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KR-20260067377-A - Improved optical guide system and near-eye display device including such system

KR20260067377AKR 20260067377 AKR20260067377 AKR 20260067377AKR-20260067377-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light extraction device for an optical system, comprising at least one emitting optical guide element (3) extending in the longitudinal direction z of the light propagation, wherein the emitting optical guide element (3) has a substantially rectangular cross-section along planes x and y and is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction z, and the emitting optical guide element (3) has an incident zone (6) configured to inject light L in the form of a plane wave, and the emitting optical guide element (3) has an emitting zone (8) comprising a plurality of extraction mirrors (9). The extraction device comprises at least one series of a plurality of parallel extraction mirrors (9) having a reflectance of at least 0.01% and a predetermined inclination of 10° to 80°, and the emitting optical guide element (3) is associated with an optical demultipliing element.

Inventors

  • 마바흐 세바스티앙
  • 마우레이 휴고
  • 피에론 로빈

Assignees

  • 옵티브

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20240917
Priority Date
20230918

Claims (20)

  1. As a light extraction device for an optical system, It includes at least one emission optical guide element (3) extending in the longitudinal direction z of the optical propagation defined by the forward orthogonal coordinate system x, y, z, and The above-mentioned emission optical guide element (3) has a substantially rectangular cross-section in plane x, y over at least part of its length, with the y-axis facing the receiver system, the above-mentioned emission optical guide element (3) has an incident zone (6) for receiving light L in the form of a plane wave from a light source, and the above-mentioned emission optical guide element (3) has an emission zone (8) including a plurality of extraction mirrors (9). The above-mentioned emission zone (8) comprises at least one series of a plurality of parallel extraction mirrors (9), and one series of extraction mirrors (9) has, on one hand, a reflectance of at least 0.01%, and on the other hand, has a predetermined angle of inclination α corresponding to a rotation angle with respect to the x-axis of the forward orthogonal coordinate system x, y, z of 10° to 80°, preferably 25° to 65° in the plane y, z. A light extraction device characterized in that the above-mentioned emission optical guide element (3) is associated with at least one light-demultiplying element for generating the same or similar light signal along a different optical path from a light signal.
  2. In claim 1, A light extraction device characterized in that one series of extraction mirrors (9) are arranged in the emission zone (8) such that the extraction mirror (9) is aligned perpendicularly to the subsequent extraction mirror (9) in plane y, z.
  3. In claim 1, A light extraction device characterized in that one series of extraction mirrors (9) are arranged in the emission zone (8) such that the extraction mirror (9) partially covers the subsequent extraction mirror (9) in plane y, z.
  4. In claim 1, An optical extraction device characterized in that one series of extraction mirrors (9) are arranged in the emission zone (8), wherein the extraction mirror (9) has a gap e m with respect to the subsequent extraction mirror (9), and the gap e m is greater than the value l m · sinα — l m is the length of the mirror in plane y, z —.
  5. In any one of claims 1 to 4, A light extraction device characterized in that one series of extraction mirrors (9) are arranged in the emission zone (8) such that the extraction mirror (9) has an offset d x in the x direction and/or an offset d y in the y direction with respect to the subsequent extraction mirror (9).
  6. In any one of claims 1 to 5, A light extraction device characterized in that one series of extraction mirrors (9) each includes a zone having a different reflectance.
  7. In any one of claims 1 to 6, A light extraction device characterized in that one series of extraction mirrors (9) has different reflectances from one extraction mirror to another.
  8. In any one of claims 1 to 7, A light extraction device characterized in that the reflectance of one series of extraction mirrors (9) increases in the direction of light propagation as it passes from one extraction mirror (9) to a subsequent extraction mirror (9).
  9. In any one of claims 1 to 8, A light extraction device characterized in that the upper and/or lower ends of one series of extraction mirrors (9) are separated from the upper surface (4) and/or lower surface (5) of the emission guide element (3) in a corresponding manner.
  10. In any one of claims 1 to 9, A light extraction device characterized in that the above-mentioned emission zone (8) includes a series of at least two superimposed extraction mirrors (9).
  11. In any one of claims 1 to 10, A light extraction device characterized in that the above demultiplying element includes at least one partially reflective coupling plate (10) that extends at least partially into the above-mentioned optical guide element (3).
