Scanned beam display and image capture
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsJonathan Westhues, Amar S. Vattakandy, Randall Crane, John R. Lewis, Steven Bathiche
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for displaying or capturing an image comprises directing an illumination beam onto a mirror of a highly resonant, mirror-mount system and applying a drive signal to a transducer to deflect the mirror. In this method, the drive signal has a pulse frequency approaching a resonance frequency of the mirror-mount system. The method further comprises reflecting the illumination beam off the mirror so that the illumination beam scans through an area where the image is to be displayed or captured, and, addressing each pixel of the image in synchronicity with the drive signal to display or capture the image.
Claims20
A system for displaying or capturing an image, the system comprising:
- at least one laser arranged to direct light into an illumination beam;
- a mirror coupled in a highly resonant mirror-mount system and configured to reflect the illumination beam;
- a transducer configured to deflect the mirror so that the illumination beam scans through an area where the image is to be displayed or captured;
- and
- a controller configured to apply a drive signal to the transducer, the drive signal having a pulse frequency approaching a resonance frequency of the mirror-mount system, and to address each pixel of the image in synchronicity with the drive signal, delaying the addressing of each pixel by an adjustable amount relative to a pulse of the drive signal, the adjustable amount based, in an open-loop manner without position-detection feedback during image display or capture, on a temperature of the mirror, and determined based on an intensity of the illumination beam by interpolation among a plurality of predetermined delay amounts corresponding to a plurality of preset illumination-beam intensities.
A system for displaying or capturing an image, the system comprising:
- at least one laser arranged to direct light into an illumination beam;
- a mirror coupled in a highly resonant mirror-mount system and configured to reflect the illumination beam;
- a transducer configured to deflect the mirror so that the illumination beam scans through an area where the image is to be displayed or captured;
- and
- a controller configured to apply a drive signal to the transducer, the drive signal having a pulse frequency approaching a resonance frequency of the mirror-mount system, and to address each pixel of the image in synchronicity with the drive signal, delaying the addressing of each pixel by an adjustable amount relative to a pulse of the drive signal, the adjustable amount based, in an open-loop manner without position-detection feedback during image display or capture, on a temperature of the mirror, the controller including a voltage-controlled oscillator configured to generate a pulse train of adjustable frequency and a first counter divider configured to receive the pulse train from the voltage-controlled oscillator and to provide a lower-frequency pulse train to second and third counter dividers.
A system for displaying or capturing an image, the system comprising:
- at least one laser arranged to direct light into an illumination beam;
- a mirror coupled in a highly resonant mirror-mount system and configured to reflect the illumination beam;
- a transducer configured to deflect the mirror so that the illumination beam scans through an area where the image is to be displayed or captured;
- and
- a controller configured to apply a drive signal to the transducer, the drive signal having a pulse frequency approaching a resonance frequency of the mirror-mount system, and to address each pixel of the image in synchronicity with the drive signal, delaying the addressing of each pixel by an adjustable amount relative to a pulse of the drive signal, the adjustable amount based, in an open-loop manner without position-detection feedback during image display or capture, on a temperature of the mirror, the controller including a voltage-controlled oscillator configured to generate a pulse train of adjustable frequency, a first counter divider configured to receive the pulse train from the voltage-controlled oscillator and to provide a lower-frequency pulse train to second and third counter dividers, a first delay timing circuit configured to delay a pulse train of the second counter divider by an adjustable amount, and a second delay timing circuit configured to delay a pulse train from the third counter divider by an adjustable amount.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.