Meta patents lens trick to widen AR glasses view
Meta describes a near-eye display system that uses a switchable optical component to steer light in different directions. This allows the device to show a wider field of view by combining different sections of the image.
In the filing’s own words
A near-eye display has an image projector coupled to a lightguide for receiving and propagating image light provided by the image projector, the image light carrying an image to be displayed to a viewer. Field of view of the near-eye display may be expanded by providing a beam redirector downstream of the lightguide for controllably redirecting the image light m coordination with displaying different field of view portions by the image projector. To compensate the redirection of external light by the beam redirector, a second beam redirector may be provided upstream of the first redirector and the lightguide.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A system comprising: a lightguide body for receiving and propagating image light, wherein the lightguide body includes an out-coupling structure for out-coupling the image light; and a beam redirector downstream of the lightguide body that controllably redirects the image light that was out-coupled by the out-coupling structure, wherein the image light includes field of view (FOV) light portions, wherein the beam redirector includes a switchable half-wave plate configured to, when in a first state, transmit the image light, or, when in a second state, to transmit the image light with inverted handedness, and wherein the beam redirector includes a grating that redirects the image light transmitted by the switchable half-wave plate to the left for left-circular polarized (LCP) light and to the right for right-circular polarized (RCP) light, such that the grating expands the system's field of view by allowing the FOV light portions to be switched.
Facts
- Company
- Meta (Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC)
- Official title
- Field of view expansion by image light redirection
- Patent number
- US12754430B2
- Application number
- 18797414
- Filed
- Aug 7, 2024
- Granted
- Oct 6, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G02B 27/0172 Physics & computingG02B 27/0977 Physics & computingG02B 27/286 Physics & computingG02B 27/44 Physics & computingG02B 2027/0123 Physics & computingMore from Meta in AR, VR & displays
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.