Image display apparatus

Abstract

The invention provides an image display apparatus. The image display device includes a first optical assembly, a plurality of microlens arrays, and a second optical assembly. The first optical assembly receives a display image and generates a plurality of image light beams parallel to each other. The micro-lens array receives the image light beams, deflects the image light beams to generate a plurality of first light beams, and enables the first light beams to be focused on a first focusing plane. The second optical assembly is arranged between the first focusing plane and the target area, receives the first light beam, deflects the first light beam to generate a plurality of second light beams, enables the second light beams to be focused on the second focusing plane, and projects the second light beams to be focused to the target area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image display device, and in particular to an image display device capable of reducing Vergence Accommodation Conflict (VAC). Background Art

[0002] In the real world, the human eye measures distance through the coordination of two physiological responses: vergence and accommodation. Vergence refers to the rotation of the human eye. When looking at a close object, both eyes will rotate toward the bridge of the nose at the same time. The farther the object is, the smaller the rotation angle will be. Accommodation refers to the zooming of the lens. The human eye will automatically adjust the focus, using the force / relaxation of the ciliary muscle to change the curvature of the lens so that the light emitted by the object can be focused on the retina.

[0003] However, in the augmented reality and virtual reality displays of the prior art, binocular parallax is often used to give users a sense of three-dimensionality. The left and right eyes receive the parallax images that have been specifically calculated at the same time, and use this to satisfy the convergence reaction. This method cannot design different focusing planes for distant objects and near objects in the picture, which means that any position in the image is from the same focusing plane. Although this method can make the eyeballs converge and react correctly and feel the distance of the object, because there is only one focusing plane in the picture, the eyeball adjustment function will only focus on one position, so the two sets of physiological reactions will conflict, which can easily cause some users to feel dizzy and nauseous. This phenomenon is called convergence-accommodation conflict. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention is directed to an image display device that can simultaneously present front and back virtual images to provide a better virtual-reality fusion experience.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an image display device includes a first optical component, a plurality of microlens arrays, and a second optical component. The first optical component receives a display image and generates a plurality of image beams parallel to each other. The microlens array receives the image beams respectively, deflects the image beams to generate a plurality of first beams, and focuses the first beams on a first focusing plane. The second optical component is disposed between the first focusing plane and the target area, receives the first beam, deflects the first beam to generate a plurality of second beams, focuses the second beams on a second focusing plane, and projects the second beams to focus on the target area.

[0006] Based on the above, the image display device of the present invention uses a first optical component to focus the image beam on a first focusing plane for the first time, and uses a second optical component to focus the image beam on a second focusing plane for the second time, thereby forming a plurality of light spot arrays to enter the human eye through multiple angles. When the human eye receives these image beams, it can focus these multiple beams of light on the retina through an automatic adjustment function, and the brain can perceive the depth of the object in the image according to the adjustment information, thereby creating image depth and satisfying the adjustment function of the human eye, reducing the discomfort that may be caused by the convergence adjustment conflict. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1A as well as Figure 1B A schematic diagram of the way the human eye produces a sense of depth in an image;

[0008] Figure 2A A schematic diagram of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 2B is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the image display device 200;

[0010] Figure 2C Schematic diagram of the relationship between the microlens array and the incident light;

[0011] Figure 3A A schematic diagram of an image display device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] Figure 3B for Figure 3A A schematic diagram of the depth of an image object perceived by the human eye in an embodiment;

[0013] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an image display device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an image display device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of a plurality of light spots formed on a second focusing plane of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0017] Please refer to Figure 1A as well as Figure 1B , Figure 1A as well as Figure 1BSchematic diagram of the way the human eye produces a sense of depth in an image. In addition to binocular parallax, the human eye can perceive depth by adjusting the distance of an object through monocular adjustment. Figure 1A as well as Figure 1B In the example, the light rays emitted by objects O1 and O2 at different distances will enter the human eye 100 at different angles. The angle of the light 120 of the object O1 at a relatively close object distance d1 is greater than the angle of the light 130 at a relatively far object distance d2. Figure 1B In the example, when the human eye 100 focuses on a near object (object O2), the ciliary muscle compresses the lens 100, so that the large-angle light 120 is focused on the retina. Figure 1A In the present invention, when the human eye 100 focuses on a distant object (object O1), the lens 110 is relaxed to focus the small angle light 130 on the retina. According to the angle difference of the incident light, the human eye 100 can automatically adjust to focus the light on the retina, so that people can have a sense of image depth.

