Display engines for use with optical waveguides

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9959818-B2
Application number	US-201615273249-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2016
Priority date	Sep 22, 2016
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

A display engine includes light emitting elements, an optical subsystem to produce a single collimated beam of light from the light emitted by the light emitting elements, one or more image producing MEMS mirrors, one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors, and a controller. One of the image producing MEMS mirror(s) is positioned to reflect the single beam of light produced by the optical subsystem. The controller controls the image producing MEMS mirror(s) and the image reprojecting MEMS mirror(s). The image reprojecting MEMS mirror(s) is/are controlled and is/are positioned relative to the image producing MEMS mirror(s) and relative to input-coupler(s) of optical waveguide(s) so that a pupil corresponding to a scanned image that the image producing MEMS mirror(s) project onto one of the image reprojecting MEMS mirror(s), is reprojected by the image reprojecting MEMS mirror(s) onto the input-coupler(s) of the optical waveguide(s) and thereby coupled into the optical waveguide(s).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A display engine for use with one or more optical waveguides each including an input-coupler and an output-coupler, each of the optical waveguide(s) configured to cause light that is coupled into the optical waveguide by the input-coupler thereof, to travel by way of total internal reflection (TI R) to the output-coupler thereof where the light is coupled out of the waveguide, the display engine comprising:
one or more light emitting elements each of which is configured to emit light in response to being driven;
an optical subsystem configured to produce a single collimated beam of light from the light emitted by the one or more light emitting elements;
one or more image producing MEMS mirrors at least one of which is positioned to reflect the single collimated beam of light produced by the optical subsystem;
one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors; and
a controller configured to control the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors and the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors;
wherein the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors is/are controlled and is/are positioned relative to the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors and relative to the input-coupler(s) of the optical waveguide(s) so that a pupil corresponding to a scanned image that the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors project onto one of the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors, is reprojected by the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors onto the input-coupler(s) of the optical waveguide(s) and thereby coupled into the optical waveguide(s) by the input-coupler(s).

2. The display engine of claim 1 , wherein a size of the reprojected pupil at the input-coupler(s) is smaller than a size of the pupil that is projected onto one of the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors by the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors.

3. The display engine of claim 2 , wherein because the size of the reprojected pupil at the input-coupler(s) is smaller than the size of the pupil that is projected onto one of the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors, the input-coupler(s) can be made smaller than would be possible if the pupil corresponding to the scanned image projected by the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors were projected directly onto the input-coupler(s).

4. The display engine of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to produce:
a first fast axis control signal a first slow axis control signal that are respectively used to resonate fast and slow axes associated with the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors; and
a second fast axis control signal a second slow axis control signal that are respectively used to resonate fast and slow axes associated with the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors;
wherein the second fast axis control signal has a same frequency and a same shape as the first fast axis control signal but is offset in phase relative to the first fast axis control signal; and
wherein the second slow axis control signal has a same frequency and a same shape as the first slow axis control signal but is offset in phase relative to the first slow axis control signal.

5. The display engine of claim 4 , wherein:
the second fast axis control signal is offset in phase by 180 degrees relative to the first fast axis control signal; and
the second slow axis control signal is offset in phase by 180 degrees relative to the first slow axis control signal.

6. The display engine of claim 1 , wherein:
the optical waveguide includes first and second major planar surfaces that are substantially parallel to one another; and
the optical subsystem and one of the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors are positioned relative to one another and relative to the optical waveguide such that the single beam of collimated light produced by the optical subsystem travels in free-space from the optical subsystem to the one of the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors in a direction that is substantially parallel to the first and second major planar surfaces of the optical waveguide.

7. The display engine of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors consist of a first biaxial MEMS mirror; and
the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors consist of a second biaxial MEMS mirror.

8. The display engine of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors include first and second uniaxial MEMS mirrors; and
the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors include third and fourth uniaxial MEMS mirrors.

9. The display engine of claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors consist of either one biaxial MEMS mirror, or a pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors; and
the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors consist of either one biaxial MEMS mirror, or a pair of uniaxial MEMS mirrors.

10. The display engine of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to synchronously control the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors and the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors.

11. A method for use with one or more optical waveguides each including an input-coupler and an output-coupler, each of the optical waveguide(s) configured to cause light that is coupled into the optical waveguide by the input-coupler thereof to travel by way of total internal reflection (TIR) to the output-coupler thereof where the light is coupled out of the waveguide, the method comprising:
producing a single collimated beam of light from light emitted by one or more light emitting elements; and
controlling one or more image producing MEMS mirrors to reflect the single collimated beam of light to produce a pupil corresponding to a scanned image that is projected onto one of one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors; and
controlling the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors so that the pupil corresponding to the scanned image, that is projected onto one of the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors, is reprojected onto the input-coupler(s) of the optical waveguide(s) and thereby coupled into the optical waveguide(s) by the input-coupler(s).

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
a size of the reprojected pupil at the input-coupler(s) is smaller than a size of the pupil that is projected onto one of the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors; and
because the size of the reprojected pupil at the input-coupler(s) is smaller than the size of the pupil that is projected one of the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors, the input-coupler(s) can be made smaller than would be possible if the pupil corresponding to the scanned image projected by the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors were projected directly onto the input-coupler(s).

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
the controlling the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors and the controlling the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors are synchronously performed;
the controlling the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors is performed using a first fast axis control signal and a first slow axis control signal that are respectively used to resonate fast and slow axes associated with the one or more image producing MEMS mirrors; and
the controlling the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors is performed using a second fast axis control signal and a second slow axis control signal that are respectively used to resonate fast and slow axes associated with the one or more image reprojecting MEMS mirrors.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein:
wherein the second fast axis control signal has a same frequency and a same shape as the first fast axis control signal but is offset in phase by

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Bohn David D

Classifications

• G02B2027/0125

  Field-of-view increase by wavefront division · CPC title

• G02B6/0076

  Stacked arrangements of multiple light guides of the same or different cross-sectional area · CPC title

• G09G3/3413

  Details of control of colour illumination sources · CPC title

• G03B21/008

  using micromirror devices · CPC title

• G02B27/0172

  characterised by optical features · CPC title