Eye tracking head mounted display device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025362511-A1
Application number	US-202519291312-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 5, 2025
Priority date	Sep 30, 2021
Publication date	Nov 27, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

This document relates to head mounted display devices. One example can include a housing configured to be positioned relative to a head and eye of a user and a transparent visual assembly positioned by the housing in front of the user's eye and comprising multiple eye tracking illuminators distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit non-visible light and multiple eye tracking detectors distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to detect the non-visible light reflected back from the eye of the user.

First claim

1 - 20 . (canceled)

21 . A head mounted display device, comprising:
a housing configured to be positioned relative to a head and eye of a user; and, a transparent visual assembly positioned by the housing in front of the user's eye and comprising: multiple eye tracking illuminators distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit non-visible light; multiple eye tracking detectors distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to detect the non-visible light reflected back from the eye of the user; and multiple visible light emitters distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit visible light, wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators, the multiple eye tracking detectors, and the multiple visible light emitters are distributed across the transparent visual assembly within a field of view of the user, and wherein an image visible to the eye of the user is formed collectively by the visible light emitted by the multiple visible light emitters with ambient light that passes through the transparent visual assembly within the field of view of the user.

22 . The head mounted display device of claim 21 , wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators, the multiple eye tracking detectors, and the multiple visible light emitters are microscopic.

23 . The head mounted display device of claim 21 , wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators, the multiple eye tracking detectors, and the multiple visible light emitters are each less than 100 micrometers.

24 . The head mounted display device of claim 21 , further comprising a controller configured to adjust resolution of image content generated by the multiple visible light emitters based at least on the detected non-visible light from the multiple eye tracking detectors.

25 . The head mounted display device of claim 24 , wherein the controller is configured to activate individual eye-tracking illuminators at different times.

26 . The head mounted display device of claim 25 , wherein the controller is configured to cause sequential activation of the individual eye-tracking illuminators.

27 . The head mounted display device of claim 26 , wherein the controller is configured to deconvolve individual images produced by the sequential activation to obtain a resulting deconvolved image.

28 . The head mounted display device of claim 27 , wherein the resulting deconvolved image has relatively higher resolution than the individual images produced by the sequential activation of the individual eye-tracking illuminators.

29 . The head mounted display device of claim 25 , wherein the controller is configured to employ different wavelengths for the non-visible light in different conditions.

30 . The head mounted display device of claim 25 , wherein the controller is configured to employ relatively longer wavelengths for the non-visible light in bright conditions and relatively shorter wavelengths for the non-visible light in lower-light conditions.

31 . The head mounted display of claim 30 , the relatively longer wavelengths being approximately 940 nanometers, the relatively shorter wavelengths being approximately 830 nanometers.

32 . A system comprising:
a housing configured to be positioned relative to a head and eye of a user; a transparent visual assembly positioned by the housing in front of the user's eye, the transparent visual assembly comprising:
multiple eye tracking illuminators distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit non- visible light;
multiple eye tracking detectors distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to detect the non-visible light reflected back from the eye of the user; and
multiple visible light emitters distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit visible light,
wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators, the multiple eye tracking detectors, and the multiple visible light emitters are distributed across the transparent visual assembly within a field of view of the user; and
a controller configured to control the multiple visible light emitters to generate an image visible to the eye of the user that is formed collectively by the visible light emitted by the multiple visible light emitters with ambient light that passes through the transparent visual assembly within the field of view of the user.

33 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators have X and Y dimensions between 10 micrometers and 200 micrometers.

34 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators are less than 1000 micrometers apart.

35 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators are less than 100 micrometers apart.

36 . A transparent visual assembly comprising:
multiple eye tracking illuminators distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit non-visible light toward an eye of a user; multiple eye tracking detectors distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to detect the non-visible light reflected back from the eye of the user; and multiple visible light emitters distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit visible light, wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators, the multiple eye tracking detectors, and the multiple visible light emitters are distributed across the transparent visual assembly within a field of view of the user, and wherein an image visible to the eye of the user can be formed collectively by the visible light emitted by the multiple visible light emitters with ambient light that passes through the transparent visual assembly within the field of view of the user.

37 . The transparent visual assembly of claim 36 , wherein the multiple eye tracking illuminators, the multiple eye tracking detectors, and the multiple visible light emitters are each less than 100 micrometers.

38 . The transparent visual assembly of claim 36 , further comprising environment illuminators, wherein the environment illuminators are distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit other non-visible light toward an external environment.

39 . The transparent visual assembly of claim 36 , further comprising environment illuminators, wherein the environment illuminators are distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to emit structured light toward an external environment.

40 . The transparent visual assembly of claim 39 , further comprising environment detectors distributed across the transparent visual assembly and configured to sense the structured light reflected back from objects in the external environment.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Georgiou Andreas
• Pace Maria
• Kress Bernard
• Chatterjee Ishan
• Kollin Joel
• Possiwan Mario

Classifications

• G06F3/013

  Eye tracking input arrangements (G06F3/015 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B2027/0187

  slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye · CPC title

• G02B2027/014

  comprising information/image processing systems · CPC title

• G02B2027/0138

  comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera · CPC title

• H04N13/254

  in combination with electromagnetic radiation sources for illuminating objects · CPC title