CONTROLLABLE WAVEGUIDE FOR NEAR-EYE DISPLAY APPLICATIONS
First Claim
1. A near-eye display comprising:
- a waveguide that propagates angularly related beams over a limited first range of angles,an image generator that generates angularly related beams over a second wider range of angles for forming a virtual image,an input aperture of the waveguide including a plurality of controllable components,each of the controllable components of the input aperture being selectively operable as a diffractive optic for injecting a subset of the angularly related beams over a limited portion of the second range of angles for propagating the subset of angularly related beams along the waveguide within the first range of angles,an output aperture of the waveguide including a plurality of controllable components,each of the controllable components of the output aperture being selectively operable as a diffractive optic for ejecting a corresponding subset of the angularly related beams out of the waveguide toward an eyebox, anda controller that synchronizes operation of the controllable components of the output aperture with the propagation of different subsets of angularly related beams along the waveguide for ejecting the subsets of angularly related beams out of the waveguide for presenting the virtual image within the eyebox.
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Abstract
A near-eye display includes an image generator that generates angularly related beams over a range of angles for forming a virtual image and a waveguide that propagates the angularly related beams over a limited range of angles. An input aperture of the waveguide includes a plurality of controllable components that are selectively operable as diffractive optics for injecting subsets of the angularly related beams into the waveguide. An output aperture of the waveguide includes a plurality of controllable components that selectively operable as diffractive optics for ejecting corresponding subsets of the angularly related beams out of the waveguide toward an eyebox. A controller synchronizes operation of the controllable components of the output aperture with the propagation of different subsets of angularly related beams along the waveguide for ejecting the subsets of angularly related beams out of the waveguide for presenting the virtual image within the eyebox.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A near-eye display comprising:
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a waveguide that propagates angularly related beams over a limited first range of angles, an image generator that generates angularly related beams over a second wider range of angles for forming a virtual image, an input aperture of the waveguide including a plurality of controllable components, each of the controllable components of the input aperture being selectively operable as a diffractive optic for injecting a subset of the angularly related beams over a limited portion of the second range of angles for propagating the subset of angularly related beams along the waveguide within the first range of angles, an output aperture of the waveguide including a plurality of controllable components, each of the controllable components of the output aperture being selectively operable as a diffractive optic for ejecting a corresponding subset of the angularly related beams out of the waveguide toward an eyebox, and a controller that synchronizes operation of the controllable components of the output aperture with the propagation of different subsets of angularly related beams along the waveguide for ejecting the subsets of angularly related beams out of the waveguide for presenting the virtual image within the eyebox. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A waveguide of a near-eye display for conveying virtual images to a viewer'"'"'s eye within an eyebox through the waveguide comprising:
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a plate-shaped body having a front surface for facing an ambient environment, a back surface for facing an eyebox, and a length for propagating angularly related beams by successive reflections from the front and back surfaces, an input aperture of the plate-shaped body having a plurality of controllable components for collectively receiving angularly related beams over multiple wavelengths that define a pupil of a virtual image generator and for individually injecting subsets of the angularly related beams over the multiple wavelengths into the plate-shaped body within the limited range of angles, an output aperture of the plate-shaped body having a plurality of controllable components for individually receiving the subsets of angularly related beams over the multiple wavelengths and for collectively ejecting the subsets of angularly related beams over the multiple wavelengths from the waveguide, each of the controllable components of the input and output apertures comprising a transformable diffractive optic that is transformable between a first state that is substantially transparent to the subsets of angularly related beams over the multiple wavelengths and a second state that diffracts one or more of the subsets of angularly related beams over the multiple wavelengths, and a controller that synchronizes transformations of the controllable components of the input and output apertures for sequentially injecting and ejecting the subsets of angularly related beams over the multiple wavelengths within an integration interval of the viewer'"'"'s eye for collectively re-forming the pupil of the virtual image generator within the eyebox. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of relaying an exit pupil of an image generator through a waveguide to an eyebox for presenting a virtual image to a viewer comprising steps of:
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generating angularly related beams over a range of angles that form an exit pupil of an image generator, locating an input aperture of a waveguide proximate to the exit pupil of the image generator for receiving the angularly related beams, transforming controllable components of the input aperture between a first state that is substantially transparent to the angularly related beams and a second state that diffracts the angularly related beams for individually injecting subsets of the angularly related beams into the a waveguide for propagation along the waveguide within a limited range of angles, locating an output aperture of the waveguide proximate to an eyebox, and transforming controllable components of the output aperture between the first state that is substantially transparent to the angularly related beams and the second state that diffracts the angularly related beams for individually ejecting the subsets of the angularly related beams from the waveguide into the eyebox over a range of angles that re-form the exit pupil of the image generator within the eyebox. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification