U.S. patent application number 12/045987 was filed with the patent office on 2009-09-17 for eyebox shaping through virtual vignetting.
This patent application is currently assigned to MICROVISION, INC.. Invention is credited to Karlton D. Powell.
Application Number | 20090231719 12/045987 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41058825 |
Filed Date | 2009-09-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090231719 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Powell; Karlton D. |
September 17, 2009 |
Eyebox Shaping Through Virtual Vignetting
Abstract
Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, a
compressed microlens array comprises an array of lenslets arranged
in the array to have the lenslet centers spaced apart at a first
distance in a first direction and to have the lenslet centers
spaced apart at a second distance in a second direction such that
the first direction is greater than the second direction. A raster
scan of an image projected onto the array of lenslets results in
the image being displayed in an eyebox having an aspect ratio
having a length in the first direction being longer than a length
in second direction via virtual vignetting of the diffraction
patterns resulting from the raster scan.
Inventors: |
Powell; Karlton D.; (Lake
Stevens, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MICROVISION, INC.
6222 185TH AVENUE NE
REDMOND
WA
98052
US
|
Assignee: |
MICROVISION, INC.
Redmond
WA
|
Family ID: |
41058825 |
Appl. No.: |
12/045987 |
Filed: |
March 11, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
359/630 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B 27/0961 20130101;
G02B 27/0101 20130101; G02B 2027/0123 20130101; G02B 3/0006
20130101; G02B 27/0927 20130101; G02B 26/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
359/630 |
International
Class: |
G02B 27/14 20060101
G02B027/14 |
Claims
1. A compressed microlens array, comprising: an array of lenslets,
the lenslets having a lenslet center; the lenslets being arranged
in the array to have the lenslet centers spaced apart at a first
distance in a first direction and to have the lenslet centers
spaced apart at a second distance in a second direction, the first
direction being greater than the second direction; wherein a raster
scan of an image projected onto the array of lenslets results in
the image being displayed in an eyebox having an aspect ratio
having a length in the first direction being longer than a length
in second direction via virtual vignetting of the diffraction
patterns resulting from the raster scan.
2. A compressed microlens array as claimed in claim 1, the first
direction being generally orthogonal to the second direction.
3. A compressed microlens array as claimed in claim 1, the lenslets
being capable of providing an effective shaping aperture for an
input beam utilized to generate the raster scan.
4. A compressed microlens array as claimed in claim 1, the lenslets
having a shape selected to provide a corresponding shape to the
eyebox.
5. A compressed microlens array as claimed in claim 1, the lenslets
having a shape being generally compressed in the second direction
with respect to the first direction.
6. A compressed microlens array as claimed in claim 1, the lenslets
generally having one or more of the following shapes: ellipse,
rectangle, hexagon, rotated hexagon, octagon, or combinations
thereof.
7. An exit pupil expander, comprising: a compressed microlens
array, the compressed microlens array comprising: an array of
lenslets, the lenslets having a lenslet center; the lenslets being
arranged in the array to have the lenslet centers spaced apart at a
first distance in a first direction and to have the lenslet centers
spaced apart at a second distance in a second direction, the first
direction being greater than the second direction; wherein a raster
scan of an image projected onto the array of lenslets results in
the image being displayed in an eyebox having an aspect ratio
having a length in the first direction being longer than a length
in second direction via virtual vignetting of the diffraction
patterns resulting from the raster scan.
8. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 7, the first
direction being generally orthogonal to the second direction.
9. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 7, the lenslets being
capable of providing an effective shaping aperture for an input
beam utilized to generate the raster scan.
10. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 7, the lenslets
having a shape selected to provide a corresponding shape to the
eyebox.
11. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 7, the lenslets
having a shape being generally compressed in the second direction
with respect to the first direction.
12. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 7, the lenslets
generally having one or more of the following shapes: square,
ellipse, rectangle, hexagon, rotated hexagon, octagon, or
combinations thereof.
13. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 7, further
comprising an additional compressed microlens array such that exit
pupil expander comprises a dual microlens array exit pupil
expander.
14. A scanned beam display, comprising: a light source capable of
emitting a beam of light; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)
scanner capable of generating a raster scan of an image by
reflecting the beam of light emitted from the light source as the
raster scan; and an exit pupil expander being capable of projecting
the image into an eyebox in response to the raster scan being
scanned on the exit pupil expander with the MEMS scanner, the exit
pupil expander comprising a compressed microlens array, the
compressed microlens array comprising: an array of lenslets, the
lenslets having a lenslet center; the lenslets being arranged in
the array to have the lenslet centers spaced apart at a first
distance in a first direction and to have the lenslet centers
spaced apart at a second distance in a second direction, the first
direction being greater than the second direction; wherein the
raster scan of the image projected onto the array of lenslets
results in the image being displayed in the eyebox having an aspect
ratio having a length in the first direction being longer than a
length in second direction via virtual vignetting of the
diffraction patterns resulting from the raster scan.
15. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, the first
direction being generally orthogonal to the second direction.
16. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, the lenslets
being capable of providing an effective shaping aperture for an
input beam utilized to generate the raster scan.
17. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, the lenslets
having a shape selected to provide a corresponding shape to the
eyebox.
18. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, the lenslets
having a shape being generally compressed in the second direction
with respect to the first direction.
19. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, the lenslets
generally having one or more of the following shapes: square,
ellipse, rectangle, hexagon, rotated hexagon, octagon, or
combinations thereof.
20. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, further
comprising an additional compressed microlens array such that exit
pupil expander comprises a dual microlens array exit pupil
expander.
21. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, further
comprising: beam shaping optics being capable of shaping the beam
of light emitted from the light source, wherein the beam shaping
optics do not require a circularizer to circularize the light
beam.
22. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, wherein the beam
of light emitted from the light source has an elliptical cross
section, wherein the elliptical cross section of the beam of light
is generally aligned with a shape of the lenslets to provide a
higher fill factor in the lenslets.
23. A scanned beam display as claimed in claim 14, further
comprising: beam shaping optics being capable of shaping the beam
of light emitted from the light source, the beam shaping optics
comprising a top-hat converter element having a shape or an aspect
ratio, or combinations thereof, approximately equal to a desired
shape or aspect ratio, or combinations thereof, of the eyebox.
