claim 11 , further comprising an actuator that controls a degree to which the flexible planar support frame bends.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the actuator comprises:
a dial; and
a translating element that translates rotation of the dial into linear movement of a bending element that is coupled to the flexible planar support frame and that bends the flexible planar support frame via linear movement.
18. The system of claim 11 , further comprising a rigid holding element that is:
coupled to the flexible planar support frame at a center position between the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area, around which the flexible planar support frame bends; and
coupled to the head mount, thereby indirectly coupling the flexible planar support frame to the head mount.
19. A method comprising:
coupling, to a flexible planar support frame:
a left eye cup at a left side of the flexible planar support frame; and
a right eye cup at a right side of the flexible planar support frame; and
mounting, to the flexible planar support frame:
a left-eye display screen area, such that the left-eye display screen area projects toward a left eye aperture defined by the left eye cup; and
a right-eye display screen area, such that the right-eye display screen area projects toward a right eye aperture defined by the right eye cup; and
wherein the flexible planar support frame is bendable along a vertical axis between the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area such that the left-eye display screen area and the right-eye display screen area deflect as the flexible planar support frame bends, altering an angle between a direction of a projection of the left-eye display screen area and a projection of the right-eye display screen area to cause a distance between the projection of the left-eye display screen area and the projection of the right-eye display screen area onto a viewing plane to vary as the flexible planar support frame bends, thereby adjusting for varying interpupillary distances.
20. The method of claim 19 , comprising coupling a head mount to an adjustable display apparatus such that, when the head mount is worn by a user, the head mount holds the adjustable display apparatus to the user's face such that the left-eye display screen area projects to the user's left eye and the right-eye display screen area projects to the user's right eye.