Optical: systems and elements – Single channel simultaneously to or from plural channels – By partial reflection at beam splitting or combining surface
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-12
2002-09-24
Mack, Ricky (Department: 2873)
Optical: systems and elements
Single channel simultaneously to or from plural channels
By partial reflection at beam splitting or combining surface
C359S631000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06456438
ABSTRACT:
FIELD
The present invention relates generally to conformally registered display systems including but not limited to head mounted displays, and more specifically to see-through displays for conformally registered display systems.
BACKGROUND
In current head mounted display (HMD) systems, two views are presented to the user of the system. The two views are typically a real world outside view, and a displayed information view which is a generated view. The generated view may be provided by a situational awareness system (SAS). The two views can be overlaid one on top of the other in the sight line of the user in a see-through HMD.
Head mounted displays (HMDs) are extremely useful in any number of situations, including military applications such as flight operations, field operations, and the like. Commercial flight operations also can make use of HMD systems in much the same fashion as military operations. Other uses of HMD systems include use in maintenance operations. For example, a HMD could be used to overlay a schematic of a work area or circuit over the work area or circuit. Also, a list of instructions could be placed in the visual field of the user so as to be seen while a worker is also viewing a real world object on which maintenance is to be performed. The applications are many and varied, and these are just some of the uses of HMDs.
The utility of the see-through HMD design whether implemented in monocular, binocular, or biocular form is that it allows simultaneous viewing of the outside world's visual field in addition to the information directed to the viewer via the Electrooptic display. There are many applications for this such as the coupling of an electronically generated targeting reticule conformally registered to an outside scene for bore sighted weapons system control. Such see-through HMD systems have also been proposed as the visual information conveyance channel for computer-aided situational awareness systems (SAS). The basic idea of these SASs is to provide an individual team worker (or soldier for military applications) the timely and contextually task appropriate information needed to perform his job plan via autonomous SW agents polling, analyzing, fusing all networked data resources available as the work plan/mission progresses. The SAS computer condensed data is then conveyed via several channels (e.g. visual, aural, tactile) to the appropriate individuals in the team. The intent of the SAS is to optimally exploit the available data resources for the best possible collaborative team outcome against the mission/plan objective.
HMD systems typically use a beam splitter in combination with a combiner, as well as software and support hardware, to generate the two superimposed views. The beam splitter has a defined fixed splitting ratio. The beam splitter splits light intensities which are directed to the display in a fixed ratio. The typical beam splitter ratio is a fixed ratio of fifty per cent light intensity from the outside or real world view, and fifty per cent intensity from the displayed information view. As a result, the views overlie one another and are superimposed. Each view is therefore in the visual field of the user. Changing the ratio of real world to displayed information light intensity requires changing the beam splitter for a different ratio beam splitter.
Some tasks are aided well by information available both via direct view and displayed information (such as an oil refinery worker team trying to manage an abnormal situation, or a team of soldiers on a combat mission). However, the compromise 50/50 split is. clearly not optimal for all phases of the work/task cycle to be completed. During some phases of plan execution, the displayed information channel is the desired focus of attention for the user. During other phases of plan execution, the direct view is the desired focus of attention.
Certain problems exist with the use of a fixed ratio beam splitter, no matter what the fixed ratio is. Situations in which a HMD system is used may dramatically and rapidly change over small time periods. It is not practical to reconfigure a current HMD system during use. The beam splitter ratio in place when the situation use begins is for all practical purposes the beam splitter ratio in place when the particular use ends.
However, changing situations may call for or be best served by a change in the beam splitter ratio or real world to displayed information light intensity. For example, in certain situations, it is desirable for the entire visual display to be provided solely by either the real world outside or displayed information views. In the case of a worker studying a schematic, any outside world background may interfere with a portion or portions of the schematic, making it difficult or even impossible to read. In this situation, it would be desirable to exclude the outside world view, and instead transmit only the displayed view. In another instance, the focus of the user may need to be directed entirely to the outside world. For example, when the real world visual field must be searched for a certain object or occurrence, displayed information might interfere with the real world view, or obscure the real world view in some way.
Moreover, the real world, external view is both a see through view and a see in view. HMDs and SASs are also used in widely different ambient lighting conditions. The brighter the ambient light, the more light intensity is admitted into the real world part of the HMD. In very bright light, traditional HMD and SAS systems do not allow light to be denied entrance into the view. Because of this, the intensity of the displayed information must be increased in order to be able to even see it. Since see through ambient light impinges on the display seen by the user, the display electronics for the displayed image must be driven harder to generate a displayed information view that may be seen by the user. The required increase in intensity of the displayed information view puts added stress on the displayed information components. The harder the display electronics must be driven, the more power is used, and the faster the components wear out.
Other displays used with the present technology include conformally registered displays. A conformally registered display need not be head mounted. Instead, a conformally registered display may be generated by a flat panel display placed in the visual field of a user. Further, an entire cockpit canopy of an aircraft may be used as a display.
SUMMARY
The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by providing a conformally registered display system with a variable light intensity ratio between the real world and displayed information views. A conformally registered display system according to one embodiment of the invention includes a variably transmissive element positioned in the optical train of the user. The variably transmissive element is capable of adjustment of the ratio of light intensity passed to the user from the real world view to the light intensity passed from the displayed information view of the conformally registered display system to the user.
In another embodiment, the variably transmissive element is physically addressed so that light intensity may be spatially controlled in the visual field of the user. In this embodiment, light intensity in areas of the visual display of the user may be controlled separately from the light intensity of other areas of the display. This allows the user or the controller of the SAS, conformally registered display, or HMD involved with the displayed information to concentrate focus of the user on a specific area of the visual field, or to simultaneously configure one spatial region of the conformally registered display to present solely a displayed information view, while another spatial region presents a combined view or a solely real world view. This spatial discrimination of transmitted light intensity can be used in arbitrarily complex combinations, up to the limit of the spatial resolution of the address
Funk Harry B.
Lee James C.
Honeywell Inc.
Mack Ricky
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