Wide field of view scanning display

• US 10,417,975 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2017
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Tardif, John, Miller, Joshua O
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Nicholas J
• Application Number:
  US15/477,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20180286320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0112 comprising device for genereting colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0147 comprising a device modifying the resolution of the displayed image
• 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 26/123 Multibeam scanners, e.g. using multiple light sources or beam splitters
• 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 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/025 with scanning or deflecting the beams in two directions or dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/346 based on modulation of the reflection angle, e.g. micromirrors micromirrors devices per se G02B26/0833

Abstract

A scanning display device includes a MEMS scanner having a biaxial MEMS mirror or a pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors. A controller communicatively coupled to the MEMS scanner controls rotation of the biaxial MEMS mirror or uniaxial MEMS mirrors. A first light source is used to produce a first light beam, and second light source is used to produce a second light beam. The first and second light beams are simultaneously directed toward and incident on the biaxial MEMS mirror, or a same one of the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, at different angles of incidence relative to one another. The controller controls rotation of the biaxial MEMS mirror or the uniaxial MEMS mirrors to simultaneously raster scan a first portion of an image using the first light beam and a second portion of the image using the second light beam. Related methods and systems are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a MEMS scanner including a biaxial MEMS mirror or a pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors;

a controller communicatively coupled to the MEMS scanner and configured to control rotation of the biaxial MEMS mirror or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors of the MEMS scanner;

a first light source comprising a plurality of first light emitting elements and configured to produce a plurality of first light beams; and

a second light source comprising one or more second light emitting elements and configured to produce a second light beam;

wherein the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam produced respectively by the first light source and the second light source are simultaneously directed toward and incident on the biaxial MEMS mirror, or a same one of the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, at different angles of incidence relative to one another;

wherein the controller is configured to control the rotation of the biaxial MEMS mirror or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors of the MEMS scanner to simultaneously raster scan a first portion of an image using the plurality of first light beams and a second portion of the image, which is adjacent to the first portion of the image, using the second light beam;

wherein the raster scan of the first portion of the image using the plurality of first light beams increases a line count of the first portion of the image compared to the second portion of the image; and

wherein the first portion of the image has a first resolution, and the second portion of the image has a second resolution that is lower than the first resolution.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the first light source further comprising red, green and blue laser diodes that are configured to respectively emit red, green and blue light and one or more elements that is/are configured to combine the red, green and blue light into the plurality of first light beams; and

the second light source further comprising red, green and blue laser diodes that respectively emit further red, green and blue light and one or more further elements that is/are configured to combine the further red, green and blue light into the second light beam.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the first portion of the image comprises a foveal region of the image; and

the second portion of the image comprises a non-foveal region of the image.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first spot size produced using the plurality of first light beams that is used to raster scan the first portion of the image is smaller than a second spot size produced using the second light beam that is used to raster scan the second portion of the image.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a first light source driver configured to selectively drive the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source to thereby produce the plurality of first light beams; and

a second light source driver configured to selectively drive the one or more second light emitting elements of the second light source to thereby produce the second light beam.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising an image processor that is configured to produce:

first pixel data that is provided to the first light source driver and used by the first light source driver to control timings of when, and magnitudes at which, the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source are driven; and

second pixel data that is provided to the second light source driver and used by the second light source driver to control timings of when, and magnitudes at which, the one or more second light emitting elements of the second light source are driven.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the image processor produces the first pixel data and the second pixel data to control the magnitudes at which the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source and the one or more second light emitting elements of the second light source are driven to compensate for how brightnesses of the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image are affected by the second portion of the image having the second resolution that is lower than the first resolution of the first portion of the image.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more further light sources configured to produce one or more further light beams;

wherein the one or more further light beams, produced by the one or more further light sources, along with the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam, are simultaneously directed toward and incident on the biaxial MEMS mirror, or the same one of the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, at different angles of incidence relative to one another; and

wherein the biaxial MEMS mirror, or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, also raster scan one or more further portions of the image, using the one or more further light beams, simultaneously with raster scanning the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image.

9. The apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the plurality of first light beams includes two light beams to thereby double a line count of the first portion of the image compared to the second portion of the image that is raster scanned using only the second light beam.

