Image-pickup display device having optical element provided with diffraction element portion

• US 8,411,365 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2010
• Issued: 04/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Saito, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Chieh M
• Assistant Examiner(s): TEJANO, DWIGHT ALEX C
• Application Number:
  US12/904,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20110090389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 359/631
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/18 Diffraction gratings holographic optical elements G02B5/32, G03H; integrally combined with optical fibres G02B6/02057; for coupling light guides G02B6/34; integrally combined with optical integrated light guides G02B6/12; grating systems G02B27/44

Abstract

An image-pickup display device includes an optical system which guides lights from a display element 1 to an exit pupil 3 and from an external to an image-pickup element 2. The optical system includes an optical element 10 which is filled with a medium having a refractive index larger than 1. The optical element includes a first surface 7 at an external side and includes a diffraction element portion 13. The optical system guides the light from the display element to the exit pupil via reflection on a second surface 5 and the first surface and via transmission on the second surface, and diffracts the light from the external in the diffraction element portion to be transmitted through the first surface to enter the optical element, and is reflected on the second surface to be transmitted through a third surface 5 to be guided to the image-pickup element.

Claims

1. An image-pickup display device comprising:

a display element configured to display an original image;

an image-pickup element configured to convert an optical image into an electric signal; and

an optical system configured to guide light from the display element to an exit pupil and guide light from an external to the image-pickup element,

wherein the image-pickup display device displays an image generated based on an output of the image-pickup element as the original image on the display element,

wherein the optical system includes an optical element in which an area inside at least three optical surfaces is filled with a medium having a refractive index larger than 1,

wherein the optical element includes a half mirror surface as a first surface at an external side of the at least three optical surfaces and includes a diffraction element portion at the external side of the first surface, and

wherein the optical system is configured to guide the light from the display element to the exit pupil via reflection on a second surface closest to the exit pupil of the at least three optical surfaces and the first surface and via transmission on the second surface, and is configured to diffract the light from the external in the diffraction element portion to be transmitted through the first surface to enter the optical element, and to be reflected on the second surface to be transmitted through a third surface different from the first and second surfaces to be emitted from the optical element to be guided to the image-pickup element.

2. An image-pickup display device according to claim 1,

wherein a diffraction efficiency of n-th order diffracted light which meets n<

−

2 or +2<

n is higher than that of diffracted light having an order other than the n-th order in the diffraction element portion.

3. An image-pickup display device according to claim 1,

wherein the diffraction element portion is configured by stacking a plurality of diffraction gratings which are formed by media different from each other.