Illumination device for near-eye display and its optical mechanism and apparatus

Abstract

The application relates to a near-eye display illuminating device, an optical-mechanical system and equipment thereof, which can reduce the size of the optical-mechanical system while ensuring the light efficiency of the optical-mechanical system. The near-eye display illuminating device comprises a multiple-in-one light source, a special-shaped color combining device and a collimating element. The multiple-in-one light source comprises a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in a non-linear manner and used for emitting a plurality of monochromatic lights with different colors. The special-shaped color combining device is arranged on the light emitting side of the multiple-in-one light source and has a plurality of optical functional surfaces used for reflecting the plurality of monochromatic lights one by one, wherein the plurality of optical functional surfaces are all relatively inclined to the light emitting surface of the multiple-in-one light source, and the intersection lines between the planes where the plurality of optical functional surfaces are located intersect each other. The collimating element is arranged in the light path between the multiple-in-one light source and the special-shaped color combining device, so that the plurality of monochromatic lights are first collimated by the collimating element and then combined into one illumination light by the special-shaped color combining device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of near-eye display technology, and in particular to an illumination device for near-eye displays and its optomechanical system and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, with the increasing maturity and development of new display technologies, more and more small portable projection media players, projection mobile phones or wearable display devices (such as AR glasses) have been launched, making their application modes more diversified and their development prospects highly anticipated.

[0003] In the field of near-eye displays, the mainstream technologies include LCoS, LCD, and DLP displays. Among them, DLP displays are highly regarded and extensively researched due to their high luminous efficiency and high contrast. However, existing DLP optical engines typically use a linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source to provide illumination, and collimation is achieved using a traditional collimating lens. Because this RGB three-in-one light source has a relatively large length, according to the principle of conservation of optical expansion during light transmission, the collimating lens needs to have a very large expansion size to achieve the required energy collection rate. This results in existing DLP display solutions being unable to meet the requirements of near-eye display devices for small size and light weight due to the large size and weight of the collimating lens. Summary of the Invention

[0004] One advantage of the present invention is that it provides an illumination device for near-eye display, as well as its optical engine and apparatus, which can reduce the size of the optical engine while ensuring the light efficiency of the optical engine system, so as to meet the requirements of near-eye display devices for small size and light weight.

[0005] Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an illumination device for near-eye displays and its optical engine and apparatus. In one embodiment of the present invention, the illumination device for near-eye displays can illuminate the DMD chip by using a multi-in-one light source arranged in a non-linear pattern and an irregularly shaped color-combining device. This helps to achieve high light efficiency with only a small collimating lens and compress the size of the optical engine system.

[0006] Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an illumination device for near-eye display and its optical engine and apparatus, wherein, in one embodiment of the present invention, the illumination device for near-eye display can effectively compress the size of the optical engine in the height direction by using a TIR collimating lens, which helps to further reduce the size of the optical engine.

[0007] Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an illumination device for near-eye display and its optical mechanism and apparatus, wherein, in one embodiment of the present invention, the illumination device for near-eye display can combine multiple monochromatic lights emitted by the multi-integrated light source into a single multi-color light by means of a new irregularly shaped color combining device, so as to meet the requirements of near-eye display devices for displaying color images.

[0008] Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an illumination device for near-eye display and its optical engine and apparatus, wherein, in one embodiment of the present invention, the optical engine for near-eye display can achieve compatibility with DMD chips of different specifications by replacing the flat prism in the relay component, which helps to improve the compatibility of the optical engine system.

[0009] Another advantage of this invention is that it provides a near-eye display illumination device and its optical mechanism and apparatus, wherein, to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, expensive materials or complex structures are not required. Therefore, this invention successfully and effectively provides a solution that not only provides a simple near-eye display illumination device and its optical mechanism and apparatus, but also increases the practicality and reliability of the near-eye display illumination device and its optical mechanism and apparatus.

[0010] To achieve at least one of the above-mentioned advantages or other advantages and objectives of the present invention, the present invention provides an illumination device for near-eye display, comprising:

[0011] An all-in-one light source, wherein the all-in-one light source includes multiple light-emitting elements arranged in a non-linear manner, and the multiple light-emitting elements are used to emit multiple monochromatic lights of different colors;

[0012] An irregularly shaped color-combining device, wherein the irregularly shaped color-combining device is correspondingly disposed on the light-emitting side of the multi-source light source, and the irregularly shaped color-combining device has multiple optical functional surfaces for reflecting the multiple monochromatic lights in a one-to-one correspondence, wherein the multiple optical functional surfaces are all inclined relative to the light-emitting surface of the multi-source light source, and the lines of intersection between each pair of planes containing the multiple optical functional surfaces intersect; and

[0013] A collimating element is disposed in the optical path between the multi-in-one light source and the irregularly shaped color combining device, such that the multiple monochromatic lights emitted by the multi-in-one light source are first collimated by the collimating element, and then reflected one by one by the multiple functional surfaces of the irregularly shaped color combining device to synthesize a single illumination light.

