Patent Application
20160195718
The invention is system, method, and apparatus (collectively the “system”) for displaying images. More specifically, the invention is a system that uses multiple diffusers.
The explosion in computer technology and consumer electronics has exponentially increased the number of electronic devices with the capability of displaying an image. Such devices can vary substantially in terms of scale, the underlying technology used to construct and display the image, and other important attributes. Some display screens are passive like the screen at a movie theater. Other display screens are active, such as a television, computer monitor, or smart phone. Some display technologies are utilized at a very large scale, such as the scoreboard at a football stadium or the advertising screens in Time Square. Other display technologies are used in a highly personal context, such as VRD (virtual retinal display) display device worn on the head of a user. There are a wide number of different underlying technologies that can be used to display an image. Common examples of display technologies include but are not limited to DLP (digital light processing), LCD (liquid-crystal display), and LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon).
One commonality between the various display technologies is the use of light as an input to the process for displaying an image. The display of an image requires light and the image displayed by such technologies is comprised of modulated light. Light is an important input to a process which culminates in the display of an image. The purpose of the various components of any display technology is to generate, modify, and/or direct light in such a manner as to display the desired image in the desired way. Such processing must be performed at high speeds in order for the results to be perceived in a truly real time manner by a human being. One common context for image displays is video, where images are displayed in rapid succession to convey a sense of moving images. Conventional frame rates for video content currently vary between 24 FPS (frames per second) and 30 FPS.
The light used by conventional display technologies is at least partially coherent. “Coherence” is a term of art in physics. Coherent light is light in which the phases of all electromagnetic waves at each point on a line normal to the direction of the beam are identical. A less technical way to think of coherent light is in terms of light waves that are “in step” with each other, i.e. moving in a parallel path like a marching band marching on a football field.
In the real world, light is substantially non-coherent. The light that encounters our eyes originates from different sources and bounces off different objects at different angles. Non-coherent light looks real and natural to human beings because non-coherent light is what we are used to seeing.
In contrast to our everyday experiences, display technologies utilize partially coherently light. Such display technologies use a common light source to supply the process with light. The light used to display an image originates from the same source and such light travels the same path. Display technologies such as DLP, LCD, LCOS, and other approaches to image generation thus involve the use of partially coherent light. Despite the fact that partially coherent light appears unnatural to human beings, the conventional teaching of image display technologies fully embraces the use of partially coherent light because such light as a practical matter is closely tied to the concept of optical efficiency.
The prior art affirmatively teaches away from the use of two or more diffusers in the display of an image because the use of multiple diffusers has negative implications for optical efficiency. Prior art teachings in display technologies such as DLP (digital light processing), LCD (liquid-crystal display), LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon), and other display technologies appear uniform in the consensus that the use of partially coherent light is a necessary and worthwhile price for maintaining a high level of optical efficiency. Vendors of various display components pepper their marketing materials with references to high optical efficiency. To purposely embrace lower optical efficiency is a concept that is at odds with technologists, salespersons, and marketing strategies. It is precisely that drive to sustain high levels of optical efficiency that traps product designers, manufacturers, and ultimately individual users into experiencing visual displays that suffer from relatively high coherence, relatively unnatural looking light, and relatively poor color mixtures.
It would be desirable for a system to diffuse light two or more times so that the resulting image is comprised of light with relatively reduced coherence.
The invention is system, method, and apparatus (collectively the “system”) for displaying images. More specifically, the invention is a system that uses multiple diffusers to diffuse the light that is formed into the displayed image. The use of two or more diffusers reduces the coherence of the light use to create the displayed image. Such light appears more natural, and exhibits superior mixtures of color.
The two or more diffusers can be comprised of a wide variety of different materials and shaped and positioned within a wide range of potential configurations.
A gap between two diffusers can similarly be implemented in a wide variety of different ways. In some instances, the gap is simply empty space. In other contexts, the gap is an at least substantially transparent object positioned between the two diffusers.
Many features and inventive aspects of the system are illustrated in the various drawings described briefly below. All components illustrated in the drawings below and associated with element numbers are named and described in Table 1 provided in the Detailed Description section.
