Transparent optical element with line-of-sight infrared light source for eye tracking

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024160017-A1
Application number	US-202217985897-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 13, 2022
Priority date	Jun 15, 2022
Publication date	May 16, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

A wearable optical assembly includes a transparent optical element and a set of multiple light-emitting elements positioned on or within the optical element. The optical assembly positions the optical element in a sight line of a user wearing the optical assembly. Each light-emitting element includes one or more inorganic microLEDs that generate and emit infrared output light to propagate out-of-plane away from the optical element toward an eye or face of the user wearing the optical assembly. Each light-emitting element of the set is sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension, and the light-emitting elements occupy a sufficiently small fraction of an areal extent of the set, so as to enable visual observation of a scene, by the user wearing the optical assembly, through the optical element along the sight line of the user, the sight line passing through the set of light-emitting elements.

First claim

1 . (canceled)

2 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , (i) each light-emitting element of the first subset being arranged and connected so as to be operable independently of at least one other light-emitting element of the first subset, or (ii) each light-emitting element of the second subset being arranged and connected so as to be operable independently of at least one other light-emitting element of the second subset.

3 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , (i) each light-emitting element of the first subset including multiple microLEDs, each microLED of a given light-emitting element of the first subset being arranged and connected so as to be operable independently of at least one other microLED of that light-emitting element, or (ii) each light-emitting element of the second subset including multiple microLEDs, each microLED of a given light-emitting element of the second subset being arranged and connected so as to be operable independently of at least one other microLED of that light-emitting element.

4 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 further comprising multiple electrically conductive traces on or within the optical element that are arranged and connected for providing electrical drive current to the light-emitting elements of the set, the traces being sufficiently transparent, sufficiently narrow, or spaced sufficiently far apart so as to enable visual observation of the scene through or reflected by the substrate along the sight line that passes through the set of light-emitting elements.

5 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , (i) each microLED of the first subset comprising an infrared-emitting, direct-emitting or phosphor-converted, inorganic semiconductor microLED, each microLED of the first subset including one or more materials among III-V, II-VI, or Group IV semiconductor materials, and (ii) each microLED of the second subset comprising a visible-emitting, direct-emitting or phosphor-converted, inorganic semiconductor microLED, each microLED of the second subset including one or more materials among III-V, II-VI, or Group IV semiconductor materials.

6 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , the light-emitting elements of the set occupying less than 25% of the areal extent of the set.

7 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , each microLED of the set having a largest transverse dimension that is less than 200 μm.

8 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , the set of light-emitting elements occupying an area of the substrate having a smallest transverse dimension that is greater than 5 mm.

9 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , the entire substrate being planar.

10 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , the substrate including one or more areal regions that are curved, or two or more planar areal regions that are not coplanar with respect to one another.

11 . (canceled)

12 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , the wearable optical assembly being arranged as eyeglasses, eyewear, goggles, a headset, a helmet, or a head-mounted device, the optical element forming at least a portion of a window, lens, eyepiece, display screen, faceplate, or visor of the wearable optical assembly.

13 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , each light-emitting element of the set being sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension, and the light-emitting elements of the set being spaced sufficiently far apart, so that the set does not substantially interfere with visual observation of the scene through the optical element by a naked eye of the user wearing the optical assembly along the sight line that passes through the set.

14 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , each light-emitting element of the set being sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension, and the light-emitting elements of the set being spaced sufficiently far apart, so that to a naked eye of the user wearing the optical assembly the set is only negligibly visible.

15 . The wearable optical assembly of claim 21 , each light-emitting element of the set being sufficiently small in at least one transverse dimension, and the light-emitting elements of the set being spaced sufficiently far apart, so that to a naked eye of the user wearing the optical assembly the set resembles dust on the optical element.

16 . (canceled)

17 . The method of claim 22 , (i) each light-emitting element of the first subset comprising one or more infrared-emitting, direct-emitting or phosphor-converted, semiconductor microLEDs, each microLED including one or more materials among III-V, II-VI, or Group IV semiconductor materials, each microLED of the first subset having a largest transverse dimension that is less than 200 μm, and (ii) each light-emitting element of the second subset comprising one or more visible-emitting, direct-emitting or phosphor-converted, semiconductor microLEDs, each microLED including one or more materials among III-V, II-VI, or Group IV semiconductor materials, each microLED of the second subset having a largest transverse dimension that is less than 200 μm.

18 . (canceled)

19 . (canceled)

20 . The method of claim 22 , the wearable optical assembly being arranged as eyeglasses, eyewear, goggles, a headset, a helmet, or a head-mounted device, the optical element forming a window, lens, eyepiece, display screen, faceplate, or visor of the wearable optical assembly.

21 . A wearable optical assembly comprising:
an optical element that is transparent for visible light, the optical assembly being structurally configured so as to position the optical element in a sight line of a user wearing the optical assembly; a set of multiple light-emitting elements positioned on or within the optical element, each light-emitting element of the set comprising one or more inorganic microLEDs that are arranged to generate and emit output light to propagate out-of-plane relative to a corresponding localized area of the optical element around that light-emitting element, the optical assembly being structurally configured so that the output light propagates toward an eye or face of the user wearing the optical assembly, output light of a first subset of the light-emitting elements being infrared output light and output light of a second subset of the light-emitting elements being visible light; one or more infrared detectors or infrared image sensors, the optical assembly being structurally configured so as to position the one or more infrared detectors or infrared image sensors to receive portions of the infrared output light scattered or reflected from an eye or face of the user wearing the optical assembly; and one or more electronic circuits or electronic processors structured, connected, or programmed to (i) receive one or more electronic signals generated by one or more of the infrared detectors or infrared image sensors in response to the received infrared light, (ii) based on one or more of the received electronic signals, track movement of one or both eyes of the user wearing the optical assembly, and (iii) based at least in part on the tracked eye movement, and using the second subset of the light-emitting elements, take one or more actions among illuminating a selected portion of the scene, highlighting a selected portion of the scene, or presenting to the wearer of the optical assembly alphanumeric or graphic information superimposed on the scene in the sight line of the user wearing the optical assembly, each light-emitting element of th

Assignees

• Lumileds Llc

Inventors

• Soer Wouter
• Basin Grigoriy
• Moran Brendan Jude
• Sillevis-Smitt Willem

Classifications

• H10W90/00

  Package configurations · CPC title

• H10W70/688

  Flexible insulating substrates · CPC title

• H10W70/611

  for connecting multiple chips together · CPC title

• G02B27/0172 Primary

  characterised by optical features · CPC title

• H10H20/852

  Encapsulations · CPC title