Ar device and optical waveguide

Abstract

The utility model discloses AR equipment and an optical waveguide. The AR equipment comprises an optical machine and the optical waveguide. The optical waveguide comprises an optical waveguide main body, a pupil entrance area, a pupil expansion area and a pupil exit area. The pupil expansion area and the pupil exit area are oppositely arranged on two surfaces of the optical waveguide main body; the projection projected to the optical waveguide main body by the pupil exit area and the projection projected to the optical waveguide main body by the pupil expansion area have an overlapping area; the light machine is used for emitting image light beams to the pupil entrance area. Therefore, the pupil expansion area and the pupil exit area are respectively arranged at the two sides of the optical waveguide main body, and the projections of the pupil expansion area and the pupil exit area projected to the optical waveguide main body respectively have the overlapped area, so that no gap exists between the projection of the pupil expansion area projected to the optical waveguide main body and the projection of the pupil exit area projected to the optical waveguide main body; and the optical waveguide main body can save the area of the overlapping region, so that the cost of the manufacturing material of the AR equipment is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of AR devices, and more particularly, to an AR device and an optical waveguide. Background Art

[0002] Augmented reality (AR) technology is widely used in various fields, including gaming, education, and healthcare. AR devices combine virtual information with the real world, providing users with an immersive experience. As a key piece of AR hardware, AR glasses must be lightweight, high-resolution, have a large field of view (FOV), high brightness, and low power consumption to meet user comfort and experience requirements. The optical display system in AR glasses typically utilizes waveguide display technology, with the waveguide plate as its core component. The waveguide plate splits, guides, and outputs the image light beam displayed by the optical engine to transmit and display virtual images.

[0003] In related technologies, the waveguide structure includes a three-section waveguide. This three-section waveguide includes independently configured entrance, expansion, and exit pupil regions. The entrance pupil is the entrance that couples the image beam from the optical display into the waveguide; the expansion pupil directs the image beam within the waveguide to the exit pupil; and the exit pupil couples the image beam out of the waveguide to transmit it to the user's eye, forming an image there.

[0004] However, since the three-section waveguide requires independently set entrance pupil area, expanded pupil area and exit pupil area, the area of ​​the waveguide structure is too large, resulting in a high material cost for AR glasses. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present application proposes an AR device and an optical waveguide, which can effectively reduce the area corresponding to the waveguide structure, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing materials for the AR device.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an AR device, comprising: an optical engine and an optical waveguide; wherein: the optical waveguide comprises an optical waveguide body, an entrance pupil area, an expanded pupil area, and an exit pupil area; the expanded pupil area and the exit pupil area are relatively arranged on two surfaces of the optical waveguide body; there is an overlapping area between the projection of the exit pupil area onto the optical waveguide body and the projection of the expanded pupil area onto the optical waveguide body; the optical engine is used to emit an image light beam to the entrance pupil area.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides an optical waveguide, comprising: an optical waveguide body, an entrance pupil area, an expanded pupil area, and an exit pupil area, wherein: the expanded pupil area and the exit pupil area are relatively arranged on two surfaces of the optical waveguide body; a projection of the exit pupil area onto the optical waveguide body and a projection of the expanded pupil area onto the optical waveguide body have an overlapping area.

[0008] The technical solution provided in this application includes an optical engine and an optical waveguide. The optical waveguide includes an optical waveguide body, an entrance pupil region, an expanded pupil region, and an exit pupil region. The expanded pupil region and the exit pupil region are disposed on opposite surfaces of the optical waveguide body. The projection of the exit pupil region onto the optical waveguide body overlaps with the projection of the expanded pupil region onto the optical waveguide body. The optical engine is configured to emit an image light beam toward the entrance pupil region. Thus, by disposing the expanded pupil region and the exit pupil region on either side of the optical waveguide body, and by overlapping the projections of the expanded pupil region and the exit pupil region onto the optical waveguide body, there is no gap between the projection of the expanded pupil region onto the optical waveguide body and the projection of the exit pupil region onto the optical waveguide body. Furthermore, the optical waveguide body can save on the area of ​​the overlapping region, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing materials for the AR device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments and drawings obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0011] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 A structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0013] Figure 4 A structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0014] Figure 5 A structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The described embodiments should not be regarded as limiting this application. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0016] In the following description, references to "some embodiments" describe a subset of all possible embodiments. However, it is understood that "some embodiments" may be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments, and may be combined with each other without conflict. In the following description, the term "plurality" refers to at least two.

