Embedded image pipeline

Abstract

An optical device may include a coupling assembly configured to receive a collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam and a second output image beam; an image conduit configured to receive the first output image beam at an image conduit input and to provide at least one propagating image beam at an image conduit output; a first waveguide having a first waveguide rear surface, the first waveguide configured to receive the second output image beam and to emit a first expanded output image beam from the first waveguide rear surface; and a second waveguide having a second waveguide rear surface, the second waveguide configured to receive the at least one propagating image beam and to emit a second expanded output image beam from the second waveguide rear surface.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. patent application No. 63 / 392,904, filed on July 28, 2022, entitled “Embedded Image Pipe,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0003] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. The present disclosure generally relates to systems, devices, and methods for presenting optical information, and more specifically, to smart glasses (SG) and head mounted displays (HMD) with near eye displays (NED) for presenting optical information to users.

[0004] Conventional wearable optical devices, such as smart glasses and head-mounted optical displays with near-eye displays, are typically large and often heavy. Such devices may also suffer from limited Field of View (FoV) and performance limitations based on limited options for injected images, which may sometimes require a large input aperture. This may limit the usability of such devices. In addition, for example, the electronics that drive these HMDs and SGs typically consume a lot of power, resulting in lower battery life, and these devices may still provide unclear enhanced images. What is needed is a solution to these and other problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] According to an example, an optical device is generally described. The optical device may include: a coupling assembly configured to receive a collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam and a second output image beam; an image conduit configured to receive the first output image beam at an image conduit input and provide at least one propagated image beam at an image conduit output; a first waveguide having a first waveguide rear surface, the first waveguide configured to receive the second output image beam and emit a first expanded output image beam from the first waveguide rear surface; and a second waveguide having a second waveguide rear surface, the second waveguide configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and emit a second expanded output image beam from the second waveguide rear surface.

[0006] According to the optical device of this example, the coupling component also includes: a semi-transparent mirror having a semi-transparent mirror first surface and a semi-transparent mirror second surface opposite to the semi-transparent mirror first surface, the semi-transparent mirror first surface being configured to receive the collimated image light beam and provide a first output image light beam reflected from the semi-transparent mirror first surface, and to provide a second output image light beam emitted from the semi-transparent mirror second surface. According to the optical device, the first waveguide includes a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the second output image beam and provide the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; wherein the second waveguide includes a mirror configured to receive at least one propagated image beam and provide at least one reflected propagated image beam, the second waveguide also includes a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the reflected at least one propagated image beam and provide the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam. The optical device may further include an image projector configured to provide a collimated image beam based on the digital image, wherein the collimated image beam is collimated to infinity, and wherein the projector includes a liquid crystal on silicon display.

[0007] According to another example, an optical system is generally described. The optical system may include: an image projector configured to provide a collimated image beam based on a digital image; a coupling assembly configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam and a second output image beam; an image pipe configured to receive the first output image beam at an image pipe input and provide at least one propagated image beam at an image pipe output; a first waveguide having a first waveguide rear surface, the first waveguide configured to receive the second output image beam and emit a first expanded output image beam from the first waveguide rear surface; and a second waveguide having a second waveguide rear surface, the second waveguide configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and emit a second expanded output image beam from the second waveguide rear surface.

[0008] An optical system according to this example, wherein at least one of the following is achieved: the collimated image beam is collimated to infinity; the projector includes one of a liquid crystal display, a silicon-based liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode display, a micro light-emitting diode display, and a laser display; the image conduit includes at least one of a glass material, an acrylic material, and a polycarbonate material; a portion of the first waveguide is attached to a portion of the image conduit using a layer of a low refractive index adhesive; and the image conduit is an elongated transparent member having a first end and a second end, the image conduit having a rectangular cross-section and orthogonal walls, the image conduit being configured to receive at least one input image beam and to provide four repeated output image beams based on the at least one input image beam. According to the optical system, the coupling component includes a semi-transparent mirror, the semi-transparent mirror having a semi-transparent mirror first surface and a semi-transparent mirror second surface opposite to the semi-transparent mirror first surface, the semi-transparent mirror first surface is configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam reflected from the semi-transparent mirror first surface, and provide a second output image beam emitted from the semi-transparent mirror second surface; and wherein the first waveguide includes a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the second output image beam, and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams. The method comprises the steps of: expanding the image beam and providing a first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as a first expanded output image beam; wherein the second waveguide comprises a mirror configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and provide a reflected at least one propagated image beam, the second waveguide further comprising a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the reflected at least one propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as a second expanded output image beam.

[0009] According to the optical system of this example, the coupling component includes: a polarization beam splitter having a first side of the polarization beam splitter and a second side of the polarization beam splitter opposite to the first side of the polarization beam splitter, the first side of the polarization beam splitter is configured to receive a collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam from the first side of the polarization beam splitter, and provide a transmitted image beam from the second side of the polarization beam splitter; and a half-wave plate having a first side of the half-wave plate and a second side of the half-wave plate, the half-wave plate is configured to receive the transmitted image beam at the first side of the half-wave plate, and provide a second output image beam from the second side of the half-wave plate. According to the optical system, wherein the first waveguide includes a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the second output image beam and provide the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide includes a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand at least one propagated image beam and provide the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

[0010] According to the optical system of this example, the coupling component also includes: an active half-wave plate liquid crystal element, which is configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a transformed image beam; a polarization beam splitter, which has a first side of the polarization beam splitter and a second side of the polarization beam splitter opposite to the first side of the polarization beam splitter, the first side of the polarization beam splitter is configured to receive the transformed image beam and provide a first output image beam from the first side of the polarization beam splitter, and provide a transmitted image beam from the second side of the polarization beam splitter; and a half-wave plate, which has a first side of the half-wave plate and a second side of the half-wave plate, the half-wave plate is configured to receive the transmitted image beam on the first side of the half-wave plate, and provide a second output image beam from the second side of the half-wave plate. According to the optical system, wherein the first waveguide includes a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the second output image beam and provide the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; wherein the second waveguide includes a mirror configured to receive at least one propagated image beam and provide at least one reflected propagated image beam, the second waveguide also includes a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the reflected at least one propagated image beam and provide the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

[0011] According to the optical system of this example, wherein the first waveguide includes a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the second output image beam and provide the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide includes a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand at least one propagated image beam and provide the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam. According to the optical system, wherein the image conduit is a first image conduit, and wherein the first waveguide includes a first waveguide front surface opposite to the first waveguide rear surface, the optical system also includes: a third waveguide having a third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide configured to receive the second output image beam and emit a third expanded output image beam from the third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide rear surface being attached to the first waveguide front surface, the third waveguide including: a second image conduit, the second image conduit configured to receive the second output image beam and provide at least one propagated third image beam at the third image conduit output; a third waveguide first aperture expander, the third waveguide first aperture expander configured to expand at least one propagated third image beam and provide a third waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams; and a third waveguide second aperture expander, the third waveguide second aperture expander configured to expand the first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a third waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the third expanded output image beam, the second image conduit being configured to surround at least a portion of the third waveguide second aperture expander. The optical system also includes a frame configured to support the image projector, the coupling assembly, the image conduit, the first waveguide, and the second waveguide, the frame configured to conceal the image conduit within a portion of the frame.

[0012] According to yet another example, an optical system may include: an image projector configured to provide a collimated image beam based on a digital image; a coupling component configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam and a second output image beam; a first image pipe configured to receive the first output image beam at a first image pipe input and provide at least one first propagated image beam at the first image pipe output; a second image pipe configured to receive the second output image beam at a second image pipe input and provide at least one second propagated image beam at the second image pipe output; a first waveguide having a first waveguide rear surface, the first waveguide configured to receive at least one second propagated image beam and emit a first extended output image beam from the first waveguide rear surface; and a second waveguide having a second waveguide rear surface, the second waveguide configured to receive at least one first propagated image beam and emit a second extended output image beam from the second waveguide rear surface.

[0013] According to the optical system of this example, the coupling component includes: an active half-wave plate liquid crystal element, the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element is configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a transformed image beam; a polarization beam splitter, the polarization beam splitter having a first side of the polarization beam splitter and a second side of the polarization beam splitter opposite to the first side of the polarization beam splitter, the first side of the polarization beam splitter is configured to receive the transformed image beam, and provide a second output image beam from the first side of the polarization beam splitter, and provide a transmitted image beam from the second side of the polarization beam splitter; a quarter wave plate, the quarter wave plate having a quarter wave plate a first side and a second side of a quarter wave plate, the quarter wave plate being configured to receive a transmitted image beam on the first side of the quarter wave plate and to provide a converted image beam from the second side of the quarter wave plate; and a mirror having a reflective mirror surface, the mirror being configured to receive the converted image beam and to provide a reflected image beam, the quarter wave plate being configured to receive the reflected image beam on the second side of the quarter wave plate and to provide a second converted image beam from the first side of the quarter wave plate, and a polarization beam splitter being configured to receive the second converted image beam on the second side of the polarization beam splitter and to provide a first output image beam.

[0014] According to the optical system of this example, the first waveguide includes a first mirror configured to receive at least one second propagated image beam and provide at least one second propagated image beam reflected, the first waveguide also includes a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander is configured to expand the at least one second propagated image beam reflected and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander is configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide the first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as first expanded output image beams. wherein the second waveguide comprises a second mirror configured to receive the at least one first propagated image beam and provide a reflected at least one first propagated image beam, the second waveguide further comprising a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the reflected at least one first propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as second expanded output image beams. According to the optical system, wherein the first waveguide includes a first waveguide front surface opposite to the first waveguide rear surface, the optical system also includes: a third waveguide having a third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide being configured to receive at least one second propagated image beam and emit a third expanded output image beam from the third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide rear surface being attached to the first waveguide front surface, the third waveguide including: a third image conduit, the third image conduit being configured to receive at least one second propagated image beam and provide at least one propagated third image beam at a third image conduit output; a third waveguide first aperture expander, the third waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand at least one propagated third image beam and provide a third waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams; and a third waveguide second aperture expander, the third waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a third waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as a third expanded output image beam, the second image conduit being configured to surround at least a portion of the third waveguide second aperture expander, the second image conduit having a uniformization layer.

[0015] According to the optical system of this example, wherein the second waveguide includes a second waveguide front surface opposite to the second waveguide rear surface, the optical system further includes: a polarization beam splitter having a first side of the polarization beam splitter and a second side of the polarization beam splitter opposite to the first side of the polarization beam splitter, the first side of the polarization beam splitter being configured to receive at least one first propagated image beam and provide a second transmitted image beam from the second side of the polarization beam splitter; a half-wave plate having a first side of the half-wave plate and a second side of the half-wave plate, the half-wave plate being configured to receive the second transmitted image beam on the first side of the half-wave plate and provide a second converted image beam from the second side of the half-wave plate; a fourth waveguide having a fourth waveguide rear surface, the fourth waveguide being configured to receive the second converted image beam and emit a fourth extended output image from the fourth waveguide rear surface The optical system further comprises: a first waveguide having a first aperture expander configured to expand the at least one propagated first image beam and provide a fourth waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams; and a second waveguide having a second aperture expander configured to expand the fourth plurality of expanded image beams and provide a fourth waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as a fourth expanded output image beam, the fourth image pipe being configured to surround at least a portion of the fourth waveguide second aperture expander, the fourth image pipe comprising a uniformizing layer. The optical system further comprises: a frame configured to support the image projector, the coupling assembly, the first image pipe, the second image pipe, the first waveguide, and the second waveguide, the frame being configured to conceal the first image pipe and the second image pipe within a portion of the frame.

