Heads-up Display Light Guide with Integrated Ocular Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heads-up displays are bulkier and more complex due to the need for a separate optical path for ocular measurement, which compromises their streamlined design and user experience.
Innovation Solution
An integrated heads-up display system that combines display and ocular measurement using a light guide with distinct optical paths for display light and ocular measurement radiation, employing a polarizing beam splitter and holographic optical elements to ensure minimal interference and optimal imaging, allowing simultaneous operation of three optical paths within the display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a separate optical path is used for ocular measurement, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the display optical path and ocular measurement optical path into a single integrated optical system. The waveguide structure serves dual purposes: displaying visual information and capturing ocular measurements. By merging these previously separate functions into one unified optical path, the patent reduces device complexity and size while maintaining measurement accuracy through careful optical design including beam splitters and wavelength separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The waveguide component performs multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both a display medium for presenting visual information and as an imaging medium for capturing ocular measurements. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby reducing overall device complexity while preserving the accuracy benefits of dedicated measurement optics.
2Measurement precision
If a separate optical path is used for ocular measurement, then measurement capability is improved, but the design becomes bulkier
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the display and measurement optical paths into a single waveguide structure, eliminating the need for separate bulky optical components. The waveguide's thin profile enables both display and measurement functions to coexist in a compact form factor, significantly reducing the overall device volume while maintaining full measurement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the waveguide's planar geometry to accommodate multiple optical paths in different spatial dimensions. By arranging the display and measurement optical paths in separate layers or planes within the thin waveguide structure, the patent achieves compact three-dimensional integration that maintains measurement capability while minimizing overall device thickness and volume.
3Device complexity
If display and ocular measurement share the same optical path, then device complexity is reduced, but optical interference may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different optical properties to different regions of the waveguide: the display region is optimized for visual information transmission while the measurement region is optimized for capturing ocular reflections. Beam splitters and wavelength-selective filters are strategically placed at specific locations to direct different wavelengths or angles of light to their respective destinations, thereby preventing interference while maintaining path integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes wavelength separation to distinguish between display light and measurement light paths. By assigning different wavelength ranges to display and measurement functions and using wavelength-selective optical elements, the patent prevents optical interference between the two functions while sharing the same physical optical path, thereby reducing device complexity without sacrificing performance.
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 solution enables a more compact and efficient heads-up display design that integrates ocular measurement without compromising the user's view, providing accurate imaging of the eye while maintaining a streamlined and user-friendly interface.
Implementation Method 1
employing a polarizing beam splitter and holographic optical elements to ensure minimal interference and optimal imaging
Implementation Method 2
A light guide has a back surface and a front surface with an ambient input region positioned on the front surface
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of an apparatus comprising a light guide including a proximal end, a distal end, a display positioned near the proximal end, an ocular measurement camera positioned at or near the proximal end to image ocular measurement radiation, a proximal optical element positioned in the light guide near the proximal end and a distal optical element positioned in the light guide near the distal end. The proximal optical element is optically coupled to the display, the ocular measurement camera and the distal optical element and the distal optical element is optically coupled to the proximal optical element, the ambient input region and an input/output optical element. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.