[0017] In the following description, the terms "first\second" are only used to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific order for the objects. It can be understood that "first\second" can be interchanged with a specific order or sequence where permitted, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.

[0018] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application pertains. The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing the embodiments of this application only and are not intended to limit this application.

[0019] Augmented reality (AR) technology is widely used in various fields, including gaming, education, and healthcare. AR devices combine virtual information with the real world, providing users with an immersive experience. As a key piece of AR hardware, AR glasses must be lightweight, high-resolution, have a large field of view (FOV), high brightness, and low power consumption to meet user comfort and experience requirements. The optical display system in AR glasses typically utilizes waveguide display technology, with the waveguide plate as its core component. The waveguide plate splits, guides, and outputs the image light beam displayed by the optical engine to transmit and display virtual images.

[0020] In related technologies, the waveguide structure includes a three-section waveguide. The three-section waveguide includes an independently set entrance pupil area, an expanded pupil area, and an exit pupil area. Among them, the entrance pupil area is the entrance for coupling the image light beam displayed by the optical machine into the waveguide plate; the expanded pupil area guides the propagation direction of the image light beam to the exit pupil area in the waveguide plate; and the exit pupil area couples the image light beam out of the waveguide plate to transmit the image light beam to the user's eyes, thereby forming an image in the user's eyeball. However, since the three-section waveguide requires independently set entrance pupil area, expanded pupil area, and exit pupil area, and there is a gap between the projection of the expanded pupil area onto the three-section waveguide and the projection of the exit pupil area onto the three-section waveguide, the area of ​​the waveguide structure is too large, resulting in a high material cost for AR glasses.

[0021] In order to improve the above-mentioned problems, the present application provides an AR device and an optical waveguide, which AR device includes an optical engine and an optical waveguide; wherein: the optical waveguide includes an optical waveguide body, an entrance pupil area, an expanded pupil area and an exit pupil area; the expanded pupil area and the exit pupil area are relatively arranged on two surfaces of the optical waveguide body; there is an overlapping area between the projection of the exit pupil area onto the optical waveguide body and the projection of the expanded pupil area onto the optical waveguide body; the optical engine is used to emit an image light beam to the entrance pupil area.

[0022] Therefore, by arranging the pupil expansion area and the exit pupil area on both sides of the optical waveguide body respectively, and there being an overlapping area between the projections of the pupil expansion area and the exit pupil area onto the optical waveguide body, there is no gap between the projection of the pupil expansion area onto the optical waveguide body and the projection of the exit pupil area onto the optical waveguide body, and the optical waveguide body can also save the area of ​​the overlapping area, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing materials of the AR device.

[0023] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of the present application, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0024] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of an AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the AR device 100 includes an optical engine 110 and an optical waveguide 120 .

[0025] The optical waveguide 120 includes an optical waveguide body 121 ( Figure 1 1 and 12. The front and back surfaces of the optical waveguide body 121 are shown), an entrance pupil area 122, a dilated pupil area 123, and an exit pupil area 124. The dilated pupil area 123 and the exit pupil area 124 are disposed on opposite surfaces of the optical waveguide body 121. The projection of the exit pupil area 124 onto the optical waveguide body 121 overlaps with the projection of the dilated pupil area 123 onto the optical waveguide body 121.

[0026] The optical engine 110 is configured to emit an image light beam toward the entrance pupil area 122 .