[0016] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, other aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. In the drawings and description, similar reference numerals and / or similar element names may indicate identical or functionally similar elements. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 A block diagram of an optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure is shown.

[0018] Figure 2 An end view of an image pipeline according to various examples of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C Details regarding optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown.

[0020] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B Details regarding optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown.

[0021] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B Details regarding optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown.

[0022] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B Details regarding optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown.

[0023] FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C Details regarding optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown.

[0024] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C Details regarding optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown.

[0025] 9A to 9C Details regarding optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown.

[0026] FIG. 10A to FIG. 10H Details regarding various configurations of optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In the following description, many specific details such as specific structures, components, materials, dimensions, processing steps and techniques are set forth to provide an understanding of the various embodiments of the present application. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various embodiments of the present application can be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known structures or processing steps are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present application.

[0028] As described in more detail below, wearable devices such as near-eye displays and / or smart glasses can be implemented using the systems and methods described in accordance with the present disclosure. The system can efficiently provide high-quality optical information to users in a variety of applications.

[0029] Figure 1 A block diagram of an optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure is shown. The optical system 100 may include two or more devices or components. The optical system 100 may generally be implemented as a hybrid system including various electronic components, optical components, and electro-optical components. The optical device 102 may include one or more elements from the optical system 100. As described in more detail below, the optical system 100 may include a wearable device 110 (e.g., one or more near-eye displays configured as smart glasses, either alone or together), which may be worn on or around the user's head to deliver optical information to one or more eyes of the user.

[0030] The wearable device 110 may include a controller 114 having a memory 116, wherein the controller 114 may be configured to: for example, send electrical signals to various other elements in the optical system 100 and receive electrical signals; execute program instructions stored in the memory 116 to process and provide information; operate the wearable device 110; and interact with other systems external to the wearable device 110. The controller 114 may include a microcontroller, a processor, various discrete components, a programmable logic device, and / or various interface circuits that can access the memory 116, and the memory 116 may be removable, replaceable, programmable, and reprogrammable to update instructions to the controller 114.

[0031] The wearable device 110 may also include a power management module 120 having a battery 122 configured to provide power, wherein the power management module 120 may be configured to charge, discharge, and monitor power usage of the battery 122. Various components of the wearable device 110 may receive power and / or control signals, including, for example, the controller 114, the image projector 132, the optical engine 126, and various active components 138 in one or more coupling components 136. The various coupling components 136 may include one or more cubic beam splitters, semi-transparent mirrors, polarizing beam splitters, half-wave plates (e.g., half-wavelength retardation plates), quarter-wave plates (e.g., for converting linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light, and vice versa, converting circularly polarized light into linearly polarized light), etc. The various active components 138 may include electronically controllable active half-wave plate liquid crystal (AHWP LC) components, etc.

[0032] The image projector 126 may also be described as a compact image projector, a microdisplay projector, or a projection optical device (POD), and the image projector may be configured to generate a collimated image beam based on the digital image 128. The collimated image beam may be collimated to infinity. The collimated image beam may be generated by various projection optical devices, including a spatial light modulator (SLM) that provides a two-dimensional (2D) array of pixel elements, each of which may be controlled to modulate the properties (usually polarization) of light transmitted or reflected by the pixel element. An example of a transmissive light SLM is a liquid crystal display (LCD), while an example of a reflective SLM is a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) device or a digital light processing (DLP) device. The image projector 126 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a micro light emitting diode (Micro-LED) display, and a laser display (LD), etc. The representation described herein shows the emission and advancement of the image beam along the optical path, but it will be appreciated that the optical path may be folded, reflected, split, and further modulated by various active or passive elements, as described below. In this way, the collimated image beam may be an illuminated representation of a digital image having an image field, which is a two-dimensional representation of a digital image based on a series of graphic images (e.g., a moving image) or a single graphic image (e.g., a static image) corresponding to different points within the image field, and the collimated image beam may be propagated through various optical elements in the optical system 100. In this article, the term beam may also be used to refer to light, such as image light. In general, for example, a beam may refer to a coherent light emitted from a coherent source (e.g., a laser). As used herein, in some cases, the terms light and beam may be used almost synonymously.

[0033] The wearable device 110 may also include one or more waveguides 144 such as a light-guiding optical element 144 (e.g., LOE), the one or more waveguides 144 including a transparent material, the one or more waveguides 144 being configured to receive, propagate, and emit illumination associated with a digital image near the user's eyes for the purpose of conveying information. For example, the transparent material constituting the waveguide 144 may include optical glass or other suitable materials, which may be transformed into a complex or composite optical structure using a process that may include coating, stacking, slicing, polishing, assembling, and molding the transparent material. For example, the process may include adding a partially reflective or fully reflective material (e.g., a mirror coating) and / or a low reflectivity (Low Index of Reflection, LRI) adhesive or glue to assemble the various elements together. By using a low reflectivity adhesive to prepare and assemble the elements, the various elements may be manufactured and tested separately prior to assembly, which may reduce costs.

[0034] The optical engine 126 may be operably coupled to the image projector 132 to, for example, provide power and control signals and receive status signals. The optical engine 126 may be configured to operate the image projector 132 under the direction of the controller 114. For example, the optical engine 126 may perform graphics processing for modifying the digital image 128 before the illuminated representation of the digital image is projected by the image projector 132. The image projector 132 may be coupled to the one or more waveguides 144 through one or more coupling components 136 having one or more passive elements and / or active elements 138. For example, the coupling component 136 may include one or more active elements, such as an active half-wave plate liquid crystal (AHWP LC) element, an active half-wave plate, or a spatial light modulator (SLM). The coupling component 136 may also include one or more passive elements, such as one or more fully reflective mirrors, one or more partially reflective (e.g., semi-transparent) mirrors, one or more half-wave plates, one or more quarter-wave plates, and various optical coatings that may be disposed between or on various optical elements.

[0035] The wearable device 110 may also include a frame 148 (e.g., a head-mounted structure) for supporting and holding one or more elements in the wearable device 110. For example, the frame 148 may directly or indirectly support and hold the image projector 132 in close proximity to one or more image pipes 140 and one or more waveguides 144. In this way, the frame 148 may support and hold the optical engine 126, the image projector 132, and one or more waveguides 144, for example, on or around the user's head. References are made herein to the orientation of various elements relative to each other. As may be described in various figures, such references may also include references to various elements of the wearable device 110 when the various elements of the wearable device 110 are supported by the frame 148 or with respect to three-dimensional (3D) coordinates (e.g., X, Y, Z axes).

[0036] The optical system 100 may also include a host computer 170, which may include a processor 174 configured to read and execute operations based on pre-programmed instructions 178 stored in a computer-readable medium 180. The instructions 178 may include at least some instructions provided to the controller 114 and stored in the memory 116. The host computer 170 may communicate with one or more elements of the wearable device 110 via a signal and power bus 188. In this manner, the host computer 170 may provide power to the rechargeable battery 122, provide instructions to the controller 114 and receive status from the controller 114, control various other elements of the wearable device 110, and provide digital image data to the optical engine 126.

[0037] Figure 2 1 shows an end view of an image pipe according to various examples of the present disclosure. As shown in an idealized form, the image pipe 140 may be a first end (e.g., Figure 2 background) and the second end (e.g. Figure 2The image duct 140 is an elongated transparent member (in the foreground) having a rectangular cross-section and orthogonal walls. As a specific example, the image duct 140 can have a square cross-section and orthogonal walls that can form four external faces. The image duct 140 can be configured to receive an input image beam (not shown) that can be injected at a certain angle by the image projector 132, for example. The image duct 140 can provide four repeated output image beams 204 to output image beams 210 based on the injected image beam. When light from the injected image propagates along the waveguide 140 while reflecting from all four external faces, four conjugate image beams (e.g., image beam vectors) 202 to image beams 208 can be generated, which represent the same image when they are reflected internally by the faces. Part or all of one or more external surfaces of the image duct 140 can be coated with a partially or fully reflective coating or a low refractive index (LRI) adhesive to facilitate the conduction of the injected image beam and reduce losses. For example, the image conduit 140 may include a glass material, an acrylic material, and / or a polycarbonate material having the same or a different refractive index than other elements in the system 100. As will be described more fully below, the image conduit 140 may be attached to or integrated with one or more waveguide elements and may be considered an embedded image conduit.

[0038] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C Details about the optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. In particular, according to various examples of the present disclosure, Figure 3A A front plan view of an optical device 302 is shown, Figure 3B A side plan view of a portion of an optical device 302 is shown, and Figure 3C An enlarged view 304 of a portion of the optical device 302 is shown. As described, Figure 3A In and other figures, the user's eyes 308 and nose 309 may be shown to provide a reference for how the optical system 302 may be worn on the user's head and used to provide optical information.

[0039] According to an example, the optical device 302 may include a coupling assembly 320, an image conduit 360, a first waveguide 376, and a second waveguide 388. The coupling assembly 320 may be similar in some respects to Figure 1of the coupling assembly 136. The coupling assembly 320 can be configured to receive a collimated image beam 310 (e.g., an "i" image beam) from the projection optical device 132 and provide a first output image beam 312 (e.g., a "j" image beam) and a second output image beam 314 (e.g., a "k" image beam). As used herein, beams i, j, and k can represent projections of the beams along an image conduit, where, for example, the beams can propagate at an oblique angle relative to a side of the image conduit. As shown in the various figures, the beams can represent projections of the propagation directions of the collimated beams that can be associated with a single field within the field of view. In particular, the coupling assembly 320 can include a passive optical element, such as a cube beam splitter or a semi-transparent mirror 322, which has, for example, a first side 324 oriented toward the projection optical device 132, and a second side 326 opposite the first side 324 and oriented toward the first waveguide injection region WIR31 of the first waveguide 376. In this way, the collimated image beam 310 can be applied to the first side 324 of the semi-transparent mirror 322 as an input beam of the coupling component 320, the first side 324 of the semi-transparent mirror 322 can partially reflect a portion of the collimated image beam 310 to be emitted from the coupling component 320 as a first output image beam 312, and the semi-transparent mirror 322 can partially transmit a portion of the collimated image beam 310 to be emitted from the coupling component 320 as a second output image beam 314.

