See-through optical system

• US 8,570,656 B1
• Filed: 04/04/2010
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Paul Weissman
• Original Assignee: Paul Weissman
• Inventors: Weissman, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): FONT, FRANK G
• Application Number:
  US12/753,899
• Time in Patent Office: 1,304 Days
• Field of Search: 359/629, 359/630, 359/631, 359/633, 359/634, 359/638, 345 7- 9, 353/28
• US Class Current: 359/631
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0103 comprising holographic elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/283 used for beam splitting or combining
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/08 with discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lens diffractive Fresnel lenses G02B5/1876
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/32 Holograms used as optical elements

Abstract

The embodiments herein describe how if a narrow wave length notch of light is used to illuminate or create an image source then the beam-splitter is only required to transmit over the narrow wavelength notch. If the concave mirror only reflects the same wavelength notch then all other wavelengths will pass through the mirror and be reflected by the beam-splitter. Each of the embodiments uses a method of optical design wherein certain portions or elements of the optical system are used for multiple purposes and/or transmit certain paths of light transmission in multiple directions. This use of multiple purposes and multiple paths produces embodiments of the invention that are smaller and more robust.

Claims

1. A see through optical system comprising:

a fold mirror and a beam-splitter to view an outside world;

said beam-splitter introduces an image collimated by a non-conformal concave mirror forming a collimated virtual image; and

wherein both an outside light and said collimated virtual image can be observed by an observer'"'"'s eye simultaneously;

wherein said collimating element passes a majority of visible light and reflects a small wavelength;

a remaining portion of said visible light encounters said fold mirror;

said fold mirror reflects said remaining portion of said visible light towards an interference notch beam splitter wherein said remaining portion of said visible light is reflected towards and is observed by said observer'"'"'s eye;

a light source emits a source light through a field lens and said source light is incident upon said interference notch filter;

a first portion of said source light is reflected by said interference notch filter;

a second portion of said source light is transmitted by said interference notch filter toward said mirror;

said transmitted portion of said source light is reflected by said fold mirror towards said non-conformal notch collimating element;

said transmitted portion of said source light is reflected by said non-conformal notch collimating towards said fold mirror and is incident upon said interference notch beam-splitter;

a first portion of said transmitted portion of said source light is transmitted by said interference notch beam-splitter;

a second portion of said transmitted portion of said source light is reflected towards and is observed by said observer'"'"'s eye.

2. The optical system of claim 1 wherein said observer'"'"'s eye observes a combination of substantially all said visible light entering said system and said source light generated by said source.

3. The optical system of claim 1 wherein said non-conformal notch collimating element further comprises a holographic element, a Fresnel surface or a kiniform.

4. The optical system of claim 1 wherein said interference notch beam splitter further comprises a notch beam splitter, a dielectric notch transmitter combined with a trans-reflective polarizer.

5. The optical system of claim 1 wherein said optical system further comprise:

a combination of wave plates to rotate the plane of polarization thereby increasing the virtual image throughput;

a combination of cholesteric liquid crystal surfaces dependent on the direction of elliptically polarized light thereby increasing the virtual image throughput;

one or more absorbing filters to suppress a reflection of wavelengths which are reflected by elements in said system to said outside world; and

/or

lenses other than said non-conformal concave mirror to correct aberrations.

6. The optical system of claim 1 wherein said light source are any input device that is an image plane or that forms an image plane including:

an LCD;

OLED;

plasma screen;

CRT or a projector and a screen.

7. The optical system of claim 1 wherein said interference notch beam splitter further comprises a broad band beam splitter with a trans-reflective polarizer.

8. A see-through optical system comprising:

a fold mirror and beam-splitter to form a rhomboid prism with said rhomboid prism allowing a first view of an outside world; and

said beam-splitter enables a virtual image within said rhomboid prism, wherein a light beam forming said virtual image is collimated by a non-conformal concave mirror;

said non-conformal mirror substantially passes all outside light except a small wavelength portion which is reflected back to the outside world;

said substantially all outside light portion passes through a ¼

wave plate and encounters a mirror wherein said substantially all outside light is reflected towards a trans-reflective polarizer;

a first portion of said substantially all outside light portion is reflected by said trans-reflective polarizer towards and is observed by an observer'"'"'s eye;

a second portion of said substantially all outside light portion is passed through said trans-reflective polarizer and is incident on said beam splitter;

a first portion of said second portion of said substantially all outside light portion is reflected by said beam splitter and passes through said trans-reflective polarizer and travels to and is observed by said observer'"'"'s eye;

a source emitting a limited spectral width of a source light;

said source light is polarized by a linear polarizer, becoming plane polarized;

said first plane polarized source light passes through a field lens and is incident upon said beam-splitter and a used portion of said first plane polarized source light passes through said beam-splitter;

said passed first plane polarized source light is incident upon said trans-reflective polarizer;

a transmission axis of said trans-reflective polarizer is oriented to pass said first plane polarized source light;

said first plane polarized source light is passed to said mirror which reflects said plane polarized light towards and passes through said ¼

wave retarder becoming circularly polarized source light;

said circularly polarized source light reflects off said non-conformal notch collimating mirror;

said reflected circularly polarized source light is reflected towards said ¼

wave retarder wherein said circularly polarized source light is converted to a second plane polarized source light as a result of passing through said ¼

wave retarder;

said second plane polarized source light is passed to said mirror;

said second plane polarized source light is reflected by said mirror towards said trans-reflective polarizer wherein said second plane source light is reflected towards and is observed by said observer'"'"'s eye, wherein said system provides both outside and source to the observer'"'"'s eye.