[0018] Please refer to the following Figure 2A , Figure 2A Schematic diagram of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image display device 200 includes a first optical component 210, a plurality of microlens arrays 220, and a second optical component 230. In the present embodiment, the first optical component 210 is used to be arranged in front of the lens of the image projector PJT, and is used to receive the display image DIM emitted by the image projector PJT. The display image DIM may have a plurality of scattered shadow beams. The first optical component 210 generates a plurality of image beams LB0 that are parallel to each other by refracting the received display image DIM. In the present embodiment, the first optical component 210 may be a collimated lens. In the present embodiment, the image beam DIM may be transmitted along the optical axis OA.

[0019] Please refer to the following synchronously Figure 2B 2 is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the image display device 200. The microlens array 220 includes microlens arrays 220-1, 220-2 and 220-3, and the multiple image beams LB0 are image beams LB0-1, LB0-2 and LB0-3 respectively. The microlens arrays 220-1, 220-2 and 220-3 receive the multiple image beams LB0-1, LB0-2 and LB0-3 respectively. The microlens arrays 220-1, 220-2 and 220-3 respectively generate multiple first beams LB1-1, LB1-2 and LB1-3 by deflecting the image beams LB0-1, LB0-2 and LB0-3, and focus the first beams LB1-1, LB1-2 and LB1-3 on the first focusing plane FP1.

[0020] Please refer again Figure 2A , multiple first light beams LB1 (including first light beams LB1-1, LB1-2 and LB1-3) are transmitted to the second optical component 230 after passing through the first focusing plane FP1. The second optical component 230 is arranged in the target interval between the first focusing plane FP1 and the eyeball 201 of the human eye. In this embodiment, the second optical component 230 can be a focusing lens group and is arranged on the optical axis OA. The second optical component 230 receives the first light beam LB1, and generates multiple second light beams LB2 by deflecting the first light beam LB1, and focuses the second light beam LB2 on the second focusing plane FP2. After passing through the second focusing plane FP2, the second light beam LB2 is projected to the target area where the eyeball 201 of the human eye is located.

[0021] Here, the second optical component 230 may be composed of one or more lenses to form a focusing lens group with focusing capability. Figure 2A The second optical component 230 as a double convex lens is only an example. In other embodiments of the present invention, the second optical component 230 may also be a concave-convex lens or a plano-convex lens.

[0022] It is worth mentioning that the second light beam LB2 can form a light spot array on the second focusing plane FP2, wherein each light spot corresponds to each microlens in the lens array 220. Figure 2B By controlling the positions of the image beams LB0-1, LB0-2 and LB0-3 projected onto the microlens arrays 220-1, 220-2 and 220-3, the emission angles of the corresponding first beams LB1-1, LB1-2 and LB1-3 can be adjusted. Figure 1A as well as Figure 1B The description can make the human eye feel different depths of field for objects in the displayed image PIM.

[0023] Among them, Figure 2C In the schematic diagram of the relationship between the microlens array and the incident light, by adjusting the height h of the incident image beam LB0-1 on the cross section of the microlens array 220-1, the emission angle of the corresponding first beam LB1-1 can be adjusted. The higher the incident height of the image beam LB0-1, the larger the corresponding emission angle of the first beam LB1-1.

[0024] Incidentally, the dimension of the microlens array 220 may be N times N, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0025] Please refer to Figure 3A as well as Figure 3B ,in Figure 3A is a schematic diagram of an image display device according to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3B for Figure 3A In an embodiment, a schematic diagram of the depth of an image object perceived by the human eye. Figure 3A In the embodiment, the image display device 300 includes a first optical component 310, a plurality of micro lens arrays 320, a second optical component 330, an image projector 340, and a controller 350. The image projector 340 may be a projector or any other electronic device capable of projecting a display image. The image projector 340 is used to project a display image DIM toward the first optical component 310, wherein the display image DIM has a plurality of scattered image light beams.