24. A vehicle, comprising: a windshield; and a scanned beam display
capable of projecting in an eyebox being viewable by a viewer in
the vehicle by looking through the windshield, the scanned beam
display comprising: a light source capable of emitting a beam of
light; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner capable of
generating a raster scan of an image by reflecting the beam of
light emitted from the light source as the raster scan; and an exit
pupil expander being capable of expanding pixel energy within the
image into an eyebox in response to the raster scan being scanned
on the exit pupil expander with the MEMS scanner, the exit pupil
expander comprising a compressed microlens array, the compressed
microlens array comprising: an array of lenslets, the lenslets
having a lenslet center; the lenslets being arranged in the array
to have the lenslet centers spaced apart at a first distance in a
first direction and to have the lenslet centers spaced apart at a
second distance in a second direction, the first direction being
greater than the second direction; wherein the raster scan of the
image projected onto the array of lenslets results in the image
being displayed in the eyebox having an aspect ratio having a
length in the first direction being longer than a length in second
direction via virtual vignetting of the diffraction patterns
resulting from the raster scan.
25. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, the first direction being
generally orthogonal to the second direction.
26. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, the lenslets being capable of
providing an effective shaping aperture for an input beam utilized
to generate the raster scan.
27. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, the lenslets having a shape
selected to provide a corresponding shape to the eyebox.
28. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, the lenslets having a shape
being generally compressed in the second direction with respect to
the first direction.
29. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, the lenslets generally having
one or more of the following shapes: square, ellipse, rectangle,
hexagon, rotated hexagon, octagon, or combinations thereof.
30. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, further comprising an
additional compressed microlens array such that exit pupil expander
comprises a dual microlens array exit pupil expander.
31. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, further comprising: beam
shaping optics being capable of shaping the beam of light emitted
from the light source, wherein the beam shaping optics do not
require a circularizer to circularize the light beam.
32. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, wherein the beam of light
emitted from the light source has an elliptical cross section,
wherein the elliptical cross section of the beam of light is
generally aligned with a shape of the lenslets to provide a higher
fill factor in the lenslets.
33. A vehicle as claimed in claim 24, further comprising: beam
shaping optics being capable of shaping the beam of light emitted
from the light source, the beam shaping optics comprising a top-hat
converter element having a shape or an aspect ratio, or
combinations thereof, approximately equal to a desired shape or
aspect ratio, or combinations thereof, of the eyebox.
34. An exit pupil expander, comprising: a first a compressed
microlens array, the first compressed microlens array comprising a
first array of lenslets having a lenslet center being arranged to
have the lenslet centers in the first array spaced apart at a first
pitch; and a second compressed microlens array, the second
compressed microlens array comprising a second array of lenslets
having a lenslet center being arranged to have the lenslet centers
in the second array spaced apart at a second pitch, wherein the
first pitch is different than the second pitch; wherein a raster
scan of an image projected onto the first compressed microlens
array and the second compressed microlens array results in the
image being displayed in an eyebox having an aspect ratio having a
length in the first direction being longer than a length in second
direction via virtual vignetting of the diffraction patterns
resulting from the raster scan.
35. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 34, the lenslets of
the first compressed micro lens array or the second compressed
microlens array, or combinations thereof, being capable of
providing an effective shaping aperture for an input beam utilized
to generate the raster scan.
36. An exit pupil expander as claimed in claim 34, the lenslets
having a shape selected to provide a corresponding shape to the
eyebox.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] In a head-up display (HUD), an image is projected into an
eyebox region such that the viewer is able to view the displayed
image when the viewer's eyes are positioned within the eyebox, and
is unable to view the displayed image when the viewer's eyes are
not positioned within the eyebox. In general, the inpterpupilary
distance (IPD), the distance between the pupils of the eyes, tends
towards a desire to make the eyebox wider than it is tall so as to
provide better viewability of the displayed image. The concept of
providing an eyebox with a wider angle viewing aspect ratio may be
applicable to scanned beam displays where the viewer's head is free
to move relative to the image displayed in the eyebox. For example,
it may be desirable to provide a display system where the eyebox
has an aspect ratio on the order of 2:1 or so, and/or which may be
based on, for example, the number of pixels in the displayed image
such as 800 by 600, a 16 by 9 aspect ratio, and so on.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0002] Claimed subject matter is particularly pointed out and
distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification.
However, such subject matter may be understood by reference to the
following detailed description when read with the accompanying
drawings in which:
[0003] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a scanned beam display capable of
providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance with one or
more embodiments;
[0004] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a compressed microlens array having
respective square and rectangular lenslets for a scanned beam
display capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in
accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0005] FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams of alternative compressed
microlens array having compressed hexagonal lenslets as shown in
FIG. 3A and non-compressed hexagonal lenslets as shown in FIG. 3B
for a scanned beam display capable of providing a desired aspect
ratio in accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0006] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example time-averaged diffraction
envelope resulting from a beamlet beam profile scanned across a
displayed image having a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance
with one or more embodiments;
[0007] FIG. 5 is a diagram of an optical system for a scanned beam
display system capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio
in accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0008] FIG. 6 is a profile view of a compressed microlens array for
a scanned beam display system comprising an array of compressed
lenslets for a scanned beam display system capable of providing a
desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance with one or more
embodiments;
[0009] FIG. 7 is a profile view of a compressed dual microlens
array for a scanned beam display system comprising an array of
compressed lenslets for a scanned beam display system capable of
providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance with one or
more embodiments; and
[0010] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a vehicle having a head-up display
comprising a scanned beam display and a compressed microlens array
capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance
with one or more embodiments.
[0011] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of
illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not
necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of
some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements
for clarity. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals
have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding
and/or analogous elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] In the following detailed description, numerous specific
details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of
claimed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that claimed subject matter may be practiced
without these specific details. In other instances, well-known
methods, procedures, components and/or circuits have not been
described in detail.
[0013] In the following description and/or claims, the terms
coupled and/or connected, along with their derivatives, may be
used. In particular embodiments, connected may be used to indicate
that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical
contact with each other. Coupled may mean that two or more elements
are in direct physical and/or electrical contact. However, coupled
may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct
contact with each other, but yet may still cooperate and/or
interact with each other. For example, "coupled" may mean that two
or more elements do not contact each other but are indirectly
joined together via another element or intermediate elements.
