Modular Optical Wafer Gap Design for HMD Prescription Customization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Head-mounted display systems require customization to accommodate individual wearers' visual needs, including prescriptions, and existing solutions are not modular or cost-effective, especially in manufacturing, limiting their adaptability and user comfort.
Innovation Solution
An optical device with a modular design featuring wafers and a light conducting element that allows for customizable curvature and gap creation between components, enabling easy adaptation to wearer prescriptions and other visual needs, such as light attenuation and glare protection, using a transparent substrate with sealing means to ensure watertightness and airtightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If head-mounted display systems are customized to accommodate individual wearers' visual needs including prescriptions, then user comfort and visual correction are improved, but manufacturing complexity and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The optical device is divided into a reusable base assembly and interchangeable wafer elements. Each wafer can be customized with different optical prescriptions, coatings, or properties, while the main device body remains standardized. This segmentation allows mass production of the base unit and separate customization of wafers, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining adaptability to individual wearer needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The base assembly is designed as a universal platform that can accommodate multiple types of wafers with different functions (corrective lenses, photochromic, polarized, etc.). This multi-functionality approach allows a single device design to serve multiple customization purposes, reducing the need for entirely different manufacturing processes for each customization type.
2Adaptability or versatility
If modular design with wafers is implemented to enable easy customization, then adaptability to wearer needs is improved, but device structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical device is divided into a reusable base assembly and interchangeable wafer elements. Each wafer can be customized with different optical prescriptions, coatings, or properties, while the main device body remains standardized. This segmentation allows mass production of the base unit and separate customization of wafers, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining adaptability to individual wearer needs.
3Ease of manufacture
If wafers are made removable and interchangeable for easy assembly, then ease of manufacture and customization is improved, but sealing and watertightness become more difficult to ensure
Solution Approach 1:
A sealing gasket or intermediary sealing element is introduced between the removable wafer and the base assembly. This intermediary component creates a reliable seal while allowing the wafer to remain removable and interchangeable. The gasket compensates for manufacturing tolerances and ensures watertightness without requiring complex integrated sealing structures.
4Ease of manufacture
If customization is done in late step of manufacturing to limit unit production cost, then production cost is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The optical device is divided into a reusable base assembly and interchangeable wafer elements. Each wafer can be customized with different optical prescriptions, coatings, or properties, while the main device body remains standardized. This segmentation allows mass production of the base unit and separate customization of wafers, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining adaptability to individual wearer needs.
Solution Approach 2:
Standardized mounting features, alignment marks, and interface geometries are built into the base assembly during initial manufacturing. These preliminary actions prepare the device for late-stage wafer customization, ensuring that even though customization occurs later, the precision requirements are managed through pre-established mechanical and optical interfaces.
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 provides a reliable, compact, and easily assembled optical device that can be customized to meet individual wearer requirements, reducing production costs and improving user comfort by allowing for prescription corrections and other optical functions, while maintaining image quality and brightness.
Implementation Method 1
a light conducting element (16) configured to output a supplementary light through an exit face (18) of said light conducting element towards an eye (20) of the wearer
Implementation Method 2
The internal face (28) of the back wafer (62) comprises at least a curved surface (32) facing the exit face and having a curvature greater than 0 D... configured to receive the supplementary light outputting from the exit face towards the eye of the wearer
Data Source
Figure 1~3B
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~8
AI summary
Optical device (10) adapted for a wearer comprising: an emitting system (12) comprising a light conducting element (16) configured to output a light through an exit face (18) of said light conducting element towards an eye (20) of the wearer, a first wafer (14) comprising an internal face (28) facing the light conducting element, and a gap (40) arranged between at least the exit face of the light conducting element and the wafer, wherein the internal face (28) of the wafer comprises at least a curved surface facing the exit face and having a curvature greater than 0 D.