10. A method, comprising:

selectively driving a plurality of first light emitting elements of a first light source and selectively driving one or more second light emitting elements of a second light source to thereby produce a plurality of first light beams and a second light beam that are simultaneously directed towards and incident on a biaxial MEMS mirror, or a same uniaxial MEMS mirror of a pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, at different angles of incidence relative to one another; and

controlling rotation of the biaxial MEMS mirror, or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, to simultaneously raster scan a first portion of an image using the plurality of first light beams and a second portion of the image, which is adjacent to the first portion of the image, using the second light beam, wherein the raster scan of the first portion of the image using the plurality of first light beams increases a line count of the first portion of the image compared to the second portion of the image, wherein the first portion of the image has a first resolution, and the second portion of the image has a second resolution that is lower than the first resolution.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

selectively driving one or more light emitting elements of one or more further light sources to thereby produce one or more further light beams that is/are directed towards and incident on the biaxial MEMS mirror, or the same uniaxial MEMS mirror of the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, that the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam are directed toward and incident on; and

using the biaxial MEMS mirror, or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, to also raster scan one or more further portions of the image, using the one or more further light beams, simultaneously with raster scanning the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

producing first pixel data corresponding to the first portion of the image and second pixel data corresponding to the second portion of the image; and

using the first pixel data and the second pixel data to perform the selective driving of the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source and the selective driving of the one or more second light emitting elements of the second light source to thereby produce the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam that are simultaneously directed towards and incident on the biaxial MEMS mirror or the same one of the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors.

13. The method of claim 10,

wherein the plurality of first light beams includes two light beams to thereby double a line count of the first portion of the image compared to if the first portion of the image was raster scanned using only the first light beam.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

producing first pixel data and second pixel data that are used to control timings of when, and magnitudes at which, the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source and the one or more second light emitting elements of the second light source are driven to produce the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam;

wherein the producing the first pixel data and the second pixel data includes selecting the magnitudes at which the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source and the one or more second light emitting elements of the second light source are driven to compensate for how brightnesses of the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image are affected by the first portion of the image being raster scanned using the plurality of first light beams while the second portion of the image is raster scanned using only the second light beam.

15. A near eye or heads up display system, comprising:

a MEMS scanner including a biaxial MEMS mirror or a pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors;

a controller communicatively coupled to the MEMS scanner and configured to control rotation of the biaxial MEMS mirror or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors of the MEMS scanner;

a first light source comprising a plurality of first light emitting elements;

a second light source comprising one or more second light emitting elements;

a first light source driver configured to selectively drive the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source to thereby produce a plurality of first light beams;

a second light source driver configured to selectively drive the one or more second light emitting element of the second light source to thereby produce a second light beam; and

one or more optical waveguides each of which includes an input-coupler and an output-coupler;

wherein the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam are simultaneously directed toward and incident on the biaxial MEMS mirror, or a same one of the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, at different angles of incidence relative to one another;

wherein the controller is configured to control the rotation of the biaxial MEMS mirror or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors of the MEMS scanner to simultaneously raster scan a first portion of an image using the plurality of first light beams and a second portion of the image using the second light beam;

wherein the raster scan of the first portion of the image using the plurality of first light beams increases a line count of the first portion of the image compared to the second portion of the image;

wherein light corresponding to the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image that are raster scanned using the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam reflected from the biaxial MEMS mirror or the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, under the control of the controller, is coupled into the one or more optical waveguides via the input-coupler(s) of the one or more optical waveguide(s);

wherein the light corresponding to the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image, that is coupled into the one or more optical waveguides via the input-coupler(s), travels at least in part by way of total internal reflection (TIR) from the input-coupler(s) to the output-coupler(s) of the one or more optical waveguides; and

wherein the output-coupler(s) is/are configured to couple light corresponding to the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image, that has traveled within the one or more optical waveguides from the input-coupler(s) to the output-coupler(s), out of the one or more optical waveguides.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein:

the first portion of the image comprises a foveal region of the image; and

the second portion of the image comprises a non-foveal region of the image.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising an image processor that is configured to produce:

first pixel data that is provided to the first light source driver and used by the first light source driver to control timings of when, and magnitudes at which, the plurality of first light emitting elements of the first light source are driven; and

second pixel data that is provided to the second light source driver and used by the second light source driver to control timings of when, and magnitudes at which, the one or more second light emitting elements of the second light source are driven.

18. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

one or more further light sources configured to produce one or more further light beams;

wherein the one or more further light beams, produced by the one or more further light sources, along with the plurality of first light beams and the second light beam, are simultaneously directed toward and incident on the biaxial MEMS mirror, or the same one of the pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors, at different angles of incidence relative to one another; and

wherein the one or more MEMS mirrors also raster scan one or more further portions of the image, using the one or more further light beams, simultaneously with raster scanning the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

wherein the plurality of first light beams includes two light beams to thereby double a line count of the first portion of the image compared to the second portion of the image that is raster scanned using only that second light beam.