Finally, the terms "on," "overlying," and "over" may be used in the
following description and claims. "On," "overlying," and "over" may
be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct
physical contact with each other. However, "over" may also mean
that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each
other. For example, "over" may mean that one element is above
another element but not contact each other and may have another
element or elements in between the two elements. Furthermore, the
term "and/or" may mean "and", it may mean "or", it may mean
"exclusive-or", it may mean "one", it may mean "some, but not all",
it may mean "neither", and/or it may mean "both", although the
scope of claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. In
the following description and/or claims, the terms "comprise" and
"include," along with their derivatives, may be used and are
intended as synonyms for each other.
[0014] Referring now to FIG. 1, a diagram of a scanned beam display
capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance
with one or more embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG. 1,
a typical scanned beam display 100 may comprise a laser source 110
capable of emitting a laser beam 114 to be scanned into a displayed
image by a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based scanner 116.
Laser source 110 may comprise, for example, a vertical-cavity
surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) or the like. MEMS scanner 116 may
comprise one or more mirrors disposed on a platform capable of
moving in response to an applied voltage to reflect laser beam 114
into a predetermined raster scan 118. In one or more embodiments,
scanned beam display 100 may further include beam shaping optics
112 to shape the laser beam 114 emitted by laser source 110. For
example, the shape of the laser beam 114 emitted from laser source
110 may be generally elliptical in shape, and beam shaping optics
112 may comprise a circularizer for causing the beam profile 112 to
be generally circular in shape after being circularized by beam
shaping optics 112. Likewise, beam shaping optics 112 may comprise
a top hat lens to cause the profile of the beam, emitted by laser
source 110 to be generally flattened in shape from a natural
Gaussian type profile as emitted from a typical laser source 110
although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in
this respect. In one or more embodiments, other various beam
profiles may be utilized, for example an apodized sinc function
and/or other arbitrary beam profiles as long as the appropriate
size and clipping aperture are determined for best uniformity
across eyebox 126, while maintaining minimized raster ripple.
Although a Gaussian beam profile may provide system simplicity,
using an apodized sinc may enhance the modulation transfer function
(MTF) of scanned beam display 100, although the scope of the
claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.
[0015] In one or more embodiments, the laser beam 114 is reflected
by MEMS scanner 116 to generate a raster scan 118 projected onto an
exit pupil expander (EPE) 120. The maximum total beam deflection
angle capable of being produced by MEMS scanner 116 may be referred
to as .theta.. Where MEMS scanner 116 has a scan mirror size of D,
which may also refer to the clipping aperture, for a given image
size of L, the relationship of .theta. to the input numerical
aperture NA.sub.IN at MEMS scanner 116 may be givens as:
2LNA.sub.IN=D.theta.
[0016] In one or more embodiments, exit pupil expander 120 may
comprise an array of lenses, for example a microlens array (MLA).
In one embodiment, the array may comprise any element or cell
having a particular transfer function, and is not limited to a
microlens array. Likewise, EPE 120 may comprise a dual MLA formed
by two adjacent MLAs. In one or more embodiments, the array may
comprise a periodic array of elements or cells, also referred to as
lenslets, and in one or more alternative embodiments the array may
comprise multiple elements that monotonically increase or decrease
in spacing across the array, and or otherwise smoothly vary in
spacing across the array, along any dimension of the array, and the
scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.
When the reflected beam raster 118 is scanned across exit pupil
expander 120, the image to be displayed from exit pupil expander
120 may be relayed by the projection optics 122 to form a viewing
eyebox, or exit pupil, such that the image to be displayed appears
at a distance, typically 2-3 meters for a head-up display (HUD),
away from the location of the viewer's eye 128. In some
embodiments, exit pupil expander 120 and/or projection optics 122
may be located at or near the vicinity of MEMS scanner 116, such as
where scanned beam display 100 comprises a head-up display (HUD) in
a vehicle or the like, for example where the image is reflected off
the windshield of the vehicle and back to the viewer's eye 128. In
some particular embodiments, exit pupil expander 120 may be
disposed in, on, or near the windshield. In one or more alternative
embodiments, one or more of exit pupil expander 120 and/or
projection optics 122 may be disposed near the viewer's eye 128,
for example where projection optics 122 comprises an ocular at or
near the viewer's eye, such as suspended by a head band worn by the
viewer, and/or disposed in a visor of a head band or helmet worn by
the viewer. However, these are merely example arrangements of exit
pupil expander 120 and projection optics 122, and the scope of the
claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.
[0017] Exit pupil expander 120 is capable of expanding, or
converting, the numerical aperture (NA) from the numerical aperture
input at MEMS scanner 116. In such embodiments, exit pupil expander
120 may provide NA conversion at an intermediate image plane to
achieve a larger exit pupil. As shown in FIG. 1, the full exit cone
angle due to the expanded NA output 124 of exit pupil expander can
be represented by approximately twice the output NA (2NA.sub.OUT).
The size, L, of the image at exit pupil expander 120 is equal to
the product of image resolution and pixel size. The expanded NA
output 124 is relayed by projection optics 122 to result in an
eyebox 126 in which the projected image is capable of being viewed
by the viewer's eye 128, so that the projected image is generally
viewable when the viewer's eye 128 is located within eyebox 126,
and is generally not viewable when the viewer's eye 128 is located
outside of eyebox 126. While the viewer's eye 128 is located within
the eyebox 126, the viewer is capable of viewing the image in a
field of view (FOV) 130 defined by, among other things, the
projection optics 122. The relationship between the output
numerical aperture, exit pupil diameter (EP) and the field of view
is defined as:
LNA.sub.OUT=EPsin(FOV/2)
[0018] The image is generally viewed by the viewer as a planar
image based on a diffraction pattern 132 of beamlets generated by
raster scan 118 on exit pupil expander 120. The resulting
diffraction pattern 132 may be based at least in part on the
characteristics the beam profile of laser beam 114, the scanning
capabilities and addressability of MEMS scanner 116, the
characteristics of exit pupil expander 120 and the relationships
between exit pupil expander 120 and raster scan 118 impinging on
the lenses of exit pupil expander 120, for example beam spot size,
Fill Factor, and so on, although the scope of the claimed subject
matter is not limited in these respects. In one or more
embodiments, scanned beam display 100 may be configured to operate
where the beam profile of laser beam 114 is generally Gaussian in
shape, which may be a natural beam profile of the laser beam 114
generated by laser source 110. In such a configuration, beam
shaping optics 112 may not require a top hat lens to shape the beam
profile of the emitted laser beam 114. In one or more embodiments,
a near field 134 region of the scanned beam display 100 may be
defined as the optical pathway in the region comprising exit pupil
expander 120, which can be considered located at a conjugate image
plane of the source, and a far field 136 may be defined as a region
defined by eyebox 126, where field of view 130 formed by projection
optics 122 can be seen by the viewer's eye 128, wherein eyebox 126
is typically at an image conjugate plane of MEMS scanner 116,
although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in
this respect.
