Variable Vignetting for Occlusion and Contrast Enhancement by an Adjustable Lens Element

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods are described in which one or more adjustable lens elements are incorporated into a lens structure that is communicatively coupled to a wearable display device operable to present augmented reality (AR) content to a user. The lens structure includes a display optical lens layer with an AR display, one or more eye-side lens layers positioned adjacent the display optical lens layer facing the user's eyes, and one or more world-side lens layers positioned adjacent the display optical lens layer facing away from the user's eyes. The world-side lens layer includes an adjustable lens component for selectively adjusting a focal modulation of at least a portion of the user's real-world field of view via the lens structure.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Background In the field of optics, a coupler is an optical device that combines two light sources. For example, light transmitted from a microdisplay and guided to the coupler through a waveguide (also called an optical waveguide) can be combined with ambient light from the world, enabling the integration of content from the microdisplay with the real-world view. The optical coupler is used in head-up displays (HUDs) such as wearable head-up displays (WHUDs), head-mounted displays (HMDs), or near-eye displays, allowing the user to view computer-generated content (e.g., text, images, video content) overlaid on the user's environment as seen through the HMD, creating what is known as augmented reality (AR). In some applications, the HMD is implemented in the form factor of a spectacle frame that includes an optical coupler forming at least one of the lenses within the spectacle frame. Using an HMD, the user can view the displayed computer-generated content while looking at the environment.

Summary of the Invention

[0002] This disclosure will be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings, and many of its features and advantages will become apparent. The use of the same reference numerals in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003]

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0004] Detailed Description Typical uses of a WHUD for presenting AR content include one of two scenarios. The first scenario includes the display of sharp and detailed graphics and other AR content. This enables the use of high contrast and low-latency operations such as the user's rapid accommodation lock of the eyes. Accommodation lock is to adjust the eye's optical system in a manner similar to adjusting the focal length of a lens and maintain the focus of an object on the retina when the distance from the eye changes or an object first appears in front of the user. The second such scenario includes the display of AR content that interacts with (or appears to interact with) real-world objects. Since the real world contains objects at various depths of focus, presenting such AR content typically includes hard or soft occlusion of one or more individual objects, such as preferentially occluding one or more parts of the AR content to partially or completely obscure the object.

[0005] Approaches for achieving high-contrast graphic content and various depths of focus include pin-light displays, which can simulate occlusion but have limited transparency and sharpness, and combining optical images for occlusion purposes, which typically results in a significant increase in display size and is mostly incompatible with WHUDs having a glasses-type form factor, and that contrast is improved by increasing the brightness and performance of the display, but this has an adverse effect on the power efficiency and weight efficiency of the associated devices.

[0006] Embodiments described herein incorporate one or more adjustable lens elements on the world side of the WHUD system for blurring, i.e., selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the user's real-world field of view through the lens structure of the WHUD device. The lens structure can include multiple lens layers, each of which can be positioned closer to the user's eye (eye side) than the optical display elements presenting the AR content, or farther from the user's eye (world side) than those optical display elements.

[0007] In various embodiments, adjustable lens elements incorporated into a lens structure can include, by way of non-limiting example, a sliding variable magnification lens, an electrode wetting lens, a fluid-filled lens, a dynamic graphene-based lens, and a gradient refractive index liquid crystal lens. The adjustable lens can also be provided by a combination of a spherical concave lens, a spherical convex lens, a cylindrical concave lens, a cylindrical convex lens, and / or a prism lens. In certain embodiments, pixelated adjustable lens elements can be utilized (either individually or in combination with another adjustable lens element) to provide focal modulation of the adjustable lens element on a pixel-by-pixel basis, thereby creating a local blur around a particular object. In this way, the incorporated WHUD device can simulate the occlusion (hard or soft) of a particular real-world object to provide a more realistic image within the AR content presented to the user. In various embodiments, the adjustable lens elements incorporated into the lens structure can include polarized or non-polarized elements and can be utilized with a WHUD device architecture that includes planar or curved waveguides / light guides.

[0008] By incorporating an adjustable lens and controlling the focus modulation of the adjustable lens during the display operation, in the example of a WHUD device, it is possible to blur (caused by focus modulation) some or all of the focus of the real-world view while maintaining the details of the AR content display on which the user's eye focus is applied. This feature can be utilized in various ways. As an example, to improve contrast, the focus of the real-world view of the background can be blurred to reduce visual clutter. As another example, by blurring the focus of the adjustable lens element, a slight blur can be introduced to assist the user's eye accommodation lock. As another example, the objects displayed within the AR content may be shifted to the same focal plane as the real-world objects (e.g., in combination with a context sensor that senses the line-of-sight direction) to assist with a quick accommodation lock. In certain embodiments, this focal plane shift (also referred to as a distance shift) can utilize aspects of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology, and the WHUD device determines its position in the world by determining the spatial relationship between itself and a plurality of known or specified environmental positions.