[0014] According to one embodiment of this application, the irregularly shaped color combining device includes a first wedge prism close to the collimating element and a second wedge prism away from the collimating element, wherein the first wedge prism and the second wedge prism are stacked in the light emission path of the multi-in-one light source, and the inclined surfaces of the first wedge prism and the second wedge prism are respectively coated with corresponding anti-transmittance films to serve as the plurality of optical functional surfaces of the irregularly shaped color combining device.

[0015] According to one embodiment of this application, the lower inclined surface of the first wedge prism is attached to the upper inclined surface of the second wedge prism, and the wedge end of the first wedge prism is misaligned with the wedge end of the second wedge prism.

[0016] According to one embodiment of this application, the upper and lower inclined surfaces of the first wedge prism are respectively coated with a red-light reflector and a green-light reflector to serve as the red-light reflector and green-light reflector of the irregularly shaped color combining device, and the lower inclined surface of the second wedge prism is coated with a blue-light reflector to serve as the blue-light reflector of the irregularly shaped color combining device.

[0017] According to one embodiment of this application, the near-eye display illumination device further includes a light-diffusing element, wherein the light-diffusing element is correspondingly disposed on the reflective side of the irregularly shaped color-combining device for light-diffusing processing of the illumination light formed by color combination via the irregularly shaped color-combining device.

[0018] According to one embodiment of this application, the multi-in-one light source is selected from one of the following: an L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source, a triangular RGB three-in-one light source, an RGBW four-in-one light source, and an RGBG four-in-one light source.

[0019] According to one embodiment of this application, the collimating element is a TIR collimating lens.

[0020] According to another aspect of this application, this application further provides a near-eye display light machine, comprising:

[0021] The near-eye display illumination device described in any of the above claims;

[0022] Display chip;

[0023] Imaging lens; and

[0024] A relay component, wherein the relay component is correspondingly disposed between the near-eye display illumination device, the display chip and the imaging lens, for transmitting illumination light emitted by the near-eye display illumination device to the display chip and transmitting image light modulated by the display chip to the imaging lens for projection imaging.

[0025] According to one embodiment of this application, the display chip is a DMD chip, and the relay component includes a first prism near the near-eye display illumination device, a second prism near the imaging lens, and a reflector correspondingly disposed on one side of the first prism, wherein the first prism and the second prism are arranged at intervals with their angles facing each other to form a total internal reflection gap between the first prism and the second prism, and the reflector and the DMD chip are correspondingly disposed on opposite sides of the first prism and the second prism.

[0026] According to one embodiment of this application, the relay component further includes a flat prism, and the flat prism is correspondingly disposed within the total internal reflection gap between the first prism and the second prism.

[0027] According to one embodiment of this application, the two sides of the flat prism are parallel to each other, and the flat prism is replaceably assembled between the first prism and the second prism.

[0028] According to one embodiment of this application, the relay assembly further includes a relay lens, wherein the relay lens is correspondingly disposed on the other side of the first prism for shaping the illumination light emitted via the near-eye display illumination device.

[0029] According to another aspect of this application, this application further provides a near-eye display device, comprising:

[0030] Optical waveguide; and

[0031] The near-eye display optical engine described in any of the preceding claims, wherein the near-eye display optical engine is correspondingly disposed on the coupling side of the optical waveguide for projecting image light to the coupling entrance of the optical waveguide. Attached Figure Description

[0032] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a near-eye display illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the multi-in-one light source in the near-eye display illumination device according to the above embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0034] Figure 3A A first variant example of the all-in-one light source according to the above embodiments of the present invention is shown;

[0035] Figure 3B A second variation example of the all-in-one light source according to the above embodiments of the present invention is shown;

[0036] Figure 3CA third variation of the all-in-one light source according to the above embodiments of the present invention is shown;

[0037] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the principle of energy harvesting efficiency of a collimating lens is shown.

[0038] Figure 5 This diagram shows the structure of a traditional RGB three-in-one light source arranged in a straight line.

