Passive Prism Optics for Lightweight Handheld Display AR Glasses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing AR glasses are bulky, uncomfortable, costly, and hinder social interactions and situational awareness due to their weight, battery life limitations, high cost, limited content ecosystem, complex user interfaces, privacy concerns, and distracted usage leading to social isolation, accidents, and reduced situational awareness.
Innovation Solution
A passive optical reflective system that superimposes a handheld device's display over the normal scenery view using a prism optical device with semi-transparent combiners, eliminating the need for heavy hardware and power sources, allowing users to maintain eye contact and situational awareness while using smartphones or tablets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If AR glasses use powerful image sources and optical relay optics to enhance viewed image quality, then image quality is improved, but device weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the display hardware, drivers, controllers, and power source from the AR glasses system, eliminating the need for integrated electronic components. Instead, users employ their existing handheld devices (smartphones, tablets) as the display source, thereby removing the weight and complexity burden from the glasses while maintaining enhanced image quality through optical means alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an optical intermediary system consisting of beam splitters, combiners, and prisms that mediate between the handheld display device and the user's eye. This optical intermediary combines the display image with the surrounding scenery view, enabling augmented reality functionality without requiring electronic components within the glasses themselves.
2Adaptability or versatility
If AR glasses integrate display hardware, drivers, controllers and power within the system, then functionality is improved, but weight and balance complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes all electronic components (display hardware, drivers, controllers, and power sources) from the AR glasses system. Users leverage their existing handheld devices to provide the display function, thereby eliminating the weight and balance complications associated with integrating these components into the glasses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the AR glasses system universal by allowing users to employ any existing handheld display device (smartphone, tablet) as the display source. This multi-functional approach enables the glasses to work with various display devices without requiring proprietary integrated hardware, thereby reducing weight and complexity while maintaining functionality.
3Adaptability or versatility
If AR glasses use bulky design to accommodate hardware components, then functionality is improved, but comfort and social acceptance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts all bulky electronic components from the AR glasses system, leaving only lightweight optical elements. This extraction eliminates the need for large battery compartments, display hardware, and processing units, thereby achieving a compact, comfortable design that is socially acceptable for everyday wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electronic system (batteries, processors, display hardware) with an optical system that leverages existing handheld devices. This substitution eliminates the need for bulky mechanical components within the glasses, achieving a lightweight, comfortable design that maintains full functionality.
4Adaptability or versatility
If AR glasses cover most of user face to provide display, then display functionality is improved, but social interaction and eye contact are hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent projects the display image onto the user's field of view in a different dimension - specifically, at a distance corresponding to the outside view distance rather than directly on the face. This dimensional change allows the display to appear in the peripheral vision or at a distance where it does not obstruct the user's view of surrounding people, thereby maintaining social interactions and eye contact while preserving display functionality.
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
Enhances social interactions and situational awareness by providing a lightweight, affordable, and easy-to-use solution that maintains user attention on surroundings, reducing accidents and improving safety and social engagement.
Implementation Method 1
A beam splitter or optical combiner is an optical device (e.g., a semi-transparent mirror), which enables the superimposing, or combining of two images to one
Implementation Method 2
prism optical device with semi-transparent combiners
Data Source
AI summary
A Glasses Augmented Passive Device for combining a down display image of a handheld device over a transparent or semi-transparent optical combiner, known as HMD (Head Mounted Display). The Glasses Augmented Passive Device pertains to a reflected optical system producing an augmented image of a hand-held display device overlaid on the normally viewed scenery. The device may be a standalone single block device mounted on the glasses lens(es) or embedded in one or more of the lenses using surface optics. In both options, the device keeps all handheld devices benefits and operation, smartphones for example, while minimizing headwear gears and mass. A user enjoys all smartphone benefits that appear on his normal sight without the disadvantages of HMD and solves the Missing Socialization and Missing Situation Awareness problems of our generation while engaging in daily activity. The use of surface optic technology offers a simple implementation of the invention on a variety of glasses.