US-12625376-B2 - Techniques for securing and aligning a projector assembly and a waveguide assembly by coupling support legs of the waveguide assembly to corresponding receptacles of the waveguide assembly

Abstract

Optical assemblies may include a projector assembly and a waveguide assembly. The projector assembly may include at least one light subprojector and a housing including at least one receptacle. The waveguide assembly may include a waveguide and a waveguide holder. The housing may include at least one receptacle and the waveguide holder may include at least one support leg. The support leg may be positioned within, and secured to, the receptacle to align the projector assembly with the waveguide assembly. Related head-mounted displays, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

Inventors

• Randall Scott Toy
• James Schultz
• Zhiqiang Liu

Assignees

• META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230227

Claims (17)

1. 1 . An optical assembly, comprising: a projector assembly, comprising: a housing including at least one receptacle; and at least one light subprojector supported by the housing; and a waveguide assembly, comprising: a waveguide configured for redirecting light from the at least one light subprojector, the waveguide including at least one input grating corresponding to the at least one light subprojector; and one or more waveguide holders abutting an edge region of the waveguide and directly physically coupled to: a support leg extending from a respective waveguide holder of the one or more waveguide holders in a direction transverse to a major surface of the waveguide, another support leg, different than the support leg, extending from the waveguide holder in another direction transverse to the major surface of the waveguide, wherein the support leg and the other support leg are positioned at least partially within and coupled to the at least one receptacle of the projector assembly to (i) secure the waveguide assembly to the projector assembly, and (ii) align the waveguide with respect to the light subprojector such that refracted light from the at least one light subprojector is directed toward an eye of a wearer of the optical assembly.
2. 2 . The optical assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the support leg or the other support leg is coupled to the at least one receptacle with an adhesive disposed within the at least one receptacle.
3. 3 . The optical assembly of claim 2 , wherein the adhesive is a liquid-dispensed adhesive.
4. 4 . The optical assembly of claim 1 , wherein: the at least one receptacle comprises a first receptacle and a second receptacle; and the support leg comprises a support leg positioned at least partially within the first receptacle and the other support leg is positioned at least partially within the second receptacle.
5. 5 . The optical assembly of claim 4 , wherein: the first receptacle comprises a first rectangular receptacle having a first length extending in a first direction; and the second receptacle comprises a second rectangular receptacle having a second length extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction.
6. 6 . The optical assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one light subprojector is aligned with the at least one input grating to within 1 mm or less of translation and within 5 arcminutes or less of rotation.
7. 7 . The optical assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the support leg and the other support leg is coupled to the at least one receptacle with at least one of a solder or a weld.
8. 8 . The optical assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the support leg and the other support leg extends substantially perpendicular to the major surface of the waveguide.
9. 9 . The optical assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one light subprojector comprises at least three light subprojectors, each of the at least three light subprojectors being configured for projecting a different respective wavelength of light.
10. 10 . The optical assembly of claim 9 , wherein each of the at least three light subprojectors is configured for projecting one of: red light; blue light; green light; infrared light; or white light.
11. 11 . The optical assembly of claim 10 , wherein the at least three light subprojectors comprise a red light subprojector, a blue light subprojector, and a green light subprojector.
12. 12 . The optical assembly of claim 1 , wherein a respective waveguide holder of the one or more waveguide holders extends along substantially an entire periphery of the waveguide.
13. 13 . A head-mounted display, comprising: an optical assembly, comprising: a projector assembly including at least one light subprojector and at least one receptacle; and a waveguide assembly including a waveguide and one or more waveguide holders coupled to an edge region of the waveguide, wherein the one or more waveguide holders are directly physically coupled to a support leg extending from the waveguide holder in a direction transverse to a major surface of the waveguide, and is directly physically coupled to another support leg, different than the support leg, extending from a respective waveguide holder of the one or more waveguide holders in another direction transverse to the major surface of the waveguide, wherein the support leg and the other support leg are positioned at least partially within and coupled to the at least one receptacle to (i) secure the waveguide assembly to the projector assembly, and (ii) align the waveguide with respect to the light subprojector such that refracted light from the at least one light subprojector is directed toward an eye of a wearer of the optical assembly; and a frame configured for mounting the optical assembly on a head of the wearer with at least a portion of the waveguide in front of eyes of a user.
14. 14 . The head-mounted display of claim 13 , wherein the head-mounted display comprises augmented-reality glasses.
15. 15 . The head-mounted display of claim 13 , wherein the projector assembly is mounted to an upper corner of the waveguide when the frame is worn on the head of the user.
16. 16 . The head-mounted display of claim 13 , wherein the at least one light subprojector is optically aligned with at least one respective input grating of the waveguide to within a predetermined threshold.
17. 17 . The head-mounted display of claim 16 , wherein the predetermined threshold is within 1 mm or less of translation and within 5 arcminutes or less of rotation.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/388,074, titled “OPTICAL ASSEMBLIES, HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAYS, AND RELATED METHODS,” filed on 11 Jul. 2022, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by this reference. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of example embodiments and are a part of the specification. Together with the following description, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a head-mounted display, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a light projector mounted to a frame of the head-mounted display, taken at dashed circle A of FIG. 1, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates optical alignment of a projected pattern as viewed by a camera, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a head-mounted display with alignment cameras, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGS. 5A and 5B are, respectively, a top plan view and a perspective view of a light projector assembly, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGS. 6A-6E are top plan view of light projector assemblies, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a detailed perspective view of a waveguide assembly, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of an optical assembly, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method of fabricating an optical assembly, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is an illustration of example augmented-reality glasses that may be used in connection with embodiments of this disclosure. FIG. 11 is an illustration of an example virtual-reality headset that may be used in connection with embodiments of this disclosure. Throughout the drawings, identical reference characters and descriptions indicate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. While the example embodiments described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, the example embodiments described herein are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the present disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Artificial reality is a form of reality that has been adjusted in some manner before presentation to a user, which may include, for example, a virtual reality, an augmented reality, a mixed reality, a hybrid reality, or some combination and/or derivative thereof. Artificial-reality content may include completely computer-generated content or computer-generated content combined with captured (e.g., real-world) content. The artificial-reality content may include video, audio, haptic feedback, or some combination thereof, any of which may be presented in a single channel or in multiple channels (such as stereo video that produces a three-dimensional (3D) effect to the viewer). Additionally, in some embodiments, artificial reality may also be associated with applications, products, accessories, services, or some combination thereof, that are used to, for example, create content in an artificial reality and/or are otherwise used in (e.g., to perform activities in) an artificial reality. Head-mounted displays (HMDs) including one or more near-eye displays are often used to present visual content to a user for use in artificial-reality applications. One type of near-eye display includes a waveguide that directs light from a projector to a location in front of the user's eyes. Because of the visual sensitivity of human eyes, slight deviations in optical quality can be very apparent to the user. Proper alignment of projectors and waveguides with each other, with a supporting frame, relative to the user, and/or relative to the overall sensory system can be important to inhibit such deviations and to improve the user's experience viewing visual content presented by near-eye displays. The present disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods for aligning optical components (e.g., of near-eye displays), such as for aligning a waveguide with corresponding projectors, one or more projectors with a frame, a waveguide with a frame, and/or a projector and waveguide assembly with a frame. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may include optical assemblies including a projector assembly and a waveguide assembly. The projector assembly may include a housing with at least one receptac