Projection display

• US 9,400,387 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2012
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Inventors: Simmonds, Michael David, Valera, Mohmed Salim
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Thomas K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pichler, Marin
• Application Number:
  US14/238,992
• Publication Number:
  US 20140218801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: 359566-569
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0112 comprising device for genereting colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0123 comprising devices increasing the field of view
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/1086 operating by diffraction only
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0076 Stacked arrangements of multiple light guides of the same or different cross-sectional area

Abstract

The present invention provides a projection display (10) for projecting a color image to a viewer (12) overlaid on a real world scene viewed through the display. The display comprises an image generator (16) for generating image bearing chromatic light for injection into a waveguide assembly (28) at a first range of field angles (44) and a second range of field angles (46). The waveguide assembly comprises a first waveguide (30) having a first input diffraction region (32) arranged to couple image bearing chromatic light in the first range of field angles into the first waveguide to propagate by total internal reflection; and a second waveguide (40) having a second input diffraction region (42) arranged to couple image bearing chromatic light in the second range of field angles into the second waveguide to propagate by total internal reflection. The first and second waveguides have first and second output diffraction regions (48, 50) arranged to output image bearing chromatic light from the respective waveguides for projecting a color image in the first and second range of field angles to a viewer overlaid on a real world scene viewed through the waveguide assembly.

Claims

1. A projection display for projecting a colour image to a viewer overlaid on a real world scene viewed through the display, the display comprising:

an image generator for generating image bearing chromatic light for injection into a waveguide assembly at a first range of field angles with respect to the waveguide assembly and a second range of field angles with respect to the waveguide assembly;

the waveguide assembly comprising;

a first waveguide having a first input diffraction region arranged to couple the image bearing chromatic light in the first range of field angles into the first waveguide to propagate by total internal reflection; and

a second waveguide having a second input diffraction region arranged to couple the image bearing chromatic light in the second range of field angles into the second waveguide to propagate by total internal reflection;

wherein the first and second waveguides have first and second output diffraction regions arranged to output the propagated image bearing chromatic light from the respective waveguides for projection from the waveguide assembly as a colour image in the first and second ranges of field angles, the projected colour image being overlaid on a real world scene viewed through the waveguide assembly; and

wherein the image bearing chromatic light has at least one first wavelength and at least one second wavelength different than the at least one first wavelength, the at least one first wavelength being coupled into and projected from the waveguide assembly across at least a portion of the first and second ranges of field angles, the at least one second wavelength of the light being coupled into and projected from the waveguide assembly across a range of field angles smaller than the projected range of field angles of the at least one first wavelength of the light, wherein a difference between the projected range of field angles of the at least one first wavelength of light and the projected range of field angles of the at least one second wavelength of light corresponds to a range of peripheral vision of a human viewer, and wherein the projected range of field angles of the at least one second wavelength of light corresponds to an annular range of full colour perception of the human viewer.

2. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first input diffraction region is arranged to be generally transmissive to image bearing chromatic light in the second range of field angles allowing the light in the second range of field angles to pass through the first waveguide to the second waveguide.

3. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first input diffraction region is arranged to couple into the first waveguide the at least one first wavelength of the image bearing chromatic light across a full extent of the first range of field angles and the first output diffraction region is arranged to output light of said at least one first wavelength from the first waveguide across the full extent of the first range of field angles.

4. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second input diffraction region is arranged to couple into the second waveguide the at least one first wavelength of the image bearing chromatic light across a full extent of the second range of field angles and the second output diffraction region is arranged to output light of said at least one first wavelength from the second waveguide across the full extent of the second range of field angles.

5. A projection display as claimed in claim 1:

wherein the first input diffraction region is arranged to couple into the first waveguide the image bearing chromatic light having the at least one first wavelength across a full extent of the first range of field angles,

wherein the first output diffraction region is arranged to output the light of said at least one first wavelength from the first waveguide across the full extent of the first range of field angles,

wherein the second input diffraction region is arranged to couple into the second waveguide the image bearing chromatic light having the at least one first wavelength across a full extent of the second range of field angles,

wherein the second output diffraction region is arranged to output the light of said at least one first wavelength from the second waveguide across the full extent of the second range of field angles, and

wherein the image bearing chromatic light of the at least one second wavelength is coupled into and output from the first and the second waveguides across less than the full extent of at least one of the first range of field angles and the second range of field angles.

6. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one first wavelength of light corresponds to green light and the at least one second wavelength of light corresponds to at least one of red light and blue light.

7. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein a full extent of the first and second ranges of field angles is between 20°

and 60°

, wherein the first range of field angles is from 0°

perpendicular to a plane of the waveguide assembly up to between +10° and

+30°

to the perpendicular, and wherein the second range of field angles is from 0°

perpendicular to the plane of the waveguide assembly down to between −

10° and

−

30°

to the perpendicular.

8. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image generator is arranged to generate an input pupil of image bearing chromatic light for expansion in first and second generally orthogonal dimensions by the waveguide assembly and for outputting an expanded exit pupil from the assembly, and wherein the first and second waveguides comprise respectively first expansion diffraction regions for expanding the input pupil in the first dimension and second expansion diffraction regions for expanding the input pupil in the second dimension, said first and second output diffraction regions forming one of said first expansion diffraction regions or said second expansion diffraction regions.

9. A projection display as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first range of field angles and the second range of field angles are ranges in at least one of the first dimension or the second dimension.

10. A projection display as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first dimension corresponds generally with a horizontal dimension with respect to the viewer and the second dimension corresponds generally with a vertical dimension with respect to the viewer, and the first and the second range of field angles are angles in the horizontal dimension such that the total range of field angles output from the waveguide assembly is larger in the horizontal dimension than in the vertical dimension.

11. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image generator comprises a light processor for generating image bearing light and a lens for directing said image bearing light towards the waveguide assembly over the first and the second range of field angles.

12. A projection display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image generator is arranged to split an input pupil of image bearing chromatic light into the first range of field angles for injection into the first waveguide and the second range of field angles for injection into the second waveguide, the first input diffraction region is located to receive image bearing chromatic light in the first range of field angles from the image generator and the second input diffraction region is located to receive image bearing chromatic light in the second range of field angles from the image generator.

13. A projection display as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first and second input diffraction regions are located to allow light in the second range of field angles to be received by the second input diffraction region without passing through the first input diffraction region.