CN116113869A

CN116113869A - Augmented reality device assembling method and augmented reality device

Info

Publication number: CN116113869A
Application number: CN202180055672.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 卢超; 李泓; 杜佳玮
Original assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-26
Filing date: 2021-08-20
Publication date: 2023-05-12
Also published as: WO2022042443A1; CN116113869A8; CN114114683A; CN114114683B; CN115826245A

Abstract

An augmented reality device assembling method and an augmented reality device. The augmented reality device assembling method includes the steps of: one of a projection module (20), an optical waveguide (30) and a bracket (10) in an augmented reality device to be assembled is fixed in position, and the other two are arranged in respective preset positions relative to the projection module, so that gaps (S1, S2) for adjusting relative positions between the display unit (24) in the projection module (20) and a shell (21) and/or between the optical waveguide (30) and the bracket (10) are formed; causing the projection module (20) to project image light; receiving the outgoing image coupled out from the optical waveguide (30) and judging whether or not a preset criterion is met: if not, the relative position is adjusted until the optimal relative position which enables the outgoing image to meet the preset standard is determined; if so, maintaining the optimized relative position; the optimized relative position is fixed at least by means of glue. The assembly method is convenient and efficient to operate, and the quality of the final projection image can be effectively improved.

Description

Augmented reality device assembling method and augmented reality device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of optical imaging, in particular to an augmented reality device assembling method and an augmented reality device.

Background

Augmented reality (Augmented Reality, AR) technology includes light sources, projection lens plus optical waveguide solutions and traditional Birdbath solutions. The traditional Birdbath scheme is difficult to be favored by consumers due to the fact that the traditional Birdbath scheme has large size, difficult further improvement of the angle of view, relatively poor user experience and the like, and the optical waveguide sheet scheme is smaller and more attractive because only one waveguide sheet is needed before the user is in front of the eyes, and the user experience is better.

The solution using an optical waveguide sheet generally includes an optical machine and an optical waveguide sheet, where an image is projected into the optical waveguide sheet by the optical machine, and then the image is two-dimensionally pupil-expanded by the optical waveguide sheet and then projected into the human eye. The image quality of the optical machine projection directly determines the image quality received by human eyes, and the optical waveguide sheet also has an angle requirement on the received light when the image is subjected to pupil expansion. The prior art usually uses a purely physical alignment to adjust the relative positions of the optical bench and the waveguide during assembly, which results in a non-optimal final optical quality, especially in the case of numerous optical elements such as optical bench, waveguide, etc., which have accumulated errors during assembly, and also in their own processing, manufacturing steps, or error accumulation, which may have a detrimental effect on the final projected image quality, resulting in more or less distortion of the final projected image to the human eye.

The description of this section is for ease of understanding the present application and therefore should not be assumed to have been made prior art solely by virtue of its inclusion in this section.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention provides an augmented reality device assembly method and an augmented reality device that can solve or at least alleviate one or more of the above problems, as well as other problems.

First, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an augmented reality device assembling method including a stand, a projection module including a housing, a light source, a display unit for modulating incident light into image light, a light conversion unit for turning light emitted from the light source to the display unit and turning the modulated image light to the projection lens to be projected outward and coupled into the light guide, and a light guide, the augmented reality device assembling method including the steps of:

fixing one of the projection module, the optical waveguide, and the bracket to be assembled in position, and arranging the other two in respective preset positions relative thereto such that a gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is provided between the display unit and the housing and/or between the optical waveguide and the bracket;

Enabling the projection module to project image light;

receiving an outgoing image coupled out of the optical waveguide and judging whether a preset standard is met or not: if not, adjusting the relative position until an optimized relative position enabling the emergent image to meet the preset standard is determined; if so, maintaining the optimized relative position; and

the optimized relative position is fixed at least by means of glue.

In the augmented reality apparatus assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, the bracket is positionally fixed, and the optical waveguide is positionally fixed with respect to the bracket, the projection module being arranged in its preset position with respect to the bracket;

receiving the emergent image at the position of the emergent pupil of the optical waveguide and judging whether the emergent image meets a first preset standard or not so as to adjust and determine the optimized relative position between the display unit and the shell; and

and continuing to receive the emergent image at the position of the emergent pupil and judging whether a second preset standard is met or not, so as to adjust and determine the optimal relative position between the optical waveguide and the bracket.

In the augmented reality device assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, the first preset standard includes whether the received image quality of the outgoing image meets a preset requirement, and the second preset standard includes whether the received brightness degree of the outgoing image meets a preset image brightness uniformity requirement and whether the angle of the outgoing pupil light meets a preset angle requirement.

In the augmented reality apparatus assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, the bracket is positionally fixed, and the optical waveguide and the projection module are arranged in their respective preset positions with respect to the bracket;

and receiving the emergent image on the emergent path of the optical waveguide, and synchronously judging whether the emergent image meets respective preset standards at the projection module and the optical waveguide so as to synchronously adjust and determine the optimized relative position between the display unit and the shell and the optimized relative position between the optical waveguide and the bracket.

In the method for assembling an augmented reality device according to the present invention, optionally, the image light projected by the projection module includes image quality data and image position and angle data, the image quality data includes resolution data, the preset standard at the projection module includes whether the parameters related to the display unit obtained according to the received image quality data of the outgoing image meet preset requirements, and the preset standard at the projection module includes whether the received image position and angle data of the outgoing image meet respective preset requirements.

In the augmented reality device assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, the adjustment amount of the relative position is obtained by calculating the aberration of the received exit image, and then the relative position between the display unit and the housing and/or the relative position between the optical waveguide and the bracket is adjusted in real time in six degrees of freedom according thereto.

In the augmented reality device assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, the augmented reality device assembling method further includes the steps of:

one or more prisms are arranged between the projection module and the optical waveguide, and are used for enabling the image light outputted by the projection module to be coupled into the optical waveguide after being refracted by the prisms.