[0027] The entrance pupil area 122 can be the entrance for the image light beam to be coupled into the optical waveguide 120; the pupil expansion area 123 can enable the image light beam to propagate in the optical waveguide 2 to the exit pupil area 124, so as to increase the size of the exit pupil area 124, thereby improving the field of view of the AR device 100; the exit pupil area 124 can release the image light beam from the optical waveguide 120 and transmit it to the exit of the user's eyes, directly affecting the display effect seen by the user.

[0028] That is to say, when the optical machine 110 is in a light-emitting state, the optical machine 110 emits an image light beam to the optical waveguide 120 through the entrance pupil area 122, the image light beam propagates inside the optical waveguide 120, and the image light beam emitted by the optical machine 1 is emitted to the exit pupil area 124 through the pupil expansion area 123, and the image light beam is then propagated to the user's eyes through the exit pupil area 124, so that the user can obtain the corresponding content played by the optical machine 110.

[0029] In some embodiments, the optical engine 110 may be a micro projector. In some embodiments, the optical engine 110 includes one of a DLP projector, an LCOS projector, and a micro light emitting diode (MicroLED).

[0030] In some embodiments, the optical waveguide 120 may be a diffraction optical waveguide. In other embodiments, the optical waveguide 120 may also be an array optical waveguide.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the pupil expansion area 123 and the exit pupil area 124 in the present application are arranged on two opposite surfaces of the optical waveguide body 121. There is no gap between the projection of the pupil expansion area 123 onto the optical waveguide body 121 and the projection of the exit pupil area 124 onto the optical waveguide body 121, and there is an overlapping area between the projection of the pupil expansion area 123 onto the optical waveguide body 121 and the projection of the exit pupil area 124 onto the optical waveguide body 121, thereby reducing the area of ​​the optical waveguide body 121 and reducing the cost of manufacturing materials of the AR device 100.

[0032] Generally, the projection area of ​​the exit pupil region 124 onto the light waveguide body 121 is larger than the projection area of ​​the expanded pupil region 123 onto the light waveguide body 121. In other words, the area corresponding to the exit pupil region 124 is larger than the area corresponding to the expanded pupil region 123. It is understood that only a portion of the projection of the exit pupil region 124 onto the light waveguide body 121 may overlap with the projection of the expanded pupil region 123 onto the light waveguide body 121.

[0033] Furthermore, in order to further reduce the area of ​​the optical waveguide body 121, in some embodiments, refer to Figure 2, Figure 2 FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown ( Figure 2 , the front and back sides of the optical waveguide body 121 are shown), and the projection of the exit pupil area 124 onto the optical waveguide body 121 covers the projection of the expanded pupil area 123 onto the optical waveguide body 121.

[0034] Since the projection of the exit pupil area 124 onto the optical waveguide body 121 covers the projection of the expanded pupil area 123 onto the optical waveguide body 121, compared to an AR device in which the expanded pupil area 123 and the exit pupil area 124 are arranged on the same surface of the optical waveguide body 121, or the expanded pupil area 123 and the exit pupil area 124 are arranged on different surfaces of the optical waveguide body 121, but there is no overlapping area between the projection of the expanded pupil area 123 and the projection of the exit pupil area 124 onto the optical waveguide body 121, the area of ​​the optical waveguide body 121 can be effectively reduced. The optical waveguide body 121 can save the area of ​​the gap between the projection of the expanded pupil area 123 and the projection of the exit pupil area 124 onto the optical waveguide body 121, and can also save the area corresponding to the projection of the expanded pupil area 123 onto the optical waveguide body 121, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing materials for the AR device 100.

[0035] By arranging the pupil expansion region 123 and the exit pupil region 124 on either side of the optical waveguide body 121, and with the projection of the pupil expansion region 123 onto the optical waveguide body 121 overlapping, the area of ​​the optical waveguide body 121 is reduced. To further improve the light energy utilization of the AR device, in some embodiments, the entrance pupil region 122, the pupil expansion region 123, and the exit pupil region 124 are one-dimensional gratings.

