Virtual image device

• US 9,052,414 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2012
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Travis, Adrian, Lanier, Jaron Z., Kollin, Joel S.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOWDHURY, SULTAN U.
• Application Number:
  US13/367,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20130201094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 353 7- 8, 353/38, 353/97, 353/99, 359/196.1, 359/201.1, 359/201.2, 359/223.1, 359/224.1, 359/489.06, 359/566, 359/594, 349/5, 349 7- 9, 349/18, 349/19, 349/33, 349/41, 349/56, 349/74, 349/112
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0174 holographic
• 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 27/4205 having a diffractive optical element [DOE] contributing to image formation, e.g. whereby modulation transfer function MTF or optical aberrations are relevant
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/44 Grating systems; Zone plate systems G02B27/46 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/00 Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3108 by using a single electronic spatial light modulator
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3197 using light modulating optical valves

Abstract

This document describes various apparatuses embodying, and techniques for implementing, a virtual image device. The virtual image device includes a projector and a lens configured to generate a virtual image as well as two diffraction gratings, substantially orthogonally-oriented to each other, that act to increase a field-of-view of the virtual image. The virtual image device can be implemented as a pair of eyeglasses and controlled to generate the virtual image in front of lenses of the eyeglasses so that a wearer of the eyeglasses, looking through the lenses of the eyeglasses, sees the virtual image.

Claims

1. A virtual image device comprising:

a projector configured to output light rays;

a lens configured to receive the light rays from the projector and to generate a virtual image; and

two diffraction gratings, positioned proximate the lens, to increase a field-of-view of the virtual image, the two diffraction gratings substantially orthogonally-oriented to each other, a first diffraction grating of the two diffraction gratings configured to increase a vertical field-of-view of the virtual image and a second diffraction grating of the two diffraction gratings configured to increase a horizontal field-of-view of the virtual image.

2. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the two diffraction gratings comprise passive liquid crystal diffraction gratings.

3. The virtual image device as described in claim 2, wherein the virtual image device comprises a pair of eyeglasses, and wherein the projector, the lens, and the two passive liquid crystal diffraction gratings are coupled to the pair of eyeglasses to generate the virtual image for a wearer of the pair of eyeglasses.

4. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the first diffraction grating comprises a horizontal diffraction grating, and wherein the second diffraction grating comprises a vertical diffraction grating.

5. A virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the virtual image device comprises a pair of eyeglasses, and wherein lenses of the pair of eyeglasses are rectangular, and tilted relative to a face of the wearer, to maximize the vertical field-of-view and the horizontal field-of-view of the virtual image.

6. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the virtual image device comprises a three-dimensional display device or a multi-view display device.

7. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, further comprising a pupil tracker configured to locate positions of pupils of a viewer, wherein the virtual image device is controlled to generate the virtual image based on the positions of the pupils.

8. The virtual image device as described in claim 7, further comprising a light re-director to deflect the virtual image based on the positions of the pupils of the viewer.

9. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the lens comprises a wedge light guide, the wedge light guide configured to receive the light rays from the projector and to generate the virtual image by projecting the virtual image from a surface of the wedge light guide.

10. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the lens is further configured to generate the virtual image for a first eye of a viewer and the virtual image device further comprises:

an additional projector configured to output additional light rays; and

an additional lens configured to receive the additional light rays from the additional projector and to generate an additional virtual image for a second eye of the viewer.

11. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the projector is at least partially transparent.

12. The virtual image device as described in claim 1, wherein the projector comprises a holographic projector.

13. A head-mounted display device comprising:

a pupil tracker configured to locate a position of a first pupil and a position of a second pupil of a wearer of the head-mounted display device;

a first projector configured to inject light rays into a first wedge light guide effective to generate a first virtual image based on the position of the first pupil;

a second projector configured to inject light rays corresponding to the virtual image into a second wedge light guide effective to generate a second virtual image based on the position of the second pupil;

two liquid crystal diffraction gratings, substantially orthogonally-oriented to each other, comprising;

a horizontal liquid crystal diffraction grating configured to increase a vertical field-of-view of the first virtual image and the second virtual image; and

a vertical liquid crystal diffraction grating configured to increase a horizontal field-of-view of the first virtual image and the second virtual image.

14. The head-mounted display device as described in claim 13, wherein the head-mounted display device is a pair of eyeglasses.

15. The head-mounted display device as described in claim 13, wherein the head-mounted display device comprises a pair of eyeglasses, with rectangular lenses that are tilted relative to a face of the wearer, to further increase the vertical field-of-view and the horizontal field-of-view of the virtual image.

16. The head-mounted display device as described in claim 13, further comprising a turning film configured to direct the first virtual image to the first pupil and to direct the second virtual image to the second pupil.

17. A virtual image device comprising:

a pupil tracker configured to locate positions of pupils of a viewer;

a projector configured to output light rays;

a lens configured to receive the light rays from the projector and to generate a virtual image based on the position of the pupils of the viewer; and

two diffraction gratings, positioned proximate the lens, to increase a field-of-view of the virtual image, the two diffraction gratings substantially orthogonally-oriented to each other.

18. The virtual image device as described in claim 17, further comprising a light re-director to deflect the virtual image based on the positions of the pupils of the viewer.

19. The virtual image device as described in claim 17, wherein the lens comprises a wedge light guide, the wedge light guide configured to receive the light rays from the projector and to generate the virtual image by projecting the virtual image from a surface of the wedge light guide.

20. The virtual image device as described in claim 17, wherein the virtual image device comprises a head-mounted display device.