Optical: systems and elements – Single channel simultaneously to or from plural channels – By partial reflection at beam splitting or combining surface
Patent
1995-04-21
1999-05-11
Epps, Georgia
Optical: systems and elements
Single channel simultaneously to or from plural channels
By partial reflection at beam splitting or combining surface
345 8, G02B27/14
Patent
active
059033959
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to visual displays which preferably can combine generated images with a view of the environment surrounding a user and transmit such combined visual information to the eye position of the user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is often desirable to provide visual information to a living being. Frequently, one wishes to superimpose such visual information upon the being's view of the real world. In other applications, it is desired to shield the user from a view of the environment, providing an exclusive view of the visual information.
Such displays include a number of components including, in a form known as a folded catadioptric display, an image generator, a beam splitter which receives the image light from the image generator, often via a series of lenses and other optic elements and sends a fraction, designated the reflected fraction, of such image light to a reflective combiner that is either non-transmissive or both allows light from the real world to pass through such combiner and reflects the image light such that both the real-world light and the image light are transmitted to the eye of the user through the beam splitter, often via another series of lenses or other optical elements. The beam splitter will transmit a fraction, designated the transmitted fraction, of the image light reflected from the collimator-combiner. In embodiments in which the combiner is at least partially transmissive, a fraction of the real-world light is also transmitted by the beam splitter.
Previous devices included a number of additional components. Some devices have included corrective optical elements. Other devices have included a depixelator, e.g., as described in PCT/US94/01390 filed Feb. 7, 1994 for "Depixelated Visual Display" (incorporated herein by reference). Still other devices have included apparatus for intensifying the visual display such as those described in PCT/US94/01391, filed Feb. 7, 1994 for "Intensified Visual Display" (incorporated herein by reference).
In designing a system for providing a generated image to the eye or eyes of a user, various factors are often in opposition. Although it is desirable to provide an image which has high quality so as to not only provide a pleasing and attractive display for the user but also to reduce eyestrain, very often the techniques used to produce such a pleasing image have been contrary to goals of an apparatus which is lightweight, low-cost, and relatively easy to design, fabricate and/or repair. Many previous devices have required expensive and heavy series of optical elements such as lenses to achieve a desired picture quality. Other devices have simply accepted a lower-quality image in order to achieve goals of low-cost or light weight. For example, some previous devices have failed to provide a flat focal field to the user. Others have resulted in a poor image contrast, particularly at high viewing angles of the image. Many devices have deprived the user of the full image in order to mask-off unwanted light near the edge of an image generator.
Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a personal, visual display apparatus which provides a high quality of image, which is low cost, lightweight, comfortable and has increased ease of design, fabrication, repair and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the invention is a head-mounted display (HMD) that can project an image from an image generator such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) to one or each of the eyes of the observer or both transmit such an image and combine it with a direct view of the surrounding environment. The combiner images a CRT or LCD display surface mounted above the eye with a simple metallic, dielectric or holographic fold mirror reflecting the image towards the combiner.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the device simplifies the imaging optics by reducing the total number of elements. One embodiment of the invention consists of an image generator such as a CRT or LCD, a combiner such as a spherical
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Amadon C. Gregory
Mack, Jr. Wolfgang Adam
Nikora Leo
Rallison Richard Dennis
Epps Georgia
i-O Display Systems LLC
Mack Ricky
LandOfFree
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