[0040] Image pipeline 360 ​​may be similar in some respects to reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The image pipe 140 described. The image pipe 360 ​​can be configured to receive the first output image beam 312 at the image pipe input 362 (e.g., the first end of the image pipe 360) and provide at least one propagated image beam 364 at the image pipe output 366 (e.g., the second end of the image pipe 360). The first waveguide 376 can have a first waveguide front surface 383 that is parallel to the first waveguide rear surface 384. The first waveguide 376 can be configured to receive the second output image beam 314 and emit a first extended output image beam 386 from the first waveguide rear surface 384. As described, the terms first, second, third, etc. can be assigned to designate different elements and associations, but can be assigned or modified differently depending on the specific example. Similar in some respects to the first waveguide 376, the second waveguide 388 can have a second waveguide front surface 395 and a second waveguide rear surface 396. The second waveguide 388 can be configured to receive at least one propagated image beam 364 from the image conduit 360 and emit a second expanded output image beam 398 from the second waveguide rear surface 396 .

[0041] The first waveguide 376 (labeled as "A") may include a first waveguide first aperture expander 378 and a first waveguide second aperture expander 380 separated from each other by a first waveguide dividing region 382. The first waveguide first aperture expander 378 may include a first plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a first waveguide front surface 383 and a plane perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 383 (e.g., an XZ plane). The first waveguide first aperture expander 378 may also include an embedded volume or surface optical diffraction element. Illumination from the second output image beam 314 may be received in a first direction (e.g., along a central axis of the first waveguide aperture expander 378), and then reflected in a second direction and propagated within the first waveguide 376 as a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X3A1, which may be directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander 380. In this manner, the second output image beam 314 illumination may be expanded in a first dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide aperture expander 378 to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X3A1. The reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide first aperture expander 378 may increase in a direction away from the waveguide injection region WIR31, wherein the first waveguide first aperture expander 378 may have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and may terminate in a final facet (e.g., a termination facet) that may be highly reflective and may be a total reflective mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR31, and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror. A portion of the first waveguide 376 may be attached to a portion of the image conduit 360 using any of the following: a layer of a low refractive index (LRI) adhesive 306, a layer of a low refractive index coating, or a thin film coating that ensures total internal reflection (TIR) ​​(or near total internal reflection). Alternatively, the first waveguide 376 may be air-spaced apart from the image conduit 360. These alternatives may also be applicable to the various examples disclosed herein.

[0042] Similarly, the first waveguide second aperture expander 380 may include a second plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the first waveguide front surface 383 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 383. Illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X3A1 may be received in a second direction and then reflected in a third direction toward the first waveguide rear surface 384 by the second plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the first waveguide second aperture expander 380. In this manner, illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X3A1 may be expanded in a second dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide second aperture expander 380 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X3A2. The plurality of expanded image beams X3A1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X3A2. Thus, the first waveguide first aperture expander 378 and the first waveguide second aperture expander 380 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the second output image beam 314 illumination as a first expanded output image beam 386 that can be emitted from the first waveguide back surface 384. Similar to the first waveguide first aperture expander 378, the reflectivity of the second plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide second aperture expander 380 can increase in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 378, wherein the first waveguide second aperture expander 380 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet (e.g., a termination facet) that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 378, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror.

[0043] The second waveguide 388 (labeled as "B") may include a second waveguide first aperture expander 390 and a second waveguide second aperture expander 392 separated from each other by a second waveguide dividing region 394. The second waveguide 388 may also include a mirror 356 configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam 364 and provide a reflected at least one propagated image beam 365. The second waveguide first aperture expander 390 may include a third plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a second waveguide front surface 395 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 395. The second waveguide first aperture expander 390 may also include an embedded volume or surface optical diffraction element. Illumination from the reflected at least one propagated image beam 365 can be received in a fourth direction (e.g., along the central axis of the second waveguide aperture expander 390) and then reflected by the first plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide first aperture expander 390 in a fifth direction and conducted within the second waveguide 388 as a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X3B1, which can be directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander 392. In this manner, the reflected at least one propagated image beam 365 illumination can be expanded in a first dimension (e.g., a third dimension) by the spaced-apart facets to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X3B1. The reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide first aperture expander 390 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide injection region WIR32, wherein the second waveguide first aperture expander 390 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and can terminate in a final facet (e.g., a termination facet) that can be highly reflective or can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR32, and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror.

[0044] Similarly, the second waveguide second aperture expander 392 may include a fourth plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the second waveguide front surface 395 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 395. The second waveguide second aperture expander 392 may also include an embedded volume or surface optical diffraction element. Illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X3B1 may be received in a fifth direction and then reflected in a sixth direction toward the second waveguide rear surface 396 by the fourth plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide second aperture expander 392. In this manner, illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X3B1 may be expanded in a second dimension (e.g., a fourth dimension) by the spaced apart facets of the second waveguide second aperture expander 392 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X3B2. The plurality of expanded image beams X3B1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X3B2. Thus, the second waveguide first aperture expander 390 and the second waveguide second aperture expander 392 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one propagated image beam 365 illumination as a second expanded output image beam 398 that can be emitted from the second waveguide back surface 396. Similar to the second waveguide first aperture expander 390, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide second aperture expander 392 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 390, wherein the second waveguide second aperture expander 392 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet (e.g., a termination facet) that can be highly reflective and can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 390, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror.

[0045] As described above, image projector 132 can provide a collimated image beam 310 (e.g., a collimated single field) that can be an illuminated representation of a digital image having an image field that is a two-dimensional representation of the digital image. In this manner, the image field can have a Figure 3Aand the vertical range and / or lateral range shown in the other figures. For example, the first output image beam 312 can propagate through the image conduit 360 and enter the second waveguide 388, be reflected by the mirror 356 and then reflected by the second waveguide first aperture expander 390, having a vertical range (labeled as "C" and "D"). In this way, a single pixel on the image can correspond to a collimated beam and a single beam. Thus, beam C and beam D can be laterally displaced beams having the same orientation (e.g., the lines are parallel), and thus, for example, they can be associated with the same field. The expansion of the beams described herein may not involve an expansion of the output image that can be observed by a user. Similarly, the second output image beam 314 can propagate into the first waveguide 376, have a lateral range (labeled as "C" and "D"), and be reflected by the first waveguide first aperture expander 378. Thus, first and second output image beams 312, 314 and other beams may be propagated through various optical elements in optical system 100 as a two-dimensional (2D) image field about the central axis shown. In some examples, mirror 356 may not be used.

[0046] According to an example, the first waveguide first aperture expander 378 and the second waveguide first aperture expander 390 may be oriented parallel to each other. Figure 3A As shown, the second waveguide first aperture expander 390 can be disposed on a side of the second waveguide 388 that is closest to (e.g., proximal to) the first waveguide 376. Other arrangements are also possible, in which the second waveguide first aperture expander 390 can be disposed on a side of the second waveguide 388 that is farthest from (e.g., away from) the first waveguide 376. As briefly mentioned above, the beams drawn in the various figures can represent projections of the propagation directions of collimated beams associated with a single field within the field of view (FoV). In an actual system, within the first waveguide or the second waveguide, these beams can be rising beams and falling beams that can be captured in the waveguide by total internal reflection (TIR). Within the image pipeline, the beams can be right rising, left rising, right falling, and left falling.

[0047] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B Details about the optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. In particular, according to various examples of the present disclosure, Figure 4A shows a front plan view of the optical device 402, and Figure 4B An enlarged view 404 of a portion of the optical device 402 is shown.

[0048] According to an example, the optical device 402 may include a coupling assembly 420, an image conduit 460, a first waveguide 476, and a second waveguide 488. The coupling assembly 420 may be similar in some respects to Figure 1The coupling assembly 420 can be configured to receive the collimated image beam 410 (e.g., the "i" image beam) from the projection optical device 132 and provide a first output image beam 412 (e.g., the "j" image beam) and a second output image beam 414 (e.g., the "k" image beam). In particular, the coupling assembly 420 can include a passive optical element, such as a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 422, which has a first side 424 oriented toward the projection optical device 132, and a second side 426 opposite to the first side 424 and oriented toward the first waveguide injection region WIR41 of the first waveguide 476. In this way, the collimated image beam 410 can be applied to the first side 424 of the polarization beam splitter 422 as an input beam of the coupling component 420, the first side 424 of the polarization beam splitter 422 can partially reflect a portion of the collimated image beam 410 to be emitted from the coupling component 420 as a first output image beam 412, and the polarization beam splitter 422 can partially transmit a portion of the collimated image beam 410 to be emitted from the second side 426 of the polarization beam splitter 424 as a transmitted image beam 428.

[0049] The collimated image beam 410 may include polarized illumination. The polarizing beam splitter 422 may include a wire grid, crystal, oriented polymer, or dielectric material that reflects S polarization (e.g., vertically) but transmits P polarization (e.g., parallel) or vice versa transmits S polarization but reflects P polarization. Thus, the polarizing beam splitter may receive the collimated image beam 410 and provide a first output beam 412 as an S polarized image beam and a transmitted image beam 428 as a P polarized image beam. The coupling assembly 420 may also include a half-wave plate 430 having a first side 432 of a half-wave plate (HWP) and a second side 434 of the half-wave plate. The half-wave plate 430 may include a crystal or dielectric material that is configured to retard (e.g., delay) one component of polarization without attenuating, deviating, or shifting the incident beam to transmit light and modify polarization. Thus, the first side 432 of the half-wave plate 430 may receive the transmitted beam 428 and provide a second output image beam 414 from the second side 434 of the half-wave plate 430. In this example, the transmitted beam 428 is P-polarized by passing through the polarizing beam splitter 422, and the second output image beam 414 is converted to S-polarization by passing through the half-wave plate 430, so that both the first output beam 412 and the second output beam 414 have the same S-polarization.

[0050] The image pipeline 460 may be similar in some respects to the Figure 1 and Figure 2The image pipe 140 described. The image pipe 460 can be configured to receive the first output image beam 412 at an image pipe input 462 (e.g., a first end of the image pipe 460) and provide at least one propagated image beam 464 at an image pipe output 466 (e.g., a second end of the image pipe 460). The first waveguide 476 can have a first waveguide front surface 483 that is parallel to the first waveguide rear surface 484. The first waveguide 476 can be configured to receive the second output image beam 414 and emit a first expanded output image beam 486 from the first waveguide rear surface 484. Similar in some respects to the first waveguide 476, the second waveguide 488 can have a second waveguide front surface 495 and a second waveguide rear surface 496. The second waveguide 488 can be configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam 464 from the image pipe 460 and emit a second expanded output image beam 498 from the second waveguide rear surface 396.

[0051] The first waveguide 476 (labeled as "A") may include a first waveguide first aperture expander 478 and a first waveguide second aperture expander 480 separated from each other by a first waveguide dividing region 482. The first waveguide first aperture expander 478 may include a first plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a first waveguide front surface 483 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 483. Illumination from the second output image beam 414 may be received in a first direction (e.g., along a central axis of the first waveguide aperture expander 478), and then reflected in a second direction and propagated within the first waveguide 476 as a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X4A1, which may be directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander 480. In this manner, the second output image beam 414 illumination may be expanded in a first dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide aperture expander 478 to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X4A1. The reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide first aperture expander 478 may increase in a direction away from the waveguide injection region WIR41, wherein the first waveguide first aperture expander 478 may have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and may terminate in a final facet that may be a fully reflective mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR41 and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror. A portion of the first waveguide 476 may be attached to a portion of the image conduit 460 using a layer of a low refractive index (LRI) adhesive 406.