[0039] Figure 6 A perspective view of the irregularly shaped color-combining device in the near-eye display illumination device according to the above embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0040] Figure 7 An exploded view of the irregularly shaped color-combining device according to the above embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0041] Figure 8A This diagram illustrates the angular components of the anti-red light functional surface in the YZ plane of the irregularly shaped color combining device according to the above embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 8B This diagram illustrates the angular components of the anti-red light functional surface in the XY plane of the irregularly shaped color combining device according to the above embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 9A , Figure 9B as well as Figure 9C The diagrams show the collimated angular distributions of the R-beam, G-beam, and B-beam emitted by the multi-source light source according to the above embodiments of this application.

[0044] Figure 10A , Figure 10B as well as Figure 10C The diagrams show the angular distribution of the collimated R-beam, G-beam, and B-beam after color mixing according to the above embodiments of this application.

[0045] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a near-eye display optical engine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a near-eye display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Key component symbols: 1. Optical engine for near-eye display; 10. Illumination device for near-eye display; 11. Multi-source light source; 110. Light-emitting surface; 1101. Light-emitting element; 111. RGB three-in-one light source arranged in an L-shape; 112. RGB three-in-one light source arranged in a triangular shape; 113. RGBW four-in-one light source; 114. RGBG four-in-one light source; 12. Collimating element; 121. TIR collimating lens; 13. Irregularly shaped color combining device; 130. Optical functional surface. ; 1301, Anti-red light functional surface; 1302, Anti-green light functional surface; 1303, Anti-blue light functional surface; 131, First wedge prism; 132, Second wedge prism; 14, Light homogenizing element; 141, Compound eye lens; 20, Display chip; 21, DMD chip; 30, Imaging lens; 40, Relay assembly; 400, Total internal reflection gap; 41, First prism; 42, Second prism; 43, Reflector; 44, Flat prism; 45, Relay lens; 2, Optical waveguide.

[0048] The above description of the main component symbols, together with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, provides a more detailed explanation of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0049] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0050] It should be noted that when a component is said to be "installed on" another component, it can be directly on the other component or it may be in a component that is centered on it. When a component is said to be "set on" another component, it can be directly set on the other component or it may also be in a component that is centered on it. When a component is said to be "fixed to" another component, it can be directly fixed to the other component or it may also be in a component that is centered on it.

[0051] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein in the specification of this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "or / and" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0052] Currently, existing DLP optical engines typically use a linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source coupled with a traditional collimating lens to provide illumination. However, when using this linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source, its relatively large size in the linear direction (i.e., the length direction) necessitates a large aperture and overall outer diameter of the collimating lens to achieve effective collimation. Forcibly compressing the size and volume of this collimating lens not only affects the collimation effect but also sacrifices the optical engine's light efficiency. Furthermore, existing color combining devices can only combine three monochromatic lights emitted from a linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source into one multicolor light source, but cannot combine multiple monochromatic lights emitted from a non-linearly arranged multicolor light source into one multicolor light source. Therefore, this non-linearly arranged multicolor light source cannot be directly applied to near-eye display devices, and thus, existing near-eye display technologies do not utilize this type of non-linearly arranged multicolor light source.

[0053] To address the aforementioned issues, this application breaks with conventional technology by using a non-linearly arranged multi-in-one light source to replace the existing linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source. Furthermore, it utilizes a newly designed irregularly shaped color combining device to combine multiple monochromatic lights emitted from the non-linearly arranged multi-in-one light source into a single multi-color illumination light. This allows for the reduction of the lateral size of the light source to a certain extent while meeting the requirements of near-eye displays, thereby reducing the volume and size of the collimating lens without sacrificing the optical efficiency of the optical engine.

[0054] Reference Appendix Figures 1 to 10C As shown, one embodiment of the present invention provides a near-eye display illumination device 10, which is adapted to provide the required illumination light as an illumination source for a near-eye display device. Specifically, as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the near-eye display illumination device 10 may include a multi-source light source 11, a collimating element 12, and an irregularly shaped color-combining device 13. The multi-source light source 11 includes a plurality of light-emitting elements 1101 arranged in a non-linear manner, and the plurality of light-emitting elements 1101 are used to emit multiple monochromatic lights of different colors in a one-to-one correspondence. The irregularly shaped color-combining device 13 is correspondingly disposed on the light-emitting side of the multi-source light source 11, and the irregularly shaped color-combining device 13 has a plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 for reflecting the multiple monochromatic lights in a one-to-one correspondence, wherein the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 are all inclined relative to the light-emitting surface 110 of the multi-source light source 11, and the lines of intersection between each pair of planes containing the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 intersect. The collimating element 12 is correspondingly disposed in the optical path between the multi-in-one light source 11 and the irregularly shaped color combining device 13, so that the multiple monochromatic lights emitted by the multi-in-one light source 11 are first collimated by the collimating element 12, and then reflected one by one by the multiple optical functional surfaces 130 of the irregularly shaped color combining device to combine into one illumination light.