9. The optical system of claim 8 wherein said non-conformal notch collimating element further comprises a holographic element, a Fresnel surface or a kiniform.

10. The optical system of claim 8 wherein said interference notch beam splitter further comprises a notch beam splitter, a dielectric notch transmitter combined with a trans-reflective polarizer.

11. The optical system of claim 8 wherein said optical system further comprises:

a combination of wave plates to rotate the plane of polarization thereby increasing the virtual image throughput;

a combination of cholesteric liquid crystal surfaces dependent on the direction of elliptically polarized light thereby increasing the virtual image throughput;

one or more absorbing filters to suppress the reflection of wavelengths which may be reflected by elements in the system to the outside world; and

/or

lenses other than the non-conformal concave mirror to correct aberrations.

12. The optical system of claim 8 wherein said light source are any input device that is an image plane or that forms an image plane including:

an LCD;

OLED;

plasma screen;

CRT;

or a projector and a screen.

13. The optical system of claim 8 wherein said interference notch beam splitter further comprises a broad band beam splitter with a trans-reflective polarizer.

14. An optical system comprising:

a fold mirror;

a beam-splitter;

a non-conformal concave mirror; and

an image source wherein said mirror and said beam-splitter form a rhomboid reflector;

further wherein said rhomboid reflector is used to view the outside world and wherein said beam-splitter allows the introduction of light from said image source into said rhomboid prism where within said rhomboid prism said non-conformal concave mirror collimates light from said image source to become a collimated image source making both the said outside world and said collimated image source visible to eye(s)

a first window through which outside light passes, wherein said first window absorbs one or more narrow wavelength ranges of outside light;

a reflective holographic element having one more holographic peak that match said one or more absorbent narrow wavelength ranges of said window;

a remaining portion of said outside light passes through said reflective holographic element and passes through a ¼

wave plate;

said remaining portion of outside light passes through a transparent medium and is reflected by a reflective surface and is directed towards a trans-reflective polarizer;

said trans-reflective polarizer reflects a first portion of said non-polarized remaining portion of outside light through a second window and towards and observer'"'"'s eye;

a second portion of said non-polarized remaining portion of outside light which become incident on a filter that passes said holographic peaks and reflects remaining portion of outside light through said trans-reflective polarizer and said second window to be observed by an observer'"'"'s eye;

an image plane that emits a first linearly polarized light within said one or more narrow wavelength ranges and passes through a prism;

said image plane light then enters a beam splitter and incident on said filter;

said filter passes substantially all said image plane light by transmitting said one or more wavelength ranges;

said image plane light encounters said trans-reflective polarizer and passes an entire first linearly polarized image plane light;

said image plane light enters said transparent medium and continues towards said reflective surface which directs said first linearly polarized image plane light to and through said ¼

wave plate wherein said first linearly polarized image plane light becomes circularly polarized light;

said circularly polarized image plane light is incident upon said holographic element which substantially collimates said circularly polarized image plane light and reflects said circularly polarized image plane light towards and back through said ¼

wave plate wherein said circularly polarized image plane light becomes a second linearly polarized image plane light with a polarization axis rotation of ninety degrees relative to said first linearly polarized image plane light;

said second linearly polarized image plane light enters said transparent medium and is said reflective surface said second linearly polarized image plane light towards said trans-reflective polarizer; and

substantially all, of said second linearly polarized image plane light is reflected by trans-reflective polarizer towards and through said second window to said observer'"'"'s eye.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said first window comprises an inorganic substance which absorbs said one or more narrow wavelength range or ranges of light.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein said non-conformal notch collimating element further comprises a holographic element, a Fresnel surface or a kiniform.

17. The optical system of claim 14 wherein said interference notch beam splitter further comprises a notch beam splitter, a dielectric notch transmitter combined with a trans-reflective polarizer.

18. The optical system of claim 17 wherein said optical system further comprises:

a combination of wave plates to rotate the plane of polarization thereby increasing the virtual image throughput;

a combination of cholesteric liquid crystal surfaces dependent on the direction of elliptically polarized light thereby increasing the virtual image throughput;

one or more absorbing filters to suppress the reflection of wavelengths which are reflected by elements in said system to said outside world; and

/or

lenses other than non-conformal concave mirror to correct aberrations.

19. The optical system of claim 14 wherein said light source are any input device that is an image plane or that forms an image plane including:

an LCD;

OILED;

plasma screen;

CRT;

or a projector and a screen.

20. The optical system of claim 14 wherein said interference notch beam splitter further comprises a broad band beam splitter with a trans-reflective polarizer.