[0019] In one or more embodiments, a periodic EPE 120 may be
utilized in scanned beam display 100 to result in constant beamlet
spacing, however the transmission function of a given lens cell, or
lenslet, of EPE 120 determines the resulting diffraction envelope
132 due to the cell and thus the level of beamlet-to-beamlet
uniformity. Note that diffraction pattern and diffraction envelope
have been used interchangeably herein. In some instances, the
diffraction envelope may result from a single cell transmission
function, while the interference of overlapping diffraction
envelopes coming from neighboring cells gives rise to
interferences, thus forming the diffraction orders, or beamlets.
For diffraction patterns containing many beamlets, the diffraction
envelope can be approximately visualized by drawing an envelope
through the peaks of all beamlets. Where scanned beam display 100
is designed to allow the viewer's head to move freely within the
eyebox 126, the relationship between the input beam profile and
shape characteristics and the transmission function of EPE 120 is
taken into account in order to achieve a display without
significant visible coherent artifacts. A periodic EPE 120 may be
utilized in scanned beam display 100 to achieve such a higher level
of beamlet-to-beamlet uniformity. While a periodic EPE 120 array is
capable of eliminating random speckle artifacts, periodic beamlet
diffraction pattern 132 at the eyebox 126 as a result of ordered
interference still may be subject to coherent artifacts such as
intensity gaps between beamlets and/or beamlet intensity overlap.
For head-free type scanned beam display 100, these coherent
artifacts may result in two undesirable visual effects: an
intensity tiling pattern, or simply tiling, that appears across the
FOV 130, but is not mapped to the FOV 130, and/or a Moire pattern
that appears across the FOV 130, caused by aliasing between the
pitch of EPE 120 and the line spacing of raster scan 118. In
general, scanned beam display 100 may be designed to minimize such
tiling and/or Moire artifacts, although the scope of the claimed
subject matter is not limited in these respects.
[0020] In one or more embodiments, once scanned beam display 100 is
configured to achieve beamlet-to-beamlet uniformity, beam controls,
may be utilized to reduce and/or limit these coherent artifacts of
tiling and/or Moire to achieve a high level of display uniformity
and image stability. Such beam controls may involve constraints on
the beam parameters and may be summarized as follows: beam shape at
the system clipping aperture, beam profile across the system
clipping aperture, and/or beam focus NA. In one or more
embodiments, the pitch of the elements EPE 120 (EPE pitch), and/or
beam wavelength may also be taken into consideration when
determining the quantities of these parameters. For instance, exit
pupil pattern uniformity may be consistent and independent of spot
position for spot sizes larger than the EPE pitch, but may be
dependent on spot position for spot sizes smaller than the EPE
pitch, or cell size. Moire can occur for the latter case since exit
pupil uniformity from a given spot location, or from a given field
point within the image, emanates a different intensity toward the
viewer's eye depending on the spot location within the illuminated
cell in EPE 120. As it typically may be undesirable to require
registration of the raster with the EPE 120 due to raster
trajectory artifacts, such as raster pinch, aliasing between the
pitch layout of EPE 120 and/or the line spacing of raster scan 118
may introduce a Moire intensity pattern across FOV 130. Where the
spot size of beam 114 is larger than the cell size of EPE 120, the
overall diffraction envelope 132 of the exit pupil pattern is
relatively stable versus spot position at the plane of EPE 120, but
intensity gaps may form between beamlets within the exit pupil
pattern as the spot grows beyond the cell size. A larger spot size
can illuminate more neighboring cells in EPE 120, thereby
increasing the number of exposed equally spaced scatter centers,
each of which may be approximately collimated by projection optics
122 at very slightly different, but equally spaced angles toward
the viewer's eye 128. In an extreme case the result may be
considered similar to the N-1 extinctions formed across the
interference region of N-equally-spaced beams, forming gaps in the
areas exhibiting destructive interference. Consequently, for the
case where the spot size of laser beam 114 is larger than the cell
size of EPE 120, each resulting beamlet NA is on the order of the
input beam NA.
[0021] In one or more embodiments, a fill factor of F=1 represents
a spot formed by an NA that contains energy out to an angle that
matches the NA subtended by a single diffraction order spacing, and
thus the spacing of a single beamlet within the exit pupil.
Although fill factor is independent of beam profile of laser beam
114, a typical spot size for the case of F=1 would be on the order
of the cell size of EPE 120. Where intensity gapping occurs, a
visible intensity tiling pattern, which is a coherent artifact,
appears across FOV 130 that is not mapped to FOV 130 in angle, and
so the tiling pattern appears to move in the background of the
image upon movement of the viewer's head. The tiling pattern is
formed by intensity variation across beamlets within the exit
pupil, and which may appear to be somewhat smoothed to the viewer's
eye 128 due to integration by the eye pupil, which comprises a
convolution of the beamlet pattern with eye pupil size. As more
beamlets are captured through an eye pupil, uniformity of the image
can appear improved. However this may imply that for a given
beamlet density uniformity may improve when the brightness is
reduced so as to allow the eye pupil to increase in size.
Increasing beamlet density at the exit pupil can be achieved by
using lower angular resolution. However such a design of scanned
beam display 100 may not be acceptable for higher angular
resolution specification of scanned beam display 100. Thus, in one
or more embodiments EPE pitch may be selected based at least in
part on a desired resolution. Where scanned beam display system 100
is designed to have a higher angular resolution, laser beam 114 may
be tailored using beam controls to achieve higher uniformity with
reduced coherent artifacts. In one or more embodiments, scanned
beam display system 100 may utilize an EPE 120 comprising a
compressed microlens array capable of providing a desired eyebox
aspect ratio. Such compressed microlens arrays are shown in and
described with respect to FIGS. 2 through FIG. 7, below.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 2, a diagram of a compressed microlens
array having rectangular lenslets for a scanned beam display
capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance
with one or more embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG. 2,
an exit pupil expander 120 may comprise a microlens array 210
comprising an array of generally square shaped lenslets 214 having
centers 218 as shown. In such a microlens array 210, the vertical
distance d.sub.y between centers 218 of lenslets 214 is
approximately equal to the horizontal distance d.sub.x between
centers 218 of lenslets 214. In general, a microlens array 210
comprising an array of generally square shaped lenslets 214 may
result in a corresponding eyebox 126 having a generally square
shape 222. Such an eyebox 126 has an aspect ratio approximately
equal to one.