[0055] It is worth noting that, since the planes containing the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 of this application intersect each other, meaning there is a spatial angle between the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13, even if the plurality of light-emitting elements 1101 of the multi-in-one light source 11 are arranged in a non-linear manner, the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 can still reflect the multiple monochromatic lights emitted by the multiple light-emitting elements 1101 one by one to be combined into one illumination light, thereby achieving the required color-combined illumination. It is understood that the optical functional surfaces 130 of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 will only reflect monochromatic light of the corresponding color, while transmitting light of other colors.

[0056] In the above embodiments of this application, such as Figure 2 As shown, the multi-in-one light source 11 can be, but is not limited to, implemented as an L-shaped three-in-one light source, such as an L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111. It is worth noting that in the first modified example of this application, as... Figure 3A As shown, the multi-in-one light source 11 can also be implemented as a triangular three-in-one light source, such as an RGB three-in-one light source 112 arranged in a triangular shape; or, in the second modified example of this application, as Figure 3B As shown, the multi-in-one light source 11 can also be implemented as an RGBW four-in-one light source 113; or, in the third variation example of this application, as Figure 3CAs shown, the multi-in-one light source 11 can also be implemented as an RGBG four-in-one light source 114. It is understood that when there are more than three light-emitting elements 1101 in the multi-in-one light source 11, such as the RGBW four-in-one light source 113 or the RGBG four-in-one light source 114, it is only necessary to control three of the RGB light-emitting elements to be lit, and the remaining light-emitting elements to be unlit, and color combination can still be achieved through the irregular color combining device 13. This application will not elaborate further on this.

[0057] In addition, such as Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, since the multiple light-emitting elements 1101 in the multi-in-one light source 11 are arranged in a non-linear manner, the lateral dimension of the multi-in-one light source 11 can be compressed to a certain extent, making it smaller than the lateral dimension of the traditional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source. Therefore, according to the conservation of optical expansion during the light energy transmission process, the energy collection rate of the collimating element 12 will be improved to a certain extent, so that the volume and size of the collimating element 12 will not sacrifice the optical efficiency of the optical engine after being reduced.

[0058] For example, such as Figure 4 As shown, taking the collimating element 12 as a collimating lens as an example, the energy harvesting efficiency of the collimating element 12 is illustrated. Here, U represents the maximum half-angle of the beam emitted from the light source that the collimating lens can collect; U' represents the maximum collimated beam angle emitted after collimation by the collimating lens; y represents the distance from the optical axis to the maximum emitting point of the light source; and y' represents the radius of the circular light spot emitted from the collimating lens. Since U' is the maximum beam angle that can be transmitted into the relay system, and y' is the maximum light spot size that can be transmitted into the relay system, the output optical expansion of the collimating element 12 is determined by the relay system and is fixed for the same relay system. Therefore, the optical expansion E corresponding to the emitted light spot collimated by the collimating element 12 is... output Implemented as: E output =π 2 *y' 2 *sin 2 U'.

[0059] Specifically, such as Figure 5 As shown, for a traditional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source, the distance y1 of the position of the maximum light-emitting point from the optical axis in this traditional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source is implemented as follows (1):

[0060]

[0061] Where 'a' is the side length of each light-emitting element in the light source.

[0062] At this point, the input optical extension E of the traditional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source output1 Implemented as: E output1 =π 2 *y1 2 *sin 2 U1, where U1 is the maximum beam half-angle collected by the collimating element 12 from the conventional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source.

[0063] Similarly, such as Figure 2 As shown, for the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 of this application, the distance y2 of the position of the maximum light-emitting point in the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 from the optical axis is implemented as follows (2):

[0064]

[0065] Where a is the side length of each of the light-emitting elements 1101 in the light source.

[0066] At this time, the input optical extension E of the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 output2 Implemented as: E output2 =π 2 *y2 2 *sin 2 U2, where U2 is the half-angle of the maximum beam emitted from the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 collected by the collimating element 12.

[0067] In summary, since the system's optical energy follows the principle of conservation of optical spread during transmission, the following relationship exists:

[0068] E output =E output1 =E output2

[0069] That is: y1 2 *sin 2 U1=y2 2 *sin 2 U2.

[0070] Obviously, when y1 > y2, then U1 < U2. That is to say, the half-angle of the maximum beam emitted by the conventional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source collected by the collimating element 12 is significantly smaller than the half-angle of the maximum beam emitted by the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 collected by the collimating element 12. Therefore, the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 is more conducive to improving energy collection efficiency.