[0052] Similarly, the first waveguide second aperture expander 480 may include a second plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the first waveguide front surface 483 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 483. Illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X4A1 may be received in a second direction and then reflected in a third direction toward the first waveguide rear surface 484 by the second plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the first waveguide second aperture expander 480. In this manner, illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X4A1 may be expanded in a second dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide second aperture expander 480 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X4A2. The plurality of expanded image beams X4A1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X4A2. Thus, the first waveguide first aperture expander 478 and the first waveguide second aperture expander 480 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the second output image beam 414 illumination as a first expanded output image beam 486 that can be emitted from the first waveguide back surface 484. Similar to the first waveguide first aperture expander 478, the reflectivity of the second plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide second aperture expander 480 can increase in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 478, wherein the first waveguide second aperture expander 480 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 478, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror.

[0053] The second waveguide 488 (labeled as "B") may include a second waveguide first aperture expander 490 and a second waveguide second aperture expander 492 separated from each other by a second waveguide dividing region 494. The second waveguide first aperture expander 490 may include a third plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a second waveguide front surface 495 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 495. Illumination from at least one propagating image beam 464 may be received in a fourth direction (e.g., along a central axis of the second waveguide aperture expander 490) and then reflected in a fifth direction by the first plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide first aperture expander 490 and conducted within the second waveguide 488 as a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X4B1, which may be directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander 492. In this manner, at least one propagating image beam 464 illumination may be expanded in a first dimension (e.g., a third dimension) through the spaced apart facets to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X4B1. The reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide first aperture expander 490 may increase in a direction away from the second waveguide injection region WIR42, wherein the second waveguide first aperture expander 490 may have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and may terminate in a final facet that may be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR42 and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror.

[0054] Similarly, the second waveguide second aperture expander 492 may include a fourth plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the second waveguide front surface 495 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 495. Illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X4B1 may be received in a fifth direction and then reflected by the fourth plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide second aperture expander 492 toward the second waveguide rear surface 496 in a sixth direction. In this manner, illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X4B1 may be expanded in a second dimension (e.g., a fourth dimension) by the spaced apart facets of the second waveguide second aperture expander 492 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X4B2. In this manner, the plurality of expanded image beams X4B1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X4B2. Thus, the second waveguide first aperture expander 490 and the second waveguide second aperture expander 492 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one propagated image beam 464 illumination as a second expanded output image beam 498 that can be emitted from the second waveguide back surface 496. Similar to the second waveguide first aperture expander 490, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide second aperture expander 492 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 490, wherein the second waveguide second aperture expander 492 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet (e.g., a terminating facet) that is a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 490, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror.

[0055] As described above, image projector 132 can provide collimated image beam 410, which can be an illuminated representation of a digital image having an image field that is a two-dimensional representation of the digital image. Thus, first output image beam 412 and second output image beam 414 and other beams can be propagated through various optical elements in optical system 100 as a two-dimensional (2D) image field about the central axis shown.

[0056] According to an example, the first waveguide first aperture expander 478 and the second waveguide first aperture expander 490 may be oriented perpendicular to each other. Other arrangements are also possible, in which the second waveguide first aperture expander 490 may be disposed on a side of the second waveguide 488 that is farthest from the first waveguide 476 (e.g., away from the first waveguide 476). In this case, for example, Figure 3AIn contrast, the second waveguide 488 and various components may be relatively arranged (eg, reflected, flipped, or rotated) about the diagonal axis 458 , wherein the second input aperture 490 may be arranged vertically above or below the diagonal axis 458 .

[0057] According to an example, the coupling assembly 420 may further include an active half wave plate (AHWP) liquid crystal element 448 configured to receive the collimated image beam 410 and provide a transformed image beam 450. For example, the active half wave plate liquid crystal element 448 may be an active optical element that is controlled by a signal from the controller 114 to selectively change the polarity of at least a portion of the collimated image beam 410 and provide a transformed image beam 450, for example, from S polarization to P polarization when activated. In this example, the first side 424 of the polarizing beam splitter 422 may receive the transformed image beam 450, and provide a first output image beam 412 from the first side 424 of the polarizing beam splitter 422 and a transmitted beam 428 from the second side 426 of the polarizing beam splitter. In this manner, the optical device 402 may be practiced with or without the active half wave plate liquid crystal element 448.

[0058] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B Details about the optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. In particular, according to various examples of the present disclosure, Figure 5A shows a front plan view of the optical device 502, and Figure 5B An enlarged view 504 of a portion of the optical device 502 is shown.

[0059] According to an example, the optical device 502 may include a coupling assembly 520, an image conduit 560, a first waveguide 576, and a second waveguide 588. The coupling assembly 520 may be similar in some respects to Figure 1 As described above, similar reference numerals and similar element names may indicate identical or functionally similar elements. For example, coupling assembly 520 may be similar in some respects to reference Figure 3A The coupling assembly 320 described above, and for example, the coupling assembly 520 may be similar in some respects to the coupling assembly 320 described above. Figure 4AThe coupling assembly 420 described. The coupling assembly 520 can be configured to receive the collimated image beam 510 (e.g., the "i" image beam) from the projection optical device 132, and provide a first output image beam 512 (e.g., the "j" image beam) and a second output image beam 514 (e.g., the "k" image beam). In particular, the coupling assembly 520 can include a passive optical element, such as a polarization beam splitter (PBS) 522, which has a first side 524 oriented toward the projection optical device 132, and a second side 526 opposite the first side 524 and oriented toward the first waveguide injection region WIR51 of the first waveguide 576. In this manner, the collimated image beam 510 can be applied as an input beam to the coupling assembly 520 to the first side 524 of the polarizing beam splitter 522, which can partially reflect a portion of the collimated image beam 510 to be emitted from the coupling assembly 520 as a first output image beam 512, and the polarizing beam splitter 522 can partially transmit a portion of the collimated image beam 510 to be emitted from the second side 526 of the polarizing beam splitter 524 as a transmitted image beam 528. The collimated image beam 510 can include polarized illumination. The polarizing beam splitter 522 can include a wire grid, crystal, or dielectric material that reflects S polarization (e.g., perpendicular) but transmits P polarization (e.g., parallel). Thus, the polarizing beam splitter can receive the collimated image beam 510 and provide the first output beam 512 as an S-polarized image beam and the transmitted image beam 528 as a P-polarized image beam. Coupling assembly 520 can also include a half-wave plate 530 having a half-wave plate (HWP) first side 532 and a half-wave plate second side 534. Half-wave plate 530 can include a crystal or dielectric material, and the half-wave plate 530 is configured to retard (e.g., delay) a component of polarization without attenuating, deviating or shifting the incident beam to transmit light and modify polarization. Therefore, half-wave plate 530 first side 532 can receive transmission light beam 528, and provide second output image light beam 514 from half-wave plate 530 second side 534. In this example, transmission light beam 528 is P polarized by passing through polarization beam splitter 522, and second output image light beam 514 is converted to S polarization by passing through half-wave plate 530, so that both first output light beam 512 and second output light beam 514 have the same S polarization.

[0060] The image pipeline 560 may be similar in some respects to the Figure 1 and Figure 2The image pipe 140 described. The image pipe 560 can be configured to receive the first output image beam 512 at an image pipe input 562 (e.g., a first end of the image pipe 560) and provide at least one propagated image beam 564 at an image pipe output 566 (e.g., a second end of the image pipe 560). The first waveguide 576 can have a first waveguide front surface 583 that is parallel to the first waveguide rear surface 584. The first waveguide 576 can be configured to receive the second output image beam 514 and emit a first extended output image beam 586 from the first waveguide rear surface 584. Similar in some respects to the first waveguide 576, the second waveguide 588 can have a second waveguide front surface 595 and a second waveguide rear surface 596. The second waveguide 588 can be configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam 564 from the image pipe 560 and emit a second extended output image beam 598 from the second waveguide rear surface 596.

[0061] The first waveguide 576 (labeled as "A") may include a first waveguide first aperture expander 578 and a first waveguide second aperture expander 580 separated from each other by a first waveguide dividing region 582. The first waveguide first aperture expander 578 may include a first plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a first waveguide front surface 583 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 583. Illumination from the second output image beam 514 may be received in a first direction (e.g., along a central axis of the first waveguide aperture expander 578), and then reflected in a second direction and propagated within the first waveguide 576 as a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X5A1, which may be directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander 580. In this manner, the second output image beam 514 illumination may be expanded in a first dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide aperture expander 578 to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X5A1. The reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide first aperture expander 578 may increase in a direction away from the waveguide injection region WIR51, wherein the first waveguide first aperture expander 578 may have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and may terminate in a final facet that may be a fully reflective mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR51, and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror. A portion of the first waveguide 576 may be attached to a portion of the image conduit 560 using a layer of a low refractive index (LRI) adhesive 506.

[0062] Similarly, the first waveguide second aperture expander 580 may include a second plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the first waveguide front surface 583 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 583. Illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X5A1 may be received in a second direction and then reflected in a third direction toward the first waveguide rear surface 584 by the second plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the first waveguide second aperture expander 580. In this manner, illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X5A1 may be expanded in a second dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide second aperture expander 580 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X5A2. The plurality of expanded image beams X5A1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X5A2. Thus, the first waveguide first aperture expander 578 and the first waveguide second aperture expander 580 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the second output image beam 514 illumination as a first expanded output image beam 586 that can be emitted from the first waveguide rear surface 584. Similar to the first waveguide first aperture expander 578, the reflectivity of the second plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide second aperture expander 580 can increase in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 578, wherein the first waveguide second aperture expander 580 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 578, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror.

[0063] The second waveguide 588 (labeled "B") may include a second waveguide first aperture expander 590 and a second waveguide second aperture expander 592 separated from each other by a second waveguide dividing region 594. The second waveguide 588 may also include a mirror 556 configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam 564 and provide a reflected at least one propagated image beam 565. The second waveguide first aperture expander 590 may include a third plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a second waveguide front surface 595 and a plane perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 595 (e.g., an XZ plane). Illumination from the reflected at least one propagated image beam 565 can be received in a fourth direction (e.g., along the central axis of the second waveguide aperture expander 590) and then reflected in a fifth direction by the first plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide first aperture expander 590 and conducted within the second waveguide 588 as a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X5B1, which can be directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander 592. In this manner, the reflected at least one propagated image beam 565 illumination can be expanded in a first dimension (e.g., a third dimension) by the spaced-apart facets to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X5B1. The reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide first aperture expander 590 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide injection region WIR52, wherein the second waveguide first aperture expander 590 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and can terminate at a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR52, and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror.

