CN117930418A

CN117930418A - Optical waveguide assembly and augmented reality device

Info

Publication number: CN117930418A
Application number: CN202211263426.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 叶万俊; 林奉铭
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2022-10-14
Filing date: 2022-10-14
Publication date: 2024-04-26
Also published as: WO2024078099A1

Abstract

The application provides an optical waveguide assembly and augmented reality equipment. The optical waveguide assembly includes: the optical waveguide comprises a light conducting layer and a grating layer, wherein the light conducting layer is used for transmitting an optical signal entering the light conducting layer; the grating layer is arranged on the surface of the light conducting layer; the first protection layers are arranged at intervals on one side, away from the light conducting layer, of the grating layer; a first support disposed between the optical waveguide and the first protective layer; and the first connecting piece is arranged between the optical waveguide and the first protective layer and is respectively connected with the first protective layer and the optical waveguide, and the first connecting piece surrounds the periphery of the first supporting piece and surrounds the periphery of the grating layer. The optical waveguide component can better solve the problem that Newton rings are generated by the first protection layer depression under the action of low temperature or external force to influence the light transmittance of the optical waveguide component.

Description

Optical waveguide assembly and augmented reality device

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of electronics, in particular to an optical waveguide assembly and augmented reality equipment.

Background

Augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) technology can combine virtual with real world, and is now becoming more and more widely used. The optical waveguide is an indispensable element of the augmented reality equipment, most of the existing optical waveguides are made of glass, the glass density is high, the nose bridge is heavy to wear, and the user experience is not friendly; and because glass is brittle, the mechanical reliability of the glass substrate optical waveguide is poor, the glass is very brittle when dropped, and the glass is broken into sharp glass slag with danger. In order to better improve the anti-dropping capability of the optical waveguide and reduce the weight, the optical waveguide made of resin appears, and in order to better protect the grating of the optical waveguide, a protective layer is arranged on the grating layer and is adhered to the optical waveguide through a rubber frame so as to form an optical waveguide assembly, so that the grating area of the optical waveguide is in a completely sealed state. The protective layer is attached at normal temperature, so that when the optical waveguide assembly is in a low-temperature environment, the volume of the gas in the sealing area where the grating on the optical waveguide is positioned is reduced due to the thermal expansion and contraction effect of the gas, and the air pressure is rapidly reduced. For the glass-based optical waveguide component, the protective layer is made of sapphire or reinforced glass, so that the rigidity is good, and the glass-based optical waveguide component does not have extremely large concave when the air pressure is reduced; for the plastic-based optical waveguide component, as the protective layer is replaced by the sapphire, the rigidity is greatly reduced relative to the sapphire, so that when the air pressure is reduced, the protective layer can be severely recessed, and even part of the area is directly attached to the surface of the grating layer. When the distance between the protective layer and the optical waveguide is too small or even is attached, newton rings and adhesion phenomena can be generated between the protective layer and the optical waveguide, the transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly can be seriously affected, and great interference is caused to a user when the AR equipment is used.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present application provide an optical waveguide assembly, which can better solve the problem that the first protection layer is concave to generate newton rings under the action of low temperature or external force, and affects the light transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly.

The embodiment of the application provides an optical waveguide assembly, which comprises:

the optical waveguide comprises a light conducting layer and a grating layer, wherein the light conducting layer is used for transmitting an optical signal entering the light conducting layer; the grating layer is arranged on the surface of the light conducting layer;

the first protection layers are arranged at intervals on one side, away from the light conducting layer, of the grating layer;

a first support disposed between the optical waveguide and the first protective layer; and

The first connecting piece is arranged between the optical waveguide and the first protective layer and is respectively connected with the first protective layer and the optical waveguide, and the first connecting piece surrounds the periphery of the first supporting piece and surrounds the periphery of the grating layer.

The embodiment of the application also provides augmented reality equipment, which is characterized by comprising:

the projection optical machine is used for projecting optical signals, and the optical signals comprise image information; and

The optical waveguide assembly is used for transmitting the optical signals.

