Optical combiner apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10649209-B2
Application number	US-201615206111-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2016
Priority date	Jul 8, 2016
Publication date	May 12, 2020
Grant date	May 12, 2020

Abstract

Optical combiners are provided. The optical combiner may have a see through optically transparent substrate and a patterned region included in the optically transparent substrate and disposed along a wave propagation axis of the substrate. The patterned region may be partially optically reflective and partially optically transparent. The patterned region may comprise a plurality of optically transparent regions of the optically transparent substrate and a plurality of optically reflective regions inclined relative to the optical transparent substrate wave propagation axis. Augmented reality optical apparatus, such a head up display, may include the optical combiner.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical combiner comprising:
a transparent optical waveguide substrate for receiving an optical image comprising a plurality of optical image rays and viewing there through a distant real world scene;
wherein said transparent optical waveguide substrate comprises a volume of optical transparent material having a rear face for receiving optical rays of said distant real world scene, a front face, opposite said rear face, for allowing said optical rays of said distant real world scene to exit from said transparent optical waveguide substrate, an optical image receiving end or side for receiving said optical image, and an optical propagation axis extending along said volume of said transparent optical waveguide substrate from said optical image receiving side or end;
a plurality of reflective elements arranged within said transparent optical waveguide substrate for reflecting said received optical image;
wherein said plurality of reflective elements comprise a plurality of reflective dots inclined at the same angle relative to the optical image propagation axis, and wherein said plurality of reflective dots are traversely spaced apart perpendicular to the optical image propagation axis and spaced apart along the volume of said optical transparent substrate;
a plurality of traversley extending optical transparent regions of said transparent optical substrate, said plurality of traversley extending optical transparent regions interposing traversley spaced apart reflective dots;
wherein the plurality of reflective dots and the plurality of traversley extending optical transparent regions are distributed traversley and along the volume of said transparent optical substrate such that optical image rays that are unreflected by reflective dots distributed nearer to said optical image receiving end or side selectively pass through said traversley extending optical transparent regions between adjacent traversley spaced apart reflective dots and without being reflected by reflective dots until they are selectively reflected further away from said optical image receiving end or side by reflective dots disposed at different points along said volume of said optical transparent substrate so that said selectively reflected optical image rays together form a reflection image of the optical image being received;
and
wherein, when the optical combiner is in use, the received optical image is reflected and superimposed on said real world scene view so as to allow viewing of said distant real world scene while simultaneously viewing the optical image superimposed on said real world scene.

2. The optical combiner of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of partially reflective planes, wherein at least one of said plurality of partially reflective planes comprises a regular pattern or irregular pattern of reflective dots of said plurality of reflective dots.

3. The optical combiner of claim 2 , wherein said reflective dots of said pattern are parallel in tilt to each other and wherein said reflective dots of said pattern are distributed in a common plane; and
wherein said common plane is the same plane as the plane in which the reflective dots are tilted.

4. The optical combiner of claim 2 , wherein said pattern of reflective dots are parallel in tilt to each other and wherein said pattern of reflective dots are arranged in a common plane; wherein said common plane is a different plane from the plane in which the reflective dots are tilted.

5. The optical combiner of claim 2 , wherein said reflective dots are fully reflective dots.

6. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein at least some of said plurality of reflective dots are parallel in tilt to each other and wherein the at least some of said plurality of reflective dots are distributed throughout a volume within the optical waveguide.

7. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein at least some of said plurality of reflective dots are arranged in distinct planes.

8. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein any one or any combination of dimensions, degree of randomizations, areas and spacings of at least some of said reflective dots are different or the same.

9. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein the size, shape and spacing of the reflective dots is independently varied.

10. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein the shapes of the reflective dots are regular and/or random.

11. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of reflective dots comprise reflective dots that are each fully or substantially reflective on the side of the dot that predominantly faces the optical image receiving end or side of said optical waveguide substrate, and fully or substantially absorbing on the side of the dot that predominantly faces the real world scene.

12. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of reflective dots comprise groups of reflective dots arranged in said optical waveguide substrate, each group of reflective dots being arranged to reflect a portion of the optical image which has not been fully reflected by reflective dots of other groups disposed closer to an optical image receiving end of said optical wave guide substrate.

13. The optical combiner of claim 12 , wherein said groups of reflective dots comprise a first group of reflective dots and a second group of reflective dots; and wherein the second group of reflective dots is spaced apart from the first group of reflective dots along said optical waveguide substrate to enable an eye box for viewing the superimposed optical image and real world scene to have an extended size.

14. The optical combiner of claim 12 , wherein the reflective dots across all of said groups are arranged with the same tilt.

15. The optical combiner of claim 12 , wherein said groups of reflective dots are arranged in respective spaced apart planes.

16. The optical combiner of claim 15 , wherein at least some of said spaced apart planes are parallel with one another.

17. The optical combiner of claim 15 , wherein at least some of said spaced apart planes are offset from one another.

18. The optical combiner of claim 17 , wherein any one or any combination of the sizes, shapes, numbers and spacings of at least some of the reflective dots are the same or different from one another.

19. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein reflective dots of said plurality of reflective dots are formed on separate substrates integrated in said optical waveguide substrate.

20. The optical combiner of claim 19 , wherein reflective dots of said plurality of reflective dots are formed above and/or below boundary surfaces of said separate substrates.

21. The optical combiner of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of reflective dots are formed directly in intermediate regions of said optical waveguide substrate.

22. The optical combiner of claim 21 , wherein reflective dots of said plurality of reflective dots are formed above and/or below boundary surfaces of said intermediate regions.

23. An augmented reality image and a real world scene near eye optical combiner comprising:
a transparent optical waveguide substrate;
wherein said transparent optical waveguide substrate comprises a volume of optical transparent material having a rear face, a front face, opposite said rear face, an optical image receiving end or side, and an optical propagation axis extending along said volume of said transparent optical waveguide substrate from said optical image receiving s

Assignees

• Daqri Llc

Inventors

• Leighton James
• Wellington Iain
• Stannard Adrian
• Greenhalgh Philip A
• Ma Nan

Classifications

• G02B27/147

  using averaging effects by spatially variable reflectivity on a microscopic level, e.g. polka dots, chequered or discontinuous patterns, or rapidly moving surfaces (G02B27/1086 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B2027/0125

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

• G02B2027/0118

  comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility · CPC title

• G02B6/0043

  provided on the surface of the light guide · CPC title

• G02B27/0172 Primary

  characterised by optical features · CPC title