DISPLAY DEVICE, IN PARTICULAR A HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY, BASED ON TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL MULTIPLEXING OF HOLOGRAM TILES

• US 20130222384A1
• Filed: 11/04/2011
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SeeReal Technologies S.A.
• Original Assignee: SeeReal Technologies S.A.
• Inventors: Futterer, Gerald
• Granted Patent: US 9,406,166 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/426
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0134 of stereoscopic type
• 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 26/12 using multifaceted mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0037 with diffracting elements G02B27/0056 takes precedence; holographic optical elements G02B5/32; zone systems G02B5/1876
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0103 comprising holographic elements
• 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: G02B 27/58 Optics for apodization or superresolution; Optical synthetic aperture systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/32 Holograms used as optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0016 Grooves, prisms, gratings, scattering particles or rough surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/29 for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/292 by controlled diffraction or phased-array beam steering controlled diffraction for optical switching G02F1/31
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/2205 using downstream optical component
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/2294 Addressing the hologram to an active spatial light modulator
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/26 Processes or apparatus specially adapted to produce multiple sub- holograms or to obtain images from them, e.g. multicolour technique
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/268 Holographic stereogram
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0491 by monitoring the hologram formation, e.g. via a feed-back loop
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2236 Details of the viewing window
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2284 Superimposing the holobject with other visual information
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2292 : Using scanning means
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2297 : using frame sequential, e.g. for reducing speckle noise
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2655 : Time multiplexing, i.e. consecutive records wherein the period between records is pertinent per se
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2223/19 : Microoptic array, e.g. lens array
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2223/21 : Anamorphic optical element, e.g. cylindrical astigmatic beam G03H2222/55
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2225/11 : 1D SLM
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2225/25 : Optically addressed SLM [OA-SLM]
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2225/33 : Complex modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2225/55 : Having optical element registered to each pixel
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2225/60 : Multiple SLMs
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2226/05 : Means for tracking the observer
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/50 : Lighting effects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/344 : with head-mounted left-right displays

Abstract

The invention relates to a display device, in particular a head-mounted display or hocular, having a spatial light modulator and a controllable light-deflecting device for generating a multiple image of the spatial light modulator, which consists of segments, the multiple image being produced at least with a predefinable number of segments which determines the size of a visible area within which a 3D-scene holographically encoded in the spatial light modulator can be reconstructed for observation by an eye of an observer.

Claims

1. A display device, in particular a head-mounted display or hocular, comprising a spatial light modulator, a light-deflecting device and at least one optical imaging system, where the spatial light modulator is illuminated with wave fronts which are coherent at least in one direction, where the light-deflecting device is designed such that a multiple image of the spatial light modulator is generated, said multiple image being composed of segments which are sequentially joined at least in one dimension in a controllable manner, where the multiple image includes at least a defined number of segments and defines the size of a volume of view in which the 3D scene which is holographically encoded on the spatial light modulator is reconstructed to be viewed by an observer eye.

2. The display device according to claim 1, where the controllable light-deflecting device is designed such that the segmented multiple compound image of the spatial light modulator is generated in the plane of a field lens.

3. The display device according to claim 1, where the light-deflecting device is designed such that the segments of the multiple virtual image of the spatial light modulator are joined substantially without gaps or that they partly overlap, where the overlapping areas can be allowed for when generating the holographic information.

4. The display device according to claim 1, where additional imaging means are provided in the optical path with which the multiple image of the spatial light modulator, which is composed of segments by the controllable light-deflecting device, is imaged in a further magnified manner.

5. The display device according to claim 1, where the light-deflecting device is designed such that the number or the size of segments for the composition of the multiple image of the spatial light modulator or the number and the size of segments for the composition of the multiple image of the spatial light modulator is variable.

6. The display device according to claim 1, where the controllable light-deflecting device comprises at least one controllable light-deflecting means which includes a controllable liquid crystal grating with variable grating period.

7. The display device according to claim 1, where the controllable light-deflecting device comprises at least one volume hologram which has at least two different diffraction angles which can be selected by at least two different angles of incidence or two different wavelengths of the light which illuminates the spatial light modulator or which can be selected by at least two different angles of incidence and two different wavelengths of the light which illuminates the spatial light modulator.

