Wearable display system

• US 7,545,571 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2005
• Issued: 06/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Concurrent Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Concurrent Technologies Corporation
• Inventors: Bajorins, David, Gnehm, Chris, Garoutte, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Choi; William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh; Jack
• Application Number:
  US11/221,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20060098293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,371 Days
• Field of Search: 359/630, 359/631, 359/633, 359/629, 359/486, 359/487, 359/488, 345/7, 345/8
• US Class Current: 359/630
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/011 comprising device for correcting geometrical aberrations, distortion
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/30 Polarising elements light-modulating devices with active elements G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 359/90 Methods

Abstract

A wearable display system, such as a Head Mounted Display, having a display engine producing light, preferably linearly polarized light, which defines a synthetic image that is relayed to a wire grid polarizing combiner which overlays the synthetic image onto a real image of an object of the outside world, and wherein the real image is contemporaneously viewed through the wire grid polarizing combiner by the wearer of the system. The wire grid polarizing combiner can be curved in at least one axis, and preferably two axis such that optical power is added to the wire grid polarizing combiner.

Claims

1. A wearable display system which combines a synthetic image with a contemporaneously viewable real image of the outside world, said system comprising:

a. a display engine which produces linearly polarized light defining said synthetic image;

b. a light engine which produces light to illuminate said display engine;

c. a polarizing beamsplitter in the path of said light produced by said light engine, said polarizing beamsplitter polarizing a portion of said light from said light engine and reflecting such polarized portion of light onto said display engine to enable said display engine to produce said linearly polarized light defining said synthetic image;

d. display optics in the path of said linearly polarized light defining said synthetic image; and

e. a wire grid polarizing combiner through which said real image is contemporaneously viewable, said display optics relaying said linearly polarized light to said wire grid polarizing combiner, and said wire grid polarizing combiner reflecting said linearly polarized light such that said synthetic image is overlaid onto said contemporaneously viewable real image.

2. The wearable display of claim 1 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is flat.

3. The wearable display of claim 1 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is curved in at least one axis.

4. The wearable display of claim 3 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is curved in two axes, having the shape of a concentric shell section of a toroid.

5. The wearable display of claim 4 wherein said display optics further comprise image aberration correction optics intermediate said display engine and said wire grid polarizing combiner, said image aberration correction optics correcting for aberrations caused due to said wire grid polarizing combiner being curved in two axes.

6. The wearable display of claim 5 wherein said image aberration correction optics further comprise:

a. tilted and decentered lenses between said display engine and said wire grid polarizing combiner;

b. rotational symmetric aspherical lenses intermediate said tilted and decentered lenses and said wire grid polarizing combiner; and

c. wherein said rotational symmetric aspherical lenses pre-distorting said synthetic image in a manner which cancels out distortion caused by said wire grid polarizing combiner being curved in two axes such that said synthetic image reflected at said wire grid polarizing combiner is presented undistorted.

7. The wearable display of claim 4 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is a magnifier.

8. The wearable display of claim 1 wherein said linearly polarized light is one of monochrome and modulated field sequential colored light.

9. The wearable display of claim 1 wherein said light engine further comprises one of LEDs, a laser, an incandescent source, and a fluorescent source.

10. The wearable display of claim 1 wherein said display engine further comprises an LCoS display.

11. The wearable display of claim 1 wherein said beamsplitter further comprises a wire grid polarizing beamsplitter.

12. The wearable display of claim 1 further comprising illumination optics concentrating said light produced by said light engine on said beamsplitter.

13. The wearable display of claim 12 wherein said illumination optics further comprise a total internal reflection block concentrating said light from said light engine onto said polarizing beamsplitter.

14. The wearable display of claim 13 wherein said total internal reflection block further comprises a reflective off-axis parabola portion.

15. The wearable display of claim 13 wherein said light directing member further comprises a Fresnel lens.

16. The wearable display of claim 15 further comprising a contrast enhancing polarizer intermediate said polarizing beamsplitter and said wire grid polarizing combiner.

17. The wearable display of claim 16 wherein said contrast enhancing polarizer further comprises a contrast enhancing wire grid polarizer.

18. The wearable display of claim 1 wherein said display optics further comprise image enlargement optics.

19. The wearable display of claim 18 wherein said image enlargement optics further comprise a modified Ploessl lens arrangement.

