Optical fiber array for achieving constant color off-axis viewing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9651735-B2
Application number	US-201314056720-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2013
Priority date	Sep 11, 2013
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

Some implementations described herein involve defining a viewing angle range, also referred to herein as a viewing cone. The viewing cone may be produced by an array of optical fibers on a display. The optical fiber array may include tapered optical fibers that are capable of increasing the amount of light transmitted through the optical fiber array. The optical fiber array may be a graded index optical fiber array, wherein the refractive index of the optical fiber cores varies along the axis of the optical fibers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a display;
a substantially transparent substrate;
an array of optical fibers disposed between the substrate and the display, the array of optical fibers being capable of transmitting light between the substrate and the display, the array of optical fibers including optical fibers having substantially random lengths; and
a source of substantially incoherent light capable of illuminating the array of optical fibers, wherein light emerging from a first fiber in the array and light emerging from a second fiber in the array are mutually incoherent.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the array of optical fibers is capable of defining a viewing angle range for the display.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the array of optical fibers includes optical fibers having tapered optical fiber cores.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising low-index optical fiber cladding material disposed between the tapered fiber cores.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the optical fiber cladding material includes light-absorbing material.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the array of optical fibers includes optical fibers having optical fiber cores with a graded index of refraction that varies along an axis of the optical fibers.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the display includes an interferometric modulator (IMOD) display.

8. A display device that includes the apparatus of claim 1 .

9. The display device of claim 8 , further including a control system capable of controlling the display device, wherein the control system is capable of processing image data.

10. The display device of claim 9 , wherein the control system further comprises:
a driver circuit capable of sending at least one signal to a display of the display device; and
a controller capable of sending at least a portion of the image data to the driver circuit.

11. The display device of claim 9 , wherein the control system further comprises:
a processor; and
an image source module capable of sending the image data to the processor, wherein the image source module includes at least one of a receiver, transceiver, and transmitter.

12. The display device of claim 9 , further comprising:
an input device capable of receiving input data and of communicating the input data to the control system.

13. An apparatus, comprising:
means for displaying images;
a substantially transparent substrate;
means for transmitting light between the substrate and the display, wherein the means for transmitting light includes an array of optical fibers disposed between the substrate and the means for displaying images, the array of optical fibers being capable of defining a viewing angle range for the display; and
a source of substantially incoherent light capable of illuminating the array of optical fibers, wherein light emerging from a first fiber in the array and light emerging from a second fiber in the array are mutually incoherent.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein each optical fiber of the array of optical fibers includes an optical fiber core and an optical fiber cladding and wherein refractive indices of the optical fiber core and the optical fiber cladding are selected to provide the viewing angle range.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein a numerical aperture of each optical fiber is based, at least in part, on a square root of a difference between the refractive indices of the optical fiber core and the optical fiber cladding.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the array of optical fibers includes optical fibers having substantially random lengths.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein each optical fiber of the array of optical fibers is longer than a minimum length.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the minimum length is based, at least in part, on an optical fiber diameter and an optical fiber core index of refraction.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the array of optical fibers includes optical fibers having tapered optical fiber cores.

20. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the array of optical fibers includes optical fibers having optical fiber cores with a graded index of refraction that varies along an axis of the optical fibers.

Assignees

• Snaptrack Inc

Inventors

• Hong John H
• Ma Jian J
• Wen Bing
• Chang Tallis Y

Classifications

• G02B26/001

  based on interference in an adjustable optical cavity (interference filters G02B5/28; devices or arrangements using multiple reflections in spectrometry or monochromators G01J3/26) · CPC title

• G06F3/01

  Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer (G06F3/16 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B6/04 Primary

  formed by bundles of fibres (G02B6/24 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G09G5/00

  Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators (image data processing or generation, in general G06T) · CPC title

• G02B6/08

  with fibre bundle in form of plate · CPC title