Pre-strained Deformable Optical Lens Assemblies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional adjustable-lens systems, such as liquid lenses, face challenges in achieving ideal optical properties due to distorted lens edges and difficulties in customizing membranes for specific optical requirements like inter-pupillary distances or ophthalmic corrections, leading to suboptimal image quality and user comfort in applications like eyeglasses and VR/AR systems.
Innovation Solution
The development of optical lens assemblies featuring a pre-strained deformable element with a non-uniform mechanical strain or stress profile, which includes a central region and an edge region with different mechanical strain or stress levels, coupled with a structural support element and a deformable medium, allowing for customization to correct optical aberrations and accommodate inter-pupillary distances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a flexible membrane is directly coupled to a rigid backplane with uniform tension, then the lens assembly structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the lens edge becomes distorted and optical quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a non-uniform tension distribution in the deformable membrane, with different tension levels in different regions (higher at edges, lower at center). This localized variation in mechanical properties corrects edge distortion while maintaining overall structural simplicity and manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the mechanical parameter of the membrane by introducing a pre-strained layer with specific elastic modulus and thickness, transforming the uniform tension state into a controlled non-uniform tension state. This parameter modification enables edge correction without complicating the manufacturing process.
2Ease of operation
If conventional liquid lenses are used, then the lens can adjust focus, but the lens edge distortion and inability to customize for specific optical requirements lead to suboptimal image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent addresses image quality by implementing local quality corrections through the pre-strained layer, which provides different optical properties in different regions of the lens. This enables correction of edge distortion and customization for specific optical requirements while preserving the focus adjustment capability of liquid lenses.
3Manufacturing precision
If membranes are customized to achieve desired optical properties, then optical quality improves, but the manufacturing process becomes difficult, expensive, or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the membrane structure into two functional layers: a base deformable membrane and a pre-strained correction layer. This segmentation allows each layer to be manufactured separately using standard processes, then combined to achieve customized optical properties without increasing overall manufacturing difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining the deformable membrane material with a pre-strained layer of different elastic modulus. This composite structure enables customization of optical properties through material selection and layer thickness adjustment, while maintaining ease of manufacture through established lamination and bonding techniques.
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 enables the creation of adjustable optical lens assemblies that can effectively correct optical aberrations and address the vergence-accommodation conflict, improving image quality and user comfort by altering optical properties through deformation, while being commercially feasible.
Implementation Method 1
a pre-strained deformable element that may exhibit at least one of a non-uniform mechanical strain or stress profile
Implementation Method 2
a deformable medium positioned between the pre-strained deformable element and the structural support element
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed optical lens assemblies may include a pre-strained deformable element that exhibits a non-uniform mechanical strain or stress profile, a structural support element coupled to the pre-strained deformable element, and a deformable medium positioned between the pre-strained deformable element and the structural support element. Related head-mounted displays and methods of fabricating such optical lens assemblies are also disclosed.