The invention is system, method, and apparatus (collectively the “system”) for displaying images. More specifically, the invention is a system that uses two or more diffusers separated by a gap to reduce the coherence of light used in the display of the image. Such a configuration can result in more natural looking light, as well as in an enhanced mixture of color in the image displayed to one or more users. Light is an important input in any displayed image, and by enhancing the quality of the light used to create the image, the quality of the image accessed by users is similarly enhanced. The use of two or more diffusers can be implemented using a wide variety of different components and configurations. The inventive approach can also be used in conjunction with virtually any type of display technology.
The system 100 uses two or more diffusers 282 to diffuse light 800 that originates from a light source 210. After passing through the two diffusers 282 and the gap 290, the light 800 is supplied to the other aspects of the system 100 that are used to form the image 880. Between the two diffusers 282 is a gap 290. The diffusers 282 and gap 290 can be collectively referred to as a diffuser subassembly 280. The diffuser assembly 280 can be implemented in a wide variety of different ways that enhance the quality of the image 880 generated by the system 100.
The benefit of using multiple diffusers 280 separated by a gap 290 is that the light 800 in the resulting image 880 will appear more natural looking relative to other display technologies and configuration. The system 100 can also produce an image 880 with an enhanced mixture of color relative to other electronic display technologies.
Light 800 is an important “raw material” for any display technology, including the system 100. As illustrated in
A. Light
Any display technology needs light 800 in order to display an image 880. Although light 880 moves quickly through the system 100 before leaving the boundaries of the system 100, the supply of light 800 is nonetheless a critical component of the system 100. The system 100 can be used to provide a superior image 880 relative to the prior art because the light 800 utilized by the system 100 to create the image 880 is superior to the light 800 used in prior art technologies. Instead of fashioning the image 880 from partially coherent light 803, the system 100 fashions the image 880 from non-coherent light 804 that has been diffused 2 or more times, i.e. multiply diffused light 808. Such light possess enhanced attributes in comparison to the partially coherent light utilized by conventional display technologies.
1. Coherent Light is not Optimal Light
The light utilized by the system 100 is superior to the light utilized in prior art display technologies because the light utilized by the system 100 is less coherent than the light utilized by prior art display technologies. The enhanced multiply diffused light 808 supplied by the illumination assembly 200 to the imaging assembly 300 is more desirable for the purposes of fashioning an image 808 than the light used by prior art display technologies.
The term “coherent light” has a specific meaning in the fields of optoelectronics and physics. Coherent light is “light in which the phases of all electromagnetic waves at each point on a line normal to the direction of the beam are identical.” A less technical way to think of coherent light is in terms of light waves that are “in step” with each other, i.e. moving in a parallel path like a marching band marching on a football field. The concept of coherent light is easier for the laymen to understand visually than through words.
2. Coherent Light, Partially Coherent Light and Non-Coherent Light
Like many attributes in science and engineering, the term “coherence” is a concept understood to exist in a continuum of varying degrees of magnitude. Just as “hot” means different ranges of temperature when discussing the weather that it does when smelting metal, the term coherence is similarly contextual. With respect to the system 100, the concept of coherency is very much a relative one. The use of two or more diffusers 282 to diffuse light 800 will result in light 800 that is materially less coherent than when one or no diffusers 282 are utilized in that same configuration.
A laser generates truly coherent light 802. Other light sources will generate light that is less coherent than laser light even if no diffusers are used. However, such light is still sufficiently coherent to appear unnatural looking to the human eye, and thus such light can be characterized as “partially coherent light” 803. Light that is diffused two or more times still has some magnitude of coherency to it, but such light can be fairly characterized as “non-coherent light” 804.
The coherent light 802 illustrated in
Regardless of the type of display technology being implemented and the type of light source used to supply the light, the light 800 that is utilized by conventional prior art electronic displays is at least partially coherent light 803. The pathway of light from a prior art light source to the prior art image is too short and too uniform to sufficiently reduce the coherence of the light such that it would appear natural looking to the user 90.