In the augmented reality device assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, a housing portion is provided on an outer wall of the housing for housing the display unit, and a first gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the display unit and the outer wall of the housing located outside the housing portion; and/or

An accommodation space is provided on the bracket, and a second gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the optical waveguide and an inner wall of the accommodation space when the optical waveguide is partially inserted into the accommodation space.

In the augmented reality device assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, the housing is configured to include:

a first housing connected to the bracket and provided with at least a first opening portion, the light source being accommodated in the first housing; and

the second casing, it links to each other with the support and is provided with second opening and third opening at least, the second opening is constructed with first opening looks adaptation, so that the second casing with first casing detachably sealing engagement, light conversion unit is held in the second casing, projection lens arranges third opening department and installs on the second casing, the holding portion sets up the second casing or on the outer wall of first casing.

a first housing connected to the bracket and having a space for accommodating the light source and the light conversion unit, the first housing being provided with at least one opening portion at which the projection lens is mounted; and

a second housing configured to be detachably and sealingly engaged with the first housing, and the receiving portion is provided on an outer wall of the second housing.

In the augmented reality device assembling method according to the present invention, optionally, the display unit includes a substrate and a chip attached to the substrate, the display unit is glued to the case through the substrate, and/or a glue thickness between the display unit and the case ranges from 0.1 to 0.6mm.

In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided an augmented reality device including:

a bracket;

the projection module is arranged on the bracket and comprises a shell, a light source, a display unit, a light conversion unit and a projection lens, wherein the display unit is used for modulating incident light into image light, and the light conversion unit is used for turning the light emitted from the light source to the display unit and turning the modulated image light to the projection lens to be projected outwards; and

an optical waveguide installed on the bracket and coupled into image light projected from the projection lens,

wherein a gap for adjusting a relative position between the display unit and the housing and/or between the optical waveguide and the support is provided in order to fix an optimal relative position determined during assembly at least by means of glue, said optimal relative position being determined such that an outgoing image coupled out of the optical waveguide received during assembly meets a predetermined criterion.

In the augmented reality apparatus according to the present invention, optionally, an accommodation portion for accommodating the display unit is provided on an outer wall of the housing, and a first gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the display unit and an inner wall of the accommodation portion; and/or

The bracket is provided with an accommodation space, and a second gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the optical waveguide and an inner wall of the accommodation space when the optical waveguide is partially inserted into the accommodation space.

In the augmented reality device according to the present invention, optionally, the housing comprises:

In the augmented reality device according to the present invention, optionally, the display unit includes a substrate through which the display unit is glued to the case and/or a glue thickness between the display unit and the case ranges from 0.1 to 0.6mm, and a chip attached to the substrate.

In the augmented reality device according to the present invention, optionally, a limit structure in which a limit groove is matched with a limit post is provided between the housing and the bracket, and/or the housing and the bracket are mounted together at least by means of glue.

In the augmented reality device according to the present invention, optionally, at least one side of the optical waveguide is provided with a glue spreading region, and the bracket is provided with one or more through holes corresponding to the glue spreading region.

In the augmented reality device according to the present invention, optionally, the stand includes:

the glue overflow part is communicated with the gap and is used for accommodating the adhesive material overflowed from the gap;

an overflow prevention part provided at an edge of the supporter for preventing the adhesive material from overflowing from the gap to the optical waveguide; and/or

And an adhesion enhancing part provided on a surface of the holder opposite to the optical waveguide for increasing a contact area of the adhesive material between the holder and the optical waveguide.

In the augmented reality apparatus according to the present invention, optionally, the support is configured as a split body including a first support and at least one second support independent from each other, the first support being connected to the projection module and the optical waveguide, the second support being connected to at least the optical waveguide, the first support and the second support being located on both sides of the optical waveguide and being separated from the optical waveguide by a first side gap and a second side gap, respectively, the first side gap and the second side gap being equal or unequal.

In the augmented reality apparatus according to the present invention, optionally, the augmented reality apparatus further includes one or more prisms disposed between the projection module and the optical waveguide, for refracting the image light projected through the projection module through the prisms and coupling the refracted image light into the optical waveguide.

In the augmented reality apparatus according to the present invention, optionally, the preset criteria include whether the received image quality of the outgoing image meets a preset requirement, whether the brightness level meets a preset image brightness uniformity requirement, and whether the angle of the exit pupil light meets a preset angle requirement.

The invention has simple structure and process, convenient and efficient assembly operation, and can effectively avoid the adverse effects of accumulated errors of parts in the augmented reality equipment in the assembly process, errors or accumulated errors of the parts in the processing and manufacturing links and the like on the final imaging quality, thereby realizing higher projection image quality of the augmented reality equipment, and having higher light energy utilization rate, brightness uniformity and the like. The invention has strong practicability and high assembly efficiency, is very suitable for mass production and application, and can obviously improve the quality of the augmented reality equipment.

Drawings

The technical solutions of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples, but it should be understood that these drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of an augmented reality device assembling method according to the present invention.

Fig. 2, 3 and 4 are respectively three different perspective views of an augmented reality device according to the present invention when the first embodiment is being assembled.

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an augmented reality device according to the present invention after the first embodiment has been assembled.

Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a projection module and a part of a stand in a first embodiment of an augmented reality device according to the invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the projection module shown in fig. 6 in an exploded state.

Fig. 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of two three-dimensional structures of a portion of the housing, the light conversion unit, and the projection lens in the projection module shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a longitudinal side view of the projection module shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a lateral side view of an alternative example of the projection module shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 12 is a schematic top view of the first embodiment of the augmented reality device shown in fig. 2, with simultaneous enlarged illustration of the gap and glue joint between the optical waveguide and the support in the region of section a of the drawing.

Fig. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of an augmented reality device according to the invention.

Fig. 14 is a schematic top view of the second embodiment of the augmented reality device shown in fig. 13, with simultaneous enlarged illustration of the gap and glue joint between the optical waveguide and the support in the B region of the figure.

