Device and method for the laser projection of high-resolution images onto the retina of the eye, superimposed with the image content of the field of vision
OwnerKlaus Dietrichinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The optical system as described achieves retinal display of video images at a viewing angle of approx. 60° by a monochromatic or color mixture of laser beams. Retinal display is either direct or by beaming a scattering screen, whereby the display can be superimposed with an image of a 60° field of view. In video image display a convergent beam of light is focussed on the retina with the aid of a partly transparent planoconcave mirror. The system features an extremely high resolution limited only by the eyesight of the viewer and the diffraction of the display light beam as dictated merely by the divergence and cross-section of the light beam.
Claims26
An optical assembly for retinal projection of electronic image data on a viewing eye having a lens and a retina, the electronic image data being transmitted by a light beam, the assembly having an entrance aperture and an exit aperture and comprising:
- a focusing lens for receiving the light beam and focusing the light beam into a convergent beam which passes through the entrance aperture,
- a scanning mirror means for receiving the convergent beam from the focusing lens and scanning the beam along first and second mutually perpendicular axes,
- a beam splitter for receiving and reflecting the beam from the scanning mirror means, and
- a concave mirror positioned for receiving the reflected beam from the beam splitter at substantially perpendicular incidence and reflecting the beam towards the eye, the concave mirror being disposed forward of the eye's lens, wherein the light beam has a principal ray that intersects the midpoint of the entrance aperture and is perpendicularly incident on the concave mirror,
- wherein the beam splitter and the concave mirror image the entrance aperture on the exit aperture which is located in the eye at the position of the eye's lens or slightly behind the eye's lens.
An optical assembly for retinal projection of electronic image data on a viewing eye, the eye having a lens and a retina, the assembly having an entrance aperture and an exit aperture and comprising:
- a curved scattering screen for displaying an image comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel being the source of a divergent light beam,
- an achromatic ball lens for focusing a divergent light beam received from the curved scattering screen into a convergent light beam that passes through the entrance aperture,
- a beam splitter for receiving and reflecting the light beam from the entrance aperture, and
- a concave mirror positioned for receiving reflected light from the beam splitter at substantially perpendicular incidence and reflecting the light towards the eye and being disposed forward of the eye's lens, wherein each convergent light beam has a principal ray that intersects the midpoint of the entrance aperture and is perpendicularly incident on the concave mirror,
- wherein the beam splitter and the concave mirror image the entrance aperture on the exit aperture located in the eve at the position of the eye's lens or slightly behind the eye's lens.
A method for retinal projection of electronic image data on a viewing eye having a lens and a retina, the electronic image data being transmitted by a light beam and the method comprising the steps of:
- focusing the light beam into a convergent light beam,
- scanning the convergent light beam along first and second mutually perpendicular axes,
- reflecting the scanning light beam towards a concave reflective surface that is positioned to receive the scanning light beam and reflect the light beam towards the viewing eye, and
- imaging an entrance aperture on an exit aperture which is located in the eye, at the position of the eye's lens or slightly behind the eye's lens, wherein the light beam has a principal ray that intersects the midpoint of the entrance aperture and is perpendicularly incident on the concave reflective surface.
A method for retinal projection of electronic image data on a viewing eye having a lens and a retina, the method comprising the stops of:
- displaying the image on a curved scattering screen,
- focusing divergent light beans from the curved scattering screen through the entrance aperture into convergent light beams employing an achromatic ball lens,
- reflecting light beams received from the entrance aperture towards a concave reflective surface that is positioned to receive the reflected light beams and reflect the light towards the viewing eye, and
- imaging an entrance aperture on an exit aperture which is located in the eye, at the position of the eye's lens or slightly behind the eye's lens, wherein each light beam has a principal ray that intersects the midpoint of the entrance aperture and is perpendicularly incident on the concave reflective surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.