[0071] Preferably, such as Figure 1As shown, the collimating element 12 is implemented as a TIR collimating lens 121 to better compress the size of the collimated color-combining portion in the height direction, which helps to better meet the miniaturization requirements of the near-eye display device. It is understood that because the conventional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source has a large size in the linear direction (i.e., the length direction), the opening size of the TIR collimating lens 121 will increase, and correspondingly, the required outer diameter of the TIR collimating lens 121 will also increase accordingly, which is detrimental to the compression of the collimating element's volume and size. However, the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 used in this application helps to reduce the opening size of the TIR collimating lens 121, thereby reducing the outer diameter of the TIR collimating lens 121 and helping to compress the size of the collimating element 12 in the height direction. Furthermore, the TIR collimating lens 121 can achieve the reflection and collection of large-angle light by relying on the critical total internal reflection condition corresponding to its own material, or it can be achieved by coating a high-reflection film system on its outer wall surface, which will not be elaborated further in this application.

[0072] It is worth noting that when the arrangement of the multiple light-emitting elements 1101 in the multi-in-one light source 11 is different, or when the position of the multi-in-one light source 11 relative to the collimating element 12 is different, the energy collection efficiency of the collimating element 12 will also be different. However, compared with the traditional linearly arranged RGB three-in-one light source, the energy collection efficiency achieved by the technical solution of this application can be improved. In addition, when the arrangement of the multiple light-emitting elements 1101 in the multi-in-one light source 11 is different, or when the position of the multi-in-one light source 11 relative to the collimating element 12 is different, the specific structure of the irregular color-combining device 13 will also be affected. However, it only needs to be adjusted in terms of spatial angle and will not affect its color-combining principle.

[0073] For example, taking the multi-in-one light source 11 implemented as an L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 as an example, the specific structure and functional features of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 will be described in detail below. Figure 2 As shown, a spatial coordinate system XYZ is constructed with the emitting surface 110 of the multi-in-one light source 11 as the XZ plane. The angular distribution of the RGB three monochromatic lights emitted by the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 after collimation by the collimating element 12 is as follows. Figure 9A , 9B As shown in 9C, it is easy to see that due to the difference in position between the three light-emitting elements corresponding to RGB, the emission angles of the three monochromatic lights of RGB after collimation by the collimating element 12 each have corresponding angular components in both the XY and YZ planes. Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 of the irregularly shaped color-combining device 13 can be, but are not limited to, configured as an anti-red light functional surface 1301, an anti-green light functional surface 1302, and an anti-blue light functional surface 1303 arranged sequentially along the optical path direction (i.e., in the opposite direction of the Y-axis). It is understood that in this example of the present application, the anti-red light functional surface 1301, the anti-green light functional surface 1302, and the anti-blue light functional surface 1303 can be, but are not limited to, surfaces coated with anti-red light films, anti-green light films, and anti-blue light films, respectively; however, in other examples of the present application, the anti-blue light functional surface 1303 can also be configured as a silver-plated or total internal reflection film surface. Furthermore, the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 can also be configured as optical functional surfaces for reflecting other colors, which will not be elaborated upon in this application.

[0074] like Figure 8A and Figure 8B As shown, taking red light (i.e., R light) as an example, the angular component of the collimated red light in the XY plane is R. x The angular component in the YZ plane is R. y The spatial angle between the anti-red light functional surface 1301 and the light-emitting surface 110 is implemented by the angular component θ in the YZ plane. y and the angular component θ in the XY plane x The composite angle formed, where θ y =45°+R y / 2; and in θ x =R x / 2. It is understood that the spatial angles of the remaining optical functional surfaces 130 (such as the anti-green light functional surface 1302 and the anti-blue light functional surface 1303) can also be calculated using the corresponding composite angles, or the spatial angles of the anti-green light functional surface 1302 and the anti-blue light functional surface 1303 can be set as variables and their specific values ​​determined through optimization design. The corresponding optimization objective is to make the multi-monochrome light emitted by the multi-in-one light source 11 meet the illumination requirements of near-eye display after color combining. For example, the angular distribution of the RGB three-monochrome light emitted by the L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source 111 after color combining by the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 is as follows. Figure 10A , 10B As shown in 10C, it is easy to see that the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 effectively realizes the angle adjustment of each color light, meeting the lighting requirements of near-eye displays.

[0075] It is worth noting that although the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 shown in the above embodiments and figures of this application includes only three optical functional surfaces 130, this is merely an example. In other examples of this application, the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 may also include four or more optical functional surfaces 130 for combining four or more monochromatic lights into one illumination light. It is only necessary to set the spatial angle and reflective characteristics of each optical functional surface 130 accordingly, which will not be elaborated further in this application.

