Light Directing Layer for Wearable Display Brightness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wearable VR and AR display systems face challenges in maximizing light efficiency and maintaining brightness across a range of gaze rotations due to suboptimal light distribution and viewing angles, leading to degraded performance and reduced visual experience.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a light directing layer with direction-turning films (DTFs) and brightness enhancing films (BEFs) that optimize light distribution by redirecting and narrowing light beams to match the optical properties of the wearable optical system, ensuring maximum light enters the eye-box across various gaze angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional display systems are used without light directing layers, then the structure is simpler and easier to manufacture, but light efficiency is reduced and brightness is not maintained across range of gaze rotations
Solution Approach 1:
A light directing layer is introduced as an intermediary component between the display device and the user's eye. This layer includes direction-turning films (DTFs) and brightness enhancing films (BEFs) that mediate the light path, redirecting light rays to maintain consistent brightness across different gaze angles without requiring fundamental changes to the display device itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The light directing layer is segmented into multiple functional films with distinct purposes: DTFs for redirecting light directions and BEFs for narrowing viewing angles and enhancing brightness. This segmentation allows each film to be optimized for its specific function while working together to solve the overall brightness consistency problem.
2Loss of energy
If light is emitted in wide viewing angles from the display device, then the light distribution is more uniform, but the amount of light entering the eye-box is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The light directing layer applies different optical properties to different regions and directions of light. DTFs redirect light rays from specific angles toward the eye-box, while BEFs selectively narrow the viewing angles in directions that would otherwise waste light. This local optimization ensures that light is concentrated where needed (in the eye-box) while maintaining appropriate viewing flexibility.
3Illumination intensity
If the display device is positioned to optimize light direction, then light efficiency improves, but the system becomes less adaptable to different user positions and gaze rotations
Solution Approach 1:
The light directing layer provides dynamic light redirection capabilities that adapt to different gaze angles. As the user rotates their gaze, the DTFs and BEFs dynamically redirect and concentrate light rays to maintain efficiency across a range of positions, rather than being optimized for a single fixed position.
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 enhances the visual experience by maximizing light efficiency and maintaining brightness across a wider range of gaze rotations, improving the overall performance of wearable AR and VR systems by ensuring consistent and optimal light delivery to the user's eyes.
Implementation Method 1
The one transparent film of the light directing layer includes a microstructure formed in the one transparent film directing light emitted from a point on a surface of the display panel to target a desired portion of the reflective or partially reflective surface of the optical component
Implementation Method 2
The reflective or partially reflective surface of the optical component projects the image from the display panel to an eye-box corresponding to the eyes of a user wearing the display system
Implementation Method 3
selectively narrowing the viewing angle of light emitted by the display device
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the disclosed apparatuses, methods, and systems provide enhanced display of images for personal wearable display devices. The display systems include various system components to implement one or more of: re-directing the maximal brightness of a display device towards the center of the eye-box of a user; selectively narrowing the viewing angle of light emitted by the display device; and by spatially optimizing the backlight of the display device based on the specification of the wearable optical system thereby optimizing and/or maximizing the amount of light entering the eye for a range of gaze rotation of a user of the wearable display system. In one example, the following description provides a display device including a light optimizing or directing layer. The light optimizing layer includes one or more films that optimize the amount of light directed to the eye box of a user of the wearable display system. The light optimizing layer may include one or more films positioned to direct light from the image source and illumination source in a desired manner.