[0009] The specific embodiments described herein include utilizing optical or other components as part of a wearable display device, but it will be understood that additional embodiments may utilize such components via various other types of devices in accordance with the techniques described herein.

[0010] Figure 1 shows an exemplary wearable display device 100 according to various embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the wearable display device 100 is a near-eye display system having the general shape and appearance (i.e., form factor) of a pair of glasses (e.g., sunglasses) frame. The wearable display device 100 includes a support structure 102 that includes a first arm 104, a second arm 105, and a front frame 103 that is physically coupled to the first arm 104 and the second arm 105. When worn by a user, the first arm 104 can be disposed on a first side of the user's head, while the second arm 105 can be disposed on a second side of the user's head that is opposite the first side. The front frame 103 can be positioned on the front side of the user's head. In the illustrated embodiment, the support structure 102 houses an optical engine (e.g., a laser projector, a micro-LED projector, a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) projector, etc.) configured to project an image toward the user's eyes via a waveguide. The user perceives the projected image as being displayed within the field of view (FOV) region 106 of the display by one or both of the lens structures 108, 110 via one or more optical display elements of the wearable display device 100. In some embodiments, the optical engine also generates infrared light for purposes such as eye tracking.

[0011] The support structure 102 contains or includes various components for facilitating the projection of such images towards the user's eyes, such as an optical engine and waveguides. In some embodiments, the support structure 102 further includes various sensors such as one or more front cameras, rear cameras, other optical sensors, motion sensors, accelerometers, etc. In some embodiments, the support structure 102 includes one or more radio frequency (RF) interfaces, or other wireless interfaces such as a Bluetooth® interface, a WiFi interface. Further, in some embodiments, the support structure 102 further includes one or more batteries or other portable power sources for powering the electrical components of the wearable display device 100. In some embodiments, some or all of these components of the wearable display device 100 are fully or partially contained within the internal volume of the support structure 102, such as within the first arm 104 within the region 112 of the support structure 102. Although an exemplary form factor is shown, it should be noted that in other embodiments, the wearable display device 100 may have a shape and appearance different from the eyeglass frame shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that the examples of the term "or" in this specification refer to the non-exclusive definition of "or" unless otherwise specified. For example, the phrase "X or Y" as used herein means "either X or Y, or both".

[0012] One or both of the lens structures 108, 110 are used by the wearable display device 100 to provide an augmented reality (AR) display, and the rendered graphic content can be overlaid on or provided in conjunction with the real-world view that the user perceives through the lens structures 108, 110. For example, the projection system of the wearable display device 100, according to various embodiments, forms a recognizable image or series of images using light by projecting light into the user's eye through the light engine of the projection system, a waveguide that is at least partially formed within the corresponding lens structure 108 or 110, and one or more optical display elements. In some embodiments, the wearable display device 100 is symmetrically configured such that the lens structure 108 is also a coupler, and includes a light engine housed proximate to the lens structure 108 in a portion of the support structure 102 (e.g., within the arm 105 or within the front frame 103) for projecting an image into the FOV region within the lens structure 108. Either or both of the lens structures 108, 110 can be configured with an eye-side surface and a world-side surface having curvatures that combine to provide a prescription correction for the light transmitted to the user's eye.

[0013] In various embodiments, the optical display element of the wearable display device 100 includes one or more instances of an optical component selected from the group including at least the following, a waveguide (including both an optical waveguide and a waveguide as used herein, inclusive reference), a holographic optical element, a prism, a diffraction grating, a light reflector, a light reflection array, a photorefractor, a photorefractor array, a collimation lens, a scanning mirror, an optical relay, or other optical beam steering techniques suitable for a particular application arranged and oriented to direct AR content from the light engine towards the user's eyes. Further, the lens structures 108, 110 and some or all of the optical display element may comprise an optical substrate on which one or more structures may be formed. For example, the optical display element may include various optical gratings (as an incoupler grating, an outcoupler grating, or an intermediate grating) formed within the optical substrate material of the lens structures 108, 110.

