Compliant Optical Waveguide Mount for AR Headsets
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Augmented reality head-mounted display (AR-HMD) devices are vulnerable to mechanical and thermal stresses, which can cause damage to optical elements such as waveguides, leading to misalignment and distortion of images.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an optical waveguide mount with mechanical compliance and resiliency, featuring at least one compliance joint between its surfaces, allows the mount to absorb thermal and mechanical stresses while maintaining the alignment and integrity of the optical waveguide.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If rigid mounting structures are used to precisely position optical components, then alignment precision is improved, but vulnerability to thermal and mechanical stress increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the mechanical parameter of the mounting structure from rigid to compliant by introducing flexures with controlled flexibility. This allows the mount to maintain precise positioning while adapting to thermal expansion and mechanical stress through elastic deformation, directly resolving the contradiction between alignment precision and stress vulnerability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible mounting structures including flexures and compliant joints that can elastically deform to accommodate stress while maintaining optical alignment. These flexible elements replace rigid constraints with elastic compliance, allowing the system to absorb thermal and mechanical stress without compromising positioning accuracy.
2Reliability
If compliant mounting structures are used to reduce stress vulnerability, then stress resistance is improved, but alignment precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the mounting structure into segmented flexures and compliant joints that can independently deform to accommodate stress. This segmentation allows different parts of the mount to handle different stress components while maintaining overall alignment, resolving the contradiction between stress resistance and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic compliance to the mounting structure through flexures that can elastically deform in response to stress while maintaining stable equilibrium positions. This dynamic capability allows the mount to adapt to changing stress conditions without permanent misalignment, achieving both stress resistance and precision.
3Stability of the object's composition
If optical components are tightly constrained to prevent movement, then positioning stability is improved, but susceptibility to stress-induced damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates compliant joints and flexures that act as cushioning elements before stress can cause damage. These elements absorb and distribute stress through elastic deformation, preventing stress concentration that would otherwise lead to component failure, thus resolving the contradiction between stability and stress susceptibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces compliant mounting structures as intermediary elements between the rigid optical components and the external environment. These intermediaries decouple the components from direct stress transmission while maintaining positional stability, allowing the system to withstand stress without compromising component integrity or alignment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively mitigates the effects of thermal and mechanical stresses on AR-HMD devices, preventing damage to optical elements and ensuring the quality and realism of the images displayed.
Implementation Method 1
The at least one compliance joint allows the optical mount to have an elasticity or compliance in a first direction of the optical mount
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Disclosed optical mounts are resistant to the various stresses that may be experienced by optical display devices. An optical mount is provided with mechanical compliance and resiliency. Such mechanical compliance and resiliency associated with the disclosed optical mounts are intended to absorb thermal and/or mechanical stresses, while protecting and preserving the operational functionality of optical waveguides coupled to the disclosed optical mounts.