Head up display based on laser MEMS emissive film projection system

• US 10,338,377 B1
• Filed: 07/05/2016
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mirrorcle Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mirrorcle Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Milanovic, Veljko, Kasturi, Abhishek
• Primary Examiner(s): Huang, Wen
• Application Number:
  US15/202,476
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 3592021
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0114 comprising dichroic elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0833 the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD G02B26/0825 takes precedence; micromechanical devices in general B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/101 with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/141 using dichroic mirrors

Abstract

An apparatus includes a scan module having one or more laser sources that generate one or more laser beams and a beam deflector that deflects the one or more laser beams; a fluorescent emissive sheet (FES) that receives the one or more laser beams deflected by the beam deflector and emits light at portions of the FES that are struck by the one or more laser beams; and imaging optics that form a virtual image from light emitted from the portions of the FES that are struck by the one or more laser beams, wherein the FES is between the scan module and the imaging optics.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

two or more scan modules, each scan module having two or more laser sources that generate two or more laser beams characterized by different wavelengths and a beam deflector that deflects the two or more laser beams;

a fluorescent emissive sheet (FES) that receives the two or more laser beams deflected by the beam deflectors of the two or more scan modules and emits light of longer wavelength than that of the two or more laser beams at portions of the FES that are struck by the two or more laser beams, wherein the two or more scan modules are disposed on a same side of the FES; and

imaging optics that form a virtual image from the light emitted from the portions of the FES that are struck by the two or more laser beams.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the imaging optics include one or more reflective or refractive optical elements.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the FES is used in transmissive mode such that the one or more laser beams strike the FES from a back side and wherein the imaging optics are configured to receive a portion of the light emitted toward a front side from the portions of the FES that are struck.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a dichroic mirror configured to transmit the two or more laser beams to the back side of the FES and reflect light emitted from the back side of the FES.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the FES is used in reflective mode such that the two or more laser beams strike the FES from a front side and wherein the imaging optics are configured to receive a portion of the light emitted toward the front side from the portions of the FES that are struck.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least some portion of the light emitted toward a backside of the FES is re-directed toward the frontside of the FES.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the FES includes two or more regions, wherein each region is configured to emit a different range of wavelengths of light when struck by the one or more laser beams.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the two or more regions include two or more striped regions, where each stripe is configured to emit at a specific range of wavelengths.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a shape of one or more of the two or more regions corresponds to one or more readable symbols or signage.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more optically transmissive windows, wherein the imaging optics are between the windows and the FES.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more optically transmissive windows includes a visor of a heads-up display.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more optically transmissive windows includes a vehicle windshield.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more optically transmissive windows includes an element of a teleprompter.