[0014] One or both of the lens structures 108, 110 include at least a portion of the waveguide that sends the display light received by the incoupler of the waveguide to the outcoupler of the waveguide, and outputs the display light towards the eyes of the user of the wearable display device 100. The display light is modulated and projected onto the user's eyes so that the user recognizes the display light as an image. Further, each of the lens structures 108, 110 is transparent enough for the user to be able to see through the lens structure and provide a view of the user's real-world environment, such that the image is displayed superimposed on at least a portion of the real-world environment.

[0015] Each of the lens structures 108, 110 includes a plurality of lens layers, and each can be disposed closer to or farther from the user's eye (the eye side or the world side, respectively) with respect to one or more optical display elements of the lens structure used to present AR content. The lens layers can be, for example, molded or cast, can include thin films or coatings, and can include one or more transparent carriers that can refer to materials that function to carry or support a light redirector as described herein. As an example, the transparent carrier can be an eyeglass lens or lens assembly. Further, in certain embodiments, one or more lens layers can be implemented as contact lenses.

[0016] In some embodiments, the light engine of the projection system of the wearable display device 100 is any combination of a digital light processing-based projector, a scanning laser projector, or a modulated light source, such as a laser or one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), etc., and a dynamic reflector mechanism such as one or more dynamic scanners, a reflective panel, a digital light processor (DLP), etc. In some embodiments, the light engine includes a microdisplay panel, such as a micro LED display panel (e.g., a micro AMOLED display panel, or a micro inorganic LED (i-LED) display panel) or a micro liquid crystal display (LCD) display panel (e.g., a low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) LCD display panel, a high temperature polysilicon (HTPS) LCD display panel, or an in-plane switching (IPS) LCD display panel). In some embodiments, the light engine includes a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) display panel. In some embodiments, the display panel of the light engine is configured to output light (representing an image or a portion of an image for display) to the waveguide of the display system. The waveguide expands the light and outputs the light towards the user's eye via an outcoupler.

[0017] The optical engine is communicatively coupled to a controller and a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium or memory that stores instructions executable by a processor and other data, and when executed by the controller, causes the controller to control the operation of the optical engine. In some embodiments, the controller controls the optical engine to selectively set the position and size of the FOV region 106. In some embodiments, the controller is communicatively coupled to one or more processors (not shown) that generate the content to be displayed on the wearable display device 100. The optical engine outputs light toward the FOV region 106 of the wearable display device 100 via a waveguide. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the out-coupler of the waveguide overlaps the FOV region 106.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a wearable display device 200 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the wearable display device 200 may implement the aspects of the wearable display device 100 or may be implemented by the aspects of the wearable display device 100. For example, the wearable display device 200 can include a first arm 210, a second arm 220, and a front frame 230. The first arm 210 can be coupled to the front frame 230 by a hinge 219 that allows the first arm 210 to rotate with respect to the front frame 230. The second arm 220 can be coupled to the front frame 230 by a hinge 229, thereby enabling the second arm 220 to rotate with respect to the front frame 230.

[0019] In the example of FIG. 2, the wearable display device 200 may be in a deployed configuration in which the first arm 210 and the second arm 220 rotate, so that the wearable display device 200 can be worn on the user's head, the first arm 210 is located on the first side of the user's head, the second arm 220 is located on the second side opposite the first side of the user's head, and the front frame 230 is located at the front of the user's head. The first arm 210 and the second arm 220 can be rotated toward the front frame 230 until both the first arm 210 and the second arm 220 are substantially parallel to the front frame 230. Thus, the wearable display device 200 may be in a compact shape that conveniently fits into a rectangular, cylindrical, or elliptical case. Alternatively, the first arm 210 and the second arm 220 may be fixedly attached to the front frame 230 so that the wearable display device 200 cannot be folded.

[0020] In FIG. 2, the first arm 210 carries the light engine 211. The second arm 220 carries the power supply 221. The front frame 230 carries the input coupling optical redirector 231, the output coupling optical redirector 233, and the display optical system 235 including at least one set of conductive current paths, which provide an electrical connection between the power supply 221 and the electrical components (such as the light engine 211) carried by the first arm 210. Such electrical coupling can be provided indirectly via a power supply circuit or the like, or directly from the power supply 221 to each electrical component of the first arm 210. As used herein, "carry", "carries", or similar terms do not necessarily indicate that one component physically supports another component. For example, it was stated above that the first arm 210 carries the light engine 211. This may mean that the light engine 211 is attached to or within the first arm 210 such that the first arm 210 physically supports the light engine 211. However, even when the first arm 210 does not necessarily physically support the light engine 211, a direct or indirect coupling relationship can be described.

