Eyebox adjustment for interpupillary distance

• US 9,298,012 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Bohn, David D., Fleck, Rod G., Robbins, Steven John
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Thomas K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lei, Jie
• Application Number:
  US14/134,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20140104685A1
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 359/13, 359411-418, 359/473, 359/481, 359630-633, 345/7, 345/8, 345/9, 351/204, 351/210
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/36 using refractive optical elements, e.g. prisms, in the optical path between the images and the observer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/12 Adjusting pupillary distance of binocular pairs

Abstract

In embodiments of eyebox adjustment for interpupillary distance, a first optical lens receives light of an image at a projected orientation of the light, and deviates the light by a deviation angle from the projected orientation of the light. A second optical lens receives the deviated light of the image from the first optical lens at the deviation angle, and alters the deviated light back to the projected orientation of the light for viewing the image. Left and right eyeboxes align with respective left and right eyes that view the image, and a distance between the left and right eyeboxes approximately correlates to an interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes. The light of the image can be laterally shifted to increase or decrease the distance between the left and right eyeboxes.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

left optical lenses configured to receive light of an image for viewing with a left eye, the left optical lenses including a first left optical lens and a second left optical lens, the first left optical lens configured to deviate the light of the image by a first deviation angle;

right optical lenses configured to receive the light of the image for viewing with a right eye, the right optical lenses including a first right optical lens and a second right optical lens, the first right optical lens configured to deviate the light of the image by a second deviation angle; and

a left eyebox and a right eyebox each configured to align with the respective left and right eyes that view the image, the left and right optical lenses configured to laterally shift the light of the image based in part on the first and second deviation angles to increase or decrease a distance between the left and right eyeboxes.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the distance between the left eyebox and the right eyebox approximately correlates to an interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

3. The system as recited in claim 2, further comprising variable position settings of the distance between the left and right eyeboxes to correlate with the interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the distance between the left and right eyeboxes is based on a user input of the interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the first left optical lens is configured to receive the light of the image from a display optic at a projected orientation of the light, and deviate the light by the first deviation angle;

the first right optical lens is configured to receive the light of the image from the display optic at the projected orientation of the light, and deviate the light by the second deviation angle;

the second left optical lens is configured to receive the deviated light of the image from the first left optical lens at the first deviation angle and alter the deviated light back to the projected orientation of the light;

the second right optical lens is configured to receive the deviated light of the image from the first right optical lens at the second deviation angle and alter the deviated light back to the projected orientation of the light;

the light of the image is laterally shifted exiting the second left optical lens based on the first deviation angle and a distance between the first left optical lens and the second left optical lens; and

the light of the image is laterally shifted exiting the second right optical lens based on the second deviation angle and the distance between the first right optical lens and the second right optical lens.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, further comprising position settings of the left and right eyeboxes for viewing the image, the position settings including:

a first position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes increased to correlate to a wide interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes;

a second position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes not laterally shifted when the first optical lens projects the light of the image through at the projected orientation of the light; and

a third position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes decreased to correlate to a narrow interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the first optical lens is configured for on-off control, the first and third positions enabled when the first optical lens is turned-on, and the second position enabled when the first optical lens is turned-off.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an eye-tracking camera configured to image a location of the left and right eyes, and wherein the distance between the left and right eyeboxes is adjusted based on the location of the left and right eyes.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving light of an image for viewing in a left display lens system and in a right display lens system;

deviating the light of the image through a first left optical lens of the left display lens system by a first deviation angle and through a first right optical lens of the right display lens system by a second deviation angle; and

laterally-shifting the light of the image in at least one of the left display lens system and the right display lens system based in part on the first and second deviation angles to increase or decrease a distance between a left eyebox and a right eyebox.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the left and right eyeboxes each align with respective left and right eyes that view the image, and wherein the distance between the left and right eyeboxes approximately correlates to an interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the distance between the left and right eyeboxes is variable to correlate with the interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

imaging the left and right eyes with an eye-tracking camera;

determining a location of the left and right eyes; and

adjusting the distance between the left and right eyeboxes based on the determined location of the left and right eyes.

13. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the left display lens system further includes a second left optical lens and the right display lens system further includes a second right optical lens, the method further comprising:

receiving the light of the image at the first left optical lens and the first right optical lens at a projected orientation of the light;

deviating the light through the first left optical lens by the first deviation angle for the left display lens system and through the first right optical lens by the second deviation angle for the right display lens system from the projected orientation of the light;

projecting the deviated light from the first left optical lens to the second left optical lens at the first deviation angle for the left display lens system;

projecting the deviated light from the first right optical lens to the second right optical lens at the second deviation angle for the right display lens system;

altering the deviated light received from the first left optical lens at the second left optical lens back to the projected orientation for viewing the image;

altering the deviated light received from the first right optical lens at the second right optical lens back to the projected orientation for viewing the image;

wherein

the light of the image is laterally shifted exiting the second left optical lens of the left display lens system based on the first deviation angle and a distance between the first left optical lens and the second left optical lens; and

the light of the image is laterally shifted exiting the second right optical lens of the right display lens system based on the second deviation angle and the distance between the first right optical lens and the second right optical lens.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising positioning the left and right eyeboxes for viewing the image, wherein position settings include:

a first position with the distance between left and right eyeboxes increased to correlate to a wide interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes;

a second position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes not laterally shifted when the first optical lens projects the light of the image through at the projected orientation of the light; and

a third position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes decreased to correlate to a narrow interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the first optical lens is configured for on-off control, the first and third positions enabled when the first optical lens is turned-on, and the second position enabled when the first optical lens is turned-off.

16. A wearable display device, comprising:

a left display lens system configured to form an image for viewing with a left eye, the left display lens system including at least a first left optical lens configured to deviate light of the image by a first deviation angle;

a right display lens system configured to form the image for viewing with a right eye, the right display lens system including at least a first right optical lens configured to deviate light of the image by a second deviation angle; and

a left eyebox of the left display lens system and a right eyebox of the right display lens system, at least one of the left display lens system and the right display lens system configured to laterally shift light of the image based in part on the first and second deviation angles to increase or decrease a distance between the left and right eyeboxes.

17. The wearable display device as recited in claim 16, wherein:

the left eyebox of the left display lens system is configured to align with the left eye that views the image; and

the right eyebox of the right display lens system is configured to align with the right eye that views the image, wherein the distance between the left and right eyeboxes approximately correlates to an interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

18. The wearable display device as recited in claim 17, further comprising variable position settings of the distance between the left and right eyeboxes to correlate with the interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.

19. The wearable display device as recited in claim 16, wherein the left display lens system further includes a second left optical lens and the right display lens system further includes a second right optical lens, and where:

the first left optical lens and the first right optical lens are configured to receive the light of the image at a projected orientation of the light, and deviate the light by the first deviation angle for the left display lens system and by the second deviation angle for the right display lens system from the projected orientation of the light;

the second left optical lens is configured to receive the deviated light of the image from the first left optical lens at the first deviation angle for the left display lens system, and alter the deviated light back to the projected orientation of the light for viewing the image;

the second right optical lens configured to receive the deviated light of the image from the first right optical lens at the second deviation angle for the right display lens system, and alter the deviated light back to the projected orientation of the light for viewing the image;

wherein

the light of the image is laterally shifted exiting the second left optical lens in the left display lens system based on the first deviation angle and a distance between the first left optical lens and the second left optical lens; and

the light of the image is laterally shifted exiting the second right optical lens in the right display lens system based on the second deviation angle and the distance between the first right optical lens and the second right optical lens.

20. The wearable display device as recited in claim 19, further comprising position settings of the left and right eyeboxes for viewing the image, the position settings including:

a first position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes increased to correlate to a wide interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes;

a second position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes not laterally shifted when the first optical lens projects the light of the image through at the projected orientation of the light; and

a third position with the distance between the left and right eyeboxes decreased to correlate to a narrow interpupillary distance between the left and right eyes.