Optical hyperfocal reflective systems and methods, and augmented reality and/or virtual reality displays incorporating same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11125993-B2
Application number	US-201816214142-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 10, 2018
Priority date	Dec 10, 2018
Publication date	Sep 21, 2021
Grant date	Sep 21, 2021

Abstract

Optical hyperfocal reflective systems and methods are provided. One such optical hyperfocal reflective system has an optical substrate; an optical input coupling portion configured to input couple a collimated display image to the optical substrate; and an optical hyperfocal output coupling portion integrated with said optical substrate. The optical output coupling portion includes at least one hyperfocal reflective view port formed from a discrete optical hyperfocal reflector spot integrated with the optical substrate. The discrete optical hyperfocal reflector spot is sized to form a reflected discrete optical spot beam with a diameter at a target area such that a view of a discrete virtual display image portion, as seen by a lens-detector system locatable at the target area, is hyperfocused.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical hyperfocal reflective system comprising:
at least one optical substrate;
an optical input coupling portion configured to input couple a collimated display image to the optical substrate; and
an optical hyperfocal output coupling portion integrated with said optical substrate;
wherein said optical output coupling portion includes at least one hyperfocal reflective view port;
wherein said hyperfocal reflective view port comprises at least one discrete optical hyperfocal reflector spot integrated with said optical substrate;
wherein said discrete optical hyperfocal reflector spot is at least partially reflective and configured to reflectively project on to a target area located at predetermined working distance from said hyperfocal reflective view port a discrete portion of the optical input coupled display image rays as a discrete optical spot beam of rays that form a discrete virtual display image portion,

wherein the discrete optical hyperfocal reflector spot is sized to form the discrete optical spot beam with a diameter at the target area such that the view of the discrete virtual display image portion, as seen by a lens-detector system locatable at the target area, is hyperfocused.

2. The optical system of claim 1 , wherein said optical hyperfocal output coupling portion includes a plurality of said hyperfocal reflective view ports integrated with said optical substrate, and wherein the optical hyperfocal reflector spots are distributed spaced apart from one another in a pattern extending along said optical hyperfocal coupling portion and form a plurality of the virtual display image portion hyperfocused views which collectively substantially correspond to the display image or a portion thereof.

3. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein said target area is a target area for a human eye and wherein said hyperfocused view of the virtual display portion observable by the human eye locatable at the target area is hyperfocused.

4. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein said optical substrate is partially or substantially transparent to optical rays of a real world image received through a face of the optical substrate facing away from said eye target area.

5. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein at least some of said optical hyperfocal reflector spots are embedded in said optical substrate.

6. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein at least some of said optical reflector spots are disposed on a face of the optical substrate.

7. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein each of said optical hyperfocal reflector spots has an aperture diameter of between about 100 and 1000 microns.

8. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein each of said discrete spot beams has a diameter at the target area of between 100 and 1000 microns.

9. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein each or some of said optical hyperfocal reflector spots of said plurality of hyperfocal view ports are spaced apart by an inter-reflector distance, wherein said inter-reflector distance is between about 500 um to 8 mm.

10. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein the shape and pattern of said optical hyperfocal reflector spots is selected such that the virtual display image views formed by said plurality of hyperfocal view ports tessellate.

11. The optical system of claim 10 ,
wherein said plurality of hyperfocal reflective view ports comprise a plurality of red light hyperfocal reflective view ports, a plurality of green light hyperfocal reflective view ports and a plurality of blue light hyperfocal reflective view ports,
wherein the optical hyperfocal reflector spot of each of said plurality of red light hyperfocal view ports is configured to selectively reflect the input coupled collimated display image rays having a specific or band of wavelengths of red light and to substantially pass light having other wavelengths,
wherein the optical hyperfocal reflector spot of each of said plurality of green light hyperfocal view ports is configured to selectively reflect the input coupled collimated display image rays having a specific or band of wavelengths of green light and to substantially pass light having other wavelengths, and
wherein the optical hyperfocal reflector spot of each of said plurality of blue light hyperfocal view ports is configured to selectively reflect the input coupled collimated display image rays having a specific or band of wavelengths of blue light and to substantially pass light having other wavelengths.

12. The optical system of claim 11 , wherein each reflector spot of each of said plurality of said hyperfocal view ports is configured to substantially pass the optical rays of the real world image having the other wavelengths of light that are not reflected by the reflector spot and allow them to reach said eye target area superimposed on said display image rays having the specific or band of wavelengths selective reflected by the reflector spot.

13. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein each or some of said optical hyperfocal reflector spots are wavelength selective reflector spots.

14. The optical system of claim 13 , wherein said optical substrate is partially or substantially transparent to optical rays of a real world image received through a face of the optical substrate facing away from said eye target area.

15. The optical system of claim 14 , wherein said pattern of hyperfocal reflector spots comprises alternating red light hyperfocal reflector spots, blue light hyperfocal reflector spots and green light hyperfocal reflector spots.

16. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein each of said hyperfocal spots comprises at least one reflective coating.

17. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein each of said hyperfocal reflector spots comprises a diffraction optical element.

18. The optical system of claim 2 , wherein each of said hyperfocal reflector spots comprises a polarisation selective reflector spot.

19. The optical system of claim 18 , wherein said first polarisation state is orthogonal to said second polarisation state or at an intermediate angle selected according to the position of the hyperfocal reflective spot along the optical substrate.

20. The optical system of claim 2 , where said plurality of hyperfocal reflector spots comprise first polarisation state selective reflector spots and second polarisation state selective reflector spots, said first polarisation state being different from said second polarisation state.

Assignees

• Facebook Tech Llc

Inventors

• Pennell Brennon
• Leighton James
• Stannard Adrian
• Noui Louahab
• Wright Iain
• Hoar Lawrence

Classifications

• G02B27/0075 Primary

  with means for altering, e.g. increasing, the depth of field or depth of focus · CPC title

• G02B27/0172 Primary

  characterised by optical features · CPC title

• G02B2027/0134

  of stereoscopic type · CPC title

• G02B27/141

  using dichroic mirrors · CPC title

• G02B6/0055

  Reflecting element, sheet or layer · CPC title