In contrast to conventional display technologies, the light that has been encountered by human beings on the planet earth since the days on which people first lived on the planet is comprised of non-coherent light 804. Non-coherent light 804 is more natural looking than partially coherent light 803 or coherent light 802. In the real world, light is constantly bouncing off things, changing directions, etc. This is true for lighting outside that originates from the sun as well as for man-made lighting both indoors and out. Human beings are used to seeing a world populated predominantly by non-coherent light 804 unless what is being viewed is an electronic display such as a movie screen, television set, computer monitor, or smart phone.
One of the features of partially coherent light 803 reaching the eye is “speckle”, which is caused by wave fronts actually interfering with each other in the cells of the retina of the eye 92. The constructive and destructive interference can create a grainy pattern in the resulting image. This phenomenon is easily seen with a laser pointer, but it is also visible with relatively lower coherence (i.e. partially coherent light 803) in rear-projection DLP TVs and other similar applications. Light sources 210 that are small and narrow (directionally closer to a laser) are particularly susceptible to such interference. The higher gain (narrower viewing angle) of the screen, the worse the phenomenon tends to be.
3. The System as a Transformer of Light
In describing the functionality of the system 100 and its components, it is helpful to think of the system 100 as a transformer of light. Different components and processes of the system 100 transform light from one type of light into another type of light. The improvements/transformations of light are what make the implementation of the system 100 desirable for users 90. The system 100 transforms light supplied by a light source 210 that is ultimately fashioned into an image 880 that is made accessible to one or more users 90.
The system 100 can be described in terms of various components used to create light and then modulate the created light into the form of the visual image 200 that is disclosed to the user 90. From the standpoint of the system 100, the lifecycle of light 800 begins at a light source 210 and ends with the display of the visual image 880. Light moves quickly, and any display technology will involve a high number of light cycling. During the cycle from “creation” by the light source 210 and the “final” destination of the image 880 where it can be accessed by a user 90, the system 100 processes light 800 in ways that transform the light 800. Light 800 is a raw material that is transformed in the display process of the system 100 in a manner that is analogous to the transformation of raw materials in a physical manufacturing process.
Light 800 leaves the light source 210 as partially coherent light 803. The partially coherent light 803 becomes diffused light 806 after passing through a diffuser 282. The diffused light 806 becomes multiply diffused light 808 after it passes through the second diffuser 282. The system 100 can use two or more diffusers 282, with each two diffusers 282 separated by a gap 290. The gap 290 can be advantageous in facilitating the ability of the light 800 to move around prior to the next round of diffusion. The multiply diffused light 806 is ultimately sent to the imaging assembly 300 which includes a modulator 320 for shaping the incoming multiply diffused light 808 into the image 880 that is displayed to the user.
4. Light Metrics
Light 800 is an important component to the system 100. The advantages to users 90 in using the system 100 are grounded in the nature of the light 800 used to display the images 880. Images 880 generated by the system 100 appear more natural because of the nature of the light 800 used to generate the image 880 as an output. Similarly, the color mixture of the images 880 displayed by the system 100 are more desirable to users 90 than prior art images because the light 800 used to construct the image 880 possesses more desirable attributes than the partially coherent light 803 of the prior art.
The advantages discussed above sound somewhat subjective, but the qualities that make light coherent or not can be described in mathematics and measurements that are subject to objective validation and characterization.
a. Coherence Metric
The coherency of light 800 is something that can be quantitatively measured and objectively described. A coherence metric 832 quantitatively describes the degree to which light 800 is at least partially coherent light 803.
Partial coherence can be measured in a variety of different ways. One way is to make a Michaelson interferometer. With non-coherent light one only gets fringes it the path lengths are perfectly equal (to within a wavelength of light). This is difficult to do. Any increase in fringe visibility beyond the equal-path condition is a measure of the “coherence length”. For lasers, this is measured in meters. For narrowband small LED sources this could be several microns.
