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Virtual retinal display
| Details |
Inventors: Furness, III, Thomas Adrian; Kollin, Joel S.;
Assignee: Board of Regents of the University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
Primary Examiner: Brier; Jeffery
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.
A virtual retinal display utilizes photon generation and manipulation to create a panoramic, high resolution, color virtual image that is projected directly onto the retina of the eye without creating a real or an aerial image that is viewed via a mirror or optics. The virtual retinal display includes a source of photons, the photons being modulated with video information and scanned in a raster type of pattern directly onto the retina of the user's eye. The photon generator may utilize coherent or non-coherent light. Further, the photon generator may utilize color light generators so as to scan a colored virtual image directly onto the retina of the user's eye. The virtual retinal display may also include a depth accommodation cue to vary the focus of scanned photons rapidly so as to control the depth perceived by a user for each individual picture element of the virtual image. Further, an eye tracking system may be utilized to sense the position of an entrance pupil of the user's eye, the detected pupil position being utilized to move the scanned photons so as to be approximately coincident with the entrance pupil of the eye. The detected pupil position may also be used to change the video image scanned onto the retina so that as the user's eye moves, the view perceived by the user changes. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION We claim: 1.
An apparatus for displaying an image directly on the retina of an eye comprising: a light source; a source of video signals; an optical modulator for modulating light from said light source with a video signal form said video signal source; a scanner system for horizontally and vertically scanning the video modulated light; a depth signal generator; a variable focus optical element responsive to said depth signal to vary the focus of the scanned light; and optics for projecting said scanned light onto an eye of a user.
Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention is directed to a virtual image display System and more particularly to a virtual retinal display wherein photons modulated with video information are projected directly onto the retina of the eye to produce a virtual image without a perceivable aerial image outside of the user's eye.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With known virtual image displays, a user does not view directly a physical display screen such as with real image displays.
Typically, the virtual display creates only a small physical image using a liquid crystal array, light emitting diodes or a miniature cathode ray tube, CRT, the image being projected by optical lenses and mirrors so that the image appears to be a large picture suspended in the world.
A miniature cathode ray tube can produce a medium resolution monochrome picture.
However, these devices are heavy and bulky.
For example, a typical weight of a miniature CRT with cables is greater than four ounces, the CRT having a one inch diameter and a four inch length.
Further, these devices have high voltage acceleration potential, typically 7-13 kilovolts which is undesirably high for a display that is mounted on a user's head.
Creating color using a single miniature CRT is difficult and usually causes significant compromises in image resolution and luminance.
Although the CRT image may be relayed via a coherent fiber-optics bundle to allow the CRT to be located away from head mounted optics, the hardware to accomplish this is also heavy and causes significant light loss
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Optical Systems 