[0036] Since the diffraction efficiency of a one-dimensional grating is high, the brightness of the image light beam can be improved. Therefore, the entrance pupil area 122, the expanded pupil area 123 and the exit pupil area 124 are one-dimensional gratings, which can effectively improve the light energy utilization rate of the AR device compared to the entrance pupil area 122, the expanded pupil area 123 and the exit pupil area 124 being two-dimensional gratings or double-sided one-dimensional gratings.

[0037] In other embodiments, the entrance pupil region 122, the expanded pupil region 123, and the exit pupil region 124 may also be beam splitters. Whether the entrance pupil region 122 and the exit pupil region 124 are one-dimensional gratings or beam splitters is determined based on the specific circumstances of the optical waveguide 121. For example, when the optical waveguide 120 is a diffraction optical waveguide, the entrance pupil region 122 and the exit pupil region 124 are one-dimensional gratings (e.g., surface relief gratings). For another example, when the optical waveguide 120 is an arrayed optical waveguide, the entrance pupil region 122 and the exit pupil region 124 are beam splitters.

[0038] In the prior art, the exit pupil region 124 of a two-segment waveguide typically utilizes a double-sided one-dimensional grating. This requires grating processing and alignment on both surfaces of the two-segment waveguide. Otherwise, misalignment can occur, causing user discomfort and dizziness. This process is complex and prone to alignment errors, which can affect the display quality of the AR device and reduce the production yield of the AR device.

[0039] In some embodiments, the one-dimensional grating corresponding to the pupil expansion region 123 is not aligned with the one-dimensional grating corresponding to the exit pupil region 124. Since the image light beam is coupled out only by the exit pupil region 124 on the surface of the optical waveguide 121 in this application, it is not necessary to couple the image light beam out from both surfaces of the optical waveguide 121. Therefore, the one-dimensional grating corresponding to the pupil expansion region 123 and the one-dimensional grating corresponding to the exit pupil region 124 do not need to be aligned in this application, further reducing the manufacturing difficulty of the AR device 100.

[0040] In order to improve the uniformity of the display image of the AR device 100, in some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown ( Figure 3 The front and back sides of the optical waveguide body 121 are shown), and the AR device 100 includes two entrance pupil areas 122, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the pupil expansion area 123 or on both sides of the exit pupil area 124.

[0041] The image beam is emitted from the optical engine 110, coupled into the optical waveguide body 121 through the entrance pupil region 122, propagated to the exit pupil region 124 through the pupil expansion region 123, and then coupled out of the optical waveguide body 121 through the exit pupil region 124, reaching the user's eyes. During this process, as the image beam propagates, the energy it carries decreases, resulting in one side of the displayed image being darker than the other.

[0042] By setting two entrance pupil areas 122, and because the two entrance pupil areas 122 guide the image light beam to propagate in two opposite directions, the two entrance pupil areas 122 are set to balance the propagation of the image light beam. The energy carried by the image light beam will continue to decrease, and the displayed image will usually have one side darker than the other side, so that the display image of the AR device is more uniform.

[0043] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 and Figure 5 , Figure 4 FIG2 shows a structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of another AR device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown ( Figure 4 as well as Figure 5 ), the AR device 100 includes a first dilated pupil area 1231 and a second dilated pupil area 1232, as well as a first exit pupil area 1241 and a second exit pupil area 1242; the projection of the first exit pupil area 1241 onto the optical waveguide body 121 overlaps with the projection of the first dilated pupil area 1231 onto the optical waveguide body 121; the projection of the second exit pupil area 1232 onto the optical waveguide body 121 overlaps with the projection of the second dilated pupil area 1232 onto the optical waveguide body 121.

[0044] In other words, the AR device 100 structure provided in this application is applicable not only to eyepiece waveguides but also to binocular waveguides. The two pupil expansion regions 123 and the two exit pupil regions 124 are respectively disposed on two opposing surfaces of the optical waveguide body 121. Specifically, the two pupil expansion regions 123 are disposed on the first surface of the optical waveguide body 121, and the two exit pupil regions 124 are disposed on the second surface of the optical waveguide body 121, with the first and second surfaces being opposite each other.