[0064] Similarly, the second waveguide second aperture expander 592 may include a fourth plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the second waveguide front surface 595 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 595. Illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X5B1 may be received in a fifth direction and then reflected by the fourth plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide second aperture expander 592 toward the second waveguide rear surface 596 in a sixth direction. In this manner, illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X5B1 may be expanded in a second dimension (e.g., a fourth dimension) by the spaced apart facets of the second waveguide second aperture expander 592 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X5B2. In this manner, the plurality of expanded image beams X5B1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X5B2. Thus, the second waveguide first aperture expander 590 and the second waveguide second aperture expander 592 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one propagated image beam 565 illumination as a second expanded output image beam 598 that can be emitted from the second waveguide back surface 596. Similar to the second waveguide first aperture expander 590, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide second aperture expander 592 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 590, wherein the second waveguide second aperture expander 592 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet (e.g., a terminating facet) that is a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 590, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror. As described above, the image projector 132 can provide a collimated image beam 510 that can be an illumination representation of a digital image having an image field that is a two-dimensional representation of the digital image. Thus, first output image beam 512 and second output image beam 514 and other beams can propagate through various optical elements in optical system 100 as a two-dimensional (2D) image field about the central axis shown. A portion of second waveguide 588 can be attached to a portion of image conduit 560 using a layer of low refractive index (LRI) adhesive 516.

[0065] According to an example, the first waveguide first aperture expander 578 and the second waveguide first aperture expander 590 may be oriented parallel to each other. Other arrangements are also possible, in which the second waveguide first aperture expander 590 may be disposed on a side of the second waveguide 588 that is farthest from the first waveguide 576 (e.g., away from the first waveguide 576). In this case, for example, Figure 3A In contrast, the second waveguide 588 may be arranged oppositely about the vertical axis 546 , wherein the second input aperture 590 may be arranged horizontally to the left or right of the second waveguide second aperture 592 .

[0066] According to an example, the coupling assembly 520 may further include an active half-wave plate (AHWP) liquid crystal element 548 configured to receive the collimated image beam 510 and provide a transformed image beam 550. For example, the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 548 may be an active optical element that is controlled by a signal from the controller 114 to selectively change the polarity of at least a portion of the collimated image beam 510 and provide the transformed image beam 550, for example, from S polarization to P polarization when activated. In this example, the first side 524 of the polarizing beam splitter 522 may receive the transformed image beam 550, and provide a first output image beam 512 from the first side 524 of the polarizing beam splitter 522 and a transmitted beam 528 from the second side 526 of the polarizing beam splitter. In this manner, the optical device 502 may be practiced with or without the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 548. As described, coupling assembly 420 and coupling assembly 520 may include various active or passive optical elements. In the systems shown in Figures 4 and 5, the image may be rotated between the first waveguide and the second waveguide. In a practical system, in order to avoid introducing a ghost image that may be 50% flipped, the image provided by the image projector may be rotated.

[0067] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B Details about the optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. In particular, according to various examples of the present disclosure, Fig. 6A shows a front plan view of the optical device 602, and Figure 6B An enlarged view 604 of a portion of the optical device 602 is shown.

[0068] According to an example, the optical device 602 may include a coupling assembly 620, a first image conduit 660, a second image conduit 668, a first waveguide 676, and a second waveguide 688. The coupling assembly 620 may be similar in some aspects to Figure 1136 of the coupling assembly 136. The coupling assembly 620 can be configured to receive the collimated image beam 610 (e.g., the "i" image beam) from the projection optical device 132 and provide a first output image beam 612 (e.g., the "j" image beam) and a second output image beam 614 (e.g., the "k" image beam). The collimated image beam 610 can include polarized illumination. In particular, the coupling assembly 620 can include a passive optical element, such as a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 622, which has, for example, a first side 624 oriented toward the projection optical device 132, and a second side 626 opposite the first side 624 and oriented on a side away from the projection optical device 132. In this manner, the collimated image beam 610 can be applied as an input beam to the coupling component 620 to the first side 624 of the polarizing beam splitter 622, which can partially reflect a portion of the collimated image beam 610 to be emitted from the coupling component 620 as a first output image beam 612 having an S polarization, and the polarizing beam splitter 622 can partially transmit a portion of the collimated image beam 610 to be emitted from the second side 626 of the polarizing beam splitter 624 as a transmitted image beam 628 having a P polarization. The polarizing beam splitter 622 can include a wire grid, a crystal, an oriented polymer, or a dielectric material that reflects the S polarization (e.g., perpendicular) but transmits the P polarization (e.g., parallel). Thus, the polarizing beam splitter can receive the collimated image beam 610 and provide the first output beam 612 as an S polarized image beam and the transmitted image beam 628 as a P polarized image beam. The coupling assembly 620 may further include a quarter wave plate 630 having a first side 632 of a quarter wave plate (QWP) and a second side 634 of the quarter wave plate. The quarter wave plate 630 may include a crystal or a dielectric material, and the quarter wave plate 630 is configured to convert linear polarized light into circular polarized light, and to convert circular polarized light into linear polarized light (e.g., S polarization or P polarization). Therefore, the first side 632 of the quarter wave plate 630 may receive the transmitted light beam 628 at the first side 632 of the quarter wave plate 630, and provide a first converted image beam 636 at the second side 634 of the quarter wave plate 630. The coupling assembly 630 may further include a mirror 638 having a total reflection surface 640, the mirror 638 being disposed adjacent to the second side 634 of the quarter wave plate, and being configured to receive and reflect the first converted light beam 636 as a reflected image beam 642. The quarter wave plate 630 can receive the reflected image beam 642 at the second side 634 of the quarter wave plate 630 and provide a second converted image beam 644 to be emitted from the first side 632 of the quarter wave plate 630. The second side 626 of the polarizing beam splitter 622 can receive the second converted image beam 644 and provide a reflected second output beam 614 having S polarization.In this way, the first output beam 612 and the second output beam 614 can have the same S polarization. One technical benefit provided by the above-described conversion sequences is that they support passive systems (e.g., systems with passive components) and symmetrical structures, which can, for example, facilitate simpler design of the eye box position relative to the user's nose.

[0069] The first image pipeline 660 and the second image pipeline 668 may be similar in some respects to the reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The image pipe 140 described. The first image pipe 660 can be configured to receive the first output image beam 612 at the image pipe input 662 (e.g., the first end of the first image pipe 660) and provide at least one first propagated image beam 664 at the first image pipe output 666 (e.g., the second end of the first image pipe 660). The second image pipe 668 can be configured to receive the second output image beam 614 at the second image pipe input 670 (e.g., the first end of the second image pipe 668) and provide at least one second propagated image beam 672 at the second image pipe output 674 (e.g., the second end of the second image pipe 668). In this manner, the coupling assembly 620 can be considered to be integrated with or embedded in the first image pipe 660 and the second image pipe 668.

[0070] The first waveguide 676 can have a first waveguide front surface 683 that is parallel to the first waveguide rear surface 684. The first waveguide 676 can also include a first mirror 654 configured to receive the at least one second propagated image beam 672 and provide a reflected at least one second propagated image beam 673 at the first waveguide injection region WIR61. The first waveguide 676 can be configured to receive the reflected at least one second propagated image beam 673 and emit a first expanded output image beam 686 from the first waveguide rear surface 684. Similar in some respects to the first waveguide 676, the second waveguide 688 can have a second waveguide front surface 695 and a second waveguide rear surface 696. The second waveguide 688 can also include a second mirror 656 configured to receive the at least one first propagated image beam 664 and provide a reflected at least one first propagated image beam 665 at the second waveguide injection region WIR62. The second waveguide 688 can be configured to receive the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 665 and emit a second expanded output image beam 698 from the second waveguide rear surface 396.

[0071] The first waveguide 676 (labeled as "A") may include a first waveguide first aperture expander 678 and a first waveguide second aperture expander 680 separated from each other by a first waveguide dividing region 682. The first waveguide first aperture expander 678 may include a first plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a first waveguide front surface 683 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 683. Illumination from the reflected at least one second propagated image beam 673 may be received in a first direction (e.g., along a central axis of the first waveguide aperture expander 678), and then reflected in a second direction and propagated within the first waveguide 676 as a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X6A1, which may be directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander 680. In this manner, the reflected at least one second propagating image beam 673 illumination may be expanded in a first dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide aperture expander 678 to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X6A1. The reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide first aperture expander 678 may increase in a direction away from the waveguide injection region WIR61, wherein the first waveguide first aperture expander 678 may have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and may terminate in a final facet that may be a fully reflective mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR61, and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror.

[0072] Similarly, the first waveguide second aperture expander 680 may include a second plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the first waveguide front surface 683 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 683. Illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X6A1 may be received in a second direction and then reflected in a third direction toward the first waveguide rear surface 684 by the second plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the first waveguide second aperture expander 680. In this manner, illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X6A1 may be expanded in a second dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide second aperture expander 680 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X6A2. The plurality of expanded image beams X6A1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X6A2. Thus, the first waveguide first aperture expander 678 and the first waveguide second aperture expander 680 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one second propagated image beam 673 illumination as a first expanded output image beam 686 that can be emitted from the first waveguide back surface 684. Similar to the first waveguide first aperture expander 678, the reflectivity of the second plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide second aperture expander 680 can increase in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 678, wherein the first waveguide second aperture expander 680 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 678, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror.

[0073] The second waveguide 688 (labeled as "B") may include a second waveguide first aperture expander 690 and a second waveguide second aperture expander 692 separated from each other by a second waveguide dividing region 694. The second waveguide first aperture expander 690 may include a third plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a second waveguide front surface 695 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 695. Illumination from the reflected at least one propagated image beam 665 may be received in a fourth direction (e.g., along a central axis of the second waveguide aperture expander 690), and then reflected in a fifth direction by the first plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide first aperture expander 690, and conducted within the second waveguide 688 as a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X6B1, which may be directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander 692. In this manner, the reflected at least one propagating image beam 665 illumination can be expanded in a first dimension (e.g., a third dimension) by the spaced apart facets to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X6B1. The reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide first aperture expander 690 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide injection region WIR62, wherein the second waveguide first aperture expander 690 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and can terminate in a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR62 and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can be a mirror or not.

[0074] Similarly, the second waveguide second aperture expander 692 may include a fourth plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the second waveguide front surface 695 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 695. Illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X6B1 may be received in a fifth direction and then reflected in a sixth direction toward the second waveguide rear surface 696 by the fourth plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide second aperture expander 692. In this manner, illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X6B1 may be expanded in a second dimension (e.g., a fourth dimension) by the spaced apart facets of the second waveguide second aperture expander 692 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X6B2. In this manner, the plurality of expanded image beams X6B1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X6B2. Thus, the second waveguide first aperture expander 690 and the second waveguide second aperture expander 692 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one propagated image beam 665 illumination as a second expanded output image beam 698 that can be emitted from the second waveguide back surface 696. Similar to the second waveguide first aperture expander 690, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide second aperture expander 692 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 690, wherein the second waveguide second aperture expander 692 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet (e.g., a terminating facet) that is a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 690, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror.

[0075] As described above, image projector 132 can provide collimated image beam 610, which can be an illuminated representation of a digital image having an image field that is a two-dimensional representation of the digital image. Thus, first output image beam 612 and second output image beam 614, and other beams, can be propagated through various optical elements in optical system 100 as a two-dimensional (2D) image field about the central axis shown.

