VIRTUAL IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20150061975A1
• Filed: 08/28/2014
• Published: 03/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: KOMATSU, Akira, TAKEDA, Takashi, TOTANI, Takahiro, MIYAO, Toshiaki, TAKAGI, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,195,066 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/8
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 17/086 wherein the system is made of a single block of optical material, e.g. solid catadioptric systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/015 involving arrangement aiming to get less bulky devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0152 involving arrangement aiming to get lighter or better balanced devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features

Abstract

A light guide member includes a plurality of non-axisymmetric curved surfaces, whereby a wide viewing angle and reduction in size and weight are achieved as the whole apparatus. A curved surface is formed such that a blur amount of video light on a position of an image surface of an intermediate image is greater (for example, greater than 10 times a blur amount on a position of an image surface of a video element). With this, even when there is a scratch, dust, or stain on the surface of the light guide member near the intermediate image or there is a contaminant or air bubble inside the light guide member, a situation in which the scratch or the like is enlarged and noticeable to degrade video quality is avoided, and high performance is achieved.

Claims

1. A virtual image display apparatus comprising:

a light guide member which includes two or more non-axisymmetric curved surfaces and is a part of an optical system, an intermediate image being formed inside the light guide member, wherein the light guide member comprises;

a first surface; and

a third surface arranged to face the first surface; and

a video element which generates video light that is totally reflected by the third surface, is totally reflected by the first surface, is reflected by a second surface, is transmitted through the first surface, and reaches an eyes of an observer to provide video to the observer,

wherein in regard to a light flux reversed with respect to an advancing direction of video light from a position of an incidence pupil to be assumed as a position where the eyes of the observer are arranged toward an arbitrary point of video, a spreading width of the light flux at each position within a whole range excluding the vicinity of the video element is greater than a spreading width of the light flux on the video element.

2. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the light guide member is configured to have a surface shape such that diopter to external light is substantially zero when the observer visually recognizes an external scene through the first surface and the third surface.

3. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when making a light beam reversed from the advancement of video light entering from the position of the incidence pupil and evaluating the spreading of a light flux imaged on the video element, if the spreading width W of the light flux on a surface at an arbitrary position orthogonal to an optical axis is given by the following expressions at positions (x₁,y₁), (x₂,y₂), . . . , and (x_n,y_n) on each image surface of n light beams reversely tracked from the position of the incidence pupil,

4. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the video element is a video display element which has a plurality of pixels, and

the spreading width on the position of the image surface of the video element has a value corresponding to the size of the pixel.

5. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when an expression of a surface shape is expanded as a polynomial in terms of orthogonal coordinates x and y extending in a tangential direction from the origin with the origin of each surface constituting the optical system as a reference, and the coefficient of a term x^m·

yⁿ of a polynomial expression representing a k-th surface is Ak_m,n, the following conditions of (1) to (3);

−

10<sup>−

1</sup><

A1_0,2+A1_2,0<

10<sup>−

2</sup> and −

10<sup>−

1</sup><

A3_0,2+A3_2,0<

10<sup>−

2</sup> 

 

(1)

|A1_2,0−

A1_0,2|<

10<sup>−

1</sup> and |A3_2,0−

A3_0,2|<

10<sup>−

1</sup> 

 

(2)

|A1_2,0−

A3_2,0|<

10<sup>−

2</sup> and |A1_0,2−

A3_0,2|<

10<sup>−

2</sup> 

 

(3)

are satisfied.

6. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a half mirror is formed on the second surface, video light is provided to an observer, a light transmission member is arranged integrally outside the second surface, diopter to external light is substantially set to zero, and external light and video light are provided to the observer in an overlapping manner.

7. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a projection lens which makes video light from the video element enter the light guide member,

wherein the projection lens is constituted by an axisymmetric lens and includes at least one aspheric surface.

8. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a projection lens which makes video light from the video element enter the light guide member,

wherein the projection lens includes at least one non-asymmetric aspheric surface.

9. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the optical system including the light guide member covers a part in front of the eyes of the observer when it is worn, and a portion where the front of the eyes is not covered is provided.

10. The virtual image display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the video element comprises:

a signal light forming unit which emits signal light modulated corresponding to an image, and

a scanning optical system which scans signal light entering from the signal light forming unit to emit signal light as scanning light.

11. A virtual image display apparatus comprising:

a light guide member which includes two or more non-axisymmetric curved surfaces and is a part of an optical system, an intermediate image being formed inside the light guide member, the light guide member comprising;

a first surface; and

a third surface that is arranged to face the first surface; and

a video element which generates video light that is totally reflected by the third surface, is totally reflected by the first surface, is reflected by a second surface, is transmitted through the first surface, and reaches an observation side,

wherein a first condensing position where video light is most condensed in a first optical axis direction when light flux of video light is cut in a first direction and a second condensing position where video light is most condensed in a second optical axis direction when cut in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, wherein the first and second directions are separated from a position relating to the optical axis direction of the image surface of the intermediate image, and

wherein a length of the distance between the first condensing position to the second condensing position is greater than a total length of a width of the light flux relating to the first direction at the first condensing position and a width of the light flux relating to the second direction at the second condensing position.

12. A virtual image display apparatus comprising:

a light guide member configured to form an intermediate image therein and comprising;

a first surface; and

a third surface arranged with the first surface so that the first and third surfaces face each other; and

a video element which generates light that is reflected by the third surface, is reflected by the first surface, is reflected by a second surface, is transmitted through the first surface, and then reaches an observation side,

wherein when a light flux is reversed with respect to an advancing direction of light from a position of an incidence pupil, a spreading width of the light flux at each position within the light guide member is greater than a spreading width of the light flux on the video element.