Display system with virtual image distance adjustment and corrective lenses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10983352-B2
Application number	US-201916713877-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2019
Priority date	Jan 15, 2019
Publication date	Apr 20, 2021
Grant date	Apr 20, 2021

Abstract

A head-mounted device may have a display that displays computer-generated content for a user. The head-mounted device may have an optical system that directs the computer-generated image towards eye boxes for viewing by a user. The optical system may be a see-through optical system that allows the user to view a real-world object through the optical system while receiving the computer-generated image or the optical system may include a non-removable lens and a removable vision correction lens through which an opaque display is viewable. The optical system may include a removable lens. The removable lens may serve as a custom vision correction lens to correct for a user's vision defects. The optical system may have a projection bias lens that places computer-generated content at one or more desired virtual image distances and a corresponding compensation bias lens.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure;
a display coupled to the head-mounted support structure that is configured to provide an image containing computer-generated content; and
an optical system that provides the image to an eye box while allowing a real-world object to be viewed through the optical system from the eye box, wherein the optical system includes first and second lenses and an optical coupler through which the real-world object is viewable from the eye box, wherein the optical system includes a waveguide that supplies the image to the optical coupler, wherein the optical coupler supplies the image to the eye box through the first lens, wherein the first lens comprises a removable lens, wherein the first lens is a vision-correction-and-projection-bias lens that has a vision-correction component and a projection bias component, and wherein the second lens is a compensation bias lens that is complementary to the projection bias component and that compensates for the projection bias component.

2. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the second lens is a progressive lens.

3. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the second lens is a bifocal lens.

4. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the second lens has a plurality of regions with a plurality of corresponding lens powers and wherein the projection bias component has a plurality of associated regions with corresponding complementary lens powers.

5. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the vision-correction component is a progressive lens component.

6. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the projection bias component is a positive lens component configured to correct for farsightedness.

7. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the vision-correction component is an asymmetric component configured to correct for astigmatism.

8. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the head-mounted support structure comprises a support structure magnet and wherein the first lens comprises a mating magnet.

9. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the second lens comprises a non-removable lens that is permanently coupled to the head-mounted support structure.

10. The system defined in claim 1 wherein the optical coupler and the waveguide are interposed between the first and second lenses and wherein the first lens has at least first and second regions of different lens powers.

11. The system defined in claim 10 wherein the first region is vertically above the second region when the head-mounted support structure is being worn and wherein the second region has a larger lens power than the first region.

12. A system, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure;
a display coupled to the head-mounted support structure that is configured to provide an image containing computer-generated content; and
an optical system that provides the image to an eye box, wherein the optical system includes a non-removable lens and a removable lens and wherein the removable lens has a convex lens surface facing the non-removable lens and is separated from the non-removable lens by an air gap.

13. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the removable lens has a concave surface opposing the convex lens surface and wherein the concave surface faces the eye box, the removable lens further comprising removable lens coupling structures configured to removably couple the removable lens to the head-mounted support structure.

14. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the removable lens has ring-shaped regions of different lens powers to compensate for field curvature.

15. A system, comprising:
a head-mounted support structure;
a display coupled to the head-mounted support structure that is configured to provide an image containing computer-generated content; and
an optical system that provides the image to an eye box while allowing a real-world object to be viewed through the optical system from the eye box, wherein the optical system includes a waveguide that receives the image and includes an output coupler that couples the image out of the waveguide towards the eye box, wherein the optical system further comprises first, second, and third lenses, the second and third lenses being disposed between the output coupler and the eye box, wherein the output coupler couples the image provided by the display out of the waveguide and to the eye box through the second and third lenses, and wherein the third lens comprises a removable lens.

16. The system defined in claim 15 wherein the second lens comprises a projection bias lens and wherein the first lens comprises a complementary compensation bias lens.

17. The system defined in claim 16 wherein the second lens has at least first and second regions with different lens powers.

18. The system defined in claim 16 wherein the third lens comprises a vision-correction lens.

19. The system defined in claim 16 wherein the second lens has a negative lens power and the first lens has a complementary positive lens power.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Chan Victoria C
• Gambacorta Christina G
• Stamenov Igor

Classifications

• G02B27/0172 Primary

  characterised by optical features · CPC title

• G02B3/10

  Bifocal lenses; Multifocal lenses · CPC title

• G02C9/00

  Attaching auxiliary optical parts (auxiliary optical parts per se G02C7/08 - G02C7/16) · CPC title

• G02C7/081

  Ophthalmic lenses with variable focal length · CPC title

• G02B2027/0178

  Eyeglass type (eyeglass details G02C) · CPC title