DISTRIBUTED HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 20100171680A1
• Filed: 06/01/2008
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lumus Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Lumus Ltd.
• Inventors: Lapidot, Zvi, Friedman, Shmuel, Amitai, Yaakov
• Granted Patent: US 8,405,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/8
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/00 Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings

Abstract

There is provided an electro-optical system, including at least two spaced-apart units, a head-mounted display (HIVID) unit, having a video signal source, a display source for displaying video signals from the display source, an optical module for projecting video signals from the display source into a user'"'"'s eye, a driving electronic module, a power supply, and a portable control unit. The two spaced-apart units communicate by a narrowband wireless channel.

Claims

1. An electro-optical system, including at least two spaced-apart units, comprising:

a head-mounted display (HMD) unit, having a video signal source, a display source for displaying video signals from the display source, an optical module for projecting video signals from the display source into a user'"'"'s eye, a driving electronic module and a power supply, and

a portable control unit,

wherein the two spaced-apart units communicate by a narrowband wireless channel.

2. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said optical module comprises a collimating lens and an optical combiner.

3. The optical system according to claim 2, wherein said optical combiner comprises a light-transmitting substrate having at least two major surfaces parallel to each other and two edges, an optical element for coupling light into said substrate by internal reflection, and at least one partially reflecting surface located in said substrate, which surface is non-parallel to the major surfaces of said substrate.

4. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said video signal source is a memory device.

5. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said video signal source is a narrowband wireless receiver.

6. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said HMD unit further comprises a wideband receiver.

7. The optical system according to claim 6, wherein said video signal source is constituted by said wideband receiver.

8. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said portable control unit further comprises a wideband transmitter-receiver.

9. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said portable control unit is a cellular phone.

10. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said portable control unit is a portable DVD.

11. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said portable control unit is a portable media player.

12. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said portable control unit is a video games console.

13. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said portable control unit is a mobile TV control.

14. The optical system according to claim 9, wherein said portable control unit includes dedicated software for controlling the HMD with the narrowband channel.

15. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said video signal source feeds the data to said display source.

16. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein said HMD unit is embedded in an eyeglasses frame.

17. The optical system according to claim 16, wherein said HIVID unit comprises two units for projecting the video signals into both eyes of the user.

18. The optical system according to claim 16, wherein said HMD unit projects the same video signals to both of the user'"'"'s eyes utilizing one display source which is located between two glasses of said eyeglasses.

19. The optical system according to claim 16, wherein said HMD unit projects two different parts of the same video signals, with some overlap between both of the user'"'"'s eyes.

20. The optical system according to claim 16, wherein said HMD unit projects two different scenes, one to each of the user'"'"'s eyes, in order to form a stereoscopic image.

21. The optical system according to claim 1, wherein a software is installed in said portable control unit dedicated for operating said HMD unit.