[0021] The light engine 211 can output display light 290 that represents AR content or other display content that the user views. The display light 290 can be redirected by the display optical system 235 toward the user's eye 291 so that the user can view the AR content. The display light 290 from the light engine 211 impinges on the input coupling optical redirector 231 and is redirected to travel within the volume of the display optical system 235, and the display light 290 is guided through the light guide by total internal reflection or light guide surface treatments such as holograms or reflective coatings. Subsequently, the display light 290 traveling within the volume of the display optical system 235 impinges on the output coupling optical redirector 233, and the output coupling optical redirector 233 redirects the display light 290 from the light guide redirector toward the user's eye 291.

[0022] The wearable display device 200 may include a processor (not shown) communicatively coupled to each of the electrical components within the wearable display device 200, including but not limited to the light engine 211. The processor can be any suitable component capable of executing instructions or logic, including but not limited to a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a multi-core processor, an integrated circuit, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, or any suitable combination of these components. The wearable display device 200 can include a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium capable of storing processor-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, can cause the processor to perform any number of functions, including causing the light engine 211 to output display light 290 representing display content viewed by a user, receiving user input, managing a user interface, generating display content presented to the user, receiving and managing data from any sensors incorporated in the wearable display device 200, receiving and processing external data and messages, and other functions appropriate for a particular application. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium can be any suitable component capable of storing instructions, logic, or programs, including but not limited to non-volatile or volatile memory, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, registers, magnetic hard disks, optical disks, or any combination of these components, but not limited thereto.

[0023] Figure 3 shows a block diagram of a lens structure 300 according to one or more embodiments. The lens structure 300 can be used as a single "lens" for use, for example, as part of the wearable display device 100 of FIG. 1 and / or the wearable display device 200 of FIG. 2.

[0024] Each particular lens layer of a lens structure (e.g., lens structure 300) may be referred to as either world side (WS) or eye side (ES) depending on its relative position with respect to any display optics included in the overall lens structure. The AR implementation of a lens structure according to one or more embodiments described herein may generally be represented as one or more lens layers of the world side optics, followed by a display optics (DO), followed by one or more lens layers of the eye side optics. Since the WS layer is disposed beyond the user's field of view of the DO layer, only the ES layer affects the user's perception of the AR content transmitted through the display optics.

[0025] As used herein, display optics generally refers to one or more presentation elements used to introduce AR content into a user's field of view, typically via a wearable display assembly such as glasses. In certain embodiments, for example, the lens structure of the display assembly (also referred to herein as a lens “stack” or lens display stack) may include a plurality of lens layers having one or more display optics (e.g., one or more light redirector elements) disposed therebetween to generate a head-up display (HUD) for presenting AR content or other display content.

[0026] In the illustrated embodiment, the lens structure 300 includes a display optics (DO) layer 315. The lens structure 300 is disposed on the "eye side" of the DO layer 315, which indicates that it is disposed between the DO layer and the user's eye 360, and includes three lens layers (320, 325, and 330 respectively), and two lens layers (305 and 310 respectively) disposed on the "world side" of the DO layer, which indicates that they are disposed between the DO layer and the real world 350 (the physical world seen by the user and physically existing beyond the display assembly). During use of the lens structure, the user's field of view of the real world 350 is filtered through the light-directing components of each lens layer of the lens structure 300. As described above, the user's perception of the AR content presented via the DO layer 315 is affected only by the layers on the eye side (lens layers 305 and 310), while the user's perception of the real world 350 is affected by both the layers on the eye side and the layers on the world side (lens layers 305 and 310).

[0027] In certain embodiments, the adjustable lens layer 310 may be an adjustable lens element that is pixelated (such as a liquid crystal lens addressable by pixel), whereby the individually addressable portions of the adjustable lens layer 310 can be selectively controlled to provide different amounts of optical power. Thus, in certain scenarios, the adjustable lens layer 310 can be used to selectively adjust the focus modulation of only a portion of the user's real-world field of view, such as blurring a portion of the real-world field of view that is visually close to a virtual object included in the AR content displayed by an integrated WHUD device. For example, a portion of the real-world field of view may be slightly blurred based on the contrast ratio associated with a virtual object to allow the user's eye to achieve an accommodation lock with text or other content having a relatively high contrast ratio. As another example, a portion of the real-world field of view can be selectively blurred based on the focal plane of a real-world object that is at least partially included in that portion. In this way, a real-world object may be partially or completely occluded, prioritizing one or more virtual objects overlaid on the user's real-world field of view.

