Head-Mounted Display Beam Splitter for Virtual and Real-World View Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current head-mountable display (HMD) systems either completely obscure the user's view of the surrounding environment or require complex optical arrangements to provide both virtual and real-world views, leading to bulkier designs and limited user immersion.
Innovation Solution
The HMD system incorporates a frame with separate display elements for each eye, using optical elements to generate a virtual image that appears at a significant distance, and optionally includes a mirror to allow partial or full transparency of the real-world view, enabling a more compact design and adjustable user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If optical see-through HMD uses partially reflective mirror or waveguide arrangement, then user can see both virtual image and real-world view, but device complexity increases and bulkiness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the real-world view from the optical path by using a beam splitter that separates the displayed image path from the real-world view path. This allows the HMD to provide both virtual and real-world views without requiring complex overlapping optical arrangements, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining the ability to see both views simultaneously.
2Volume of moving object
If display device is positioned directly in front of user's eyes, then device compactness improves, but real-world view is completely obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of the beam splitter's transparency or reflectivity based on user input or environmental conditions. This allows the HMD to switch between providing a complete real-world view, a complete virtual view, or a combined view, thereby maintaining compactness while providing adaptability for different viewing scenarios.
3Ease of operation
If virtual image is placed at significant distance, then user viewing comfort improves, but optical path length increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a beam splitter as an intermediary optical element that allows the virtual image to be formed at a comfortable viewing distance while using a compact optical path. The beam splitter enables the optical system to achieve virtual image placement at significant distance without requiring proportionally long physical optical paths, thereby maintaining both viewing comfort and compactness.
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 design allows for a more immersive experience by providing adjustable transparency of the real-world view, reducing bulkiness, and enabling seamless tracking of the user's head movements within virtual environments, while maintaining a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing form factor.
Implementation Method 1
a waveguide arrangement employing total internal reflection is used to convey a displayed image from a display device disposed to the side of the user's head
Implementation Method 2
appropriate lenses or other optical components which place a virtual displayed image at a suitable distance for the user to focus
Implementation Method 3
a partially reflective mirror placed in front of the user's eyes so as to allow the user to see through the mirror but also to see a reflection of the output of the display devices
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A virtual reality apparatus comprises an image generator to generate images representing a virtual environment, for display to a user by a head mountable display to be worn by that user; the virtual environment including an avatar representation of the user positioned within the virtual environment so that the user's viewpoint of the virtual environment substantially corresponds to the viewpoint of the avatar corresponding to that user; and one or more user controls with which predetermined inputs may be selected by the user, the image generator being responsive to selection of a predetermined input by the user to correspondingly configure a face of the avatar representing that user; and the image generator being arranged to generate respective facial configurations of the avatar for display to other users viewing the virtual environment.