Eye mounted intraocular displays and systems

• US 10,467,992 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2018
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tectus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Tectus Corporation
• Inventors: Deering, Michael F., Huang, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Bukowski, Kenneth
• Application Number:
  US16/114,625
• Publication Number:
  US 20190012989A1
• Time in Patent Office: 434 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0118 comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0134 of stereoscopic type
• 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 2027/0147 comprising a device modifying the resolution of the displayed image
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• 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: G02C 11/10 Electronic devices other than hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/04 Contact lenses for the eyes disinfection or sterilisation of contact lenses A61L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/60 Analysis of geometric attributes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0435 Change or adaptation of the frame rate of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/02 by tracing or scanning a light beam on a screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 : Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/391 : Resolution modifying circuits, e.g. variable screen formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/344 : with head-mounted left-right displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/383 : for tracking with gaze detection, i.e. detecting the lines of sight of the viewer's eyes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 : characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0117 : involving conversion of the spatial resolution of the incoming video signal for graphics images G09G2340/0407
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0127 : by changing the field or frame frequency of the incoming video signal, e.g. frame rate converter
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/31 : Projection devices for colour picture display , e.g. using electronic spatial light modulators [ESLM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3188 : Scale or resolution adjustment scaling in general G06T3/40; resolution modifying circuits for displays in general G09G5/391
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3191 : Testing thereof testing of displays in general G09G3/006

Abstract

A display device is mounted on and/or inside the eye. The eye mounted display contains multiple sub-displays, each of which projects light to different retinal positions within a portion of the retina corresponding to the sub-display. The projected light propagates through the pupil but does not fill the entire pupil. In this way, multiple sub-displays can project their light onto the relevant portion of the retina. Moving from the pupil to the cornea, the projection of the pupil onto the cornea will be referred to as the corneal aperture. The projected light propagates through less than the full corneal aperture. The sub-displays use spatial multiplexing at the corneal surface. Various electronic devices interface to the eye mounted display.

Claims

1. An eye mounted display system comprising:

an intraocular display capsule configured to be placed inside a user'"'"'s eye; and

a femto projector contained in the intraocular display capsule, the femto projector projecting a plurality of pixels onto a retina of the user'"'"'s eye, thereby forming a visual sensation of an image comprising the pixels, the femto projector comprising;

an array of addressable display pixels, and

display optics projecting light from the display pixels to a portion of the retina corresponding to the image displayed by the femto projector, where the portion of the retina is fixed as the user'"'"'s eye rotates in its socket and thereby forming the visual sensation of the image comprising the pixels.

2. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the intraocular display capsule is configured to be placed within an anterior chamber of the user'"'"'s eye between a cornea and a lens of the user'"'"'s eye.

3. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the intraocular display capsule is configured to be placed on a front surface of a lens of the user'"'"'s eye.

4. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the intraocular display capsule is configured to be placed inside a lens of the user'"'"'s eye.

5. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the intraocular display capsule is configured to replace a lens of the user'"'"'s eye.

6. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the intraocular display capsule is configured to be placed on a rear surface of a lens of the user'"'"'s eye.

7. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the projected pixels having different sizes at the retina.

8. The eye mounted display system of claim 7 where the sizes of the projected pixels at the retina vary in part as a function of a size of retinal receptive fields at the retina.

9. The eye mounted display system of claim 7 where the pixels projected to a center of a fovea of the eye have a smallest size among all the projected pixels.

10. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the sizes of the projected pixels at the retina have a resolution that is at least as high as a native resolution of the eye.

11. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the array of addressable display pixels include display pixels of different colors, whereby the femto projector projects a color image onto the retina.

12. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the femto projector comprises a plurality of sub-displays, each sub-display comprising:

a plurality of display pixels displaying a different portion of the image for each sub-display, and

display optics projecting light from the display pixels to a portion of the retina corresponding to the portion of the image displayed by that sub-display, different sub-displays projecting light to different portions of the retina, and the sub-displays in aggregate projecting light to portions of the retina that in aggregate form the image displayed by the femto projector.

13. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 where the array of addressable display pixels is a hexagonal array.

14. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 further comprising:

a logic chip coupled to an LED chip, the LED chip containing the array of addressable display pixels, the logic chip receiving data specifying the pixels projected by the femto projector and producing analog drive signals for the LED chip.

15. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 further comprising:

a data receiver device contained in the intraocular display capsule for wirelessly receiving data that specifies the pixels projected by the femto projector.

16. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 further comprising:

a power receiver device contained in the intraocular display capsule that wirelessly receives power for the femto projector.

17. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 further comprising:

an accelerometer contained in the intraocular display capsule for measuring movement of the eye.

18. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 further comprising:

a device contained in the intraocular display capsule for wirelessly receiving data and/or power for the femto projector using a water penetrating, mid-infrared frequency.

19. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 further comprising an eye tracker that tracks an orientation and/or position of the eye, where the image projected by the femto projector is a function of the orientation and/or position of the eye.

20. The eye mounted display system of claim 1 further comprising a controller chip that transmits to the femto projector data specifying the pixels projected by the femto projector.