Wearable Display Using Periscopic Diffraction Grating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional head-worn displays for aircraft applications are heavy, expensive, and require complex head tracking systems, mechanical, and electrical connectivity, which increases size and cost, and are not optimized for small cockpit spaces, nor do they provide precision guidance without diverting attention from the real world scene.
Innovation Solution
A wearable display system utilizing a periscopic system with diffraction gratings that combines collimated light from a projector with real-world scene light, eliminating the need for head tracking and electrical connectivity, and is insensitive to all six degrees of freedom, allowing for a lightweight, compact, and cost-effective solution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If head tracking sensors and connectivity systems are used to maintain boresight accuracy, then precision guidance information can be displayed conformally aligned with the real world scene, but the weight, size, and cost of the worn display increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the head tracking sensors, mechanical connectivity, and electrical connectivity from the worn display system. By removing these components, the display achieves boresight accuracy without requiring the heavy tracking hardware, thereby reducing the weight of the worn display while maintaining precision guidance alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical head tracking system with an optical solution using a periscopic display architecture. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical sensors and connectivity while maintaining the ability to display information conformally aligned with the real world scene, thereby reducing weight and complexity.
2Measurement precision
If head tracking equipment and connectivity systems are implemented, then boresight accuracy can be maintained, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex head tracking equipment, mechanical connectivity systems, and electrical connectivity from the worn display. This extraction simplifies the device architecture while maintaining boresight accuracy through the periscopic optical design, thereby reducing device complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical and electrical tracking systems with a passive optical periscopic display. This substitution eliminates sensors, connectors, and processing systems while maintaining precision guidance alignment, thereby significantly reducing device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If conventional optical components are used in head-up displays, then precision guidance information can be displayed, but the components are heavy, expensive, and occupy space in the cockpit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heavy conventional optical components from the display system and replaces them with a periscopic optical architecture. This extraction eliminates bulky mirrors, prisms, and mounting mechanisms while maintaining the ability to display precision guidance information, thereby reducing the weight of optical components and freeing up cockpit space.
4Measurement precision
If head tracking is performed to maintain alignment, then precision guidance can be displayed conformally aligned with the real world scene, but the worn display requires connectivity between worn and non-worn portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the connectivity requirements between worn and non-worn portions of the display system. By using a self-contained periscopic optical design, the worn display achieves alignment accuracy without requiring mechanical or electrical connectivity to external systems, thereby simplifying the overall device architecture.
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 system provides precision guidance information conformally aligned with the real world scene without the need for head tracking, reducing size, cost, and complexity, while maintaining boresight accuracy and stability, even in constrained cockpit environments.
Implementation Method 1
at least one diffraction grating member configured to be wearable and physically separate from the projector and physically free from the projector across rotational movement of the at least one diffraction grating member
Data Source
AI summary
A worn display, includes a projector and at least one wearable diffraction grating member. The member includes an input end for receiving an image from a projector and a combiner end for receiving light from a scene and providing the image received at the input end and the light received from the outside scene to the user. The worn display can be used in aircraft applications to provide guidance information to a pilot. The diffraction grating member can have periscopic characteristics.