[0028] The display shift (DS) is the recognized shift incorporated into such a lens structure in order to affect the perceived display distance of the AR content introduced in this way by the user. In the absence of a display shift, AR content is typically recognized as being at a relatively infinite distance from the user, like how stars appear when looking at the night sky, i.e., at infinity. When a display shift is added, the AR content is recognized as being at a finite distance from the user. Usually, such a display shift only affects the perceived distance of the AR content, not the perceived distance of objects within the real world.

[0029] As one illustrative example, suppose it is desirable for the AR content to be positioned as if it is not at an infinite distance from the user but rather at a distance of 2 meters from the user within the user's field of view. To do so, an eye side display shift (ESS) of -0.5 diopter power can be used (a diopter is a unit of refractive power equal to the reciprocal of the focal length in meters). However, due to that -0.5 diopter power, the user will perceive the real world as blurred beyond the user's glasses. Thus, an optically opposite world side display shift (WSS) of +0.5 diopter power can be used to counteract the ESS and position the AR content at a perceived distance of 2 m without affecting the user's focus on the real world.

[0030] In the illustrated embodiment, the world-side optical system of the lens structure 300 includes an adjustable lens layer 310. In certain scenarios, the adjustable lens layer 310 can selectively compensate for a static amount of distance shift provided by other layers of the lens structure 300 and provide a focus modulation equivalent to an additional selectable amount of optical power (e.g., optical power from -1 to +2 diopters). For example, the AR content provided via the DO layer 315 can be statically distance-shifted via the world-side DS layer 305 in combination with the eye-side DS layer 320 to a focal plane recognized by a user approximately 2 m away from the user's eye 360. However, by actuating the adjustable lens layer 310, the integrated WHUD device can dynamically select to adjust the display distance at which the AR content is recognized by the user.

[0031] In such an embodiment, the integrated WHUD device can actively control the focal plane at which each of a plurality of virtual objects is presented to the user, and such a focal plane is offset by a controllable amount from a static amount of distance shift provided by other layers of the lens structure 300. In this way, the focal plane of the virtual objects can be adjusted to substantially coincide with the focal plane at which real-world objects appear, enabling the recognition of the interaction between the virtual objects and the real-world objects (or their changes). Further, certain embodiments can utilize additional adjustable lens layers (e.g., by using an adjustable lens component in the eye-side lens layer 325), enabling better control over the recognized display distance of some or all of the AR content.

[0032] In various embodiments, it will be understood that the lens structure 300 may incorporate other arrangements of the world-side and eye-side lens layers. For example, the lens structure 300 may incorporate a first non-addressable adjustable lens layer (and as a result, affect the entire real-world view presented to the user) to apply a selectable amount of focus modulation across the entire lens structure 300, and further incorporate a second addressable adjustable lens layer to apply a variable amount of focus modulation across one or more selected portions of the real-world view.

[0033] FIG. 4 shows an example of per-pixel focus modulation in a lens structure 407 for rendering AR content according to one or more embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the glasses-mounted display system 401 includes a frame 405 and an optical engine 410 coupled to a scan direction changing system (e.g., one or more scanning mirrors) 415.

[0034] In the illustrated embodiment, the lens structure 407 includes an adjustable lens layer (not shown individually) capable of implementing per-pixel focus modulation to achieve one or more blurring configurations, to blur some or all of the real world seen by the user through the display system 401. In the illustrated embodiment, portions of the photo AR content 420 are identified by the display system 401 as having a relatively low contrast ratio. In contrast, portions of the text AR content 425 are identified by the display system 401 as having a relatively high contrast ratio.

[0035] Based at least in part on the relatively high contrast ratio of the AR content 425, the display system 401 determines to apply focus modulation via an adjustable lens layer to blur the pixels within the surrounding region 430 close to the AR content 425. In certain embodiments and scenarios, the focus modulation applied by the display system 401 includes a defined blurring configuration associated with the AR content 425. For example, the display system 401 can determine an appropriate defined blurring configuration to apply via focus modulation based on the contrast ratio of the received AR content, based on whether the AR content to be displayed is text or some other specified type of content, etc. In certain embodiments, the display system can store one or more pre-defined blurring configurations associated with various criteria used by the display system 401 when evaluating portions of the AR content received for display.