[0076] According to the above embodiments of this application, as Figure 1 and Figure 6 As shown, the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 preferably includes a first wedge prism 131 close to the collimating element 12 and a second wedge prism 132 away from the collimating element 12, wherein the first wedge prism 131 and the second wedge prism 132 are stacked in the light emission path of the multi-in-one light source 11, and the inclined surfaces of the first wedge prism 131 and the second wedge prism 132 are respectively coated with corresponding anti-transmittance films to serve as the plurality of optical functional surfaces 130 of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13.

[0077] For example, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the upper inclined surface of the first wedge prism 131 can be coated with a red-reflecting film, the lower inclined surface of the first wedge prism 131 can be coated with a green-reflecting film, and the lower inclined surface of the second wedge prism 132 can be coated with a blue-reflecting film, so as to serve as the red-reflecting functional surface 1301, the green-reflecting functional surface 1302, and the blue-reflecting functional surface 1303 of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13, respectively. Of course, in other examples of this application, the green-reflecting film can also be coated on the upper inclined surface of the second wedge prism 132 to serve as the green-reflecting functional surface 1302 of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13. In addition, the coating positions of the films reflecting different colors can be changed according to the positions of the multiple light-emitting elements 1101 in the multi-in-one light source 11, as long as the color combining requirements can be achieved, which will not be elaborated further in this application.

[0078] Preferably, the lower inclined surface of the first wedge prism 131 is attached to the upper inclined surface of the second wedge prism 132, and the wedge ends of the first wedge prism 131 and the second wedge prism 132 are offset from each other. This ensures that the lines of intersection between each pair of planes containing the three optical functional surfaces 130 intersect, i.e., there is a spatial angle between the three optical functional surfaces 130, while simplifying the manufacturing and assembly of the irregularly shaped color combining device 13 and helping to reduce the cost of the optomechanical system. It is understood that in this application, the wedge ends of the first wedge prism 131 and the second wedge prism 132 refer to the thinnest end or wedge tip of the wedge prism, and the offset between the wedge ends of the first wedge prism 131 and the second wedge prism 132 ensures that the thinnest ends or wedge tips of the two wedge prisms face different directions to form the required spatial angle.

[0079] Preferably, when the multi-in-one light source 11 is implemented as an L-shaped three-in-one light source, the orientation of the wedge end of the first wedge prism 131 is perpendicular to the orientation of the wedge end of the second wedge prism 132, such that the wedge end of the first wedge prism 131 faces to the right, while the wedge end of the second wedge prism 132 faces forward.

[0080] According to the above embodiments of this application, as Figure 1 As shown, the near-eye display illumination device 10 may further include a light-diffusing element 14, wherein the light-diffusing element 14 is correspondingly disposed on the reflective side of the irregular color-combining device 13, for performing light-diffusing processing on the illumination light formed by the irregular color-combining device 13.

[0081] Preferably, the light-diffusing element 14 can be, but is not limited to, implemented as a compound eye lens 141. It is understood that in other examples of this application, the light-diffusing element 14 can also be implemented as other types of light-diffusing devices such as microlens arrays or light-diffusing plates, which will not be described in detail here.

[0082] It is worth mentioning that, such as Figure 11 As shown, one embodiment of this application can further provide a near-eye display optical engine 1, wherein the near-eye display optical engine 1 may include the aforementioned near-eye display illumination device 10, display chip 20, imaging lens 30, and relay component 40, wherein the relay component 40 is correspondingly disposed between the near-eye display illumination device 10, the display chip 20, and the imaging lens 30, for transmitting one path of illumination light emitted by the near-eye display illumination device 10 to the display chip 20, and transmitting one path of image light modulated by the display chip 20 to the imaging lens 30 for projection imaging.

[0083] It is worth noting that, such as Figure 11As shown, the display chip 20 can be, but is not limited to, implemented as a DMD chip 21, so that the near-eye display optical engine 1 can be implemented as a DLP optical engine. Furthermore, the relay component 40 can typically be implemented as an RTIR prism group or a TIR prism group to meet the relay transmission requirements of illumination light and image light in the DLP optical engine. However, in the above embodiments of this application, the relay component 40 of the near-eye display optical engine 1 can also be implemented as a double total internal reflection prism group, capable of transmitting illumination light to the DMD chip 21 with total internal reflection and image light to the imaging lens 30 with total internal reflection, thereby extending the illumination and imaging light paths within a smaller space and helping to reduce the overall size of the optical engine system.