[0076] According to an example, the first waveguide first aperture expander 678 and the second waveguide first aperture expander 690 may be oriented parallel to each other, or may be oriented perpendicular to each other. Other arrangements are also possible, in which the second waveguide first aperture expander 690 may be disposed on a side of the second waveguide 688 that is farthest from the first waveguide 676 (e.g., away from the first waveguide 676). In this case, for example, Figure 4AIn contrast, the first waveguide 676 can be arranged relatively around the diagonal axis 652, wherein the first input aperture 678 can be arranged vertically above or below the diagonal axis 652. Similarly, for example, Figure 4A In contrast, the second waveguide 688 can be arranged oppositely about the diagonal axis 658, wherein the second input aperture 690 can be arranged vertically above or below the diagonal axis 658. For example, the first mirror 654 or the second mirror 656 can include a coating configured to select two of the four images provided by the associated image pipeline. In some examples, the first mirror 654 and / or the second mirror 656 can be not used.

[0077] According to an example, the coupling assembly 620 may further include an active half-wave plate (AHWP) liquid crystal element 648 configured to receive the collimated image beam 610 and provide a transformed image beam 650. For example, the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 648 may be an active optical element that is controlled by a signal from the controller 114 to selectively change the polarity of at least a portion of the collimated image beam 610 and provide a transformed image beam 650, such as from S polarization to P polarization when activated. In this example, the first side 624 of the polarizing beam splitter 622 may receive the transformed image beam 650, and provide a first output image beam 612 from the first side 624 of the polarizing beam splitter 622 and a transmitted beam 628 from the second side 626 of the polarizing beam splitter. In this manner, the optical device 602 may be practiced with or without the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 648.

[0078] FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C Details about the optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. In particular, according to various examples of the present disclosure, Fig. 7A shows a front plan view of an optical system 702, Figure 7B shows a first cross section of the optical system 702 taken along the XZ plane identified as cross section α (alpha), and Figure 7C A cross section of the optical system 702 is shown taken along the YZ plane identified as section β (Beta).

[0079] According to an example, the optical device 702 may include an image conduit 760 integrated with a first waveguide 776 (labeled "A"). For example, a portion of the image conduit 760 may be attached to a portion of the first waveguide 776 using a low refractive index (LRI) adhesive 706. The first waveguide 776 may have a first waveguide front surface 783 that is parallel to a first waveguide rear surface 784. In some examples, the first waveguide 776 may directly receive a collimated image beam 710 ("i" image beam) from the projection optical device 132 to an image conduit input 762 of the image conduit 760. In an example, the first waveguide 776 may also include a first mirror 751 (e.g., a semi-transparent mirror) configured to receive the collimated image beam 710 and provide a reflected image beam 753 as a first output image beam 712 (e.g., a "j" image beam) to the image conduit input 762, and provide a transmitted beam as a second output image beam 714 (e.g., a "k" image beam) that may be applied to another waveguide or other optical element, for example. As will be described below, for example, the first waveguide 776 can be mounted against the second waveguide. Similar to the above description, the directly injected image beam 710 or the reflected image beam 753 can be propagated within the image pipe 760 as at least one first propagated image beam 764 to the image pipe output 766. Within the image pipe 760, the at least one first propagated image beam 764 can be received from a first direction and can be reflected by the second mirror 755 in a second direction to provide a first reflected at least one first propagated image beam 757, which can be further reflected by the third mirror 754 in a third direction (e.g., opposite to the first direction) to provide a second reflected at least one first propagated image beam 764 at the image pipe output 766, which can be injected into the first waveguide 776 at the waveguide injection region WIR71. For example, the mirror 755 can be oriented so that it is perpendicular to the front and rear surfaces of the waveguide and is oriented at a 45° angle relative to the side plane of the associated image conduit compared to the X axis in the XY plane. In this way, the image conduit 760 can have multiple sections and mirrors to propagate the image beam around a portion of the first waveguide 776 to the waveguide injection region WIR71 at a distance from the projection optical device 132.

[0080] The first waveguide 776 (labeled as "A") may include a first waveguide first aperture expander 778 and a first waveguide second aperture expander 780 separated from each other by a first waveguide dividing region 782. The first waveguide first aperture expander 778 may include a first plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a first waveguide front surface 783 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 783. Illumination from the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 764 may be received in a first direction (e.g., along a central axis of the first waveguide aperture expander 778) and then reflected in a second direction and propagated within the first waveguide 776 as a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X7A1, which may be directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander 780. In this manner, the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 764 illumination may be expanded in a first dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide aperture expander 778 to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X7A1. The reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide first aperture expander 778 may increase in a direction away from the waveguide injection region WIR71, wherein the first waveguide first aperture expander 778 may have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and may terminate in a final facet 779 that may be a fully reflective mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR71 and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet 779 that may or may not be a mirror.

[0081] Similarly, the first waveguide second aperture expander 780 may include a second plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the first waveguide front surface 783 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 783. Illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X7A1 may be received in a second direction and then reflected in a third direction toward the first waveguide rear surface 784 by the second plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the first waveguide second aperture expander 780. In this manner, illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X7A1 may be expanded in a second dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide second aperture expander 780 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X7A2. The plurality of expanded image beams X7A1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X7A2. Thus, the first waveguide first aperture expander 778 and the first waveguide second aperture expander 780 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 764 illumination as a first expanded output image beam 786 that can be emitted from the first waveguide back surface 784. Similar to the first waveguide first aperture expander 778, the reflectivity of the second plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide second aperture expander 780 can increase in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 778, wherein the first waveguide second aperture expander 780 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 778, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror.

[0082] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C Details about the optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. In particular, according to various examples of the present disclosure, Fig. 8A shows a front plan view of optical system 802, Figure 8B shows a first cross section of the optical system 802 taken along the XZ plane identified as cross section α (alpha), and Figure 8C A cross section of the optical system 802 is shown taken along the YZ plane identified as section β (Beta).

[0083] According to an example, the optical device 802 may include an image conduit 860 integrated with a first waveguide 876 (labeled "A"). The optical device 802 may include a second waveguide 888 (labeled "B") that may be attached to a rear surface of the first waveguide 876, and / or a portion of the image conduit 860 may be attached to a portion of the first waveguide 876 using, for example, a low refractive index (LRI) adhesive 806. The optical device 802 may also include a coupling assembly 820 that may be at least partially disposed between a portion of the first waveguide 876 and the second waveguide 888. The first waveguide 876 may have a first waveguide front surface 883 that is parallel to the first waveguide rear surface 884. The second waveguide 888 may have a second waveguide front surface 895 that is parallel to the second waveguide rear surface 896. In some examples, the first waveguide 876 can directly receive a collimated image beam 810 ("i" image beam) from the projection optical device 132 to the image pipe input 862 of the image pipe 860, and the collimated image beam 810 can be injected at an oblique angle relative to the first waveguide major surface. In an example, the first waveguide 876 can also include a first mirror 851 that is configured to receive the collimated image beam 810 and provide a reflected image beam 853 to the image pipe input 862. Similar to the above description, the directly injected image beam 810 or the reflected image beam 853 can be propagated within the image pipe 860 as at least one first propagated image beam 864 to the image pipe output 866. Within the image conduit 860, at least one first propagated image beam 864 may be received from a first direction and may be reflected by the second mirror 855 in a second direction to provide a first reflected at least one first propagated image beam 857, which may be further reflected by the third mirror 854 in a third direction (e.g., opposite to the first direction) to provide a second reflected at least one first propagated image beam 864 at the image conduit output 866, which may be injected into the first waveguide 876 at the waveguide injection region WIR81. In this manner, the image conduit 860 may have multiple sections and mirrors to propagate the image beam around a portion of the first waveguide 876 to the waveguide injection region WIR81 at a distance from the projection optical device 132, and, for example, may enable injection of an image (e.g., an image beam) from a direction not previously reached.

[0084] The coupling assembly 820 can be positioned between a portion of the second waveguide 888 and a portion of the first waveguide 876, wherein the collimated image beam 810 can be injected into the rear surface 896 of the second waveguide 888. The coupling assembly 820 can include a polarization beam splitter 822 having a first side and a second side. The coupling assembly 820 can also include a half-wave plate 830 having a first side and a second side. The polarization beam splitter 822 first side can be positioned adjacent to a portion of the second waveguide 888 and configured to receive a portion of the collimated image beam 810 injected at the second waveguide rear surface 896. The polarization beam splitter 822 can reflect a portion of the collimated image beam 810 having S polarization injected at the second waveguide rear surface 896 as a first output beam 812 (e.g., a "j" image beam) to propagate within the second waveguide 888 and reflect from the second waveguide front surface 895. The polarization beam splitter 822 can transmit a portion of the collimated image light beam 810 with P polarization escaping from the front surface 895 of the second waveguide, which is guided to the first side of the half-wave plate 830, which can convert a portion of the incident collimated image light beam 810 with P polarization into a second output beam 814 (e.g., a "k" image beam) that currently has S polarization, is emitted from the second side of the half-wave plate and injected into the rear surface 884 of the first waveguide 876 to propagate within the first waveguide 876.

[0085] The first waveguide 876 (labeled as "A") may include a first waveguide first aperture expander 878 and a first waveguide second aperture expander 880 separated from each other by a first waveguide dividing region 882. The first waveguide first aperture expander 878 may include a first plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a first waveguide front surface 883 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 883. Illumination from the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 864 may be received in a first direction (e.g., along a central axis of the first waveguide aperture expander 878) and then reflected in a second direction and propagated within the first waveguide 876 as a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X8A1, which may be directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander 880. In this manner, the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 864 illumination may be expanded in a first dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide aperture expander 878 to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X8A1. The reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide first aperture expander 878 may increase in a direction away from the waveguide injection region WIR81, wherein the first waveguide first aperture expander 878 may have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and may terminate in a final facet 879 that may be a fully reflective mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets may be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR81 and, unlike this feature, may terminate in a final facet 879 that may or may not be a mirror.

[0086] Similarly, the first waveguide second aperture expander 880 may include a second plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the first waveguide front surface 883 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 883. Illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X8A1 may be received in a second direction and then reflected in a third direction toward the first waveguide rear surface 884 by the second plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the first waveguide second aperture expander 880. In this manner, illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X8A1 may be expanded in a second dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide second aperture expander 880 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X8A2. The plurality of expanded image beams X8A1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X8A2. Thus, the first waveguide first aperture expander 878 and the first waveguide second aperture expander 880 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 864 illumination as a first expanded output image beam 886 that can be emitted from the first waveguide back surface 884. Similar to the first waveguide first aperture expander 878, the reflectivity of the second plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide second aperture expander 880 can increase in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 878, wherein the first waveguide second aperture expander 880 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 878, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror.