The optical waveguide assembly comprises a first support piece, wherein the first support piece is arranged between the optical waveguide and a first protection layer, and the first support piece is connected with the surface of the grating layer, which faces away from the light conducting layer, or the surface of the first protection layer, which faces towards the light conducting layer; when the optical waveguide assembly is in a low-temperature environment, the air pressure in the enclosed space enclosed by the first connecting piece, the first protective layer and the optical waveguide is reduced, and the external atmospheric pressure generates force towards the optical waveguide to the first protective layer, or when the optical waveguide assembly is wiped, the first protective layer bends towards the optical waveguide assembly due to the external force, the first protective layer cannot be attached to the optical waveguide and even cannot be sunken due to the supporting effect of the first supporting piece, so that Newton rings or adhesion phenomena cannot be generated, the light transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly is prevented from being influenced under the condition of low temperature or external force, and the display effect of the optical waveguide assembly cannot be influenced due to the introduction of the first supporting piece.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of an optical waveguide assembly according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical waveguide assembly according to an embodiment of the present application along the direction A-A in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of an optical waveguide assembly according to yet another embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of the first protective layer bonded to the optical waveguide according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a photograph of newton rings generated in an optical waveguide.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical waveguide assembly according to still another embodiment of the present application along the direction A-A in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a broken line box I in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical waveguide assembly according to still another embodiment of the present application along the direction A-A in fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a broken line box II in fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the first protective layer or the second protective layer according to an embodiment of the application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of the first protective layer or the second protective layer according to an embodiment of the application.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a first protective layer or a second protective layer according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural view of a first protective layer or a second protective layer according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 14 is a schematic view of a first protective layer, a first support, and a surface coating of the first support, or a second protective layer, a second support, and a surface coating of the second support according to an embodiment of the application.

Fig. 15 is a schematic top view of a silk screen plate according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural view of a process for preparing a first support on a first protective layer according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 17 is a partial top view of an optical waveguide corresponding to an out-coupling grating region according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view of an optical waveguide and first support member along the direction B-B of fig. 17 in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 19 is a partial top view of an optical waveguide corresponding to an out-coupling grating region according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view of an optical waveguide and first support member along the direction C-C of fig. 19 in accordance with an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 21 is a schematic structural view of an augmented reality device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 22 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an augmented reality device according to an embodiment of the application along direction D-D in fig. 21.

Fig. 23 is a circuit block diagram of an augmented reality device according to an embodiment of the application.

Reference numerals illustrate:

100-optical waveguide assembly, 10-optical waveguide, 11-light conducting layer, 13-grating layer, 131-coupling-in grating, 133-coupling-out grating, 1331-coupling-out sub-grating, 135-turning grating, 20-first protective layer, 21-protective substrate layer, 23-color-changing layer, 25-antireflection film, 27-anti-fingerprint film, 40-first support, 60-first connector, 100 a-silk screen, 101 a-through hole, 70-second protective layer, 80-second support, 90-second connector, 20' -protective layer, 500-augmented reality device, 510-projection light machine, 511-display, 513-lens, 530-wearing piece, 531-first wearing piece, 533-second wearing piece, 540-processor, 550-carrier, 560-memory.

Detailed Description

In order that those skilled in the art will better understand the present application, a technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the application without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the application.

The terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims and in the above-described figures are used for distinguishing between different objects and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. Furthermore, the terms "comprise" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed steps or elements but may include other steps or elements not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, for convenience of explanation, like reference numerals denote like components in the embodiments of the present application, and detailed descriptions of the like components are omitted in the different embodiments for brevity.

Augmented reality is a technique that provides users with an augmented reality perception by superimposing a computer-generated image input into a real-world image to input a human eye, and is now becoming increasingly widely used. An optical waveguide (optical waveguide) is a medium device for guiding light waves to propagate in the optical waveguide, and is an indispensable element of augmented reality equipment; the optical waveguide comprises a geometric optical waveguide and a diffraction optical waveguide, and compared with the geometric optical waveguide, the optical grating of the diffraction optical waveguide has higher flexibility in design and production, and higher mass productivity and yield, so that the application is wider. For example, the diffractive optical waveguide scheme of the AR glasses is a mainstream technical scheme because the optical lenses are light and thin, the appearance form of the AR glasses is more similar to that of the conventional glasses, and meanwhile, the AR glasses are more convenient to implement and easier to mass produce. The diffractive optical waveguide can be subdivided into surface relief gratings and volume holographic gratings.

