Imaging optical unit and smart glasses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10514543-B2
Application number	US-201515520066-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 13, 2015
Priority date	Oct 21, 2014
Publication date	Dec 24, 2019
Grant date	Dec 24, 2019

Abstract

Disclosed is a coupling device for coupling the imaging beam path between the inner surface and the outer surface of the eyeglass lens; and a decoupling structure-present in the eyeglass lens for decoupling the imaging beam path from the eyeglass lens in the direction of the eye. The coupling device couples the imaging beam path between the inner surface and the outer surface of the eyeglass lens such that the imaging beam path is guided to the decoupling structure via reflections between the inner surface and the outer surface. A beam-splitting structure is present between the display device and the area of the eyeglass lens, in which the first reflections occurs, said beam-splitting structure splitting the imaging beam path extending from the image generator into two partial imaging beam paths, which form the beam paths arriving from different directions on the partial structures of the decoupling structure.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An imaging optical unit for generating a virtual image to an eye, comprising:
at least one eyeglass lens to be worn in front of the eye, the eyeglass lens including an inner surface facing the eye and an outer surface facing away from the eye;
a display device comprising an image generator configured to display an initial image, wherein the image generator defines a starting point of an imaging beam path that produces the virtual image from the initial image;
a coupling device configured to couple the imaging beam path between the inner surface and the outer surface of the eyeglass lens; and
a decoupling structure present in the eyeglass lens and configured to decouple the imaging beam path from the eyeglass lens in the direction of the eye,
wherein the coupling device couples the imaging beam path between the inner surface and the outer surface of the eyeglass lens such that the imaging beam path is guided to the decoupling structure via reflections between the inner surface and the outer surface,
wherein the decoupling structure is composed, along a separating line, of two partial structures which extend at an angle β to each other, and which decouple beam paths arriving from different directions in the direction of the eye, wherein different directions of the arriving beam paths are determined by the angle β between the partial structures, and
wherein a beam-splitting structure is disposed between the display device and an area of the eyeglass lens, in which the first reflection occurs, said beam-splitting structure splitting the imaging beam path extending from the image generator into two partial imaging beam paths, which form the beam paths arriving from different directions on the partial structures of the decoupling structure.

2. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein one of the beams coming from different directions forms an angle β/2 with the separating line, while the other one of the beams coming from different directions forms an angle −β/2 with the separating line.

3. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling device is arranged on a side edge of the eyeglass lens, the decoupling structure has a width which extends along a width expansion direction, and a height which extends along a height expansion direction perpendicularly to the width expansion direction, wherein the width expansion direction runs in lateral direction of the eyeglass lens, and the separating line runs between the partial structures parallel to the width expansion direction.

4. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein the separating line divides the decoupling structure into two partial structures of equal size.

5. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein, for each partial imaging beam path, the beam-splitting structure comprises at least one deflector which deflects the appropriate partial imaging beam path in the direction of the corresponding partial structure of the decoupling structure into the eyeglass lens, and the deflectors for the two partial imaging beam paths are aligned such that beams of the partial imaging beam paths originating from a common preimage point of the image generator are brought together again in the same pixel in the virtual image, and the imaging optical unit has the same focal length for both partial imaging beam paths.

6. The imaging optical unit according to claim 5 , wherein the beam-splitting structure comprises at least one of a reflective deflector and a refractive deflector.

7. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the coupling device, the decoupling structure and the beam-splitting structure are formed such that, in addition to their primary functions, they also contribute to the image generation.

8. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein the decoupling structure comprises a reflective strip structure with reflective strips.

9. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein the decoupling structure comprises a refractive strip structure with refractive strips.

10. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein the decoupling structure comprises a diffractive strip structure with diffractive strips.

11. The imaging optical unit according to claim 1 , wherein the angle β between the two partial structures is such that a parameter e=(E×α)/d assumes a value of at least 0.4, wherein E denotes the diameter of an exit pupil located on the entrance pupil of the eye in mm, α denotes a field-of-view angle in radians, and d denotes a thickness dimension of the eyeglass lens in mm.

12. The imaging optical unit according to claim 11 , wherein the eyeglass lens has a thickness dimension d of no more than 3 mm.

13. The imaging optical unit according to claim 11 , wherein the field-of-view angle α is at least 12.5 degrees in a horizontal plane.

14. A smart glasses with an imaging optical unit for generating a virtual image according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Carl Zeiss Smart Optics Gmbh
• tooz technologies GmbH

Inventors

• Dobschal Hans-Juergen
• Lindig Karsten

Classifications

• G02B2027/0178

  Eyeglass type (eyeglass details G02C) · CPC title

• G02B2027/0125

  Field-of-view increase by wavefront division · CPC title

• G02B27/0172 Primary

  characterised by optical features · CPC title

• G02B27/32

  Fiducial marks and measuring scales within the optical system · CPC title

• G02B26/0808

  by means of one or more diffracting elements · CPC title