  12. In any one of claims 1 to 10, A light extraction device characterized in that the above-described demultipliing element comprises at least one additional block (11) associated with at least one partially reflective coupling plate (10), and the additional block (11) is fixed to at least a portion of the surface of the output optical guide element (3).
  13. As an optical guide system for a near-eye display device, - An incident optical guide element (12) having an incident area configured to be associated with a light injection system (7), and - comprising at least one light extraction device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, and - The above-mentioned incident optical guide elements (12) are superimposed on at least one exit optical guide element (3) by having a mutual spacing (14), thereby partitioning a medium having a different optical index between the guide elements (12, 3), and - The above mutual spacing (14) extends on one side between the first longitudinal end of the incident (12) and exit (3) optical guide elements and on the other side between the transition block (15), and the guide elements (12, 3) form material continuity with the transition block (15) at their other ends, and - The above transition block (15) includes a cylindrical (16) or a mainly cylindrical free end covered with a mainly cylindrical mirror, thus forming an optical coupling system between the incident optical guide element (12) and at least one of the exit optical guide elements (3), and - An optical guide system characterized in that the above-mentioned transition block (15) is associated with at least one demultiplying element.
  14. In claim 13, An optical guide system characterized in that the above demultiplying element comprises at least one flat coupling plate (10) that is parallel to the extraction plane and passes at least partially through the transition block (15).
  15. In claim 14, An optical guide system characterized in that the coupling plate (10) includes a protrusion on the transfer block (15), and the protrusion penetrates the emission optical guide element (3) up to the vicinity of the first extraction mirror (9) at an intermediate height located between the upper surface (4) and the lower surface (5) of the emission optical guide element (3).
  16. As an optical guide system for a near-eye display device, - An incident optical guide element (12) having an incident area configured to be associated with a light injection system (7), and - comprising at least one light extraction device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, and - The above-mentioned incident optical guide element (12) is superimposed on at least one exit optical guide element (3) by having a mutual spacing (14), thereby partitioning a medium having a different optical index between the guide elements (12, 3), and - The above mutual spacing (14) extends on one side between the first end portion of the incident (12) and exit (3) optical guide elements and on the other side between the transition block (15), and the guide elements (12, 3) form material continuity with the transition block (15) at their other end portions, and - The above transition block (15) includes a cylindrical (16) or a mainly cylindrical free end covered with a mainly cylindrical mirror, thereby forming an optical coupling system between the incident optical guide element (12) and at least one of the exit optical guide elements (3), and - The above-mentioned emission optical guide element (3) is superimposed on at least one complementary emission optical guide element (19) by having an additional mutual spacing (20), thereby partitioning a medium having a different optical index between the emission optical guide element (3) and the complementary emission optical guide element (19), and - The above-mentioned transfer block (15) includes an upper portion (15d) within the extension of the incident optical guide element (12) and the exit optical guide element (3), and - The above transition block (15) includes a lower portion (15e) within the extension of the above complementary emission optical guide element (19), and - The upper portion (15d) is connected to the lower portion (15e) by an intermediate transition block (23) associated with at least one demultiplying element, and - An optical guide system characterized in that the above intermediate transition block (23) extends within the extension of the above additional mutual spacing (20).
  17. In claim 16, An optical guide system characterized in that the intermediate transition block (23) protrudes from the transition block (15).
  18. In claim 16 or claim 17, An optical guide system characterized in that the extraction mirror (9) of the complementary emission optical guide element (19) has an inclination angle α1 that is different from the inclination angle α with respect to the x-axis of the forward orthogonal coordinate system x, y, z.
  19. In any one of claims 13 to 18, An optical guide system characterized in that the incident optical guide element (12) has an upper surface (17) and a lower surface (18) that partially divide the mutual gap (14), and the lower surface (18) and the upper surface (17) have mutual inclination by an angle β of -10° to +10°.
  20. In any one of claims 13 to 19, An optical guide system characterized in that the free end of the above-mentioned transition block (15), which is mostly cylindrical, and the cylindrical (16) or mainly cylindrical mirror have a symmetry axis inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to the plane of the incident optical guide element (12).

