IP Library Granted Patent US 11,209,650
Granted Patent B1
US 11,209,650 · App. 16/123,887 · Granted Dec 28, 2021

Waveguide based display with multiple coupling elements for artificial reality

Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail (Bothell, WA)
Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
G02B27/0172G02B6/005G02B6/0023G02B6/0076G02B2027/0123G02B2027/0178
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,209,650
App. No.
16/123,887
Granted
Dec 28, 2021
Kind
B1
Abstract

By tiling multiple waveguide displays in an artificial-reality system, and/or using multiple projectors per waveguide display, a large field of view for the artificial-reality system can be achieved using waveguide displays. By using waveguide displays, a form factor for a virtual-reality system can be reduced compared to conventional virtual-reality systems.

Claims (66)

1. A system comprising:

a first projector configured to generate light to produce a first image of a first field of view;

a second projector configured to generate light to produce a second image of a second field of view; and

a waveguide, configured to:

couple light of the first image into the waveguide;

couple light of the second image into the waveguide; and

couple light of the first image and light of the second image out of the waveguide as a single image of a combined field of view to one eye of a user of the system,

wherein:

the waveguide comprises a decoupling element;

the light of the first image is coupled out of the waveguide at a first region of the decoupling element; and

the light of the second image is coupled out of the waveguide at a second region of the decoupling element.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide is configured to expand the first image and the second image to cover a defined eyebox region.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a second waveguide configured to couple light from the first projector into the second waveguide.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a first input coupler configured to couple light of the first image into the waveguide; and

a second input coupler configured to couple light of the second image into the waveguide, wherein the first input coupler is separate from the second input coupler.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide is a first waveguide and the system further comprises:

a third projector configured to generate light to produce a third image;

a fourth projector configured to generate light to produce a fourth image; and

a second waveguide, configured to:

couple light of the third image into the second waveguide;

couple light of the fourth image into the second waveguide; and

couple light of the third image and light of the fourth image out of the second waveguide as the single image, along with the light of the first image and light of the second image, to the user of the system.

6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising an optic between the first waveguide and the second waveguide to produce the single image with elements having different focal lengths.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein:

the first waveguide is separated from and partially overlapping with the second waveguide to increase a field of view of the single image presented to the user;

the system further comprises an optic between the eye of the user and the first waveguide; and

the optic is between the eye of the user and the second waveguide.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a third projector configured to generate light to produce a third image; and

a fourth projector configured to generate light to produce a fourth image, and the waveguide is configured to:

couple light of the third image into the waveguide; and

couple light of the fourth image into the waveguide.

9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising three to twelve projectors, and the waveguide is configured to couple light from the three to twelve projectors into the waveguide.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide is part of a head-mounted display.

11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a variable attenuator configured to block light at one time and pass light at another time.

12. A method comprising:

generating first image light for a first field of view using a first projector;

generating second image light for a second field of view using a second projector;

coupling the first image light into a waveguide;

coupling the second image light into the waveguide; and

coupling the first image light and the second image light out of the waveguide as a single image for a combined field of view to one eye of a user,

wherein:

the waveguide comprises a decoupling element;

the first image light is coupled out of the waveguide at a first region of the decoupling element; and

the second image light is coupled out of the waveguide at a second region of the decoupling element.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the single image has a field of view equal to or greater than 100 degrees and equal to or less than 240 degrees.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first image light is coupled into the waveguide using a first input coupler and the second image light is coupled into the waveguide using a second input coupler.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

generating third image light using a third projector; and

coupling the third image light into the waveguide; and

coupling the third image light out of the waveguide as the single image with the first image light and the second image light to the eye of the user.

16. A system comprising:

a projector configured to produce light, wherein light is projected in a first field of view;

a first waveguide configured to couple a first portion of light from the projector into the first waveguide, wherein the first portion of light corresponds to a first portion of the first field of view;

a second waveguide configured to couple a second portion of light from the projector into the second waveguide, wherein the second portion of light corresponds to a second portion of the first field of view;

a first decoupling element configured to output light from the first waveguide; and

a second decoupling element configured to output light from the second waveguide,

wherein the light outputted from the second waveguide and the light outputted from the first waveguide produce a single image to one eye of a user of the system, wherein the single image has a second field of view greater than the first portion of the first field of view or the second portion of the first field of view.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein:

the second field of view is equal to or greater than the first field of view; or

the second field of view is equal to the first field of view, plus or minus 10% of the first field of view.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the first field of view has an angle range greater than an angle range of light that can be coupled into the first waveguide or the second waveguide.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein:

the projector is a first projector and the system further comprises a second projector configured to generate light; and

the first waveguide is configured to couple light from the second projector into the first waveguide.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded May 19, 2022
From: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
To: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Reel/Frame 060130/0404 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 22, 2018
From: TRAIL, NICHOLAS DANIEL
To: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Reel/Frame 047260/0032 →
Cited By (6)
US 12,228,739 US 12,282,170 US 12,298,506 US 12,360,378 US 12,393,036 US 12,517,365