Detailed Description

First, it should be noted that steps, compositions, constructions, features, advantages, and the like of the augmented reality device assembling method and the augmented reality device according to the present invention will be described below by way of example, however, all descriptions should not be construed as limiting the present invention in any way. In this document, the technical terms "connected (or connected, etc)" encompass a direct connection of a particular component to another component and/or an indirect connection to another component, the technical terms "upper," "lower," "right," "left," "vertical," "horizontal," and derivatives thereof should be taken in connection with the orientations in the various figures, and it should be understood that the present invention may take a variety of alternative orientations, the technical terms "first," "second," are used merely for purposes of distinguishing between the descriptive purposes and not intended to indicate their sequential and relative importance, etc., the technical term "substantially" is intended to include insubstantial errors associated with a particular amount of measurement, including, for example, ±8%, ±5% or ±2% ranges for a particular value, etc.

Furthermore, to any single feature described or implied in the embodiments herein, or any single feature shown or implied in the figures, the invention still allows any combination or deletion of such features (or equivalents thereof) without any technical barrier, thereby covering further embodiments according to the invention. In addition, for the sake of brevity, identical or similar parts and features may be indicated in the same drawing only at one place or several places, and general matters already known to those skilled in the art, such as various assembly tools, industrial cameras, visual alignment devices, etc., which may be used when the augmented reality device is assembled, are not repeated herein.

According to the design idea of the invention, firstly, an assembly method for the augmented reality equipment is provided, compared with the prior art, the adverse effect of accumulated errors of parts in the processing, manufacturing, assembling and other processes on the projected image quality of the augmented reality equipment can be effectively reduced or even eliminated, and therefore the performances of the projected image quality, the light energy utilization rate, the brightness uniformity and the like can be obviously improved. In particular, a general flow of an embodiment of an augmented reality device assembling method according to the invention is first exemplarily shown in fig. 1, and further several specific examples of an augmented reality device according to the invention are shown in fig. 2-14, by which embodiments the technical solution of the invention will be explained in detail below.

Referring to fig. 1 in conjunction with the augmented reality device embodiments shown in other fig. 2-14, steps S11 through S16 may be employed to assemble an augmented reality device having, for example, a cradle 10, a projection module 20, and an optical waveguide 30 in this example of an augmented reality device assembly method. In the augmented reality apparatus, the projection module 20 may include a housing 21, a light source 22, a light conversion unit 23, a display unit 24, and a projection lens 25, wherein the light conversion unit 23 is used for converting light emitted from the light source 22 to the display unit 24, modulating the incident light into image light by the latter, then sending the image light to the projection lens 25 for magnification, entering into the optical waveguide 30, and then performing pupil expansion by the optical waveguide 30 for projection to the human eye. The projection module 20 is fixedly mounted to the bracket 10, and the present invention is not limited to the specific configuration, size, materials used, etc. of the projection module 20 and the bracket 10 itself, nor is it limited to any specific manner of how they are assembled together (e.g., threaded, glued, laser welded, etc. or any combination thereof).

As shown in fig. 1, in step S11, any one of the bracket 10, the projection module 20, and the optical waveguide 30 to be assembled (for example, the bracket) may be first fixed in position, and then the other two components may be disposed in their respective preset positions with respect to the fixed components, respectively, so that a preliminary relative positional relationship between the bracket 10, the projection module 20, and the optical waveguide 30 may be formed such that a gap S1 (see fig. 10, 11) for adjusting the relative position therebetween is provided between the display unit 24 in the projection module 20 and the housing 21, and/or a gap S2 (see fig. 12, 14) for adjusting the relative position therebetween is provided between the optical waveguide 30 and the bracket 10, and a specific case of the above two gaps will be described in more detail later.

Next, in step S12, the image light may be projected by the projection module 20. As described above, the light source 22 in the projection module 20 is turned on, and then the image light is projected to the optical waveguide 30 after being processed by the light conversion unit 23, the display unit 24 and the projection lens 25. As shown in fig. 5, the optical waveguide 30 is generally provided with an in-coupling region 31, a turning region and an out-coupling region 32, wherein the in-coupling region 31 is used for receiving the image light projected by the projection module 20, so that the image light is transmitted and two-dimensionally expanded in the optical waveguide 30 and then coupled out from the turning and out-coupling region 32.

For example, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, an image receiving device 50 may be used instead of the human eye for receiving the outgoing image coupled out from the optical waveguide 30 on the human eye side. The image receiving means 50 may typically employ an industrial camera, the specific parameter choices of which relate to the augmented reality device to be assembled, with which it is desired to simulate the human eye as much as possible, such as usually requiring an entrance pupil front, a higher resolution, a larger field angle than that of the augmented reality device, arranging a distance between it and the optical waveguide 30 of 1cm-2cm (simulated human eye distance), etc.

In step S13, a judgment analysis may be performed on the imaging condition of the received outgoing image to determine whether it meets the preset criteria. If, after the judgment analysis, it is found that the received exit image does not meet the preset criteria, since the gaps S1 and/or S2 have been reserved in the previous step, the relative positions of the above components can be adjusted in real time in step S14 by means of the operable space provided by the gaps, for example, the adjustment may include a six-axis adjustment operation (i.e., translation in the X/Y/Z axis direction and rotation around the X/Y/Z axis direction) until it can be determined that the currently received exit image has met the preset criteria, thereby determining the optimal relative position between the display unit 24 and the housing 21 and/or the optimal relative position between the optical waveguide 30 and the support 10.

The optimized relative position determined through the above procedure can then be held in step S15 in order to be fixed in a subsequent step, the above holding operation being achieved by means of the assembly tool used in the assembly procedure. The above-mentioned real-time adjustment process may be completed by only one or two operations, and may of course be performed by more operations.