Diffractive optical waveguides, such as surface relief optical waveguides, can be produced by nanoimprinting a grating structure on a glass substrate to provide an optical waveguide. The density of the glass base material is high, the nose bridge is heavy in bearing when the glass base material is used for enhancing the reality glasses, and the user experience is unfriendly; and because glass is brittle, the mechanical reliability of the optical waveguide made of glass material is poor, the optical waveguide is very fragile when dropped, and the glass is broken into sharp glass slag with danger. The diffraction optical waveguide can also adopt an injection molding process or a casting molding process to prepare the optical waveguide with the integrated light conducting layer and the grating and the same material, but is limited by the injection molding process and the casting molding process, and the refractive index of the material is lower, so that the refractive index of the prepared coupling grating is also lower, the coupling efficiency of the coupling grating on optical signals is reduced, and the light efficiency of the optical waveguide is reduced.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, an embodiment of a first aspect of the present application provides an optical waveguide assembly 100, where the optical waveguide assembly 100 includes an optical waveguide 10 for transmitting an optical signal incident on the optical waveguide 10 and performing one-dimensional pupil expansion or two-dimensional pupil expansion on image information in the optical signal. The optical waveguide 10 comprises a light conducting layer 11 and a grating layer 13, wherein the light conducting layer 11 is made of resin, and the light conducting layer 11 is used for transmitting light signals entering the light conducting layer 11; the grating layer 13 is disposed on one side of the light conducting layer 11, and the grating layer 13 includes an in-grating 131 and an out-grating 133 disposed at intervals, where the in-grating 131 is used for coupling the optical signal into the light conducting layer 11, and the out-grating 133 is used for coupling the optical signal transmitted through the light conducting layer 11 out of the optical waveguide 10. The optical waveguide 10 of the embodiment of the application can be applied to near-to-eye display systems such as augmented reality glasses, augmented reality helmets, augmented reality masks and the like.

Optionally, the coupling-in grating 131 and the coupling-out grating 133 are made of resin. Optionally, the grating layer 13 is of a different material than the light conducting layer 11. For example, the grating layer 13 and the light conducting layer 11 may have different compositions; the grating layer 13 and the light conducting layer 11 may also be of different resins.

Alternatively, the incoupling grating 131 may be, but is not limited to, one of a binary grating, a tilted grating, a blazed grating, a two-dimensional grating, etc. The out-coupling grating 133 may be, but is not limited to, one of a binary grating, a tilted grating, a blazed grating, a two-dimensional grating, etc. The type of the in-coupling grating 131 and the out-coupling grating 133 may be the same or different.

Optionally, the grating period coupled into the grating 131 ranges from 200nm to 800nm, and the grating depth is less than or equal to 300nm. The grating period of the coupling-out grating 133 is in the range of 200nm to 800nm, and the grating depth is less than or equal to 300nm. In the embodiments of the present application, when reference is made to the numerical ranges a to b, it means that the numerical values may be any numerical value between a to b, inclusive of the end point value a, and inclusive of the end point value b, unless otherwise specified.

Referring to fig. 3, the grating layer 13 optionally further includes a turning grating 135, and the turning grating 135 is used for pupil expansion of the image information in the optical signal. The turning grating 135, the coupling-in grating 131 and the coupling-out grating 133 are respectively disposed at intervals on the same side of the light conducting layer 11. When the grating layer 13 further includes the turning grating 135, the optical signal coupled into the light conducting layer 11 is first pupil expanded by the turning grating 135 and then coupled out of the optical waveguide 10 by the coupling-out grating 133. Alternatively, turning grating 135 may be, but is not limited to, one of a binary grating, a tilted grating, a blazed grating, a two-dimensional grating, and the like. The types of turning grating 135, coupling-in grating 131 and coupling-out grating 133 may be the same or different. Alternatively, the grating period of the turning grating 135 ranges from 200nm to 800nm, and the grating depth is less than or equal to 300nm.

The optical waveguide assembly 100 of the embodiment includes an optical waveguide 10, the optical waveguide 10 includes a light conducting layer 11 and a grating layer 13, the light conducting layer 11 is made of a resin material, and the resin has lighter weight than the glass material, so that the optical waveguide 10 has lighter weight, and when the optical waveguide assembly is applied to an augmented reality device, the weight of the augmented reality device can be reduced, and the wearing comfort of the augmented reality device is improved; furthermore, the resin optical waveguide 10 is less fragile when dropped, and is more safe and less costly.

Alternatively, the light conductive layer 11 is a thermoplastic resin including Polycarbonate (PC) or a thermosetting resin including Polyurethane (PU). The polycarbonate and polyurethane have higher refractive indexes, so that the prepared optical waveguide 10 has a larger field of view (FOV) and better optical performance; in addition, the polycarbonate and polyurethane blue light 420-500nm or green light 500-560 nm or red light 560-780nm have internal transmittance of more than 99% of 1mm thickness in at least one of the three wave bands, and have good transmittance, the light transmittance of the light conducting layer 11 is too low, the absorption is too strong, and the light can be gradually attenuated in the propagation process of the optical waveguide 10, so that the brightness is obviously reduced. Furthermore, both polycarbonate and polyurethane have higher heat distortion temperature (polycarbonate > 120 ℃ C., polyurethane > 110 ℃ C.), and can better bear baking temperature (80 ℃ C. To 120 ℃ C.) of the stamping adhesive and coating temperature (80 ℃ C. To 120 ℃ C.) during high-temperature coating. Furthermore, the polycarbonate and polyurethane have lower birefringence, so that the light (i.e. optical signal) can be better prevented from deflecting when totally reflecting in the light conducting layer 11, and the brightness and definition of the real image are affected, so that the optical waveguide 10 has better display effect.