Description

Improved optical guide system and near-eye display device including such system The present invention relates to the general technical field of optical devices and/or systems used in virtual or augmented reality. The present invention relates particularly to the medical, educational and cultural, and gaming fields. The present invention finds its application particularly in prototyping systems in navigation, safety, transportation, or industry. The optical system according to the present invention operates with any polychromatic or monochromatic light, particularly within the visible range. More specifically, the present invention relates to a light extraction device and an optical guide system used in a device, accessory, or other apparatus having a near-eye display, also known as a NED, such as a headset or special glasses. The disclosed near-eye display devices, particularly those having atmospheric propagation of light rays, have significant disadvantages. In fact, in such devices, the mirrors used have large dimensions, which causes an increase in the size of the device. The weight of such devices is also a disadvantage. Such devices are specifically described in the literature US 2012/0212400 A1 or FR 2 941 786 A1. Optical guides having overlapping guide elements are also known through the literature FR 2 983 976. The lamellar-shaped guide elements are joined to one of their respective faces and separated by a semi-reflective coating over at least a portion of their length. The precise positioning of the semi-reflective coating makes the manufacture of such optical guides complex and expensive. Additionally, to ensure perfect operation of the optical guide, the joint assembly of the two guide elements must not have dimensional irregularities or air pockets. In addition, it is difficult to control the loss experienced by optical signals propagating through such optical guides. The known optical systems, particularly those including such optical guides, often provide a limited field of view in at least one direction, typically 26° (horizontal) × 20° (vertical). This is very commonly a major disadvantage in their fields of application. When attempting to significantly widen the field of view, one faces another major drawback: the appearance of black strips in the field of view. These black strips are associated with the fact that known optical systems cannot fill the entire pupil of the user. Not all object fields from the guide emitter can be coupled to the pupil of the eye, which has a diameter of about 2 mm to 8 mm, typically about 4 mm or 5 mm. This phenomenon is transmitted through missing object fields on the image surface corresponding to the retina of the eye. The missing object fields are transmitted into black areas corresponding to the absence of coupling or gray areas corresponding to inefficient coupling. A rectangular waveguide comprising a set of parallel extraction mirrors that couple light into the user's eye is known, for example, through the literature US 11,125,927 B1. Specific positions of the extraction mirrors and their reflection coefficients make it possible to cover the projection of light rays perceived by the user, and consequently the perception of the image field by the user. The problem of the appearance of black strips is never resolved in this literature. In addition, the manufacture of such a waveguide is complex. The objective of the present invention is to provide a new light extraction device that, as a result, overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, substantially widens the field of view while minimizing the appearance of black strip type optical defects, and improves and homogenizes image quality. The objective of the present invention is also to provide a new optical guide system that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, substantially widens the field of view while minimizing the appearance of black strip type optical defects, and improves and homogenizes the quality of the image. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a new, compact, and lighter optical guide system. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a new optical guide system or a new light extraction device that can be simply manufactured, for example, by injection molding. The given objective of the present invention is achieved by using a light extraction device for an optical system, wherein the light extraction device comprises at least one emitting optical guide element extending in the longitudinal direction z of a light propagation defined by a forward orthogonal coordinate system x, y, z, wherein the emitting optical guide element has a cross-section that is substantially rectangular in plane x, y over at least a portion of its length, with the y-axis oriented toward a receiver system, wherein the emitting optical guide element has an incident zone for receiving light L in the form of a plane wave from a light source, wherein the emitting optical gu