Dynamic Focal Length Adjustment for Head-Up Display Annotations

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Solution Overview

Problem

In projection display systems, particularly in heads-up displays, annotations are often displayed at fixed focal lengths, causing users to constantly change their focus between real-world objects and displayed information, leading to distractions and a poor user experience.

Innovation Solution

The system renders and displays multiple annotations at different focal lengths, matching the focal length to real-world objects, and continuously updates the focal length to maintain alignment with the user's focus, using a combination of processors, graphics processing units, and display processors to accelerate the generation and display of annotations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If annotations are displayed at a fixed focal length, then the display system is simple to implement, but the user experience deteriorates due to continuous focus adjustments between real-world objects and annotations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser experienceVSAvoiddisplay system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic focal length adjustment where the display system continuously adapts the focal length of annotations to match the focal length of real-world objects in the user's field of view. This dynamic adaptation eliminates the need for users to refocus between annotations and real-world objects, resolving the technical contradiction by prioritizing user experience over system simplicity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If multiple annotations are displayed at different focal lengths matching real-world objects, then user distractions are reduced, but the graphics processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser distraction levelVSAvoidgraphics processing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the display content into multiple annotations, each rendered at a specific focal length corresponding to different real-world objects. This segmentation allows the system to optimize graphics processing by handling each annotation independently with its own focal length parameter, reducing the overall processing burden while maintaining the benefit of reduced user distraction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the focal length parameter of annotations based on the detected focal length of real-world objects in the user's field of view. By adjusting this critical parameter, the system achieves reduced user distraction while managing graphics processing efficiency through selective and adaptive parameter modification rather than complete scene re-rendering.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of operation

If the focal length is continuously updated to match real-world objects, then the annotations remain aligned with user focus, but the processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveannotation alignment accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements continuous focal length tracking and adjustment, where the system continuously monitors the focal length of real-world objects and updates annotation focal lengths in real-time. This continuous action ensures annotations remain aligned with user focus without interruption, resolving the contradiction by maintaining alignment accuracy while optimizing processing time through efficient continuous updating rather than discrete recalibration.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentEP3449629B1Accelerated light field display
Publication Date: 2020.12.02 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP3449629B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3449629B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3449629B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

This disclosure describes methods, techniques, devices, and apparatuses for graphics and display processing for light field projection displays. In some examples, this disclosure describes a projection display system capable of rendering and displaying multiple annotations at the same time. An annotation is any information (e.g., texts, signs, directions, logos, phone numbers, etc.) that may be displayed. In one example, this disclosure proposes techniques for rendering and displaying multiple annotations at the same time at multiple different focal lengths.