Alternatively, the grating layer 13 has a refractive index greater than that of the light conducting layer 11. The refractive index of the grating layer 13 is larger than that of the light conducting layer 11, and the grating layer 13 has a higher refractive index, so that the coupling efficiency of the coupling grating 131 to the optical signal can be improved, and the light efficiency of the optical waveguide 10 can be improved. Optionally, the refractive index of the light conducting layer 11 is greater than or equal to 1.55. It is understood that the refractive index of the polycarbonate and polyurethane of the embodiments of the application is greater than or equal to 1.55.

Alternatively, the birefringence phase difference of the light-conducting layer 11 is less than or equal to 20nm. When the light conducting layer 11 is polycarbonate, the phase difference of the birefringence of the light conducting layer 11 is less than or equal to 20nm. When the light conducting layer 11 is polyurethane, the phase difference of the birefringence of the light conducting layer 11 is less than or equal to 5nm. Specifically, the phase difference of the birefringence of the light conductive layer 11 may be, but is not limited to, 20nm, 18nm, 16nm, 14nm, 12nm, 10nm, 8nm, 6nm, 5nm, 3nm, 1nm, etc. The smaller the phase difference of the birefringence of the light conducting layer 11, the better, the larger the phase difference of the birefringence of the light conducting layer 11, the birefringence will cause deflection when the light inside the light conducting layer 11 is totally reflected, and the display will be represented by AR display, and not only the brightness will be reduced, but the image will be degraded.

Alternatively, the thickness of the light conductive layer 11 is 0.3mm to 3mm. Specifically, the thickness of the light conductive layer 11 may be, but is not limited to, 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.8mm, 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, and the like. The thickness of the light conducting layer 11 is too thin, the structural strength of the light conducting layer 11 is too weak, the thickness of the light conducting layer 11 is too thick, and the manufactured optical waveguide assembly 100 is heavy and affects the user experience.

The anti-falling capability of the optical waveguide prepared from the glass material is poor, the optical waveguide is easy to break when falling, and the protection layer (such as chemically strengthened glass or sapphire) is respectively attached to the two opposite surfaces of the optical waveguide made from the glass material by adopting the rubber frame, so that the protection to the optical waveguide can be improved to a certain extent, but the anti-falling capability is still poor, and the weight of the optical waveguide made from the glass material is large, so that the weight of the whole optical waveguide is high when the optical waveguide is applied to augmented reality equipment, and the optical waveguide is unfavorable for being worn for a long time. In order to solve the above problems, the optical waveguide made of resin may be used instead of the optical waveguide made of glass, and the protective layer made of resin may be used instead of the protective layer made of glass, so that the weight of the optical waveguide assembly can be greatly reduced (such that the weight can be reduced by more than 50%), and the problem that the optical waveguide is fragile due to dropping can be solved.

As shown in fig. 4, when the optical waveguide 10 and the protective layer 20' are bonded by a plastic frame, a gap is provided between the optical waveguide 10 and the protective sheet, and the grating region of the optical waveguide 10 is in a completely sealed state for dust and water proofing. Since the protective layer 20' of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is bonded at normal temperature, when the optical waveguide assembly 100 is in a low temperature environment, the volume of the gas in the sealing region where the grating on the optical waveguide 10 is located is reduced due to the thermal expansion and contraction effect of the gas, and the gas pressure is rapidly reduced. For the glass-based optical waveguide assembly 100, since the protective layer 20' is sapphire or tempered glass, the rigidity is excellent, and thus, no great recess occurs when the air pressure is reduced; in the case of the plastic-based optical waveguide assembly 100, since the protection layer 20 'is replaced with plastic by sapphire, the rigidity is greatly reduced with respect to sapphire, and thus, when the air pressure is reduced, the protection layer 20' (the protection layer 20 'facing away from the human eye in use, or the protection layer 20' disposed on the side of the optical waveguide 10 having the grating layer 13) may be severely recessed, and even a partial region is directly attached to the surface of the grating layer 13. When the distance between the protective layer 20 'and the optical waveguide 10 is too small or even close to each other, newton rings and blocking phenomenon may occur between the protective layer 20' and the optical waveguide 10, as shown in fig. 5. As can be seen from fig. 5, the newton rings are a series of colored rings with different colors, which can seriously affect the transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100, and cause great interference to the user using the AR device. In addition, when the surface of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is stained, and the surface of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is wiped, the protective layer 20 'is recessed due to the stress bending of the optical waveguide assembly 100 during wiping, and the protective layer 20' and the optical waveguide 10 are close together due to the high possibility, so that newton rings and blocking are generated.