[0023] In order to provide an eyebox 126 having an aspect ratio
closer to a typical display, for example approximately a 2:1 aspect
ratio, an 800 by 600 pixel aspect ratio, a 16 by 9 aspect ratio,
and so on, an exit pupil expander 120 may be designed to have a
compressed microlens array 212. In one embodiment, rather than
using generally square shaped lenslets 214, compressed microlens
array 212 may comprise an array of generally rectangular shaped
lenslets 216. In such an arrangement, the vertical distance d.sub.y
between centers 220 of lenslets 216 may in general be less than the
horizontal distance d.sub.x between centers 220 of lenslets 216. In
general, a compressed microlens array 212 may result in a
corresponding eyebox 126 having a generally rectangular shape 224
in order to provide eyebox 126 with a desired aspect ratio, for
example having a width that is generally greater than its height.
Thus, in one or more embodiments, the resulting shape of eyebox 126
may be designed to have a desired aspect ratio based at least in
part on the shape of the lenslets 216 of the microlens array 212
used in EPE 120. Since the shape of the lenslets 216 is capable of
producing a desired shape and/or aspect ratio of eyebox 126, other
shapes of lenslets 216 may be utilized to provide a resulting
eyebox 126 shape, for example as shown in and described with
respect to FIG. 3, below.
[0024] In one or more embodiments, the desired shape of eyebox 126
may be based at least in part on the geometry of the lenslets 214
of microlens array 210. As will be discussed in further detail with
respect to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, below, beam spots from raster scan
118 pass through individual lenslets 210, the lenslets function as
clipping apertures to shape and quantize the beam into beam
partitions. It should be noted that beamlets appearing at the
eyebox 126 are caused by interference due to the overlap of the
envelopes formed by these beam partitions cut up into buckets of
energy at the EPE 120 as the beam from the raster scan 118 passes
through the individual lenslets 210 wherein the amount and shape of
the clipping is a function of the geometry of the lenslets 210. As
a result, when the beam partitions combine in the eyebox 126 to
form diffraction patterns, the resulting diffraction patterns
combined to form a resulting eyebox 126 shape formed from the
combination of clipped beam partitions. Thus, the desired shape of
eyebox 126 may be achieved by such vignetting of the resulting
beamlets via the clipping function of the individual lenslets when
the diffraction patterns are combined at the eyebox 126 while
maintaining high efficiency. In one or more embodiments, the term
virtual vignetting at utilized herein refers to achieving the
effects of physical vignetting for the optical system without
suffering clipping losses that may otherwise occur with physical
vignetting. The term virtual vignetting may also refer to in
general the intentional shaping of eyebox 126. Thus, the eyebox 126
may be shaped by such vignetting at the exit pupil expander 120 via
the design of the microlens array 210 or 212 (or 310 or 312) of the
EPE 120. In other words, virtual vignetting of the eyebox 126 may
be achieved by only supplying the projection relay optics 122 of
the scanned beam display 100 with the desired input acceptance cone
NA from all field points from microlens array 210 or 212 (or 310 or
312) of EPE 120, thus enabling only the intended eyebox 126 shape
and volume by design. Such an arrangement of eyebox 126 via virtual
vignetting may also reduce or eliminate swimming artifacts by
eliminating light outside the design angles of the projection relay
optics 122. It may also limit scatter and contrast loss in the
display image quality by providing the necessary effects of
physical vignetting without actually requiring clipping of the
light at some location within the display system. Thus, in one or
more embodiments, microlens array 210 or 212 (or 310 or 312) may be
compressed to have an aspect ratio generally on the order of 2:1,
although variations from a 2:1 ratio may also be provided according
to the application design, for example where the display may
comprise 800 by 600 pixels, where a 16:9 ratio is designed, and so
on, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in
this respect. In general, the aspect ratio of the eyebox 126 can be
designed independently of the FOV aspect ratio of the display. In
general, the resulting eyebox 126 may have an aspect ratio where
the horizontal dimension is longer than the vertical dimension.
Thus, microlens array 210 or 212 (or 310 or 312) may be designed to
be compressed to have such an aspect ratio where the width is
greater than its height by compressing the layout of the lenslet
centers 218 or 220 of the array. In one embodiment, lenslets 214 or
216 may have anamorphic profiles. In one or more alternative
embodiments, the focal length of the lenslets 214 or 216 may be the
same in both orthogonal horizontal and vertical directions.
Furthermore, microlens array 210 or 212 may be transmissive or
reflective and may provide non-radially symmetric exit cones 124
from EPE 120 in order to achieve the eyebox 126 to have a desired
aspect ratio, for example a 2:1 aspect ratio. Such a designed
microlens array 210 or 212 (or 310 or 312) may be referred to as a
compressed microlens array (MLA). Thus, by using a compressed MLA,
the shape of eyebox 126 maybe tailored to a desired aspect ratio
having a particular geometry, for example the shape of eyebox 126
may comprise a rectangle, a compressed hexagon, an ellipse, and so
on. For elliptical shapes, a true elliptical lenslet shape does not
pack 100% by geometry, which may also be true for other shapes as
well, however in such an embodiment the unfilled gap regions could
be masked off to actually allow the generation of a true, or nearly
true, elliptically shaped eyebox output. Examples of such
alternative shapes of eyebox 126 achieved via a compressed MLA are
shown in and described with respect to FIG. 3, below.