20. The wearable display of claim 18 wherein said image enlargement optics further comprise an apochromatic eyepiece.

21. A wearable display system which combines a synthetic image with a contemporaneously viewable real image of the outside world, said system comprising:

a. a display engine which produces light defining said synthetic image;

b. display optics in the path of said light defining said synthetic image;

c. a wire grid polarizing combiner through which said real image is contemporaneously viewable, said display optics relaying said light to said wire grid polarizing combiner, and said wire grid polarizing combiner reflecting said light such that said synthetic image is overlaid onto said contemporaneously viewable real image; and

d. a polarizer intermediate said light produced by said display engine and said wire grid combiner, said polarizer linearly polarizing said light produced by said display engine, and said wire grid polarizing combiner reflecting said linearly polarized light such that said synthetic image is overlaid onto said contemporaneously viewable real image.

22. The wearable display of claim 21 wherein said display engine further comprises an OLED display engine.

23. The wearable display of claim 22 wherein said polarizer further comprises a wire grid polarizer.

24. The wearable display of claim 21 further comprising

a. a light engine which produces additional light to illuminate said display engine;

and

b. wherein said display engine is a MEMS display engine.

25. A wearable display system which combines a synthetic image with a contemporaneously viewable real image of the outside world, said system comprising:

a. a display engine which produces light defining said synthetic image;

b. display optics in the path of said light defining said synthetic image;

c. a wire grid polarizing combiner through which said real image is contemporaneously viewable, said display optics relaying said light to said wire grid polarizing combiner, and said wire grid polarizing combiner reflecting said light such that said synthetic image is overlaid onto said contemporaneously viewable real image;

d. said light produced by said display engine is linearly polarized light;

e. a light engine which produces additional light to illuminate said display engine;

f. a polarizing beamsplitter in the path of said additional light, said polarizing beamsplitter polarizing a portion of said additional light and reflecting such polarized portion of additional light onto said display engine to enable said display engine to produce said linearly polarized light defining said synthetic image;

g. said display optics conveying said linearly polarized light to said wire grid polarizing combiner; and

h. said wire grid polarizing combiner reflecting said linearly polarized light such that said synthetic image is overlaid onto said contemporaneously viewable real image.

26. The wearable display of claim 25 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is flat.

27. The wearable display of claim 25 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is curved in at least one axis.

28. The wearable display of claim 27 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is curved in two axes, having the shape of a concentric shell section of a toroid.

29. The wearable display of claim 28 wherein said display optics further comprise image aberration correction optics intermediate said display engine and said wire grid polarizing combiner, said image aberration correction optics correcting for aberrations caused due to said wire grid polarizing combiner being curved in two axes.

30. The wearable display of claim 29 wherein said image aberration correction optics further comprise:

a. tilted and decentered lenses between said display engine and said wire grid polarizing combiner;

b. rotational symmetric aspherical lenses intermediate said tilted and decentered lenses and said wire grid polarizing combiner; and

c. wherein said rotational symmetric aspherical lenses pre-distorting said synthetic image in a manner which cancels out distortion caused by said wire grid polarizing combiner being curved in two axes such that said synthetic image reflected at said wire grid polarizing combiner is presented undistorted.

31. The wearable display of claim 28 wherein said wire grid polarizing combiner is a magnifier.

32. The wearable display of claim 25 wherein said linearly polarized light is one of monochrome and modulated field sequential colored light.

33. The wearable display of claim 25 wherein said light engine further comprises one of LEDs, a laser, an incandescent source, and a fluorescent source.

34. The wearable display of claim 25 wherein said display engine further comprises an LCoS.

35. The wearable display of claim 25 wherein said beamsplitter further comprises a wire grid polarizing beamsplitter.

36. The wearable display of claim 25 further comprising illumination optics concentrating said light produced by said light engine on said beamsplitter.

37. The wearable display of claim 36 wherein said illumination optics further comprise a total internal reflection block concentrating said light from said light engine onto said polarizing beamsplitter.

38. The wearable display of claim 37 wherein said total internal reflection block further comprises a reflective off axis parabola portion.

39. The wearable display of claim 37 wherein said light directing member further comprises a Fresnel lens.

40. The wearable display of claim 39 further comprising a contrast enhancing polarizer intermediate said polarizing beamsplitter and said wire grid polarizing combiner.

41. The wearable display of claim 40 wherein said contrast enhancing polarizer further comprises a contrast enhancing wire grid polarizer.

42. The wearable display of claim 39 further comprising a fiber optic faceplate adjacent said display engine.

43. The wearable display of claim 25 further comprising display optics intermediate said polarizing beamsplitter and said wire grid polarizing combiner, said display optics transmitting said linearly polarized light defining said synthetic image to said wire grid polarizing combiner.

44. The wearable display of claim 43 wherein said display optics further comprise image enlargement optics.

45. The wearable display of claim 44 wherein said image enlargement optics further comprise a modified Ploessl lens arrangement.

46. The wearable display of claim 44 wherein said image enlargement optics further comprise an apochromatic eyepiece.