[0036] In certain scenarios, the display system 401 may determine to selectively adjust the focus modulation corresponding to other portions of the real-world view visible to the user via the lens structure 407. For example, one or more portions of the vehicle 440 may be partially or completely occluded, prioritizing one or more virtual objects presented by the lens structure 407, such that a virtual character or other virtual object is presented to the user as if the virtual character were riding in the vehicle 440. As another example, an assist mapping application can utilize the display system 401 to selectively blur (and thus partially or completely occlude) a part or all of the entrance 450 of a building, for example, to highlight or otherwise draw attention to the entrance of the building by overlaying a virtual component (e.g., a neon sign or other visually appealing component) on the entrance 450 of the building.

[0037] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an overview of an operation routine 500 of a processor-based display system according to one or more embodiments. This routine can be executed, for example, by an embodiment of the wearable display device 100 of FIG. 1, by one or more components of the system 700 of FIG. 7, or by some other embodiment.

[0038] The routine begins at block 505, where the processor-based display system receives external light that forms the user's real-world field of view with the lens structure of the processor-based display system (e.g., the lens structure 110 of FIG. 1, the lens structure 300 of FIG. 3, the lens structure 407 of FIG. 4, the lens structure 612 of FIG. 6, etc.). The routine proceeds to block 510.

[0039] At block 510, the processor-based display system receives AR content for display. As described elsewhere in this specification, such AR content can include one or more virtual objects for display to the user at one or more focal distances (focal planes). The routine proceeds to block 515.

[0040] At block 515, the processor-based display system selectively adjusts the focus modulation of at least a portion of the real-world field of view formed by the external light received at block 505. As described elsewhere in this specification, in various scenarios and embodiments, the focus modulation can be selectively adjusted by the processor-based display system and can be based at least in part on the contrast ratio associated with one or more virtual objects being displayed, the focal plane or other characteristics of one or more real-world objects, or other criteria. The routine proceeds to block 520.

[0041] At block 520, the processor-based display system provides the output of the light engine through the display optical layer of the lens structure to present the received AR content to the user, for example, via a light engine (e.g., light engine 211 of FIG. 2 or light engine 410 of FIG. 4) incorporated in and / or communicatively coupled to the processor-based display system.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a block diagram at the component level showing an example of a system 600 suitable for implementing one or more embodiments. In alternative embodiments, system 600 may operate as a stand-alone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other systems. In various embodiments, one or more components of system 600 may be incorporated within a headwear wearable display or other wearable display to provide various types of graphic content and / or text content. It will be understood that related HWD devices may include some components of system 600, but not necessarily all of them. In a networked deployment, system 600 may operate with the capabilities of a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In one example, system 600 may function as a peer system in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. System 600 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a web appliance, a network router, a switch or bridge, or a system capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be performed by the system. Further, although only a single system is shown, the term "system" is also construed to include a collection of systems that individually or jointly execute a set of instructions (or multiple sets) to perform one or more of the methodologies described herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

[0043] The examples described herein can include, or can operate by, logic or a number of components or mechanisms. A circuit is a collection of circuits implemented in a tangible entity that includes hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). The membership of a circuit can be flexible depending on the passage of time or changes in the underlying hardware. A circuit includes members that can perform operations specified alone or in combination during operation. In one example, the hardware of a circuit can be designed immutably (e.g., hardwired) to perform a particular operation. In one example, the hardware of a circuit can include physically connectable components (e.g., execution devices, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) and can include a computer-readable medium that is physically changeable (e.g., magnetic, electrical, movable arrangements of immovable mass particles, etc.) and encodes instructions for a particular operation. When the physical components are connected, the underlying electrical characteristics of the hardware components are changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductor or vice versa. By these instructions, the embedded hardware (e.g., execution devices, loading mechanisms, etc.) creates members of the circuit within the hardware via the variable connections and can execute portions of the particular operation during operation. Thus, the computer-readable medium is communicatively coupled to other components of the circuit when the device is operating. In one example, any of the physical components can be used by multiple elements of multiple circuits. For example, during operation, an execution device can be used by a first circuit at one point in time and reused by a second circuit of the first circuit or by a third circuit of a second circuit at another point in time.