[0025] Referring now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, diagrams of alternative
compressed microlens arrays having hexagonal lenslets as shown in
FIG. 3A and non-compressed microlens arrays having hexagonal
lenslets as shown in FIG. B for a scanned beam display capable of
providing a desired aspect ratio in accordance with one or more
embodiments will be discussed. As an alternative to using
rectangular shaped lenslets 216 in a compressed microlens array
212, other shapes of lenslets may be utilized such as hexagonal
shaped lenslets 314 or rotated hexagonal shaped lenslets 316 as
shown in FIG. 3. For example, EPE 120 may comprise a microlens
array 310 comprising a compressed array of hexagonal shaped
lenslets 314 to result in eyebox 126 having a general compressed
hexagonal shape 318. As with the rectangular shaped lenslets 216 as
shown in FIG. 2, hexagonal shaped lenslets 314 may be compressed in
one direction with respect to another orthogonal direction to
provide a compressed hexagonal shape 318 to eyebox 126. Thus, the
vertical spacing d.sub.y between centers 322 of lenslets 314 may be
less than the horizontal spacing between centers 322 of lenslets
314 to provide a generally compressed hexagonal shape 318 to eyebox
126 such that eyebox 126 has an aspect ratio where its horizontal
width is longer than its vertical height.
[0026] Similarly, exit pupil expander 120 may comprise a compressed
microlens array 312 comprising an array of rotated hexagonal shaped
lenslets 316. The resulting eyebox 126 may then generally comprise
a generally rotated hexagonal shape 320. Likewise, the overall
aspect ratio of the resulting compressed rotated hexagonal eyebox
320 may be designed by selecting the ratio of the vertical spacing
d.sub.y between centers 324 of rotated hexagonal lenslets 316 to
the horizontal spacing d.sub.x between centers 324 of rotated
hexagonal lenslets. In general, any shape of lenslet and ratio of
vertical distance to horizontal distance between the centers of the
lenslets may be selected to result in a desired shape and/or aspect
ratio of the eyebox 126, and the scope of the claimed subject
matter is not limited to any particular lenslet shape, vertical
and/or horizontal spacing, and/or aspect ratio. For example, the
lenslets of the microlens array may comprise elliptical shaped
elements, octagonal shaped elements, and so on, and the scope of
the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. For
comparison with the compressed hexagonal arrays 310 and 312 as
shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B shows resulting eyeboxes 126 having a
non-compressed hexagonal shape 328 and a non-compressed rotated
hexagonal shape 336 from respective non-compressed hexagonal array
322 of non-compressed hexagonal lenslets 324 and non-compressed
rotated hexagonal array 330 of non-compressed rotated hexagonal
lenslets 332. In such arrangements as shown in FIG. 3B, centers 326
of lenslets 324 and/or centers 334 of lenslets 332 may be generally
equidistantly spaced with respect to the nearest neighboring
centers 326.
[0027] Referring now to FIG. 4, a diagram of an example
time-averaged diffraction envelope resulting from a beamlet beam
profile scanned across a displayed image having a desired eyebox
aspect ration in accordance with one or more embodiments will be
discussed. FIG. 4 illustrates how individual beamlets 424 having
corresponding spot profiles 410, 412, and 414 from raster scan 118
are affected by microlens array 410 of EPE 120 to form individual
diffraction patterns 416, 418, and 420 that combine in exit cone
124 into an overall diffraction pattern 132 based at least in part
on the geometry of lenslets 422 of which microlens array 410
comprises. As shown in FIG. 4, raster scan 118 may address one or
more lenslets 422 of microlens array 410 in exit pupil expander
120, for example by scanning across MLA 410 two or more scan lines
for a given lenslet 422. The beam profile of laser beam 114 used to
generate raster scan 118 may comprise, for example, a Gaussian beam
profile to generate near-Gaussian shaped spot profiles 410, 412,
and 414 for each scan line per lenslet 422. The resulting
diffraction pattern for any single one of spot profiles 410, 412,
and/or 414, when considered alone, may result in underfilling the
diffraction envelope with energy in such a way that is spot
position dependent, and as a result an aliasing, or beating
pattern, may occur between the array pitch of EPE 120 the line
spacing of raster scan 118, thereby causing Moire artifacts across
the displayed image. For example, spot profile 410 may result in a
corresponding diffraction pattern 416 which exhibits a skew in
intensity toward the lower end of diffraction pattern 132, with
less intensity toward the middle or upper end of diffraction
pattern 132. For a given eye location within the eyebox 126, this
intensity skew may result in an apparent ripple, or fringe, in the
Moire pattern in the displayed image. Likewise, spot profile 412
results in a diffraction pattern 418 having greater intensity in
the middle and less intensity in the lower or upper ends of
diffraction pattern. Similarly, spot profile 414 may result in
diffraction pattern 420 having greater intensity at the upper end
of diffraction pattern 132, and less intensity at the middle or
lower end of diffraction pattern. Thus, if Gaussian beams are used
having Fill factor greater than F=1, such that the spot profiles
formed at the raster scan 118 are smaller than the lenslet pitch,
and the addressability A=d/l.sub.s for EPE pitch d and line spacing
l.sub.s, is set to A=1, meaning on average there is only about a
single scan line per lenslet 412 in EPE 120, the resulting
diffraction pattern 132 may not be even and thereby generate Moire
artifacts in the displayed image. However, in one or more
embodiments, the spot energy may be distributed evenly within a
cell or lenslet 422 over time so that raster scan 118 may provide
more than one scan line per lenslet 422 to provide an
addressability of A>1. An addressability of A>1 may be
accomplished by providing additional addressability with MEMS
scanner 116 when defining display pixel size p on order of EPE
pitch d. By doing so, raster scan 118 will result in two or more
scan lines per lenslet 422 so that over time, individual
corresponding diffraction patterns 416, 418, and 420 resulting from
spot profiles 410, 412, and 416 will combine to result in an
overall diffraction pattern 132 that is sufficiently constant over
the entire diffraction envelope 132 to reduce or minimize the Moire
effect in the displayed image. Thus, in one or more embodiments, if
a Gaussian beam profile is utilized, Moire artifacts may be
effectively reduced or eliminated by utilizing additional
addressability of MEMS scanner 116 to cause raster scan 118 to
provide more than one scan line per lenslet 312 to have an
addressability of A>1, however the scope of the claimed subject
matter is not limited in this respect. Thus, the overall shape of
diffraction pattern 132, and thus the resulting shape of eyebox
126, may be tailored via shaping of the individual diffraction
patterns 416, 418, and 420, via shaping of the geometry of lenslets
422 of MLA 410, and/or via shaping of the beam profiles 410, 412,
and 414 as discussed with respect to FIG. 5, below.
