Dual-Mode Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) Near-Eye Wearable Displays

• US 20170108697A1
• Filed: 10/14/2016
• Published: 04/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ostendo Technologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ostendo Technologies Inc.
• Inventors: Agostinelli, Biagio, El-Ghoroury, Hussein S., Chuang, Chih-Li
• Granted Patent: US 11,609,427 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0147 comprising a device modifying the resolution of the displayed image
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• 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 27/0081 with means for altering, e.g. enlarging, the entrance or exit pupil
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1842 Gratings for image generation G02B5/1847 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/10 of the optical waveguide type G02B6/02, G02B6/24 take precedence; devices or arrangements for the control of light by electric, magnetic, electro-magnetic or acoustic means G02F1/00; transferring the modulation of modulated light G02F2/00; optical logic elements G02F3/00; optical analogue/digital converters G02F7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 : to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/026 : Control of mixing and/or overlay of colours in general G09G5/022 and G09G5/024 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 : Intensity circuits

Abstract

A dual-mode augmented/virtual reality near-eye wearable display for use with a curved lens element. The lenses are provided with one or more transparent waveguide elements that are disposed within the thickness of the lenses. The waveguide elements are configured to couple display images directly from image sources such as emissive display imagers to an exit aperture or plurality of exit aperture sub-regions within a viewer'"'"'s field of view. In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of image sources are disposed on the peripheral surface of the lenses whereby each image source has a dedicated input image aperture and exit aperture sub-region that are each “piecewise flat” and have matched areas and angles of divergence whereby a viewer is presented with the output of the plurality of image source images within the viewer'"'"'s field of view.

Claims

1. A dual mode augmented/virtual reality near-eye display device comprised of:

an optical lens element comprising a scene-facing first surface, a viewer facing second surface, and a lens peripheral surface;

at least one electronically controllable emissive image source disposed on the lens peripheral surface between the scene-facing first surface and the viewer facing second surface of the optical lens element;

each electronically controllable emissive image source having associated therewith a waveguide layer on the viewer facing second surface, the waveguide layers collectively covering a viewable area of the viewer facing second surface, the waveguide layers redirecting image portions from the electronically controllable emissive image sources toward an eye of a viewer of the dual mode augmented/virtual reality near-eye display device;

each electronically controllable emissive image source being positioned on the lens peripheral surface between the scene-facing first surface and the viewer facing second surface of the optical lens element directing images or an image portion through a part of the optical lens element acting as a waveguide structure to a respective waveguide layer;

whereby a collective viewable electronically controllable image may be presented to the eye of a viewer of the dual mode augmented/virtual reality near-eye display device.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least one electronically controllable emissive image source comprises a plurality of electronically controllable emissive image sources, and wherein each electronically controllable emissive image source is individually addressable spatially, chromatically and temporally, pixel by pixel.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein at least one electronically controllable emissive image source is optically coupled to a respective waveguide layer through the optical waveguide structure within the optical lens element using at least in part, total internal reflection from the scene-facing first surface of the optical lens element.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein the collective viewable electronically controllable image is part of a larger image as is stored in memory or generated on demand as needed or both, and further comprising head movement sensors for sensing movement of a viewer'"'"'s head, and a processing element responsive to the head movement sensors to control the part of the larger image that is viewable through a respective waveguide layer and how it is displayed with head movement to maintain alignment of real and augmented images in an augmented reality mode, or to fix the spatial position of the viewable image from the image sources to add to a viewer'"'"'s experience in a virtual reality mode.

5. The device of claim 2 further comprising an image detection sensor associated with a respective electronically controllable emissive image source in optical communication with the viewer'"'"'s eyes to track a parameter of the viewer'"'"'s eye or eyes.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the scene-facing first surface comprises an electro-tinting layer having an electronically variably optically transmissive layer disposed between a first and a second electrically conductive transparent thin film layer.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the variably optically transmissive layer is comprised of a polymer dispersed liquid crystal material.

8. The device of claim 6 wherein the at least one thin film layer is comprised of an indium tin oxide material.

9. The device of claim 6 further comprising at least one ambient light sensor, and a processing element responsive to the ambient light sensor for controlling the electronically controllable emissive image sources and the electro-tinting layer to control a relative brightness between the electronically controllable emissive image sources and real images viewable through the electro-tinting layer.

10. The device of claim 6 further comprising an audio interface with microphone and speaker for audio communication to and from the device.

11. The device of claim 6 further comprising a touch sensor for controlling a mode of operation of the device or the electro-tinting layer.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein the touch sensor or includes a touch and drag sensor.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein the waveguide layers comprise micro-imprinted facet structures.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the micro-imprinted facet structure comprises a surface relief optical element.

15. The device of claim 1 wherein the waveguide layer comprises a volume relief diffractive optical element.

16. The device of claim 1 wherein the waveguide layer comprises a diffractive grating.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein the waveguide layer comprises a blazed grating.

18. The device of claim 1 wherein the waveguide layer comprises a multi-level grating.

19. The device of claim 1 wherein the waveguide layer comprises a Bragg grating.

20. The device of claim 1 wherein the device has a curved appearance.

21. The device of claim 1 comprising a complimentary pair of the devices in a frame, including temple assemblies.

22. The device of claim 1 further comprising a wired or wireless communication link to a host processor and/or server.

23. The device of claim 1 further comprising a processing element, and wherein the processing element includes capability to keep track in a processing element memory of the subset of reference images of objects, icons and/or markers that frequently appear within the displayed content, then subsequently abbreviate the fine details of this subset of reference images in order to reduce processing and memory requirements and reduce power consumption.

24. The device of claim 1 further comprising a processing element, and wherein the processing element includes the capability to analyze the content to be displayed on the device on a frame-by-frame basis to deduce the color gamut size, in terms of the coordinates of the gamut color primaries, then command the plurality of image sources 55 to synthesize the deduced color gamut using the measured gamut color primaries in the modulation of the images being displayed to the viewer.

25. The device of claim 1 further comprising a processing element configured to sense when a user recognizes a displayed image and to supplement or modify the recognized and displayed image or scene with predetermined image data.