Optical device for light coupling

• US 7,577,326 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2005
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lumus Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Lumus Ltd.
• Inventors: Amitai, Yaakov
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, TINA MEI SENG
• Application Number:
  US11/573,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20080025667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,475 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 385/36
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0125 Field-of-view increase by wavefront division
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0081 with means for altering, e.g. enlarging, the entrance or exit pupil
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/26 of the autostereoscopic type
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0028 Light guide, e.g. taper
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/003 Lens or lenticular sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0055 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• 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

Abstract

There is provided an optical device, including a light-transmitting substrate having two major surfaces parallel to each other and two edges, optics for coupling light into the substrate by internal reflection. One of the edges is slanted with respect to the major surfaces and a portion of the optics for coupling light into the substrate is in contact with, or located adjacent to, the slanted edge.

Claims

1. An imaging optical device, comprising:

a light source;

a light-transmitting substrate having at least two major surfaces parallel to each other and two edges;

an optical element having at least a first, a second, and a third surface for coupling light waves from said light source into said substrate by total internal reflection,

wherein at least one of said edges is slanted with respect to said major surfaces, wherein at least a portion of said first surface for coupling light into the substrate is in contact with, or located adjacent to, said slanted edge, and wherein said coupled light waves enter the substrate through said slanted edge,

characterized in that said light source emits light waves located in a given field of view, said light waves are collimated to form plane waves, and that the trapped rays from any of said light plane waves are coupled inside the substrate at the same direction.

2. The optical device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one partially reflecting surface located in said substrate, which surface is non-parallel to the major surfaces of said substrate.

3. The optical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said optics for coupling light into the substrate is a prism.

4. The optical device as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least a portion of said first surface of said prism is slanted with respect to said second surface of the prism.

5. The optical device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said first surface of the prism is cemented with optical cement to the slanted edge of said substrate to form a boundary line.

6. The optical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said optical element is disposed to form an air gap adjacent to the slanted edge of said substrate, to form an air gap therebetween.

7. The optical device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said first surface of the prism is located parallelly to the slanted edge of said substrate.

8. The optical device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said second surface of the prism and one of said major surfaces of said substrate are attached together at their apexes.

9. The optical device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said second surface of the prism is co-aligned with one of the major surfaces of said substrate.

10. The optical device as claimed in claim 8, wherein a small off-set angle is set between said second surface of the prism and one of the major surfaces of said substrate.

11. The optical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said light source is a two-dimensional light source.

12. The optical device according to claim 5, wherein a single point on the boundary line between the slanted edge of said substrate and the surface of said prism is illuminated by two different rays from a single illuminating light wave emerging from said display source that enter said prism at two different locations.

13. The optical device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said display source is disposed at an angle to the prism to cause one of said rays to directly illuminate the boundary line, and the second of said rays to be reflected first by the surfaces of said prism and then by the one of the major surfaces of said substrate before illuminating said boundary line.

14. The optical device as claimed in claim 5, wherein either said first surface of the prism, the slanted edge, or both, are coated with an angular sensitive coating.

15. The optical device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said angular sensitive coating has a negligible reflection for one part of the angular spectrum and a significant reflection for other parts of the angular spectrum.

16. The optical device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said angular sensitive coating has low reflectance at low incident angles and high reflectance at high incident angles.

17. The optical device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said angular sensitive coating causes the entire field-of-view of a predefined image to be trapped inside said substrate by internal reflections.

18. The optical device as claimed in claim 14, wherein said angular sensitive coating is calculated to cause a pre-defined image to reach the eyes of an observer.

19. The optical device as claimed in claim 2, wherein there is provided an array of partially reflecting surfaces coupling the light waves trapped by internal reflection out of said substrate.

20. The optical device as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a collimating lens positioned between the display source and said optical element.

21. The optical device as claimed in claim 2, wherein there is provided a plurality of partially reflecting surfaces located in said substrate parallelly disposed with respect to each other.

22. The optical device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slanted edge of said substrate is inclined at a different orientation than that of said at least one partially reflecting surface.

23. The optical device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slanted edge of said substrate is inclined at a similar orientation than that of said at least one partially reflecting surface.

24. The optical device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slanted edge of said substrate is parallel to said at least one partially reflecting surface.

25. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said optical device combines two different aspects of an external scene.

26. The optical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the other of said edges is slanted with respect to a major surface of said substrate.

27. The optical device as claimed in claim 26, further comprising a second optical element for coupling light out of said substrate located adjacent to said other slanted edge.

28. The optical device as claimed in claim 27, wherein said second optical element for coupling light out of said substrate is a prism.

29. The optical device as claimed in claim 28, wherein one surface of said prism contacts, or is located adjacent to, the slanted edge of said substrate.

30. The optical device as claimed in claim 27, wherein said other slanted edge is located opposite to the first slanted edge.

31. The optical device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said prism is composed of two different prisms.

32. The optical device as claimed in claim 31, wherein one of said prisms is trimmed and the trimmed prism contacts, or is located adjacent to, said slanted edge.

33. The optical device as claimed in claim 32, wherein the substrate and said trimmed prism together form a complete rectangular parallelepiped.

34. The optical device as claimed in claim 32, wherein said trimmed prism is cemented onto said substrate.

35. The optical device as claimed in claim 34, wherein the cemented contacting surfaces between the substrate and the trimmed prism extends normally to said major surfaces.

36. The optical device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said display source is disposed at an angle to the prism to cause a ray emerging from said display source to directly illuminate the boundary line and a second ray emerging from said display source to be reflected first by the surfaces of said prism and then by one of the major surfaces of said substrate before illuminating a boundary line of said substrate.

37. The optical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said coupled light waves are reflected by said second surface of the optical element before entering the substrate through said slated edge.

38. The optical device as claimed in claim 37, wherein said coupled light waves are reflected by said first surface of the optical element before being reflected by said second surface of the optical element.

39. The optical device as claimed in claim 37, wherein said coupled light waves enter the optical element through said third surface.