Flexible Waveguide Display Polymer Molding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current glass AR displays are inflexible, heavy, and have a limited sight angle range, making them unsuitable for devices with curved or plane faces and unable to provide clear, uniform, and bright visible light images, especially for applications like intelligent glasses.
Innovation Solution
A manufacturing method for a flexible waveguide display structure involving molds with multiple channels, where a polymer material is filled, shaped, and formed into flexible waveguide structures with optical guide layers, allowing for connection and forming a flexible display that can be applied to devices with different faces, enhancing installation flexibility and image brightness and uniformity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If glass AR display is used, then structural stability is improved, but flexibility and weight are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from traditional glass to polymer material, fundamentally altering the physical and chemical properties of the waveguide. This parameter change enables the waveguide to become flexible while maintaining its optical guiding function, directly resolving the contradiction between structural stability and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material design by combining polymer base material with optical guide layers (such as metal oxide layers) to create a multi-layer composite structure. This composite approach maintains the optical stability needed for waveguiding while the polymer substrate provides flexibility, simultaneously achieving both stability and adaptability.
2Illumination intensity
If glass AR display is used, then optical clarity is improved, but weight is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material density parameter by substituting heavy glass with lighter polymer materials. This parameter change reduces the weight of the AR display while the optical guide layers maintain the necessary optical clarity and light transmission properties, resolving the contradiction between optical clarity and weight.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional waveguide structure is used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but sight angle range is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the waveguide into multiple identical structures formed simultaneously in a single mold with multiple channels. This segmentation approach maintains manufacturing simplicity through efficient batch production while the specific geometric design of each segmented waveguide structure enlarges the sight angle range, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and sight angle range.
4Adaptability or versatility
If flexible waveguide structure is adopted, then adaptability to different device faces is improved, but manufacturing complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-forming the flexible waveguide structures with precise geometric configurations directly in the mold during the molding process. The optical guide layers are also pre-formed on the waveguide surfaces before final assembly. This preliminary formation of complex geometries simplifies subsequent assembly steps and reduces overall manufacturing complexity despite the flexible and adaptable nature of the final product.
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
The flexible waveguide display structure increases the sight angle range of the visible light image, provides high brightness and uniformity, and is applicable to various devices, including those with curved or plane faces, while minimizing volume.
Implementation Method 1
a polymer material being filled into the multiple mold channels, after solidified and shaped, multiple flexible waveguide structures being formed
Implementation Method 2
an optical guide layer being formed on one of the cut faces... connecting the opposite cut faces of the multiple flexible waveguide structures with each other to form the flexible waveguide display structure... the sight angle range of the projected and displayed visible light image seen by a user is enlarged
Data Source
AI summary
A manufacturing method of flexible waveguide display structure includes steps of: providing at least one mold, the at least one mold having multiple mold channels inside, a polymer material being filled into the multiple mold channels, after solidified and shaped, multiple flexible waveguide structures being formed; taking the multiple flexible waveguide structures out of the multiple mold channels, each two adjacent flexible waveguide structures of the multiple flexible waveguide structures having two opposite cut faces, an optical guide layer being formed on one of the cut faces; and connecting the opposite cut faces of the multiple flexible waveguide structures with each other to form the flexible waveguide display structure. The manufacturing method of the flexible waveguide display structure is applicable to a device with different curved faces or plane faces to enhance the installation flexibility and the brightness and uniformity of the visible light image.