It should be noted here that, the present invention is not limited to any specific limitation, but allows corresponding selection and flexible setting according to different application requirements, for example, only one standard may be selected individually, or two or more standards may be selected in combination. For example, in the case of image reception using the image receiving apparatus 50, the received outgoing image may be compared with a preset reference image (for example, a cross image, a dot matrix, or any other suitable image) used as a comparison criterion, which may be provided on a camera lens of the image receiving apparatus 50 or generated in the received image using software, and if the positional relationship between the two can be determined to have been aligned, it may be determined that the image quality of the currently obtained outgoing image meets the desired requirement. For example, after the cross image is projected from the projection module 20, the cross image after the light guide 30 is applied is received by the image receiving device 50, and then the relative positional relationship between it and the cross image in the image receiving device 50 is recognized and judged. When the two cross images are not aligned and overlapped, the direction and/or the size to be adjusted can be judged, and then the corresponding relative positions (such as rotation around an X axis and/or a Y axis, translation along a Z axis and the like) are adjusted by means of the adjustment space provided by the gap S1 or the gap S2 until the two cross images are aligned and overlapped, so that the augmented reality device is ensured to have higher projection image quality.

As an alternative, the above-mentioned predetermined criterion may also be to determine whether the brightness of the outgoing image received by the image receiving device 50 meets the predetermined image brightness uniformity requirement, whether the angle of the exit pupil light meets the predetermined angle requirement, and so on. For example, when the brightness of the received outgoing image does not reach the uniformity standard, the corresponding relative position may be adjusted by means of the adjustment space provided by the gap S1 or S2, for example, performing real-time calibration in the directions of six degrees of freedom, i.e., the X-axis, the Y-axis, the Z-axis, the XOY-plane, the YOZ-plane, and the XOZ-plane, until the brightness of the received outgoing image reaches the desired target of brightness uniformity, for example, thereby enabling the augmented reality device to have higher brightness uniformity.

In some embodiments, the relative position may be adjusted based on the above criterion for determining whether the images are aligned, and then the position may be adjusted again based on the above criterion for determining whether the images are aligned. Of course, the preset criteria in the present invention are fully allowed to include any other suitable content without departing from the spirit of the present application.

By performing these above steps S11 to S15, as shown in fig. 1, an optimized relative position between the display unit 24 and the housing 21 and/or an optimized relative position between the optical waveguide 30 and the support 10 can be determined, and then in step S16, the optimized relative position between the above components can be fixed by, for example, internal sizing in a part or all of the gap S1 and/or the gap S2, thereby fixing them together, thereby assembling the augmented reality device according to the present invention.

The general process steps of the method of the present invention have been described above by way of example only, and it should be understood that the method of the present invention may be flexibly implemented according to specific needs in different applications, and thus allows for more implementations depending on the actual application, without intending to be limited to only the above-mentioned method steps.

For example, in some embodiments, such as shown in fig. 2 and 3, it is contemplated that the bracket 10 may be fixed in position, then the optical waveguide 30 may be fixed in position relative to the bracket 10, and the projection module 20 may be disposed in its preset position relative to the bracket 10. Then, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, an exit image may be received at the exit pupil position of the optical waveguide 30, for example, using the image receiving device 50, and it is judged whether or not it meets a first preset criterion (for example, whether or not the image quality of the exit image received at this time meets a preset requirement, etc.), so as to thereby adjust and determine the optimum relative position between the display unit 24 and the housing 21. Then, the image receiving device 50 may be used to continue to receive the exit image at the exit pupil position and determine whether it meets a second preset criterion (e.g. whether the brightness level of the received exit image at this time meets a preset image brightness uniformity requirement, whether the angle of the exit pupil light meets a preset angle requirement, etc.) in order to thereby adjust and determine an optimal relative position between the optical waveguide 30 and the support 10, an assembled augmented reality device embodiment being shown in a schematic way in fig. 5.

In the above adjustment process, the manner of actively adjusting the relative position of the display unit 24 first and then actively adjusting the relative position of the optical waveguide 30 is adopted, since the optical waveguide 30 plays a role of only diffuse transmission for light, it has no effect on image quality (aberration), and thus even if only the optical waveguide 30 is brought into a preset position, the adjustment operation of the display unit 24 can be performed by arranging the image receiving device 50 at the exit pupil position of the optical waveguide 30. After the optimal relative position adjustment of the display unit 24 is determined, the optimal relative position of the optical waveguide 30 is then determined by the adjustment, so that the desired objectives, such as brightness uniformity under different fields of view and angles of the exit pupil rays, can be achieved.

By adopting the above mode, since the display unit 24 and the optical waveguide 30 are actively calibrated after being placed at the preset positions, the assembly of the three parts of the bracket 10, the projection module 20 and the optical waveguide 30 can be completed only at one station, and meanwhile, the image receiving device 50 does not need to move in position, so that the assembly efficiency can be effectively improved, and the assembly precision is also improved. In contrast, if the optical waveguide 30 is not placed at its preset position when the display unit 24 is actively calibrated, the image receiving device 50 needs to be placed on the light-emitting path of the projection lens 25, and when the optical waveguide 30 is actively calibrated, the image receiving device 50 needs to be placed on the light-emitting path of the optical waveguide 30 instead, so that the operation is cumbersome and very inconvenient. In addition, when the image receiving device 50 is not required to be arranged on the light-emitting path of the projection lens 25, the bracket 10 is not required to be provided with holes or notches on the light-emitting path of the projection lens 25, so that problems such as light leakage, increase in processing cost and the like can be avoided.

As another example, in some embodiments, the bracket 10 may be fixed in position first, then the optical waveguide 30 is arranged in its preset position relative to the bracket 10, and the projection module 20 is also arranged in its preset position relative to the bracket 10. Then, the image receiving device 50 may be used, for example, to receive the outgoing image on the outgoing light path of the optical waveguide 30, and then determine synchronously whether the preset criterion at the projection module 20 and the preset criterion at the optical waveguide 30 are met, so that the optimal relative position between the display unit 24 and the housing 21, and the optimal relative position between the optical waveguide 30 and the stand 10 can be adjusted and determined synchronously therefrom, that is to say, after processing the information contained in the projected image, not only the data for actively adjusting the adjustment display unit 24 but also the data for actively adjusting the optical waveguide 30 can be obtained. Alternatively, the image light projected from the projection module 20 may be set to include not only image quality data (e.g., resolution data that can be resolved from, for example, a black-and-white line pair, a black-and-white square, etc.), but also image position and angle data such as a reticle image, etc., which are separated from each other in image. In this way, when the adjustment operation is performed, the adjustment information for adjusting the display unit 24 and the optical waveguide 30 can be obtained by projecting a single image, so that the adjustment efficiency can be significantly improved.