Some embodiments may reduce coherence by as little as about 5% while other embodiments may reduce coherence by as much as about 35%. Many embodiments will fall into the range between 10%-50% reductions of coherence between the image 880 produced by the system 100 and the light generated by the light source 210.
Another way to measure coherence is to measure the standard deviation of the pixel values of an image of the light source 210. Since coherence does not depend on whether the source is in focus, using a defocused spot works quite well. The standard deviation is non-linearly proportional to the coherence length and the ratio of the standard deviation to the average pixel value is the “speckle contrast”. The speckle contrast in a dual diffuser 282 context can be half or even less than the speckle contrast for a single diffuser 282 in a similar configuration with a similar light source 210. The speckle contrast is known in the art.
b. Color Mix Metric
The mixing of different colors of light 800 is something that can be quantitatively measured and objectively described. A color mix metric 834 quantitatively describes the degree to which colors are mixed in a desirable fashion. The speckle contrast discussed above is also suitable as a color mix metric 834.
c. Optical Efficiency Metric
Light 800, like most resources, can be used to different degrees of efficiency. An optical efficiency metric 836 quantitatively describes the degree to which light is be used efficiently, i.e. not lost or wasted. Efficiency can be represented as a % of utilization, or conversely, as a % of waste.
The prior art affirmatively teaches away from the use of non-coherent light 804 in man-made display technologies. There are several reasons for this, including the heavy fixation of the prior art on optical efficiency.
Whether the topic is electronic displays such as television sets, movie projectors, computer monitors, or illumination devices more generally such as the lighting of interior and exterior spaces, optical efficiency is a constant and substantially overwhelming design consideration for any prior art illumination technology. Optical efficiency is obsequious in the marketing materials of illumination applications. No producer of illumination devices will advertise those products on the basis of optical inefficiency. As a result, no producer of illumination devices even considers the use of using less coherent light 800 with their display technologies.
Users 90 live in a real world that uses light inefficiently. Light is constantly bouncing of different objects at different angles and travelling different paths. Any effort to create more realistic light for an image 880 is going to involve the use of light 800 at lower level of efficiency than the conventional wisdom of the prior art. There is a direct relationship between coherency and efficiency in man-made display technologies.
B. Process-Flow View
The system 100 can be defined as collection of processes as well as a collection of assemblies. The system 100 is a collective configuration of components interacting with each other and performing various functions. The system 100 can also be characterized as a method for displaying one or more images 880 to one or more users 90.
At 912, a light source 210 is used to generate a pulse of light 800. As discussed above, that light 800 is partially coherent light 803 until it has been diffused by the diffusion subassembly 280.
At 914, the light 800 moves through a first diffuser 282.
At 916, the light 800 moves through a second diffuser 282.
At 920, an image 880 is created from the multiply diffused light 808.
As discussed above, a gap 290 can separate two diffusers 282. The cycle between the generating of light partially coherent light 803 by the light source 210 through the display of the image 880 repeats with “fresh” light for so long as an image 880 is being displayed.
C. Variations of Diffusers and Gaps
The system 100 can be implemented using a wide variety of different diffuser 282 and gap 290 configurations. Diffusers 282 can be described in terms of material composition as well as in terms of geometry and dimensions. An important aspect of a diffuser 282 is that it is comprised of a material that is somewhat transmissive of light 800 without being so permissively transmissive that the coherence of the light 800 is not impacted. Put another way, an effective diffuser 282 is at least somewhat translucent but not so substantially transparent that the coherence of the light 800 is not impacted. The use of diffusers 282 are known in the prior art, but the prior art affirmatively teaches away from the use of two or more diffusers 282 due to the resulting reduction in optical efficiency.
Film diffusers 283 can also be referred to as plastic diffusers 282 because they are comprised of plastic film. Paper diffusers 284 are comprised of paper or paper-related material. Glass diffusers 285 are comprised a one of a variety of different types of glass. A coating diffuser 286 is a diffuser comprised of coating placed on an otherwise substantially transparent and transmissive object. Many multi-textured surfaces 287 can function as diffusers 282 if properly configured for the particular implementation.
