METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR GENERATING VIRTUAL CONTENT DISPLAY WITH A VIRTUAL OR AUGMENTED REALITY APPARATUS

• US 20150346490A1
• Filed: 05/29/2015
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Magic Leap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Magic Leap, Inc.
• Inventors: TEKOLSTE, Robert D., KLUG, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 10,175,478 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2005/1804 Transmission gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0109 comprising details concerning the making of holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0125 Field-of-view increase by wavefront division
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0134 of stereoscopic type
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0081 with means for altering, e.g. enlarging, the entrance or exit pupil
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/24 involving temporal multiplexing, e.g. using sequentially activated left and right shutters
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/26 of the autostereoscopic type
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1842 Gratings for image generation G02B5/1847 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1871 Transmissive phase gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1334 based on polymer dispersed liquid crystals, e.g. microencapsulated liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0408 Total internal reflection [TIR] holograms, e.g. edge lit or substrate mode holograms

Abstract

Several unique configurations for interferometric recording of volumetric phase diffractive elements with relatively high angle diffraction for use in waveguides are disclosed. Separate layer EPE and OPE structures produced by various methods may be integrated in side-by-side or overlaid constructs, and multiple such EPE and OPE structures may be combined or multiplexed to exhibit EPE/OPE functionality in a single, spatially-coincident layer. Multiplexed structures reduce the total number of layers of materials within a stack of eyepiece optics, each of which may be responsible for displaying a given focal depth range of a volumetric image. Volumetric phase type diffractive elements are used to offer properties including spectral bandwidth selectivity that may enable registered multi-color diffracted fields, angular multiplexing capability to facilitate tiling and field-of-view expansion without crosstalk, and all-optical, relatively simple prototyping compared to other diffractive element forms, enabling rapid design iteration.

Claims

1. A method for generating stereoscopic images for virtual reality and/or augmented reality, comprising:

transmitting input light beams into a substrate of an eyepiece by using an in-coupling optic element;

deflecting a first portion of the input light beams toward second diffractive elements on a first layer of the eyepiece by using at least first diffractive elements on the first layer; and

directing first exiting light beams toward a viewer by deflecting some of the first portion of the input light beams with the second diffractive elements on the first layer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a remaining portion of the input light beams within the substrate of the eyepiece;

deflecting some of the remaining portion of the input light beams toward the second diffractive elements by using the first diffractive elements on the first layer; and

directing second exiting light beams toward the viewer by deflecting a part of the remaining portion of the input light beams with the second diffractive elements on the first layer.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a remaining portion of the first portion of the input light beams within the substrate of the eyepiece; and

directing additional exiting light beams toward the viewer by causing the remaining portion of the first portion to interact with the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements on the first layer.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically switching on a second layer of the eyepiece by using one or more control signals, wherein the second layer includes third diffractive elements and fourth diffractive elements; and

directing exiting light beams toward the viewer from the input light beams by using at least the third diffractive elements and the fourth diffractive elements on the second layer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first layer hosts a first focal plane associated with a first focal length, and the first exiting light beams appear to the user to emanate from the first focal plane.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second layer hosts a second focal plane associated with a second focal length, and the exiting light beams appear to the user to emanate from the second focal plane.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements comprise surface-relief type diffractive elements, volumetric-phase type diffractive elements, or a combination of the surface-relief type diffractive elements and the volumetric-phase type diffractive elements.

8. An apparatus for generating stereoscopic images for virtual reality and/or augmented reality, comprising:

an eyepiece including a substrate;

an in-coupling optic element to transmit input light beams into the substrate; and

a first layer of the substrate comprising first diffractive elements and second diffractive elements that are operatively coupled to the in-coupling optic element and are disposed on one or more sides of the substrate, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements comprise linear diffractive elements and circular or radially symmetric diffractive elements.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements are arranged in a co-planar arrangement on the first layer.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements are arranged in a folded or overlaid arrangement on both sides of the first layer.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements are arranged in a unitary, inseparable layer attached to the first layer.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements are created with a single recording in the unitary, inseparable layer.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising one or more second layers, wherein the first layer and the one or more second layers are dynamically switchable between an on-state and an off-state, and the one or more second layers are stacked on top of each other.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, where the first layer or the one or more second layers include at least one polymer-dispersed liquid crystal layer.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements include volumetric-phase type diffractive elements.

16. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements include surface-relief type diffractive elements.

17. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements include both surface-relief type diffractive elements and volumetric-phase type diffractive elements.

73. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a beam splitter within or on a surface of the substrate to split at least a part of the input light beams into a plurality of portions comprising a transmitted portion and a reflected portion.

74. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a multiplexed arrangement of the first diffractive elements and the second diffractive elements on the substrate to deflect a first portion of the input light beams with the first diffractive elements and to multiplex at least a part of the first portion of the input light beams defected by the first diffractive elements with a second portion of the input light beams with the second diffractive elements.

75. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a first substrate integrated with the substrate of the eyepiece;

one or more second layers or films having third diffractive elements and fourth diffractive elements fabricated thereupon or therein, wherein the third diffractive elements and fourth diffractive elements comprise the linear diffractive elements and the circular or radially symmetric diffractive elements; and

a time-multiplexed distribution mechanism to provide time-multiplexed distribution of projected images to one or more focal planes by using the first diffractive elements and/or the second diffractive elements on the substrate and/or the third diffractive elements and/or the fourth diffractive elements on the fourth substrate.

18-72. -72. (canceled)