Corresponding to the above manner, the preset criterion at the projection module 20 may be whether the parameters related to the display unit 24 obtained according to the image quality data included in the received outgoing image meet the preset requirements, and the preset criterion at the projection module 20 may be whether the image position and the angle data included in the received outgoing image meet the respective preset requirements.

Depending on the application, it is possible in the method according to the invention to provide the gap S1 and the gap S2 discussed above at the same time, or to provide only the gap S1 or the gap S2. In some embodiments of the method according to the present invention, when the relative position adjustment operation is performed by means of the gap S1 (or the gap S2), the adjustment amount regarding the relative position may be obtained by calculating, for example, the aberration of the exit image received by the image receiving device 50, and then the relative position between the display unit 24 and the housing 21 (or the relative position between the optical waveguide 30 and the mount 10) may be adjusted in real time in, for example, six degrees of freedom according to the calculated adjustment amount until the received image meets the preset standard, whereby the adjustment operation can be made more accurate and the assembly efficiency is higher.

As for the gap S1, several specific examples are given in fig. 6 to 11, respectively. For example, in the example shown in fig. 6 to 10, the accommodating portion 218 may be provided on the outer wall of the housing 21 of the projection module 20 to accommodate the display unit 24, and a gap S1 may be formed between the display unit 24 and the outer wall of the housing 21 located outside the accommodating portion 218 at the time of assembly, so that a space for actively adjusting the display unit 24 may be provided by using the gap S1, that is, thereby allowing for very convenient and rapid active calibration of the position of the display unit 24 from the outside of the housing 21, and after the adjustment operation is completed, the determined optimal position of the display unit 24 may be fixed by providing an adhesive material at the gap S1. Another advantage of using the active calibration approach described above for display unit 24 is that: the projected image can be made to remain horizontal and vertical after entering the human eye or the image receiving device 50 by a rotating operation of the display unit 24.

In the embodiment mentioned herein, the display unit 24 is optionally configured to have two parts, namely, the substrate 241 and the chip 242 (such as an LCOS chip, a DMD chip, etc.) attached thereto, wherein the substrate 242 may be made of a ceramic or metal material so as to have a relatively high strength and heat dissipation performance, and the ceramic or metal substrate having a relatively high strength is not easily deformed when the display unit 24 is fixed to the adjustment tool by clamping or sucking, and the substrate 242 may further include a circuit board for forming an electrical connection with the chip 242.

During assembly, the relative position between the display unit 24 and other components (e.g., the bracket 10 or the optical waveguide 30) may be fixed by gluing the substrate 241 to the housing 21. Alternatively, the adhesive bonding thickness between the display unit 24 and the housing 21 may be in the range of 0.05-1mm, for example, in the case where the optical axis consistency of each optical element is high, the adhesive bonding thickness may be in the range of 0.1-0.6mm. That is, after the optimal relative positional relationship between the display unit 24 and the housing 21 is actively adjusted and determined, there may be gaps of unequal thickness to each other along the length of the contact surface between the chip 242 and the housing 21, thus resulting in that the adhesive material at different positions may have unequal thicknesses, but by adjusting the inclination angle of the chip 242, the adhesive material may have a linear thickness at least in a part of the adhesive bonding region. Furthermore, in case the positions of the light converting unit 23 and the display unit 24 are determined by machine vision recognition, the display unit 24 may be glued thereto after the adhesive material is provided on the second housing 212, and the glue thickness may be in the range of 0.01-0.1mm. In addition, as an alternative, when the display unit 24 is fixed by an adhesive material, the final adhesive portion may be formed in a ring shape so as to be able to better seal the inner space of the housing 21, preventing unwanted stray light, dust, etc. from entering the inside of the housing.

For the housing 21 of the projection module 20, it may have any suitable structural form as desired, for example, it may be of unitary construction or of split construction consisting of a plurality of parts. Referring to fig. 6 to 10, the housing 21 may be alternatively constructed to have two parts, namely a first housing 211 and a second housing 212, so as to accommodate and carry the constituent parts. Specifically, an opening 213 may be provided on the first housing 211 so that the light source 22 is placed in the first housing 211 via the opening 213; as for the second housing 212, it may be presented as an optional hexahedral structure as a whole,

openings

214 and 215 may be provided on the second housing 212, and the opening 214 may be configured to fit with the opening 213, for example, a concave portion 217 and a convex portion 216 which are optionally provided at the opening 214 and the opening 213, respectively, and which are matched with each other, so as to detachably seal-join both the second housing 212 and the first housing 211 together to avoid light leakage.

The light conversion unit 23 is disposed in the second housing 212 to receive the input light sent from the light source 22 located in the first housing 211 and output the received input light to the projection lens 25, which may specifically take the form of, for example, a PDS prism, a TIR prism, etc., and the projection lens 25 is disposed on the second housing 212 and disposed at the opening 215, which may be implemented by any feasible connection manner, such as a threaded connection, fixing with adhesive after alignment by machine vision, fixing with adhesive after clamping with the second housing 212 by a limiting structure (for example, adopting the form of mutually matched limiting grooves and limiting posts, etc.), and fixing with adhesive for other components, such as the light source 22, the light conversion unit 23, etc., in the same or similar manner as described above. Although the above figures show the accommodation portion 218 being provided at the second housing 212, it should be noted that the present invention also allows the accommodation portion 218 to be provided on the outer wall of the first housing 211 instead, for example, only by rotating the light conversion unit 23 by 90 degrees for fitting. The first housing 211 and the second housing 212, which are provided with these components, are to be connected to the support 10, an alternative way of connecting is shown for example in fig. 7, i.e. the first housing 211 and/or the second housing 212 can be fixed to the support 10 by applying an adhesive material to the groove-like structure 14, for example on the support 10.