[0087] The second waveguide 888 (labeled as "B") may include a second waveguide first aperture expander 890 and a second waveguide second aperture expander 892 separated from each other by a second waveguide dividing region 894. The second waveguide first aperture expander 890 may include a third plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a second waveguide front surface 895 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 895. Illumination from the first output image beam 812 may be received in a fourth direction (e.g., along a central axis of the second waveguide aperture expander 890) and then reflected in a fifth direction by the first plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide first aperture expander 890 and conducted within the second waveguide 888 as a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X8B1, which may be directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander 892. In this manner, the first output image beam 812 illumination can be expanded in a first dimension (e.g., a third dimension) by the spaced-apart facets to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X8B1. The reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide first aperture expander 890 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide injection region WIR82, wherein the second waveguide first aperture expander 890 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and can terminate in a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the third plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR82 and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can be a mirror or not.

[0088] Similarly, the second waveguide second aperture expander 892 may include a fourth plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the second waveguide front surface 895 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the second waveguide front surface 895. Illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X8B1 may be received in a fifth direction and then reflected by the fourth plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the second waveguide second aperture expander 892 toward the second waveguide rear surface 896 in a sixth direction. In this manner, illumination from the third plurality of expanded image beams X8B1 may be expanded in a second dimension (e.g., a fourth dimension) by the spaced apart facets of the second waveguide second aperture expander 892 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X8B2. In this manner, the plurality of expanded image beams X8B1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X8B2. Thus, the second waveguide first aperture expander 890 and the second waveguide second aperture expander 892 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the first output image beam 812 illumination as a second expanded output image beam 898 that can be emitted from the second waveguide back surface 896. Similar to the second waveguide first aperture expander 890, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets in the second waveguide second aperture expander 892 can increase in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 890, wherein the second waveguide second aperture expander 892 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet (e.g., a terminating facet) that is a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the fourth plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the second waveguide first aperture expander 890, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that may or may not be a mirror. According to an example, the first waveguide first aperture expander 878 and the second waveguide first aperture expander 890 can be oriented parallel to each other. Other arrangements are possible in which both the first waveguide 876 and the second waveguide 888 can rotate.

[0089] As described above, the second waveguide 888 can be configured to receive the first output image beam 812 and emit the second expanded output image beam 898 from the second waveguide rear surface 896, and the first waveguide 876 can be configured to receive the second output image beam 814 and emit the first expanded output image beam 886 from the first waveguide rear surface 884. Note that the first expanded output image beam 886 and the second expanded image beam 898 are consistent and are expanded from different directions, respectively, and both the first expanded output image beam 886 and the second expanded image beam 898 can be emitted toward the user's eyes to convey optical information. Therefore, in this configuration, the first waveguide 876 with one embedded image conduit 860 and the overlapping second waveguide 888 can cooperate to effectively double the field of view (FoV) provided by the optical device 802 compared to the single waveguide example.

[0090] According to an example, the coupling component 820 may also include an active half-wave plate (AHWP) liquid crystal element 848 configured to receive the collimated image beam 810 and provide a transformed image beam 850. For example, the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 848 may be an active optical element that is controlled by a signal from the controller 114 to selectively change the polarity of at least a portion of the collimated image beam 810 and provide a transformed image beam 850, such as from S polarization to P polarization when activated. The liquid crystal half-wave plate may be a two-dimensional (2D) array of cells filled with liquid crystals that can be twisted and aligned in response to a control voltage. In this way, the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 848 may provide variable retardation (e.g., variable delay) by, for example, selectively tilting various liquid crystal molecules in the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 848. The angle of tilt may be changed rapidly on the order of milliseconds. Similar to the other examples described above, the optical device 802 may be practiced with or without the active half-wave plate liquid crystal element 848.

[0091] 9A to 9C Details about the optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. In particular, according to various examples of the present disclosure, Fig.9A A front plan view of optical system 902 is shown, Fig. 9B A first cross section of the image pipe 960 taken along the XZ plane is shown, showing the homogenization layer 963 having a first orientation, and Fig. 9C A first cross-section of the image conduit 960 taken along the XZ plane is shown showing the homogenization layer 965 having a second orientation perpendicular to the first orientation.

[0092] According to an example, the optical device 902 can include an image conduit 960 integrated with a first waveguide 976 (labeled "A"). For example, a portion of the image conduit 960 can be attached to a portion of the first waveguide 976 using a low refractive index (LRI) adhesive 906. The first waveguide 976 can have a first waveguide front surface 983 that is parallel to a first waveguide rear surface 984. In some examples, the first waveguide 976 can directly receive a collimated image beam 910 ("i" image beam) from the projection optical device 132 (not shown) to an image conduit input 962 of the image conduit 960. Similar to the above description, the directly injected image beam 910 can propagate within the image conduit 960 as at least one first propagated image beam 964 to an image conduit output 966. Within the image pipe 960, at least one first propagated image beam 964 may be received from a first direction and may be reflected by the mirror 955 in a second direction to provide a reflected at least one propagated image beam 957 at the image pipe output 966, which may be injected into the first waveguide 976 at the waveguide injection region WIR91. In this manner, for example, the image pipe 960 may propagate an input image beam to the waveguide injection region WIR91 at a distance from the image source. According to various examples of the present disclosure, Fig. 9B A first cross section of the image pipe 960 taken along the XZ plane is shown, showing the homogenization layer 963 having a first orientation, and Fig. 9C A first cross-section of image conduit 960 taken along the XZ plane is shown showing uniformizing layer 965 having a second orientation perpendicular to the first orientation. Uniformizing layer 963 and / or uniformizing layer 965 may be formed as a coating or film along the length of image conduit 960 and disposed within image conduit 960. Uniformizing layer 963 and / or uniformizing layer 965 may improve illumination uniformity prior to expansion, thereby producing a more uniformly illuminated and expanded image.

[0093] The first waveguide 976 (labeled as "A") may include a first waveguide first aperture expander 978 and a first waveguide second aperture expander 980 separated from each other by a first waveguide dividing region 982. The first waveguide first aperture expander 978 may include a first plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of a first waveguide front surface 983 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 983. Illumination from the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 964 may be received in a first direction (e.g., along a central axis of the first waveguide aperture expander 978) and then reflected in a second direction and propagated within the first waveguide 976 as a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams X9A1, which may be directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander 980. In this manner, the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 964 illumination can be expanded in a first dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide aperture expander 978 to provide a first plurality of expanded image beams X9A1. The reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide first aperture expander 978 can increase in a direction away from the waveguide injection region WIR91, wherein the first waveguide first aperture expander 978 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and can terminate in a final facet that can be a fully reflective mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the waveguide region WIR91, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can be a mirror or can be non-mirror.

[0094] Similarly, the first waveguide second aperture expander 980 may include a second plurality of planar, mutually parallel and partially reflective optical elements (e.g., facets) spaced apart from each other, which may be tilted at an angle that may be tilted relative to at least one of the first waveguide front surface 983 and a plane (e.g., an XZ plane) perpendicular to the first waveguide front surface 983. Illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X9A1 may be received in a second direction and then reflected in a third direction toward the first waveguide rear surface 984 by the second plurality of partially reflective optical elements in the first waveguide second aperture expander 980. In this manner, illumination from the first plurality of expanded image beams X9A1 may be expanded in a second dimension by the spaced apart facets of the first waveguide second aperture expander 980 to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X9A2. The plurality of expanded image beams X9A1 may be expanded in a second dimension different from the first dimension to provide a second plurality of expanded image beams X9A2. Thus, the first waveguide first aperture expander 978 and the first waveguide second aperture expander 980 can cooperate to provide a two-dimensional (2D) expansion of the reflected at least one first propagated image beam 964 illumination as a first expanded output image beam 986 that can be emitted from the first waveguide back surface 984. Similar to the first waveguide first aperture expander 978, the reflectivity of the second plurality of partially reflective facets in the first waveguide second aperture expander 980 can increase in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 978, wherein the first waveguide second aperture expander 980 can have an initial facet with the lowest reflectivity and a final facet that can be a mirror. Alternatively, the reflectivity of the first plurality of partially reflective facets can be constant in a direction away from the first waveguide first aperture expander 978, and, unlike this feature, can terminate in a final facet that can or can not be a mirror. In some examples, Fig. 9B The homogenization layer 963 shown has a first orientation and Fig. 9C The homogenization layer 965 shown having the second orientation can achieve a reduced input aperture.

[0095] FIG. 10A to FIG. 10H Details of various configurations of optical systems according to various examples of the present disclosure are shown. FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C , FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C and 9A to 9C The optical system shown in FIG. 10A to FIG. 10H Any of the optical systems shown in the optical system can be appropriately combined. In this way, as described, FIG. 10A to FIG. 10HEach of the illustrated first and second waveguides may be implemented as either or both a single waveguide or a dual waveguide. In addition, the orientation of some elements in the various illustrations may be modified, swapped, rotated, reflected, or moved relative to similar elements in the corresponding illustrations while maintaining the same functionality. It is intended that each of the features illustrated with the various examples may be combined in any manner consistent with the present disclosure.

[0096] Fig. 10A 1 shows a front plan view of an optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure. In particular, Fig. 10A shows that in some ways it can be Figure 3A and Figure 4A The optical system shown is similar to the optical system. In this way, Fig. 10B It can be shown that it can be regarded as Fig. 10A A modified version of the optical system shown is shown. As described, in Fig. 10A In the same figure as in the other figures, the user's eyes (1007, 1008) and nose 1009 may be shown to provide a reference for how the optical system 1002 may be worn on the user's head and used to provide optical information. As a reference, the user right side 1000 and the user left side 1001 may indicate the relative positions of the elements of the optical system 1002 from the user's perspective, etc. The frame 1048 may be configured to support various elements of the optical system 1002, such as a projection optical device (POD), a coupling assembly with various passive and / or active elements, one or more image pipes, a first waveguide and a second waveguide, etc. The frame 1048 may be configured to hide one or more image pipes or other elements within a portion of the frame. In this way, one or more image pipes will not be visible after the optical system 1002 is assembled. Fig. 10C 1 shows a front plan view of an optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure. Similarly, Fig. 10D It can be shown that it can be regarded as Fig. 10C A modified version of the optical system shown is shown.

[0097] Similarly, Fig.10E 1 shows a front plan view of an optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure. In particular, Fig.10E shows that in some ways it can be Figure 5A The optical system shown is similar to the optical system shown in FIG. Fig.10F It can be shown that it can be regarded as Fig.10E A modified version of the optical system shown is shown.

[0098] at last, Fig. 10H 1 shows a front plan view of an optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure. In particular, Fig. 10Hshows that in some ways it can be Fig. 6A The optical system shown is similar to the optical system. Figure 10G 1 shows a front plan view of an optical system according to various examples of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 10G shows an optical system which in some respects may also be similar to Fig. 6A A modified version of the optical system shown is similar. Figure 10G In the example, for example, you can Fig. 10H The shorter image pipeline (eg, IP) shown uses the longer image pipeline, making it easier to Fig. 10H or Fig. 6A A first injection point of the first image beam into the first waveguide may be positioned farther to the right of the user, and a second injection point of the second image beam into the second waveguide may be positioned farther to the left of the user, compared to the corresponding injection points of the image beams shown in .

[0099] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "(a)", "(an)" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that when the terms "(include)", "(comprise)" and / or "(comprising)" are used in this specification, they specify the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups thereof.