[0045] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the entrance pupil area 122 is disposed between two pupil expansion areas 123 or between two exit pupil areas 124 .

[0046] The entrance pupil area 122 may be provided on a side where the two pupil expansion areas 123 are located, or the entrance pupil area 122 may be provided on a side where the two exit pupil areas 124 are located.

[0047] An embodiment of the present application provides an AR device and an optical waveguide. The AR device includes an optical engine and an optical waveguide. The optical waveguide includes an optical waveguide body, an entrance pupil region, an expanded pupil region, and an exit pupil region. The expanded pupil region and the exit pupil region are disposed on opposite surfaces of the optical waveguide body. The projection of the exit pupil region onto the optical waveguide body overlaps with the projection of the expanded pupil region onto the optical waveguide body. The optical engine is configured to emit an image light beam toward the entrance pupil region. Thus, by disposing the expanded pupil region and the exit pupil region on either side of the optical waveguide body, and by overlapping the projections of the expanded pupil region and the exit pupil region onto the optical waveguide body, there is no gap between the projection of the expanded pupil region onto the optical waveguide body and the projection of the exit pupil region onto the optical waveguide body. Furthermore, the optical waveguide body can save on the area of ​​the overlapping region, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing materials for the AR device.

[0048] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application 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 make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. An AR device, characterized in that: The AR device includes an optical machine and an optical waveguide; The optical waveguide includes an optical waveguide body, an entrance pupil area, an expanded pupil area, and an exit pupil area; The pupil expansion area and the exit pupil area are arranged on two surfaces of the optical waveguide body opposite to each other; There is an overlapping area between the projection of the exit pupil area onto the light waveguide body and the projection of the expanded pupil area onto the light waveguide body; The optical machine is used to emit an image light beam toward the entrance pupil area.

2. The AR device according to claim 1, wherein: The projection of the exit pupil region onto the light waveguide body covers the projection of the expanded pupil region onto the light waveguide body.

3. The AR device according to claim 1, wherein: The AR device includes two entrance pupil areas, and the two entrance pupil areas are respectively arranged on both sides of the expanded pupil area or on both sides of the exit pupil area.

4. The AR device according to claim 1, wherein: The AR device includes a first pupil expansion area and a second pupil expansion area, and a first exit pupil area and a second exit pupil area; There is an overlapping area between a projection of the first exit pupil area onto the light waveguide body and a projection of the first expanded pupil area onto the light waveguide body; There is an overlapping area between the projection of the second exit pupil area onto the light waveguide body and the projection of the second expanded pupil area onto the light waveguide body.

5. The AR device according to claim 4, characterized in that The entrance pupil area is arranged between the two pupil expansion areas or between the two exit pupil areas.

6. The AR device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The entrance pupil area, the expanded pupil area, and the exit pupil area are one-dimensional gratings.

7. The AR device according to claim 6, wherein: The one-dimensional grating corresponding to the pupil expansion area is not aligned with the one-dimensional grating corresponding to the exit pupil area.

8. An optical waveguide, characterized in that The optical waveguide includes an optical waveguide body, an entrance pupil area, an expanded pupil area, and an exit pupil area, wherein: The pupil expansion area and the exit pupil area are arranged on two surfaces of the optical waveguide body opposite to each other; There is an overlapping area between the projection of the exit pupil area onto the light waveguide body and the projection of the expanded pupil area onto the light waveguide body.

9. The optical waveguide according to claim 8, wherein The projection of the exit pupil region onto the light waveguide body covers the projection of the expanded pupil region onto the light waveguide body.

10. The optical waveguide according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The optical waveguide includes two entrance pupil areas, and the two entrance pupil areas are respectively arranged on both sides of the expanded pupil area or the exit pupil area.

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