[0044] System 600 (e.g., a mobile or fixed computing system) can include one or more hardware processors 602 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), main memory 604, and static memory 606, some or all of which can communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., a bus) 608. System 600 can further include a display device 610 (such as an optical engine) with a focus modulation controller 611 and one or more lens structures 612, an alphanumeric input device 613 (e.g., a keyboard or other physical or touch-based actuator), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 614 (e.g., another pointing device such as a mouse or a touch-based interface). In one example, the display device 610, the input device 613, and the UI navigation device 614 can comprise a touch screen display. System 600 can further include a storage device (e.g., a drive device) 616, a signal generation device 618 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 620, and one or more sensors 621 such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors. System 600 can include an output controller 628, for example, for communicating or controlling one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.) via a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection).

[0045] The memory device 616 may include a computer-readable medium 622 storing one or more sets of data structures or instructions 624 (e.g., software) that embody or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 624, when executed by the system 600, may be placed entirely or at least partially within the main memory 604, within the static memory 606, or within the hardware processor 602. In one example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 602, the main memory 604, the static memory 606, or the memory device 616 may constitute a computer-readable medium.

[0046] The computer-readable medium 622 is shown as a single medium, but the term "computer-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 624.

[0047] The term "computer-readable medium" includes any medium that can store, encode, or carry instructions for execution by system 600, cause system 600 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or store, encode, or carry data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of computer-readable media include solid state memory, optical media, and magnetic media. In one example, a mass computer-readable medium includes a computer-readable medium having a plurality of particles with invariant (e.g., stationary) mass. Thus, a mass computer-readable medium is not a transient propagation signal. Specific examples of mass computer-readable media can include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)), and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM disks.

[0048] Command 624 may further be transmitted or received via communication network 626 using a transmission medium via network interface device 620 and may utilize any of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.). Examples of communication networks can include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), packet data networks (e.g., the Internet), cellular phone networks (e.g., a cellular phone network), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard family known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 standard family known as WiMax®, IEEE 802.15.4 standard family, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, etc.). In one example, network interface device 620 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas for connecting to communication network 626. In one example, network interface device 620 may include multiple antennas for wireless communication using at least one of single input multiple output (SIMO), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), or multiple input single output (MISO) techniques. The term "transmission medium" is construed to include any non-transitory medium that can store, encode, or carry instructions for execution by system 600 and includes digital or analog communication signals or other non-transitory media that facilitate communication of such software.

[0049] In some embodiments, certain aspects of the above-described technology may be implemented by one or more processors of a processing system that executes software. The software comprises one or more sets of executable instructions that are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or otherwise tangibly embodied. When the software is executed by one or more processors, it can include instructions and specific data that operate the one or more processors to perform one or more aspects of the above-described technology. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media can include, for example, magnetic or optical disk storage devices, solid state storage devices such as flash memory, cache, random access memory (RAM), or other non-volatile storage devices. The executable instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be in source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction formats interpretable or executable by one or more processors.

[0050] A computer-readable storage medium can include any storage medium, or combination of storage media, that accesses a computer system during use to provide instructions and / or data to the computer system. Such storage media can include, but are not limited to, optical media (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs), magnetic media (e.g., floppy discs, magnetic tapes, or magnetic hard drives), volatile memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or cache), non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM) or flash memory), or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based storage media. The computer-readable storage medium can be embedded in a computing system (e.g., system RAM or ROM), fixedly connected to a computing system (e.g., magnetic hard drive), removably attached to a computing system (e.g., optical disc or universal serial bus (USB)-based flash memory), or connected to the computer system via a wired or wireless network (e.g., network-accessible storage device (NAS), etc.).

[0051] Note that not all of the activities and elements described in the general description above are required, that some activities or parts of devices may not be required, and that one or more additional activities may be performed or elements may be included in addition to those described. Further, the order in which activities are listed is not necessarily the order in which they are performed. Also, the concepts are described with reference to specific embodiments. However, one skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the following claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0052] Advantages, other advantages, and solutions to problems are described above with respect to specific embodiments. However, advantages, advantages, solutions to problems, and features that may give rise to or be more prominent advantages, advantages, or solutions should not be construed as essential, necessary, or essential features of some or all of the claims. Furthermore, the specific embodiments disclosed above are merely illustrative, since the disclosed subject matter can be varied and practiced in different but equivalent ways that will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the teachings herein. Except as set forth in the following claims, no limitation is intended with respect to the details of the structure or design shown herein. Accordingly, it is apparent that the specific embodiments disclosed above can be changed or modified, and all such variations are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed subject matter. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A lens structure having a plurality of lens layers, wherein the lens structure includes a display optics (DO) lens layer including an augmented reality (AR) display, the DO lens layer having a first side facing the user's eye and a second side facing the side opposite to the user's eye, the lens structure one or more eye side (ES) lens layers disposed adjacent to the first side of the DO lens layer, and one or more world side (WS) lens layers disposed adjacent to the second side of the DO lens layer, and at least one lens layer of the one or more WS lens layers includes an adjustable lens component for selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the user's view of the real world through the lens structure, selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the user's view of the real world includes blurring the focus of the portion of the real world view visually close to the virtual object presented by the AR display, blurring the focus of the portion of the real world view includes blurring the focus of the portion based on the contrast ratio associated with the virtual object, a lens structure.