[0084] For example, such as Figure 11 As shown, the relay component 40 may include a first prism 41 near the near-eye display illumination device 10, a second prism 42 near the imaging lens 30, and a reflector 43 correspondingly disposed on one side of the first prism 41. The first prism 41 and the second prism 42 are arranged at intervals with their inclined surfaces facing each other to form a total internal reflection gap 400 between the first prism 41 and the second prism 42, such that the inclined surfaces of the first prism 41 and the second prism 42 are implemented as two total internal reflection surfaces of the relay component 40. The reflector 43 and the DMD chip 21 are correspondingly disposed on opposite sides of the first prism 41 and the second prism 42. Thus, the illumination light emitted by the near-eye display illumination device 10 is first totally reflected by the inclined surface of the first prism 41, and then reflected by the reflector 43 to propagate in a bent manner to the DMD chip 21, where it is modulated into image light by the DMD chip 21; and the image light modulated by the DMD chip 21 is totally reflected by the inclined surface of the second prism 42 to propagate in a bent manner to the imaging lens 30 and projected into an image.

[0085] It is worth noting that the reflector 43 is preferably implemented as a curved reflector, which, while reflecting the illumination light emitted from the first prism 41 back to the first prism 41, can also reshape the illumination light to adjust the shape of the illumination spot so that the illumination spot can match the modulation surface of the DMD chip 21. It is understood that the reflector 43 can be separate from the first prism 41, and can be glued to the side of the first prism 41 as an independent optical device; or it can be integral with the first prism 41, and can be made by depositing a reflective film on one side of the first prism 41. This application will not elaborate on this further.

[0086] Preferably, such as Figure 11As shown, the relay component 40 further includes a flat prism 44, which is correspondingly disposed within the total internal reflection gap 400 between the first prism 41 and the second prism 42. It is understood that the presence of the flat prism 44 increases the thickness of the total internal reflection gap 400, which not only helps to reduce the height dimension of the relay component 40 but also reduces the assembly difficulty of the relay component 40. That is, when assembling the relay component 40, it is only necessary to glue the first prism 41 and the second prism 42 to the opposite sides of the flat prism 44, which helps to improve the stability of the overall structure.

[0087] It is worth noting that the two sides of the flat prism 44 are parallel to each other, so that the light does not change its propagation direction and angle before and after passing through the flat prism 44, but can change the back focus of the relay component 40, so that the size of the illumination spot on the DMD chip 21 can be adjusted to match the DMD chip 21 of different specifications.

[0088] More preferably, the planar prism 44 is replaceably assembled between the first prism 41 and the second prism 42 to facilitate replacement of the planar prism 44. It is understood that when replacing the planar prism 44 with one having a different refractive index, the size of the illumination spot on the DMD chip 21 can be adjusted within a certain range to match the specifications of the corresponding DMD chip 21. This facilitates the compatibility of the same optical engine system with DMD chips 21 of different specifications within a certain range, for example, compatibility between a 0.24-inch DMD chip and a 0.21-inch DMD chip, or between a 0.45-inch DMD chip and a 0.47-inch DMD chip, etc.

[0089] According to the above embodiments of this application, as Figure 11 As shown, the relay component 40 may further include a relay lens 45, which is correspondingly disposed on the other side of the first prism 41 for further shaping the illumination light emitted by the near-eye display illumination device 10 so that the illumination spot better matches the modulation surface of the DMD chip 21.

[0090] Preferably, the relay lens 45 is implemented as a plano-convex lens, and the relay lens 45 is glued face-to-face to the other side of the first prism 41. It is understood that in other embodiments of this application, the relay lens 45 may also be integral with the first prism 41, that is, the other side of the relay lens 45 may be implemented as a curved surface to achieve the effect of shaping the illumination light.

[0091] It is understood that the relay lens 45 can be, but is not limited to, a conventional lens, such as a spherical lens, an aspherical lens, or a freeform lens. In other examples of this application, the relay lens 45 can also be implemented as a Fresnel lens to further reduce the size of the relay assembly 40.

[0092] According to another aspect of this application, such as Figure 12 As shown, one embodiment of this application can further provide a near-eye display device, which may include the aforementioned near-eye display optical engine 1 and optical waveguide 2, wherein the near-eye display optical engine 1 is correspondingly disposed on the coupling side of the optical waveguide 2, so as to transmit the image light projected by the near-eye display optical engine 1 to the human eye through the optical waveguide 2, thereby realizing near-eye display.