As another exemplary example, for example, as shown in fig. 11, the housing 21 may be constructed to have a first housing 211 'and a second housing 212', the former being coupled to the bracket 10 and providing a space for accommodating the light source 22 and the light conversion unit 23 after assembly, one or more opening portions may be provided on the first housing 211 'according to actual needs, and the projection lens 25 may be installed at one of the opening portions, while the second housing 212' may be constructed to be coupled to the first housing 211 'to form a cover plate-like form, and the accommodating portion 218 may be provided on an outer wall of the second housing 212'. With the above structure, the light source 22, the light conversion unit 23, etc. can be mounted in the same structural member by means of slots or limitation, so that the alignment step can be omitted to improve the assembly efficiency, and since the optical elements are all mounted in the same structural member, they have higher optical axis consistency.

As for the gap S2, a corresponding specific example is given in fig. 12 and 14. By way of example, the accommodation space 11 may be provided on the holder 10, and when the optical waveguide 30 is partially inserted into the accommodation space 11, a gap S2 may be formed between the optical waveguide 30 and an inner wall of the accommodation space, whereby a space for performing a position adjustment operation of the optical waveguide 30 may be provided (for example, two, three, four, five degrees of freedom may be adjusted, or active alignment may be performed in six degrees of freedom of Y-axis, X-axis, Z-axis, YOX-plane, YOZ-plane), and after an optimal relative position between the optical waveguide 30 and the holder 10 is determined, the position therebetween may be fixed by, for example, applying the adhesive material 60 in a part or the whole of the gap S2.

In some embodiments of the method according to the present invention, when performing the glue application operation, this may be achieved by the glue application area 33 provided at a suitable location on one or both sides of the optical waveguide 30 (the specific shape, size and layout, etc. of which may be flexibly set as the case may be), and the one or more through holes 12 provided on the support 10 (the specific number, shape, size and layout, etc. of which may also be optionally set) corresponding to the glue application area 33 described above, so that after the optimal relative position between the optical waveguide 30 and the support 10 is determined, it may be very convenient to apply the glue material 60 to the glue application area 33 of the optical waveguide 30 via the through holes 12 and the gap S2, so that both the optical waveguide 30 and the support 10 may be fastened together as previously described. In addition, in some embodiments, the inventive method also allows for a sizing operation to be performed from one or both sides, top and/or bottom, etc. of the receiving space 11 in communication with the gap S2. Of course, in other embodiments, it is also possible to use combinations of these sizing operations discussed above.

The present invention allows for a variety of possible structurally optimized designs for the support 10 in an augmented reality device in view of facilitating the sizing operation. For example, as an alternative, the stent 10 may be configured with adhesion enhancing portions, spill preventing portions, and/or glue spilling portions. As for the adhesion enhancing part, it may be provided on the surface of the holder 10 opposite to the optical waveguide 30 so as to increase the adhesion contact area of the adhesive material 60 therebetween to improve the connection strength. As an example, the outer contour shape of the adhesion enhancing part may be configured to include, but is not limited to, for example, a continuous triangular/saw-tooth-shaped protrusion, a rectangular protrusion, a circular arc-shaped protrusion, or a combination thereof. As further shown in fig. 12 and in the enlarged partial portions of the portions a and B, respectively, the glue overflow portion 13 is provided in communication with the gap S2 so as to accommodate the excess glue material that may overflow from the gap S2, and the glue overflow portion 13 may be configured in a groove shape or other suitable shape in practical use. As for the overflow preventing portion, it may be provided at an edge position of the holder 10, thereby serving to prevent the adhesive material 60 from possibly overflowing from the gap S2 onto the optical waveguide 30, so that contamination of the optical region of the optical waveguide 30 can be avoided.

In addition, as an alternative, the present invention also allows the bracket 10 to be constructed in a split structure, i.e., it will include a body portion and an additional portion, the latter being separated from the former and being respectively disposed on both sides of the optical waveguide 30 to be connected thereto, and they being separated from the optical waveguide 30 by a first side gap and a second side gap, respectively, which may or may not be equal in distance. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that in practical applications, it is possible to provide two, three or more additional components simultaneously, and such a design may be advantageous in certain situations. In addition, the additional part may be further connected to the body part 2 by means of a suitable structural connection, such as screws. The split structure can be used for implementing double-sided bonding more conveniently and flexibly, so that adverse effects of deformation of the adhesive material 60 possibly generated after curing on the optical waveguide 30 can be effectively balanced, and the incident light can be caused to form a proper coupling angle with the surface of the optical waveguide 30 so as to obtain the best emergent image quality.

The method of the present invention is not particularly limited in terms of its specific type, manner of curing, etc., with respect to the adhesive materials referred to throughout herein. The adhesive material may be any suitable adhesive material such as UV glue, thermoset glue, UV thermoset glue or other types of adhesive materials that cure using natural light or moisture, etc. In addition, where an adhesive material has been used to effect the connection, the method of the present invention also allows for the additional application of one or more other connection means, which may include, for example, but not limited to, a screw connection, a magnetic connection, and the like.

The method of the invention allows more possible embodiments depending on the component composition of the augmented reality device itself. As an illustration, for example, as shown in fig. 13 and 14, one or more prisms 40 may be optionally added between the projection module 20 and the optical waveguide 30 when the present augmented reality device is assembled, so that the light outputted through the projection module 20 is refracted by such prisms 40 and then coupled into the optical waveguide 30, and at this time, both the projection module 20 and the optical waveguide 30 may be formed in parallel arrangement, thereby making the augmented reality device more compact in overall structure. Alternatively, the prism 40 and the bracket 10 may be pre-attached by any suitable retaining structure, such as mating retaining grooves and retaining posts, and may be secured to the bracket 10 by any suitable means, such as adhesive bonding. As another example, the method of the present invention also allows the projection module 20 to be arranged on the same side of the optical waveguide 30 as the receiving location of the exit image, or on different sides, respectively.