[0026] The first optical component 310 may be a collimating lens, which is used to receive the display image DIM and generate a plurality of mutually parallel first light beams by deflecting a plurality of image light beams of the display image. The microlens array 320 is arranged according to the light exiting surface of the first optical component 310, and is used to receive a plurality of first light beams provided by the first optical component 310. The plurality of first light beams are respectively projected onto a set position of the corresponding microlens array 320, and the microlens array 320 deflects the plurality of first light beams to generate a plurality of second light beams a, b, and c, respectively.

[0027] In this embodiment, the second light beams a, b and c are respectively focused on the first focal plane FP1 with the corresponding second light beams. Then, after passing through the first focal plane FP1, the second light beams a, b and c are sent to the second optical component 330. The second optical component 330 deflects the travel paths of the second light beams a, b and c, and focuses the second light beams a, b and c with the corresponding second light beams on the second focal plane FP2. Then, the light beams a, b and c are transmitted to the user's eyeball 301. Further, the user's eyeball 301 can adjust the focal length of the lens 302 to project the second light beams a, b and c onto the retina and generate an image.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 3B When the user's eyeball 301 receives the second light beams a, b and c, the user's brain can perceive the depth Z of the object O1 according to the adjustment information of the lens 302, and create an image depth to satisfy the human eye adjustment function.

[0029] In this embodiment, when performing an image projection operation, the controller 350 can calculate the light vector of the light spot array formed by the light emitted by an object O1 with a depth Z reaching the second focusing plane FP2, and back-calculate the light angle of the display image DIM projected by the image projector 340, and thereby generate a specific angle of light to be projected to the user's eyeball 301, so that the user can feel the depth of field of the object O1.

[0030] In this embodiment, the controller 350 may be a processor with computing capabilities. Alternatively, the controller 350 may be a hardware circuit designed by a hardware description language (HDL) or any other digital circuit design method known to those skilled in the art, and implemented by a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0031] Please refer to the following Figure 4 , Figure 4 Schematic diagram of an image display device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The image display device 400 includes a first optical component 410, a plurality of microlens arrays 420, and a second optical component 430. The first optical component 410 receives a display image DIM transmitted along an optical axis OA, and generates a plurality of image light beams LB0 that are parallel to each other. The microlens array 420 receives the plurality of image light beams LB0 respectively, and generates a plurality of first light beams LB1 by deflecting the image light beams LB0. The plurality of first light beams LB1 are first focused on a focusing plane FP1, and are transmitted to the second optical component 430 after passing through the focusing plane FP1.

[0032] In this embodiment, the second optical component 430 includes a focusing lens group 431 and a reflector 412. The focusing lens group 431 can be a concave-convex lens and can produce a focusing effect on the first light beam LB1. The focusing lens group 431 and the reflector 412 can be arranged according to the optical axis OA, for example, the center point is on the optical axis OA, wherein the focusing lens group 431 can be arranged between the reflector 412 and the microlens array 420. The focused first light beam LB1 can be projected onto the reflection surface S1 of the reflector 412. The reflector 412 generates a plurality of second light beams LB2 by reflecting the first light beam LB1. The second light beam LB2 is maintained in a focused state and is focused on the second focusing plane FP2. Through the second focusing plane FP2, the second light beam LB2 can be projected into the eyeball 401 (i.e., the target area) of the user.

[0033] In this embodiment, the user's eyeball 401 does not need to be disposed on the optical axis OA. The line connecting the center point of the focusing lens group 431 and the reflector 432 (for example, the optical axis OA) and the line A1 connecting the reflector 432 and the center point of the target area may have an angle greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees.