[0093] Furthermore, the near-eye display device may further include a steering prism, wherein the steering prism is correspondingly disposed between the imaging lens 30 of the near-eye display optical engine 1 and the coupling entrance of the optical waveguide 2, for total internal reflection of the image light projected by the near-eye display optical engine 1, so as to redirect its transmission to the coupling entrance of the optical waveguide 2. It is understood that in other examples of this application, the optical waveguide 2 in the near-eye display device may also be implemented as other types of near-eye display devices, such as bird baths, as long as the image light projected by the near-eye display optical engine 1 can be transmitted to the human eye to achieve near-eye display; this application will not elaborate further on this.

[0094] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0095] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of this invention patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An illumination device for near-eye display, characterized in that, include: An all-in-one light source, wherein the all-in-one light source includes multiple light-emitting elements arranged in a non-linear manner, and the multiple light-emitting elements are used to emit multiple monochromatic lights of different colors; An irregularly shaped color combining device, wherein the irregularly shaped color combining device is correspondingly disposed on the light-emitting side of the multi-in-one light source, and the irregularly shaped color combining device has multiple optical functional surfaces for reflecting the multiple monochromatic lights in a one-to-one correspondence, wherein the multiple optical functional surfaces are all inclined relative to the light-emitting surface of the multi-in-one light source, and the lines of intersection between each pair of planes containing the multiple optical functional surfaces intersect. as well as A collimating element is disposed in the optical path between the multi-in-one light source and the irregularly shaped color combining device, such that the multiple monochromatic lights emitted by the multi-in-one light source are first collimated by the collimating element, and then reflected one by one by the multiple optical functional surfaces of the irregularly shaped color combining device to synthesize a single illumination light. The irregularly shaped color-combining device includes a first wedge prism close to the collimating element and a second wedge prism away from the collimating element. The first wedge prism and the second wedge prism are stacked in the light-emitting path of the multi-integrated light source. The lower inclined surface of the first wedge prism is attached to the upper inclined surface of the second wedge prism, and the wedge ends of the first wedge prism and the second wedge prism are misaligned with each other.

2. The near-eye display illumination device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The inclined surfaces of the first wedge prism and the second wedge prism are respectively coated with corresponding anti-reflective films to serve as the multiple optical functional surfaces of the irregularly shaped color-combining device.

3. The near-eye display illumination device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The upper and lower inclined surfaces of the first wedge prism are coated with a red-light reflector and a green-light reflector, respectively, to serve as the red-light reflector and green-light reflector of the irregularly shaped color combining device. The lower inclined surface of the second wedge prism is coated with a blue-light reflector, to serve as the blue-light reflector of the irregularly shaped color combining device.

4. The near-eye display illumination device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The near-eye display illumination device further includes a light-diffusing element, wherein the light-diffusing element is correspondingly disposed on the reflective side of the irregularly shaped color-combining device for light-diffusing processing of the illumination light formed by color combination via the irregularly shaped color-combining device.

5. The near-eye display illumination device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The multi-in-one light source is selected from one of the following: an L-shaped RGB three-in-one light source, a triangular RGB three-in-one light source, an RGBW four-in-one light source, and an RGBG four-in-one light source.

6. The near-eye display illumination device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The collimating element is a TIR collimating lens.

7. A near-eye display optical machine, characterized in that, include: Illumination device for near-eye display as described in any one of claims 1 to 6; Display chip; Imaging lens; as well as A relay component, wherein the relay component is correspondingly disposed between the near-eye display illumination device, the display chip and the imaging lens, for transmitting illumination light emitted by the near-eye display illumination device to the display chip and transmitting image light modulated by the display chip to the imaging lens for projection imaging.

8. The near-eye display optical machine as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The display chip is a DMD chip, and the relay component includes a first prism near the near-eye display illumination device, a second prism near the imaging lens, and a reflector correspondingly disposed on one side of the first prism. The first prism and the second prism are arranged at intervals with their angles facing each other to form a total internal reflection gap between the first prism and the second prism. The reflector and the DMD chip are correspondingly disposed on opposite sides of the first prism and the second prism.

9. The near-eye display optical machine as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The relay assembly further includes a flat prism, and the flat prism is correspondingly disposed within the total internal reflection gap between the first prism and the second prism.

10. The near-eye display optical machine as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The two sides of the flat prism are parallel to each other, and the flat prism is replaceably assembled between the first prism and the second prism.

11. The near-eye display optical machine as described in any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that, The relay assembly further includes a relay lens, wherein the relay lens is correspondingly disposed on the other side of the first prism for shaping the illumination light emitted via the near-eye display illumination device.

12. A near-eye display device, characterized in that, include: Optical waveguide; and The near-eye display optical engine as described in any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the near-eye display optical engine is correspondingly disposed on the coupling side of the optical waveguide for projecting image light to the coupling entrance of the optical waveguide.

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