[0028] Referring now to FIG. 5, a diagram of an optical system for
a scanned beam display system capable of providing a desired eyebox
aspect ratio in accordance with one or more embodiments will be
discussed. The basic concept of a compressed MLA solves the eyebox
shape problem to result in an eyebox 126 having a shape tailored to
a desired aspect ratio. However, if the beam shaping optics 112 of
the light source module, comprising laser source 110 and beam
shaping optics 112, include a round top-hat output optic,
efficiency may suffer. Thus, beam shaping optics 112 can be
designed such that a top-hat output correlates to the desired
aspect ratio of high Fill factor beamlets formed within eyebox 126
at the output of beam shaping optics 112 so that the efficiency
loss due to an appropriately shaped system-clipping-aperture, for
example a compressed hexagon, ellipse, or rectangle, may be
minimized. Depending on uniformity requirements, a moderate
truncation ratio can be considered for use in laser source 110 as
well as in the top-hat converter optic of beam shaping optics 112.
Beam cone NAs can be defined according to the diffraction pattern
beamlet NAs and beamlet layout within the eyebox resulting from the
interference of diffraction envelopes due to layout and shape of
lenslets 314 in order to maintain high Fill Factor F.
[0029] An example of the lenslet shape, eyebox shape, and resulting
beamlet layout is illustrated in FIG. 5. Note that the beamlet
layout can now be used to dictate a desirable system clipping
aperture and orientation which will help increase high Fill Factor
F. For example, EPE 120 may include a compressed MLA 310 as shown
in FIG. 3 comprising an array of compressed lenslets 314 generally
having a hexagonal shape. The hexagonal lenslets 414 my provide a
hexagonally shaped clipping aperture 516 which when applied to a
laser beam 114 having a circularly shaped profile may clip some of
the power of the laser beam having a circular cross section 514.
Thus, power of the laser beam 114 in its circular cross section 514
falling outside the hexagonally shaped clipping aperture 516 may be
wasted power. In one or more embodiments it may be possible to
capitalize on a dynamic Moire condition in such an arrangement in
order to reduce or minimize Moire and/or tiling artifacts. Such
embodiments would allow a spotsize in the faster scan dimension of
laser beam 114 in raster scan 118 to be reduced to less than
optimum for higher Fill Factor F while maintaining the spotsize
along the slower scan dimension. Such an arrangement would be
beneficial for efficiency since it would not be required to force
an elliptically shaped spot system clipping aperture 516, and thus
no changes in the beam shaping optics would be required. In
addition such an arrangement would also result in increased light
efficiency without the requiring an elliptically shaped clipping
aperture 516.
[0030] In one or more embodiments wherein a higher Fill Factor and
higher uniformity are provided, higher efficiency can be regained
via utilization of an elliptical top-hat output element 514 in beam
shaping optics 112, or and/or by providing an output element 514 in
beam shaping optics 112 having a shape closer to that of an ideal
clipping aperture dictated by beamlet layout within eyebox 126.
Note that when the desired aspect ratio of an eyebox 126, and thus
beamlet and clipping aperture shape, approximate that of a laser
diode in laser source 110 having and elliptical NA output aspect
ratio, it may be possible to capitalize on the resulting output
exit cone shape and therefore simplify the beam shaping optics 112
needed to achieve a higher Fill Factor F. In one or more
embodiments, the aspect ratios of the profiles 510 and/or 512 of
the laser beam 114, could be sufficiently matched with the aspect
ratio of the lenslets 314 and thus the resulting eyebox 126 may
result in an arrangement in which a circularizer optic in beam
shaping optics 112 is not required. In other words, typically a
laser diode emits a beam having an elliptical shaped cross section
that is circularized by a circularizer optic in beam shaping optics
112. However, since it is desired to provide an eyebox 126 having
an aspect ratio where the width is greater than its height, the
scanned beam display 100 may take advantage of the elliptical shape
of the laser beam 114 to provide a higher efficiency by eliminating
the circularizer optic from the beam shaping optics 112, although
the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this
respect. In one or more embodiments, although the aspect ratio of
the input beam may be similar to the lenslet and thus eyebox shape,
the input beam typically needs to be oriented orthogonal to the
lenslet orientation wherein longer axis of beam at MEMS will be
taller than wide, while at the lenslet the beam will be wider than
tall, and then the spotsize formed from the beam focused from the
MEMS scanner at the EPE will be wider than tall and thus be
generally aligned with the shape of the lenslets to prove a higher
fill factor in the lenslets.
[0031] In one or more embodiments, a variety of top-hat converters
and combinations thereof may be considered for utilization in beam
shaping optics 112: a 1-dimensional top-hat converter 514 may be
used for capitalizing on dynamic Moire; a 2-dimensional elliptical
Gaussian-to-elliptical top-hat output converter 514 may be utilized
with a compressed MLA 310 in EPE 120 for HUD type applications; a
2-dimensional circularized-Gaussian-to-elliptical top-hat converter
514; two crossed 1-dimensional top-hat converters 514;
1-dimensional top-hat converter 514 with orthogonal clipping, and
so on. Note also that conjugate focus effects on either or both
ends of the converter 514 can be implemented, for example using a
Gaussian-to-top-hat converter. However, these are merely examples
of the types of converters 415 that may be utilized in beam shaping
optics to achieve a desired amount of efficiency with a compressed
MLA 310, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited
in these respects.
[0032] In one or more embodiments, when using the arrangements as
described, above, the spot shape at EPE 120 may become somewhat
elliptical due to the aspect ratio of the exit cone forming the
spot. Furthermore, an ideal shape of the beamlets as defined by
beamlet layout centroids may also become compressed. Relative
orientations of compressed microlens arrays 310 and the
corresponding output eyebox shapes 318 of both hexagonal as well as
rectangular are shown in and described with respect to FIG. 2 and
FIG. 3 for a given focal length, and are shown as relative
indicators of expected relative output size of eyebox 126 for a
given focal length of the compressed MLA. The focal length of the
given MLA and/or the shape of the lenslets of the MLA may be
selected according to the type of application, for example to be
tailored to a HUD type display application, however many
combinations are possible depending on the desired application, and
the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these
respects.