[0100] The corresponding structures, materials, actions and equivalents of all means or steps plus function elements (if any) in the appended claims are intended to include any structure, material or action for performing functions in combination with other claimed elements specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been given for the purpose of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention in the disclosed form. Many modifications and variations will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Various embodiments are selected and described in order to best illustrate the principles and practical applications of the present invention, and to enable other persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand the present invention to obtain various embodiments with various modifications suitable for the specific purposes conceived.

Claims

1. An optical device, comprising: a coupling assembly configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam and a second output image beam; an image pipe configured to receive the first output image beam at an image pipe input and to provide at least one propagated image beam at an image pipe output; a first waveguide having a first waveguide rear surface, the first waveguide configured to receive the second output image beam and to emit a first expanded output image beam from the first waveguide rear surface; as well as A second waveguide has a second waveguide rear surface, the second waveguide configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and emit a second expanded output image beam from the second waveguide rear surface.

2. The optical device according to claim 1, wherein: The coupling assembly further comprises: A semi-transparent mirror having a semi-transparent mirror first surface and a semi-transparent mirror second surface opposite to the semi-transparent mirror first surface, the semi-transparent mirror first surface being configured to receive the collimated image light beam and provide the first output image light beam reflected from the semi-transparent mirror first surface, and to provide the second output image light beam emitted from the semi-transparent mirror second surface.

3. The optical device according to claim 2, in, the first waveguide comprising a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the second output image beam and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide comprises a mirror configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and provide a reflected at least one propagated image beam, the second waveguide further comprises a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the reflected at least one propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

4. The optical device according to claim 3, further comprising: An image projector configured to provide the collimated image beam based on a digital image, wherein the collimated image beam is collimated to infinity, and wherein the projector comprises a liquid crystal on silicon display.

5. An optical system comprising: an image projector configured to provide a collimated image beam based on the digital image; a coupling assembly configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam and a second output image beam; an image pipe configured to receive the first output image beam at an image pipe input and to provide at least one propagated image beam at an image pipe output; a first waveguide having a first waveguide rear surface, the first waveguide configured to receive the second output image beam and to emit a first expanded output image beam from the first waveguide rear surface; as well as A second waveguide has a second waveguide rear surface, the second waveguide configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and emit a second expanded output image beam from the second waveguide rear surface.

6. The optical system according to claim 5, wherein: Implement at least one of the following: The collimated image beam is collimated to infinity; The projector includes one of the following: a liquid crystal display, a liquid crystal on silicon display, an organic light emitting diode display, a micro light emitting diode display, and a laser display; The image pipe includes at least one of: a glass material, an acrylic material, and a polycarbonate material; attaching a portion of the first waveguide to a portion of the image conduit using a layer of low refractive index adhesive; as well as The image conduit is an elongated transparent member having a first end and a second end, the image conduit having a rectangular cross-section and orthogonal walls, the image conduit being configured to receive at least one input image beam and to provide four repeating output image beams based on the at least one input image beam.

7. The optical system according to claim 5, in, The coupling assembly includes a semi-transparent mirror having a semi-transparent mirror first surface and a semi-transparent mirror second surface opposite to the semi-transparent mirror first surface, the semi-transparent mirror first surface being configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide the first output image beam reflected from the semi-transparent mirror first surface, and configured to provide the second output image beam emitted from the semi-transparent mirror second surface; and wherein the first waveguide comprises a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the second output image beam and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide comprises a mirror configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and provide a reflected at least one propagated image beam, the second waveguide further comprises a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the reflected at least one propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

8. The optical system according to claim 5, wherein: The coupling assembly comprises: a polarizing beam splitter having a polarizing beam splitter first side and a polarizing beam splitter second side opposite the polarizing beam splitter first side, the polarizing beam splitter first side being configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide the first output image beam from the polarizing beam splitter first side, and to provide a transmitted image beam from the polarizing beam splitter second side; and A half-wave plate having a first half-wave plate side and a second half-wave plate side, the half-wave plate being configured to receive the transmitted image beam at the first half-wave plate side and to provide the second output image beam from the second half-wave plate side.

9. The optical system according to claim 8, in, the first waveguide comprising a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the second output image beam and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide comprises a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the at least one propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

10. The optical system according to claim 5, wherein: The coupling assembly further comprises: an active half-wave plate liquid crystal element configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a transformed image beam; a polarizing beam splitter having a polarizing beam splitter first side and a polarizing beam splitter second side opposite the polarizing beam splitter first side, the polarizing beam splitter first side being configured to receive the transformed image beam and provide the first output image beam from the polarizing beam splitter first side, and to provide a transmitted image beam from the polarizing beam splitter second side; and A half-wave plate having a first half-wave plate side and a second half-wave plate side, the half-wave plate being configured to receive the transmitted image beam on the first half-wave plate side and to provide the second output image beam from the second half-wave plate side.

11. The optical system according to claim 10, in, the first waveguide comprising a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the second output image beam and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide comprises a mirror configured to receive the at least one propagated image beam and provide a reflected at least one propagated image beam, the second waveguide further comprises a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the reflected at least one propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

12. The optical system according to claim 10, in, the first waveguide comprising a first waveguide first aperture expander and a first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the second output image beam and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander, the first waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide comprises a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the at least one propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

13. The optical system according to claim 10, wherein: The image pipe is a first image pipe, and wherein the first waveguide includes a first waveguide front surface opposite the first waveguide rear surface, the optical system further comprising: a third waveguide having a third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide configured to receive the second output image beam and emit a third expanded output image beam from the third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide rear surface being attached to the first waveguide front surface, the third waveguide comprising: a second image conduit configured to receive the second output image beam and provide at least one propagated third image beam at a third image conduit output; a third waveguide first aperture expander configured to expand the at least one propagated third image beam and provide a third waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams; and a third waveguide second aperture expander configured to expand the first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a third waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the third expanded output image beams, the second image conduit being configured to surround at least a portion of the third waveguide second aperture expander.

14. The optical system according to claim 5, further comprising: A frame is configured to support the image projector, the coupling assembly, the image conduit, the first waveguide, and the second waveguide, the frame being configured to conceal the image conduit within a portion of the frame.

15. An optical system comprising: an image projector configured to provide a collimated image beam based on the digital image; a coupling assembly configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a first output image beam and a second output image beam; a first image conduit configured to receive the first output image beam at a first image conduit input and to provide at least one first propagated image beam at a first image conduit output; a second image conduit configured to receive the second output image beam at a second image conduit input and to provide at least one second propagated image beam at a second image conduit output; a first waveguide having a first waveguide rear surface, the first waveguide configured to receive the at least one second propagated image beam and to emit a first expanded output image beam from the first waveguide rear surface; as well as A second waveguide has a second waveguide rear surface, the second waveguide configured to receive the at least one first propagated image beam and emit a second expanded output image beam from the second waveguide rear surface.

16. The optical system according to claim 15, wherein: The coupling assembly comprises: an active half-wave plate liquid crystal element configured to receive the collimated image beam and provide a transformed image beam; a polarizing beam splitter having a polarizing beam splitter first side and a polarizing beam splitter second side opposite the polarizing beam splitter first side, the polarizing beam splitter first side being configured to receive the transformed image beam and to provide the second output image beam from the polarizing beam splitter first side and to provide a transmitted image beam from the polarizing beam splitter second side; a quarter wave plate having a quarter wave plate first side and a quarter wave plate second side, the quarter wave plate being configured to receive the transmitted image beam on the quarter wave plate first side and to provide a converted image beam from the quarter wave plate second side; and a mirror having a reflective mirror surface, the mirror being configured to receive the converted image beam and to provide a reflected image beam, the quarter wave plate being configured to receive the reflected image beam on a second side of the quarter wave plate and to provide a second converted image beam from a first side of the quarter wave plate, the polarizing beam splitter being configured to receive the second converted image beam on a second side of the polarizing beam splitter and to provide the first output image beam.

17. The optical system according to claim 16, in, the first waveguide comprising a first mirror configured to receive the at least one second propagated image beam and provide a reflected at least one second propagated image beam, the first waveguide further comprising a first waveguide first aperture expander configured to expand the reflected at least one second propagated image beam and provide a first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams directed to the first waveguide second aperture expander, and a first waveguide second aperture expander configured to expand the first waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a first waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the first expanded output image beam; and wherein the second waveguide comprises a second mirror configured to receive the at least one first propagated image beam and provide a reflected at least one first propagated image beam, the second waveguide further comprises a second waveguide first aperture expander and a second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide first aperture expander being configured to expand the reflected at least one first propagated image beam and provide a second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams guided to the second waveguide second aperture expander, the second waveguide second aperture expander being configured to expand the second waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a second waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the second expanded output image beam.

18. The optical system according to claim 15, wherein: The first waveguide includes a first waveguide front surface opposite to the first waveguide rear surface, the optical system further comprising: a third waveguide having a third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide configured to receive the at least one second propagated image beam and emit a third expanded output image beam from the third waveguide rear surface, the third waveguide rear surface being attached to the first waveguide front surface, the third waveguide comprising: a third image conduit configured to receive the at least one second propagated image beam and to provide at least one propagated third image beam at a third image conduit output; a third waveguide first aperture expander configured to expand the at least one propagated third image beam and provide a third waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams; and a third waveguide second aperture expander configured to expand the first plurality of expanded image beams and provide a third waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the third expanded output image beams, the second image conduit configured to surround at least a portion of the third waveguide second aperture expander, the second image conduit having a uniformization layer.

19. The optical system according to claim 18, wherein: The second waveguide includes a second waveguide front surface opposite to the second waveguide rear surface, the optical system further comprising: a polarizing beam splitter having a polarizing beam splitter first side and a polarizing beam splitter second side opposite the polarizing beam splitter first side, the polarizing beam splitter first side being configured to receive the at least one first transmitted image beam and to provide a second transmitted image beam from the polarizing beam splitter second side; a half-wave plate having a first half-wave plate side and a second half-wave plate side, the half-wave plate being configured to receive the second transmitted image beam on the first half-wave plate side and to provide a second converted image beam from the second half-wave plate side; a fourth waveguide having a fourth waveguide rear surface, the fourth waveguide configured to receive the second converted image beam and emit a fourth expanded output image beam from the fourth waveguide rear surface, the fourth waveguide rear surface being attached to the second waveguide front surface, the fourth waveguide comprising: a fourth image conduit configured to receive the second converted image beam and to provide at least one propagated fourth image beam at a fourth image conduit output; a fourth waveguide first aperture expander configured to expand the at least one propagated first image beam and provide a fourth waveguide first plurality of expanded image beams; and a fourth waveguide second aperture expander configured to expand the fourth plurality of expanded image beams and provide a fourth waveguide second plurality of expanded image beams to be emitted as the fourth expanded output image beams, the fourth image conduit being configured to surround at least a portion of the fourth waveguide second aperture expander, the fourth image conduit comprising a homogenization layer.

20. The optical system of claim 15, further comprising: A frame configured to support the image projector, the coupling assembly, the first image conduit, the second image conduit, the first waveguide, and the second waveguide, the frame configured to conceal the first image conduit and the second image conduit within a portion of the frame.

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