2. Blurring the focus of the portion of the real world view includes blurring the focus of the portion of the real world view based on the focal plane of a real world object at least partially included in the portion of the real world view, the lens structure according to claim 1.

3. Selectively adjusting the focus modulation includes selectively adjusting the focus modulation to adjust the focal plane at which one or more virtual objects are presented by the AR display, the lens structure according to claim 1.

4. The focal plane at which the one or more virtual objects are presented is a first focal plane, and adjusting the first focal plane includes adjusting the first focal plane based on a second focal plane at which a real world object appears in the user's view of the real world, the lens structure according to claim 3.

5. The first ES lens layer of the one or more ES lens layers includes a first distance shift (DS) component, the one or more WS lens layers include a plurality of WS lens layers, The lens structure according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of WS lens layers includes a second DS component having a substantially equal but opposite optical power to the first DS component.

6. The lens structure according to claim 1, wherein the adjustable lens component includes one or more of a group including a sliding variable magnification lens, an electrode wetting lens, a fluid-filled lens, a graphene-based variable lens, or a liquid crystal lens.

7. The lens structure according to claim 1, wherein the AR display includes a plurality of individual pixels, and selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the user's real-world field of view includes adjusting the focus modulation associated with each of one or more of the plurality of individual pixels.

8. The lens structure according to claim 1, wherein selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the real-world field of view includes blurring the focus of substantially the entire real-world field of view.

9. A method comprising: receiving external light that forms a user's real-world field of view with a lens structure of a wearable head-up display (WHUD) device, the lens structure including a display optics (DO) lens layer including an augmented reality (AR) display, The method further comprises: coupling light generated by an optical engine to a waveguide of the DO lens layer to form one or more virtual objects overlaid on the user's real-world field of view; and selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the user's real-world field of view by an adjustable lens component of the lens structure, wherein selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the real-world field of view includes blurring the focus of a portion of the real-world field of view that is visually close to at least one of the one or more virtual objects, The method, wherein blurring the focus of the portion of the real-world field of view includes blurring the focus of the portion based on a contrast ratio associated with the at least one virtual object.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein blurring the focus of the portion of the real-world field of view includes blurring the focus of the portion of the real-world field of view based on a focal plane of a real-world object that is at least partially included in the portion of the real-world field of view.

11. Selectively adjusting the focus modulation includes selectively adjusting the focus modulation based on a focal plane at which one or more virtual objects are presented by the AR display, the method according to claim 9.

12. The focal plane at which the one or more virtual objects are presented is a first focal plane, and adjusting the focus modulation based on the first focal plane includes adjusting the first focal plane based on a second focal plane at which a real-world object appears in the real-world field of view, the method according to claim 11.

13. The AR display includes a plurality of individual pixels, and selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the real-world field of view includes selectively adjusting the focus modulation associated with each of one or more of the plurality of individual pixels, the method according to claim 9.

14. Selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the real-world field of view includes blurring the focus of substantially the entire real-world field of view, the method according to claim 9.

15. A head-wearable display (HWD) device including a lens structure having a plurality of lens layers, the lens structure includes a display optics (DO) lens layer including an augmented reality (AR) display, the DO lens layer having a first side facing the user's eye and a second side facing away from the user's eye, one or more eye-side (ES) lens layers disposed adjacent to the first side of the DO lens layer, and one or more world-side (WS) lens layers disposed adjacent to the second side of the DO lens layer, wherein at least one of the one or more WS lens layers includes an adjustable lens component for selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the user's real-world field of view through the lens structure, selectively adjusting the focus modulation of at least a portion of the user's real-world field of view includes blurring the focus of a portion of the real-world field of view visually close to a virtual object presented by the AR display, blurring the focus of the portion of the real-world field of view includes blurring the focus of the portion based on a contrast ratio associated with the virtual object, a head-wearable display (HWD) device.

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