The diffusers 282 can also be implemented in wide variety of shapes and sizes. Relatively flat and thin objects within the desired range of transparency can constitute desirable diffusers 282. Some diffusers 282 can be curved, while others may be straight. Some diffusers 282 may have uniform thickness while other diffusers 282 may be shaped in a concave or convex manner. The scale/dimensions of the diffuser 282 will depend on the scale/dimensions of the light source 210 and the scale of the image 880 displayed by the system 100. Many types of materials are potentially functional diffusers 282 if they are thin enough. For example, an ordinary sheet of paper can be semi-transparent when you hold it up to the light at the proper angle.
The system 100 can utilize a variety of different gaps 290. Gaps can vary in terms of length (i.e. distance from one diffuser 282 to another diffuser 282) as well as in terms of composition. A gap 290 can be empty space or it can be comprised of a substantially transparent object, such as glass.
The system 100 can be implemented using a glass plate coated on two sides with a diffuser coating 286. Each surface coating 286 would function as a diffuser 282 and the glass plate between the two coatings would constitute the gap 290 between the two diffusers 282. Other embodiments may involve mere empty space between the diffusers 282. The composition and distance of the gap 290 can vary widely between the different embodiments of the system 100. In some embodiments, a gap 290 of less than about 1 mm is sufficient. In other embodiments, a far larger gap 290 such as a gap 290 spanning multiple centimeters can be used. It is believed that a gap between 1 mm and 8 mm will be sufficient for many embodiments of the system 100.
This functionality is affirmatively taught away by the prior art because it reduces optical efficiency. Almost all illumination structures in the prior art attempt to maximize optical efficiency while so they almost always only use a single “mixing element” such as a single diffuser film or fly's eye display. This double diffuser technique can reduce optical efficiency by approximately 30% but forms more natural light.
This works particularly well for near-eye displays that use reflection (LCOS or DMD) light modulators.
The apparatus with the multiple-diffuser option can be made by using two (or more) diffusive films that are spaced ˜8 mm apart in the illumination path of our near eye display. They are located between the source LED (which is RGB) and the collimation optics which are used to shape the light. These films take the coherent colored light from the LEDs and break up the coherence and thoroughly mix the light for natural illumination.
The test results show a much more comfortable image is achieved with better color uniformity while using multiple diffusers. This was tested in the same near-eye display system and was compared to the use of a single film and no film at all. A third and fourth film were also added and tested, but the real performance benefits were achieved when a second film was added with space between it and the first film.
The system 100 can be described in terms of assemblies of components that perform various functions in support of the operation of the system 100.
A. Illumination Assembly
An illumination assembly 200 performs the function of supplying light 800 to the system 100 so that an image 880 can be displayed. As illustrated in
B. Imaging Assembly
An imaging assembly 300 performs the function of creating the image 880 from the light 800 supplied by the illumination assembly 200. As illustrated in
Imaging assemblies 300 can vary significantly based on the type of technology used to create the image. Display technologies such as DLP (digital light processing), LCD (liquid-crystal display), LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon), and other methodologies can involve substantially different components in the imaging assembly 300. Nonetheless, such a diversity of imaging components can benefit from the diffuser subassembly 280 comprised of two or more diffusers 282 and one or more gaps 290.
A light modulator 320 is the device that modifies or alters the light 800, creating the image 880 that is to be displayed. Modulators 320 can operate using a variety of different attributes of the modulator 320. A reflection-based modulator 322 uses the reflective-attributes of the modulator 320 to fashion an image 880 from the supplied light 800. Examples of reflection-based modulators 322 include but are not limited to the DMD 324 of a DLP display and some LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) panels 340. A transmissive-based modulator 321 uses the transmissive-attributes of the modulator 320 to fashion an image 880 from the supplied light 800. Examples of transmissive-based modulators 321 include but are not limited to the LCD (liquid crystal display) 330 of an LCD display and some LCOS panels 340. The imaging assembly 300 for an LCOS or LCD system 100 will typically have a combiner cube 350 or some similar device for integrating the different one-color images into a single image 880.