Furthermore, according to the design concept of the present invention, an augmented reality device is provided. The augmented reality apparatus may include a bracket, a projection module, and an optical waveguide assembled to form a unit, wherein a gap may be provided between the optical waveguide and the bracket and/or a gap may be provided between a display unit and a housing in the projection module, so that during assembly of the bracket, the projection module, and the optical waveguide, an optimal relative position between the optical waveguide and the bracket (and/or between the display unit and the housing) may be adjusted and determined by determining whether an outgoing image projected via the projection module and the optical waveguide meets a preset standard, and then the optimal relative position may be fixed at least by applying glue in the gap, thereby assembling the augmented reality apparatus according to the present invention.

Different augmented reality device embodiments, namely an augmented reality device 100 and an augmented reality device 200, have been illustrated in fig. 2 to 14, respectively. As an exemplary illustration, in the augmented reality apparatus 100, the projection module 20 and the stand 10 may be arranged along the X-axis and the Y-axis, respectively, to form a vertical layout with a double-sided gap between the optical waveguide 30 and the stand 10; in the augmented reality device 200, the projection module 20 and the stand 10 may both be arranged along the Y-axis to form a parallel layout, with a double-sided gap between the optical waveguide 30 and the stand 10.

It should be noted that the augmented reality apparatus according to the present invention may also adopt more configurations, for example, only a single-sided gap may be provided between the optical waveguide 30 and the mount 10, and for example, the mount 10 may be provided to have a split structure, and a double-sided gap may still be provided between it and the optical waveguide 30. Features or structures that use the same reference numerals in these different embodiments are identical or similar to each other unless otherwise specified, and since the composition, structural configuration, assembly, and advantages of these augmented reality device embodiments have been described in detail in the foregoing description of the method of the invention, reference may be made directly to the detailed description of the corresponding parts described above and will not be repeated here.

As described above, in the technical solution according to the present invention, the inventor has considered that the active adjustment can be performed on the relative positions of the parts in the augmented reality device to be assembled based on the preset standard, so that the adverse effects of individual errors or accumulated errors existing in various links such as manufacturing, processing, assembling, etc. of the projection module, the optical waveguide, the bracket, and the component parts thereof on the final projection image can be effectively avoided, and thus the problems in the prior art such as that some process errors exist more or less when the grating of the optical waveguide is engraved, angle deviation occurs when incident light enters the optical waveguide due to deformation of glue used during assembling, and large assembly errors are more likely to exist in the installation process of numerous optical elements in the projection module, etc. of the projection image reaching the human eyes can be solved.

Finally, it should also be noted that, although some existing augmented reality devices also employ bonding means to assemble components such as optical waveguides with brackets therein, and for reasons of volume of adhesive material, passively appear to have a certain gap in the bonding region in appearance, as discussed above, these existing augmented reality devices do not focus on such projected images as might otherwise result in input light failing to form with good imaging quality, light energy utilization, brightness uniformity, etc. after exiting through projection modules, optical waveguides, etc. as a result of the present invention, particularly under mass production conditions, by inspecting the existing augmented reality device products that have been made, they can be found to be unable to optimize the overall system path in batches as in the augmented reality device of the present invention, as a result of the final projected image output from the input light of the light source to the optical waveguides, so that augmented reality device products having characteristics such as good imaging quality, light energy utilization, brightness uniformity, etc. can be manufactured in a stable and reliable batch, and significant differences between the present invention and the existing augmented reality devices can be found by performing the above inspection, and compared to the prior art.

The above description of the augmented reality device assembling method and the augmented reality device according to the present invention is given by way of example only, these examples are provided only for illustrating the principle of the present invention and its embodiments, and not for limiting the present invention, and various modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, although optical waveguide sheets in a sheet-like structure are commonly used in many cases in augmented reality devices, the optical waveguide in the present invention is also allowed to take any suitable structural form other than that, for example, other shapes such as bumps are formed locally. Accordingly, all equivalent arrangements should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention and as defined in the claims.

Claims

An augmented reality device assembly method, the augmented reality device includes a support, a projection module and an optical waveguide, the projection module includes a housing, a light source, a display unit, a light conversion unit and a projection lens, the display unit is used for modulating incident light into image light, the light conversion unit is used for turning the light emitted from the light source to the display unit and turning the modulated image light to the projection lens to be coupled into the optical waveguide after being projected outwards, the method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

Fixing one of the projection module, the optical waveguide, and the bracket to be assembled in position, and arranging the other two in respective preset positions relative thereto such that a gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is provided between the display unit and the housing and/or between the optical waveguide and the bracket;

enabling the projection module to project image light;

receiving an outgoing image coupled out of the optical waveguide and judging whether a preset standard is met or not: if not, adjusting the relative position until an optimized relative position enabling the emergent image to meet the preset standard is determined; if so, maintaining the optimized relative position; and

the optimized relative position is fixed at least by means of glue.
The augmented reality device assembling method of claim 1, wherein:

fixing the position of the bracket, fixing the position of the optical waveguide part relative to the bracket, and arranging the projection module in a preset position relative to the bracket;

receiving the emergent image at the position of the emergent pupil of the optical waveguide and judging whether the emergent image meets a first preset standard or not so as to adjust and determine the optimized relative position between the display unit and the shell; and

And continuing to receive the emergent image at the position of the emergent pupil and judging whether a second preset standard is met or not, so as to adjust and determine the optimal relative position between the optical waveguide and the bracket.
The augmented reality device assembling method of claim 2, wherein the first preset criteria includes whether the received image quality of the outgoing image meets a preset requirement, the second preset criteria includes whether the received brightness level of the outgoing image meets a preset image brightness uniformity requirement, and whether the angle of the outgoing pupil light meets a preset angle requirement.
The augmented reality device assembling method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein:

fixing the support in position, and arranging the optical waveguide and the projection module in their respective preset positions relative to the support;

and receiving the emergent image on the emergent path of the optical waveguide, and synchronously judging whether the emergent image meets respective preset standards at the projection module and the optical waveguide so as to synchronously adjust and determine the optimized relative position between the display unit and the shell and the optimized relative position between the optical waveguide and the bracket.
The augmented reality device assembling method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image light projected by the projection module comprises image quality data including resolution data, and image position and angle data, the preset criteria at the projection module comprises whether parameters related to the display unit obtained from the received image quality data of the outgoing image meet preset requirements, and the preset criteria at the projection module comprises whether the received image position and angle data of the outgoing image meet respective preset requirements.
The augmented reality device assembling method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the adjustment amount of the relative position is obtained by calculating aberration of the received exit image, and then the relative position between the display unit and the housing, and/or the relative position between the optical waveguide and the cradle is adjusted in real time in six degrees of freedom according thereto.
The augmented reality device assembling method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the augmented reality device assembling method further comprises the steps of:

One or more prisms are arranged between the projection module and the optical waveguide, and are used for enabling the image light outputted by the projection module to be coupled into the optical waveguide after being refracted by the prisms.
The augmented reality device assembling method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a housing portion is provided on an outer wall of the case for housing the display unit, and a first gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the display unit and the outer wall of the case outside the housing portion; and/or

An accommodation space is provided on the bracket, and a second gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the optical waveguide and an inner wall of the accommodation space when the optical waveguide is partially inserted into the accommodation space.
The augmented reality device assembling method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the housing is configured to comprise:

a first housing connected to the bracket and provided with at least a first opening portion, the light source being accommodated in the first housing; and

the second casing, it links to each other with the support and is provided with second opening and third opening at least, the second opening is constructed with first opening looks adaptation, so that the second casing with first casing detachably sealing engagement, light conversion unit is held in the second casing, projection lens arranges third opening department and installs on the second casing, the holding portion sets up the second casing or on the outer wall of first casing.
The augmented reality device assembling method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the housing is configured to comprise:

a first housing connected to the bracket and having a space for accommodating the light source and the light conversion unit, the first housing being provided with at least one opening portion at which the projection lens is mounted; and

a second housing configured to be detachably and sealingly engaged with the first housing, and the receiving portion is provided on an outer wall of the second housing.
The augmented reality device assembling method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the display unit comprises a substrate and a chip attached to the substrate, the display unit is glued to the housing through the substrate, and/or a glue thickness between the display unit and the housing ranges from 0.1-0.6mm.
An augmented reality device, comprising:

a bracket;

the projection module is arranged on the bracket and comprises a shell, a light source, a display unit, a light conversion unit and a projection lens, wherein the display unit is used for modulating incident light into image light, and the light conversion unit is used for turning the light emitted from the light source to the display unit and turning the modulated image light to the projection lens to be projected outwards; and

An optical waveguide installed on the bracket and coupled into image light projected from the projection lens,

wherein a gap is provided between the display unit and the housing and/or between the optical waveguide and the support for adjusting the relative position therebetween, in order to fix, at least by means of glue, an optimized relative position determined during assembly, which is determined such that an outgoing image coupled out of the optical waveguide received during assembly meets a predetermined criterion.
The augmented reality device according to claim 12, wherein an accommodation portion for accommodating the display unit is provided on an outer wall of the housing, and a first gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the display unit and an inner wall of the accommodation portion; and/or

The bracket is provided with an accommodation space, and a second gap for adjusting a relative position therebetween is formed between the optical waveguide and an inner wall of the accommodation space when the optical waveguide is partially inserted into the accommodation space.
The augmented reality device of claim 12 or 13, wherein the housing comprises:

A first housing connected to the bracket and provided with at least a first opening portion, the light source being accommodated in the first housing; and

the second casing, it links to each other with the support and is provided with second opening and third opening at least, the second opening is constructed with first opening looks adaptation, so that the second casing with first casing detachably sealing engagement, light conversion unit is held in the second casing, projection lens arranges third opening department and installs on the second casing, the holding portion sets up the second casing or on the outer wall of first casing.
The augmented reality device of claim 12 or 13, wherein the housing comprises:

a first housing connected to the bracket and having a space for accommodating the light source and the light conversion unit, the first housing being provided with at least one opening portion at which the projection lens is mounted; and

a second housing configured to be detachably and sealingly engaged with the first housing, and the receiving portion is provided on an outer wall of the second housing.
The augmented reality device of any one of claims 12-15, wherein the display unit comprises a substrate and a chip attached to the substrate, the display unit is glued to the housing through the substrate, and/or a glue thickness between the display unit and the housing ranges from 0.1-0.6mm.
The augmented reality device according to any one of claims 12-16, wherein a limit structure with limit grooves matching limit posts is provided between the housing and the support, and/or the housing and the support are mounted together at least by gluing.
The augmented reality device of any one of claims 12-17, wherein at least one side of the optical waveguide is provided with a glue spreading region, and one or more through holes corresponding to the glue spreading region are provided on the support.
The augmented reality device of any one of claims 12-18, wherein the cradle comprises:

the glue overflow part is communicated with the gap and is used for accommodating the adhesive material overflowed from the gap;

an overflow prevention part provided at an edge of the supporter for preventing the adhesive material from overflowing from the gap to the optical waveguide; and/or

And an adhesion enhancing part provided on a surface of the holder opposite to the optical waveguide for increasing a contact area of the adhesive material between the holder and the optical waveguide.
The augmented reality device of any one of claims 12-19, wherein the support is configured as a split comprising a first support and at least one second support independent of each other, the first support being connected to the projection module and the optical waveguide, the second support being connected to at least the optical waveguide, the first support and the second support being located on either side of the optical waveguide and being separated from the optical waveguide by a first side gap and a second side gap, respectively, the first side gap and the second side gap being equal or unequal.
The augmented reality device of any one of claims 12-20, further comprising one or more prisms disposed between the projection module and the optical waveguide for coupling image light projected by the projection module into the optical waveguide after refraction by the prisms.
The augmented reality device of any one of claims 12-21, wherein the preset criteria include whether the received image quality of the outgoing image meets a preset requirement, whether a shading level meets a preset image brightness uniformity requirement, and whether an angle of an exit pupil ray meets a preset angle requirement.