[0033] Referring now to FIG. 6, a profile view of a compressed
microlens array for a scanned beam display system comprising an
array of compressed lenslets for a scanned beam display system
capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance
with one or more embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG. 6,
EPE 120 may comprise a microlens array 410 having a plurality of
lenslets 414 wherein the lenslets are shaped and/or spaced to
provide a compressed MLA 410. Thus, the vertical spacing of the
centers of lenslets 414 may be compressed with respect to the
horizontal spacing of the centers of lenslets 414 as shown in and
described with respect to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Furthermore, lenslets
414 may be designed with a desired radius (R), flat-top width
(d.sub.W), seam radius (r.sub.S), diagonal sag (t.sub.d), and/or
grid sag (t.sub.g) to appropriately shape the resulting diffraction
patterns 416, 418, and 420 as shown in FIG. 4 to result in an
overall diffraction pattern 132 that provides a desired shape of
eyebox 126. In one or more embodiments, for a dual MLA case,
minimized seam radius r.sub.S and/or flat-top width d.sub.w may
help achieve greater performance. Typically, deviations from and
ideal lenslet profile may result in non-uniform intensity
fluctuation across the eyebox 126. In some embodiments, having
non-minimized seams radius and/or flat-top width may be a useful
design parameter, for example in applications in which moderate
uniformity may be achieved from an EPE having a single MLA. As but
one example, compressed MLA 410 may be about 130 mm in a horizontal
direction and may be about 100 mm in a vertical direction, and have
a thickness of about 1.1 mm, although the scope of the claimed
subject matter is not limited in this respect. In one or more
embodiments EPE 120 may comprise a single compressed MLA 410. In
one or more alternative embodiments, EPE 120 may comprise a dual
MLA, where one or both of the MLAs comprises a compressed MLA 410.
A dual MLA arrangement is shown in and described with respect to
FIG. 7, below.
[0034] Referring now to FIG. 7, a profile view of a compressed dual
microlens array for a scanned beam display system comprising an
array of compressed lenslets for a scanned beam display system
capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio in accordance
with one or more embodiments will be discussed. In one or more
embodiments, two compressed MLAs 710 and 712 may be utilized in a
double-pass dual MLA arrangement in a single EPE 700 as shown in
FIG. 7. In one or more particular embodiments, the dual microlens
arrays 710 and 712 may be tangibly embodied in the form of a
double-sided molded single element wherein MLA 710 and MLA 712 are
formed from the same piece of material such as a molded polymer or
the like. Alternatively, MLA 710 and MLA 712 may be fabricated as
separate units that are combined together into a single unit via an
optically transparent adhesive or the like. In one or more
embodiments, such a dual MLA EPE 120 may provide a hopped eyebox
effect via utilization of a relative tilt of the input scan angle
bias (.theta.) 714 as shown. In one or more embodiments, eyebox
hopping may refer to a characteristic of the dual MLA EPE which
occurs when an input beam has angle of incidence just outside the
exit NA of the EPE, dual MLA or reflective double-pass MLA over
reflector. In one or more embodiments, the input scan angle bias
714 may involve a relative transverse shift of MLAs 710 and 712
and/or a bias relative tilt of the scan input with respect to EPE
700, or a combination of both. Such a hopped eyebox effect may be
utilized, for example, to diminish ambient reflections such as
sunlight where scanned beam display 100 is deployed in a HUD
display of vehicle, an example of which is shown in and described
with respect to FIG. 8, below. Both single MLA and dual MLA
configurations may be utilized in EPE 700. In general, uniformity
of the displayed image may be better with a dual MLA EPE 700. Also,
a dual MLA EPE 700 is capable of trading off beam-steering with
input angle bias 714 of the full scan. In one or more embodiments,
a prism shaped substrate (not shown) may be provided for the
scan-side MLA 710, and a flat shaped substrate may be provided for
the output side MLA 712 so as to simplify the mechanics of the MEMS
scan engine 116 while providing a bias angle on the output cone
chief ray as input to the projection relay optics 122, although the
scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these
respects. In one or more alternative embodiments, a non-telecentric
EPE (not shown) can be created with a compressed MLA EPE in a
similar fashion as a regular-tiled EPE. In addition, the two
dissimilar pitch MLAs required for forming a non-telecentric dual
MLA EPE can be appropriately spaced in tandem, or molded
appropriately on each side of a single element. Furthermore, a
compressed MLA arrangement as discussed herein may also incorporate
phase shifting by providing a periodic MLA with ordered phase
shifts, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not
limited in these respects.
[0035] Referring now to FIG. 8, a diagram of a vehicle having a
head-up display comprising a scanned beam display and a compressed
microlens array capable of providing a desired eyebox aspect ratio
in accordance with one or more embodiments will be discussed. As
shown in FIG.8, vehicle 800 may deploy scanned beam display 100 in
a HUD-type arrangement, for example so that the operator of vehicle
can view vehicle instrument data while simultaneously looking
through windshield 810 of vehicle 800. In one or more embodiments,
display 100 may be mounted in the dashboard 814 of vehicle 800 and
project a raster scan 118 of a displayed image onto EPE 120. In the
embodiment shown, EPE 120 may be partially reflective to reflect
the raster scan 118 via output cone into eyebox 126, and partially
transmissive so that the viewer may see through EPE 120 and through
windshield 810 into the environment outside of vehicle 800. In
alternative embodiments, EPE 120 may be transmissive and disposed
within dashboard 814 and/or otherwise in or proximate to display
100 wherein windshield 810 itself is used as a reflective surface
to reflect raster scan 118 off windshield 810 and into eyebox 126
so that the image is viewable by the viewer's eye 128. Thus, in one
or more embodiments, EPE 120 may comprise one or more compressed
MLAs, for example MLA 310 of FIG. 3 comprising an array of
compressed hexagonally shaped lenslets 314 to result in an eyebox
126 having an aspect ratio wherein the width of eyebox 126 is
greater than the height of eyebox 126 as discussed herein. As a
result, vehicle 800 may comprise a scanned beam display having a
compressed MLA to result in an eyebox having a desired shape and/or
aspect ratio via virtual vignetting. However, this is merely one
example deployment of a compressed MLA to achieve a desired eyebox
shape in a scanned beam display, and the scope of the claimed
subject matter is not limited in this respect.
[0036] Although the claimed subject matter has been described with
a certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that
elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art
without departing from the spirit and/or scope of claimed subject
matter. It is believed that the subject matter pertaining to eyebox
shaping through virtual vignetting and/or many of its attendant
utilities will be understood by the forgoing description, and it
will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form,
construction and/or arrangement of the components thereof without
departing from the scope and/or spirit of the claimed subject
matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages, the
form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment
thereof, and/or further without providing substantial change
thereto. It is the intention of the claims to encompass and/or
include such changes.
* * * * *