8. The display device according to claim 1, where at least one filter is disposed in the optical path for filtering higher diffraction orders of the wave fronts modulated by the spatial light modulator.

9. The display device according to claim 8, where the filter is disposed in the central focal plane of a telescopic optical imaging system.

10. The display device according to claim 1, where a controllable tracking device is provided which serves to track a viewing window to the eye movement controlled by that movement.

11. The display device according to claim 1, where the light-deflecting device is designed such that, in addition to generating a segmented multiple compound image of the spatial light modulator, a virtual viewing window is tracked to the eye movement controlled by that movement or that the controllable tracking device is supported.

12. The display device according to claim 1, where adjustment means are provided for adjusting the viewing window manually or automatically to the position of an eye pupil of an observer eye, and so to provide for the individual eye separation, for example.

13. The display device according to claim 1, where the light-deflecting device or the tracking device or the light-deflecting device and the tracking device are designed such that it adjusts the viewing window in a controllable manner to the position of the eye pupil or that it supports other adjustment means which serve that purpose.

14. The display device according to claim 1, where at least one of the following:

the light-deflecting device and further optical components of the optical imaging system for generating and imaging the segments of the multiple compound image of the spatial light modulator, is designed such that this multiple image which is composed of segments is generated or imaged in a curved manner, and that this curvature is allowed for when encoding the three-dimensional scene.

15. The display device according to claim 1, where the optical imaging system or the light-deflecting device or the optical imaging system and the light-deflecting device are designed such that the segmented multiple compound image of the spatial light modulator is imaged anamorphically.

16. The display device according to claim 1, where at least one telecentric imaging system is provided in whose object-side focal plane a light-deflecting device is disposed which tilts the light which is emitted by the spatial light modulator in a controlled manner.

17. The display device according to claim 1, where at least one further light-deflecting device is provided which generates a further segmented multiple compound image of a further spatial light modulator and where these segmented multiple compound images are interleaved or twisted or interleaved and twisted in relation to each other or offset against each other or staggered in depth and where they define a common volume of view together with the eye pupil of an observer eye and where their sub-regions can abut or wholly or partly overlap, where the superimposition is coherent, partly coherent or incoherent, and where at least one of the following is provided in each sub-region:

a 2D representation and a 3D stereo representation and/or a holographic 3D reconstruction.

18. The display device according to claim 1, where a controllable liquid crystal grating with variable grating period or a multiplex volume grating or a controllable liquid crystal grating with variable grating period and a multiplex is disposed in the controllable light-deflecting device such that light of the zeroth diffraction order passes through it unused and is isolated from the further active optical path.

19. The display device according to claim 1, where the spatial light modulator is provided in the form of a linear spatial light modulator which is scanned by a light-deflecting means across its linear extent and whose scanning image is repeated multiple times one above the other in the direction of its linear extent sequentially by the controllable light-deflecting device.

20. The display device according to claim 19, where a polygon mirror is provided with at least two mirror surfaces being twisted against each other such that their respective scanning stripes lie one above the other perpendicular to the scanning direction or are slightly overlapped.

21. The display device according to claim 1, where at least one micro-lens array is provided in front of or behind or in front of and behind a spatial light modulator.

22. The display device according to claim 1, where at least one micro-lens array is provided at the position of an intermediate image or at the position of a segmented intermediate image of the spatial light modulator or at the position of an intermediate image and at the position of a segmented intermediate image of the spatial light modulator.

23. The display device according to claim 1, where an apodisation mask is provided on the side of the spatial light modulator that faces the observer eye or an apodisation mask is provided at the position of an intermediate image or at the position of a segmented intermediate image of the spatial light modulator.

24. The display device according to claim 1, where the controllable light-deflecting device includes a volume grating or a multiplex volume grating whose envelope of the refractive index modulation was set specifically by choosing a suitable coherence of the wave fields which were used for exposure during manufacture.

25. The display device according to claim 1, where the light-deflecting device is designed such that an at least one-dimensionally segmented multiple image of the spatial light modulator is generated sequentially in a controlled manner in a flat waveguide.