The imaging assembly 300 can also include a wide variety of supporting components 150.
C. Projection Assembly
As illustrated in
The projection assembly 400 can also include a variety of supporting components 150 as discussed below.
D. Supporting Components
Light 800 can be a challenging resource to manage. Light 800 moves quickly and cannot be constrained in the same way that most inputs or raw materials can be.
E. Process Flow View
The system 100 can be described as the interconnected functionality of an illumination assembly 200, an imaging assembly 300, and a projection assembly 400. The system 100 can also be described in terms of a method 900 that includes an illumination process 910, an imaging process 920, and a projection process 930.
The system 100 can be implemented with respect to a wide variety of different display technologies, including but not limited to DLP, LCD, and LCOS.
A. DLP Embodiments
As discussed above, the illumination assembly 200 includes a light source 210 and multiple diffusers 282. The light 800 then passes to the imaging assembly 300. Two TIR prisms 311 direct the light 800 to the DMD 314, the DMD 314 creates an image 880 with that light 800, and the TIR prisms 311 then direct the light 800 embodying the image 880 to the display 410 where it can be enjoyed by one or more users 90.
B. LCD Embodiments
The illumination assembly 200 in an LCD system 142 typically include a variety of dichroic mirrors 152 that separate light 800 into three component colors, typically red, green, and blue—the same colors on many color wheels 240 found in a DLP application.
The LCDs 330 form single color images which are combined into a multi-color image 880 by a dichroic combiner cube 320 or some similar device.
C. LCOS Embodiments
The system 100 can be implemented in a wide variety of different configurations and scales of operation. However, the original inspiration for the conception of the multiple diffuser concept occurred in the context of a VRD visor system 106 embodied as a VRD visor apparatus 116. A VRD visor apparatus 116 projects the image 880 directly onto the eyes of the user 90. The VRD visor apparatus 116 is a device that can be worn on the head of the user 90. In many embodiments, the VRD visor apparatus 116 can include sound as well as visual capabilities. Such embodiments can include multiple modes of operation, such as visual only, audio only, and audio-visual modes. When used in a non-visual mode, the VRD apparatus 116 can be configured to look like ordinary headphones.
A 3 LED light source 213 generates partially coherent light 803 that passes through two film diffusers 283. A condensing lens 160 directs the non-coherent light 808 to a mirror 151 which reflects the non-coherent light 808 to a shaping lens 160 prior to the entry of the light 800 into an imaging assembly 300 comprised of two TIR prisms 311 and a DMD 314. The interim image 850 from the imaging assembly 300 passes through another lens 160 that focuses the interim image 850 into a final image 880 that is viewable to the user 90 through the eyepiece 416.
No patent application can expressly disclose in words or in drawings, all of the potential embodiments of an invention. Variations of known equivalents are implicitly included. In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principles, functions, and modes of operation of the systems 100, methods 900, and apparatuses 110 (collectively the “system” 100) are explained and illustrated in certain preferred embodiments. However, it must be understood that the inventive systems 100 may be practiced otherwise than is specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.
The description of the system 100 provided above and below should be understood to include all novel and non-obvious alternative combinations of the elements described herein, and claims may be presented in this or a later application to any novel non-obvious combination of these elements. Moreover, the foregoing embodiments are illustrative, and no single feature or element is essential to all possible combinations that may be claimed in this or a later application.
The system 100 represents a substantial improvement over prior art display technologies. Just as there are a wide range of prior art display technologies, the system 100 can be similarly implemented in a wide range of different ways. The innovation of utilizing two diffusers 282 separated by a gap 290 can be implemented at a variety of different scales, utilizing a variety of different display technologies, in both immersive and augmenting contexts, and in both one-way (no sensor feedback from the user 90) and two-way (sensor feedback from the user 90) embodiments.
A. Variations of Scale
Display devices can be implemented in a wide variety of different scales. The monster scoreboard at EverBanks Field (home of the Jacksonville Jaguars) is a display system that is 60 feet high, 362 feet long, and comprised of 35.5 million LED bulbs. The scoreboard is intended to be viewed simultaneously by tens of thousands of people. At the other end of the spectrum, the GLYPH™ visor by Avegant Corporation is a device that is worn on the head of a user and projects visual images directly in the eyes of a single viewer. Between those edges of the continuum are a wide variety of different display systems.
