Feedback for optic positioning in display devices

• US 10,345,903 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2013
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Robbins, Steve, McEldowney, Scott C., Lou, Xinye, Bohn, David D., Miller, Quentin Simon Charles, Nister, David, Schneider, Gerhard, Mei, Christopher Maurice, Ackerman, Nathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Suh, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US13/973,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20150035744A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,147 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0125 Field-of-view increase by wavefront division
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0127 comprising devices increasing the depth of field
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0185 Displaying image at variable distance
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0179 Display position adjusting means not related to the information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor

Abstract

A method of detecting eye location for a head-mounted display system includes directing positioning light to an eye of a user and detecting the positioning light reflected from the eye of the user. The method further includes determining a distance between the eye and a near-eye optic of the head-mounted display system based on attributes of the detected positioning light, and providing feedback for adjusting the distance between the eye and the near-eye optic.

Claims

1. A method of detecting eye location for a head-mounted display system, the method comprising:

directing display light to a particular eye of a wearer of the head-mounted display system through an optical element, the display light perceivable by the wearer as an image;

while the optical element is in place for directing the display light, directing positioning light from one or more positioning light sources to the particular eye of the wearer via the optical element, the positioning light being different from the display light;

detecting the positioning light reflected from the particular eye of the wearer using an eye-tracking camera;

determining a distance between the particular eye and a current position of a near-eye optic of the head-mounted display system based on attributes of the detected positioning light;

automatically determining, via a computer and without wearer input, an offset distance between the current position of the near-eye optic and a target position of the near-eye optic, the target position of the near-eye optic being a target distance from the particular eye; and

automatically providing, from the computer, feedback to the wearer of the head-mounted display system for self-adjusting the distance between the particular eye and a center of the near-eye optic to decrease the offset distance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback for self-adjusting the distance between the particular eye and the center of the near-eye optic includes visual feedback provided to the user via the near-eye optic.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback for self-adjusting the distance between the particular eye and the center of the near-eye optic includes audio feedback provided to the user via the head-mounted display system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein directing positioning light to the particular eye of the user includes directing positioning light from a first light source and a second light source to the particular eye.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the distance between the particular eye and the current position of the near-eye optic of the head-mounted display system includes determining a distance between positioning light from the first light source and positioning light from the second light source as reflected from the particular eye.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing feedback to the user to perform the adjustment if the distance between the positioning light from the first light source and the positioning light from the second light source as reflected from the particular eye is above a threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein directing positioning light further comprises controlling a numerical aperture of a light source to direct light to a selected area of the particular eye of the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback indicates a direction of movement of the center of the near-eye optic relative to the particular eye of the wearer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback for self-adjusting the distance between the particular eye and the center of the near-eye optic includes haptic feedback provided to the wearer via the head-mounted display system.

10. A head-mounted display system for detecting eye location, the head-mounted display system comprising:

a display device including an optical element;

an eye-tracking camera;

a positioning light source;

a logic machine; and

a storage machine configured to store instructions executable by the logic machine to;

direct display light to a particular eye of a wearer of the head-mounted display system via the optical element of the display device, the display light perceivable by the wearer as an image;

while the optical element is in place for directing the display light, direct positioning light from the positioning light source to the particular eye of the wearer via the optical element, the positioning light being different from the display light;

detect the positioning light reflected from the particular eye of the wearer using the eye-tracking camera;

determine a distance between the particular eye and a current position of a near-eye optic of the head-mounted display system based on attributes of the detected positioning light;

automatically determine without wearer input an offset distance between the current position of the near-eye optic and a target position of the near-eye optic, the target position of the near-eye optic being a target distance from the particular eye; and

automatically provide feedback to the wearer of the head-mounted display system for self-adjusting the distance between the particular eye and a center of the near-eye optic to decrease the offset distance via the display device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the optical element includes a freeform prism configured to direct the positioning light to the particular eye of the wearer.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the positioning light source includes one or more infrared light sources.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the positioning light source includes one or more visible light sources.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the positioning light source includes two positioning light sources that are spatially and angularly separated from one another.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the eye-tracking camera is one of a plurality of cameras, and wherein determining the distance between the particular eye and the current position of the near-eye optic of the head-mounted display system includes measuring angles of incidence of positioning light reflected from the particular eye as received by each of the plurality of eye-tracking camera to determine a location of the particular eye based on the measured angles.