Waveguide optical element and near-eye display apparatus
First Claim
1. A waveguide optical element, comprising:
- at least two waveguide plates arranged to overlap in parallel, with a predetermined gap therebetween, each waveguide plate comprising two main surfaces parallel to each other, and configured to transmit light coupled into the waveguide plates in a predetermined direction through total internal reflection; and
one or more partially reflective surfaces respectively located inside each of the waveguide plates, and arranged within a space between the main surfaces as a beam-split surface at a characteristic angle with the main surfaces;
wherein the one or more partially reflective surfaces inside the waveguide plates are distributed in different areas along the direction of the main surfaces; and
wherein there are a plurality of the partially reflective surfaces inside each of the waveguide plates, and numbers of the partially reflective surfaces inside each of the waveguide plates are identical or different.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A light-weight and ultrathin waveguide optical element having a large field of view includes two or more layers of waveguide plates provided to be overlapped with each other. Within each layer of the waveguide plate are included multiple reflective surfaces with different reflectivity, such that light transmitted through the waveguide plate has a substantially uniform distribution of intensity in a predetermined area when exiting from the waveguide plate. The waveguide optical element is ultrathin such that it can be directly mounted into a spectacle frame. Use of the waveguide optical element with a projection optical assembly can improve user experience as well as display effect with good contrast.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A waveguide optical element, comprising:
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at least two waveguide plates arranged to overlap in parallel, with a predetermined gap therebetween, each waveguide plate comprising two main surfaces parallel to each other, and configured to transmit light coupled into the waveguide plates in a predetermined direction through total internal reflection; and one or more partially reflective surfaces respectively located inside each of the waveguide plates, and arranged within a space between the main surfaces as a beam-split surface at a characteristic angle with the main surfaces; wherein the one or more partially reflective surfaces inside the waveguide plates are distributed in different areas along the direction of the main surfaces; and wherein there are a plurality of the partially reflective surfaces inside each of the waveguide plates, and numbers of the partially reflective surfaces inside each of the waveguide plates are identical or different. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A near-eye display apparatus, comprising:
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a waveguide optical element, comprising; at least two waveguide plates arranged to overlap in parallel, with a predetermined gap therebetween, each waveguide plate comprising two main surfaces parallel to each other, and transmitting light coupled into the waveguide plates in a predetermined direction through total internal reflection; and one or more partially reflective surfaces respectively located inside each of the waveguide plates, and arranged within a space between the main surfaces as a beam-split surface at a characteristic angle with the main surfaces;
wherein the one or more partially reflective surfaces inside the waveguide plates are distributed in different areas along the direction of the main surfaces;a projection optical assembly; and a micro-display, wherein the projection optical assembly is configured to project image light emitted from the micro-display to the waveguide optical element, so as to transmit in the waveguide optical element; wherein a characteristic angles θ
1 is formed between the partially reflective surface and the main surfaces in a first waveguide plate, and a characteristic angles θ
2 is formed between the partially reflective surface and the main surfaces in a second waveguide plate, θ
1≠
θ
2. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of displaying augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) images with a wearable display apparatus, the method comprising:
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receiving images; projecting the images to a waveguide optical element through a projection optical assembly, wherein the waveguide optical element includes at least two waveguide plates arranged to overlap in parallel with a predetermined gap therebetween; and
at least one partially reflective surface respectively located inside each of the waveguide plates, the partially reflective surfaces inside the waveguide plates are distributed in different areas in the respective waveguide plates; andcoupling light of the images through the partially reflective surfaces to exit to an exit pupil position of the waveguide optical element; wherein there are a plurality of the partially reflective surfaces inside each of the waveguide plates, and numbers of the partially reflective surfaces inside each of the waveguide plates are identical or different.
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Specification