The system 100 displays visual images 808 to users 90 with enhanced light with reduced coherence. The system 100 can be potentially implemented in a wide variety of different scales.
1. Large Systems
A large system 101 is intended for use by more than one simultaneous user 90. Examples of large systems 101 include movie theater projectors, large screen TVs in a bar, restaurant, or household, and other similar displays. Large systems 101 include a subcategory of giant systems 102, such as stadium scoreboards 102a, the Time Square displays 102b, or other or the large outdoor displays such as billboards off the expressway.
2. Personal Systems
A personal system 103 is an embodiment of the system 100 that is designed to for viewing by a single user 90. Examples of personal systems 103 include desktop monitors 103a, portable TVs 103b, laptop monitors 103c, and other similar devices. The category of personal systems 103 also includes the subcategory of near-eye systems 104.
a. Near-Eye Systems
A near-eye system 104 is a subcategory of personal systems 103 where the eyes of the user 90 are within about 12 inches of the display. Near-eye systems 104 include tablet computers 104a, smart phones 104b, and eye-piece applications 104c such as cameras, microscopes, and other similar devices. The subcategory of near-eye systems 104 includes a subcategory of visor systems 105.
b. Visor Systems
A visor system 105 is a subcategory of near-eye systems 104 where the portion of the system 100 that displays the visual image 200 is actually worn on the head 94 of the user 90. Examples of such systems 105 include virtual reality visors, Google Glass, and other conventional head-mounted displays 105a. The category of visor systems 105 includes the subcategory of VRD visor systems 106.
c. VRD Visor Systems
A VRD visor system 106 is an implementation of a visor system 105 where visual images 200 are projected directly on the eyes of the user. The technology of projecting images directly on the eyes of the viewer is disclosed in a published patent application titled “IMAGE GENERATION SYSTEMS AND IMAGE GENERATING METHODS” (U.S. Ser. No. 13/367,261) that was filed on Feb. 6, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. It is anticipated that a VRD visor system 106 is particularly well suited for the implementation of the multiple diffuser 140 approach for reducing the coherence of light 210.
3. Integrated Apparatus
Media components tend to become compartmentalized and commoditized over time. It is possible to envision display devices where an illumination assembly 120 is only temporarily connected to a particular imaging assembly 160. However, in most embodiments, the illumination assembly 120 and the imaging assembly 160 of the system 100 will be permanently (at least from the practical standpoint of users 90) into a single integrated apparatus 110.
B. Different Categories of Display Technology
The prior art includes a variety of different display technologies, including but not limited to DLP (digital light processing), LCD (liquid crystal displays), and LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon).
C. Immersion Vs. Augmentation
Some embodiments of the system 100 can be configured to operate either in immersion mode or augmentation mode, at the discretion of the user 90. While other embodiments of the system 100 may possess only a single operating mode 120.
D. Display Only Vs. Display/Detect/Track/Monitor
Some embodiments of the system 100 will be configured only for a one-way transmission of optical information. Other embodiments can provide for capturing information from the user 90 as visual images 880 and potentially other aspects of a media experience are made accessible to the user 90.
E. Media Players—Integrated Vs. Separate
Display devices are sometimes integrated with a media player. In other instances, a media player is totally separate from the display device. By way of example, a laptop computer can include in a single integrated device, a screen for displaying a movie, speakers for projecting the sound that accompanies the video images, a DVD or BLU-RAY player for playing the source media off a disk. Such a device is also capable of streaming
F. Users—Viewers Vs. Operators
G. Attributes of Media Content
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
This utility patent application both (i) claims priority to and (ii) incorporates by reference in its entirety, the provisional patent application titled “NEAR-EYE DISPLAY APPARATUS AND METHOD” (Ser. No. 61/924,209) that was filed on Jan. 6, 2014.