[0034] Please refer to the following Figure 5 , Figure 5 Schematic diagram of an image display device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The image display device 500 includes a first optical component 510, a plurality of microlens arrays 520, and a second optical component 530. The first optical component 510 receives a display image DIM transmitted along an optical axis OA, and generates a plurality of image light beams LB0 that are parallel to each other. The microlens array 520 receives the plurality of image light beams LB0 respectively, and generates a plurality of first light beams LB1 by deflecting the image light beams LB0. The plurality of first light beams LB1 are first focused on a focusing plane FP1, and are transmitted to the second optical component 530 after passing through the focusing plane FP1.

[0035] The second optical component 530 includes a beam splitter 532 and a concave mirror 531. In this embodiment, the beam splitter 532 can be arranged on the optical axis OA. The beam splitter 532 receives the first light beam LB1 and reflects the first light beam LB1 to the concave mirror 531 in a set direction SD. The concave mirror 531 is used to reflect and deflect the first light beam LB1 so that the first light beam LB1 is in a focused state. The first light beam LB1 in a focused state can pass through the beam splitter 532 to generate a second light beam LB2. The second light beam LB2 can be focused on the second focusing plane FP2 and further transmitted to the user's eyeball 501.

[0036] In this embodiment, the optical axis OA and the setting direction SD may have an angle greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 Schematic diagram of multiple light spots formed on the second focusing plane of the image display device of the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, multiple second light beams LB2_11~LB2_33 can form a 3 times 3 array and enter the user's eyeball 601. The second light beams LB2_11~LB2_33 are focused to form a 3 times 3 light spot array, and each light spot can correspond to each microlens in the lens array.

[0038] In summary, the image display device of the present invention deflects the image beam so that the image beam is focused for the first time on the first focusing plane and is focused for the second time on the second focusing plane, thereby forming a plurality of light spot arrays, so that the image beam enters the human eye through multiple angles, and the human eye produces different depth of field effects for different objects, thereby reducing the discomfort that may be caused by the convergence accommodation conflict.

[0039] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An image display device, comprising: A first optical component receives a display image and generates a plurality of image beams parallel to each other; A plurality of micro-lens arrays respectively receive the plurality of image light beams, deflect the plurality of image light beams to generate a plurality of first light beams, and focus the plurality of first light beams on a first focusing plane; as well as The second optical component is disposed between the first focusing plane and the target area, receives the plurality of first light beams, deflects the plurality of first light beams to generate a plurality of second light beams, focuses the plurality of second light beams on a second focusing plane, and projects the plurality of second light beams to the target area. 2 . The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein the first optical component is a collimating lens. 3 . The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of image light beams are transmitted along an optical axis, and the second optical component comprises a focusing lens group disposed on the optical axis. 4 . The image display device according to claim 3 , wherein the focusing lens group comprises a biconvex lens, a plano-convex lens or a concave-convex lens.

5. The image display device according to claim 3, wherein the second optical component further comprises: A reflector is arranged on the optical axis, wherein the focusing lens group is between the reflector and the plurality of microlens arrays, and the reflector reflects the plurality of second light beams and focuses the plurality of second light beams on the second focusing plane.

6. The image display device according to claim 5, wherein the line connecting the focusing lens group and the center point of the reflector, and the line connecting the reflector and the center point of the target area have an angle greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees.

7. The image display device according to claim 3, wherein the second optical component comprises: A beam splitter, disposed on the optical axis, for reflecting the plurality of first light beams toward a set direction; as well as The concave mirror is arranged in the set direction, receives the multiple first light beams, generates the multiple second light beams by reflecting the multiple first light beams, makes the multiple second light beams pass through the beam splitter, and focuses on the second focusing plane.

8. The image display device according to claim 7, wherein the second optical component comprises: The lens group is arranged between the beam splitter and the plurality of microlens arrays. 9 . The image display device according to claim 7 , wherein the optical axis and the set direction have an angle greater than 0 and less than 180 degrees.

10. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising: The image projector is used for projecting the plurality of image light beams of the image light beam.

11. The image display device according to claim 10, further comprising: The controller is coupled to the image projector and adjusts the depth of field of each image beam corresponding to the display object by adjusting the position where each image beam is projected on each microlens array. 12 . The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the microlens arrays is composed of N times N microlenses, wherein N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

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