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US 7,460,305 B2Granted
Scanned-beam heads-up display and related systems and methods
AssigneeMicrovision, Inc.
InventorsKarlton D. Powell, Hakan Ürey, Amjad Malik, Russell J. Hannigan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heads-up display that includes a scanner and a projection assembly. The scanner generates an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy, and the projection assembly directs the image into a predetermined viewing space having a region with a substantially uniform intensity profile. Such a heads-up display can often be made smaller than a conventional heads-up display, and can often generate an image having a higher quality than an image generated by a conventional display. Furthermore, one can often calibrate and recalibrate such a display without physically modifying or replacing a component of the display or of a vehicle incorporating the display.
Claims17
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner assembly operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly operable to direct the image into a predetermined viewing space having a substantially uniform intensity profile in a cross section having a region that is substantially normal to a viewing dimension, wherein the projection assembly comprises an exit-pupil expander, and wherein the scanner is operable to generate the image by sweeping the beam in two dimensions onto the exit-pupil expander.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner assembly operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly operable to direct the image into a predetermined viewing space having a substantially uniform intensity profile in a cross section having a region that is substantially normal to a viewing dimension, wherein a planar projection of the cross section of the viewing space has a hexagonal shape.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner assembly operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly operable to direct the image into a predetermined viewing space having a substantially uniform intensity profile in a cross section having a region that is substantially normal to a viewing dimension, wherein a planar projection of the cross section of the viewing space has an elongated hexagonal shape.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner assembly operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly operable to direct the image into a predetermined viewing space having a substantially uniform intensity profile in a cross section having a region that is substantially normal to a viewing dimension, wherein the cross section of the viewing space is a planar cross section.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner assembly operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly operable to direct the image into a predetermined viewing space having a substantially uniform intensity profile in a cross section having a region that is substantially normal to a viewing dimension, wherein a planar projection of the cross section of the viewing space has one dimension of at least 100 millimeters.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly that includes a first microlens array operable to direct the image into a predetermined viewing space, wherein the projection assembly comprises an exit-pupil expander, and wherein the scanner is operable to generate the image by sweeping the beam in two dimensions onto the exit-pupil expander.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly having a mirror operable to reflect the image off of a wind screen and into a predetermined viewing space having a cross section, the mirror operable to maintain a dimension of the cross section at a substantially constant size for reflection of the image off of a predetermined region of the windshield, wherein the mirror is operable to move the viewing space in a dimension substantially parallel to the cross section.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly having a mirror operable to reflect the image off of a wind screen and into a predetermined viewing space having a cross section, the mirror operable to maintain a dimension of the cross section at a substantially constant size for reflection of the image off of a predetermined region of the windshield, wherein the mirror is operable to move the viewing space in a dimension substantially normal to the cross section.
A heads-up display, comprising:
- a scanner operable to generate an image by sweeping a beam of electromagnetic energy in at least one dimension;
- and
- a projection assembly operable to direct the image into a predetermined viewing space such that in a cross section of the viewing space having a region that is substantially normal to a viewing dimension, the image has a substantially uniform intensity profile, wherein the projection assembly comprises an exit-pupil expander, and wherein the scanner is operable to generate the image by sweeping the beam in two dimensions onto the exit-pupil expander.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.