Referring to fig. 6, the optical waveguide assembly 100 according to the first embodiment of the present application further includes a first protection layer 20, a first supporting member 40 and a first connecting member 60, where the first protection layer 20 is disposed at a side of the grating layer 13 away from the light conducting layer 11; the first supporting member 40 is disposed between the optical waveguide 10 and the first protective layer 20; the first connection member 60 is disposed between the optical waveguide 10 and the first protection layer 20, the first connection member 60 is disposed around the outer periphery of the first support member 40 and around the outer periphery of the grating layer 13, and the first connection member 60 is connected to the first protection layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10, respectively.

It should be noted that, the first supporting member 40 is connected to the surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11 or connected to the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conducting layer 11, and it is understood that the first supporting member 40 is disposed on the grating layer 13 and carried on the grating layer 13, or the first supporting member 40 is disposed on the side of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conducting portion and carried on the first protective layer 20. It will be appreciated that when the first support 40 is connected to the surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11, the first support 40 extends from the surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11, towards a direction approaching the first protective layer 20; when the first support 40 is connected to the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11, the first support 40 extends from the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11 toward a direction approaching the light conductive layer 11.

Optionally, the first connector 60 is a glue frame, i.e. a hollow annular adhesive layer. It can be appreciated that the first connection element 60, the first protection layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10 enclose an enclosed space (not shown), and the first support element 40 and the grating layer 13 are accommodated in the enclosed space. The first connecting piece 60 is used for attaching the first protection layer 20 to the optical waveguide 10, and keeping a certain gap between the first protection layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10, so as to avoid the first protection layer 20 attaching to the optical waveguide 10 and affecting the transmission of optical signals in the optical waveguide 10. Alternatively, the material of the first protective layer 20 may be, but is not limited to, polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate, etc.

When the first protective layer 20 is recessed and bonded to the optical waveguide 10, a circle of nano-scale air film is generated around the bonding region of the first protective layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10. When the ambient light is incident, part of the light is directly reflected by the surface of the first protection layer 20, and part of the light is irradiated on the optical waveguide 10 through the first protection layer 20 and is reflected by the surface of the optical waveguide 10; since light has a fluctuation property, when the thickness of the air film is 1/4 of the wavelength of light, the light reflected by the surface of the optical waveguide 10 and the light reflected by the surface of the first protective layer 20 have a phase difference of 1/2 of the wavelength, and since the two light beams are the same incident light and are coherent light, the phase differences of the two light beams cancel each other when the phase difference of the two light beams is 1/2 of the wavelength. In addition, since the incident ambient light is mixed light, the light with different colors has different wavelengths, for example, when the thickness of the air film is 1/4 of the wavelength of the green light, the green light in the two light beams in the area are counteracted, and only the mixed light of the rest visible light is remained, and the mixed light is displayed as a color light ring; similarly, when the thickness of the air film is 1/4 wavelength of other color light, other colors are displayed; in summary, newton rings of respective colors appear around the bonding region.

The optical waveguide assembly 100 of the embodiment of the present application includes a first support member 40, where the first support member 40 is disposed between the optical waveguide 10 and the first protection layer 20, and the first support member 40 is connected to a surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11 or to a surface of the first protection layer 20 facing the light conducting layer 11; when the optical waveguide assembly 100 is in a low temperature environment, the air pressure in the enclosed space enclosed by the first connecting piece 60, the first protective layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10 is reduced, under the action of the external air pressure, when the air pressure or the force for wiping the optical waveguide assembly 100 to the first protective layer 20 towards the optical waveguide 10 is generated, the first protective layer 20 cannot be attached to the optical waveguide 10 or even is not recessed due to the supporting effect of the first supporting piece 40, so that newton rings or adhesion phenomenon cannot be generated, the light transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is prevented from being influenced under the condition of low temperature or external force, and the display effect of the optical waveguide assembly 100 cannot be influenced due to the introduction of the first supporting piece 40.

Alternatively, the first support 40 is connected to the surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11 or to the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conducting layer 11. This can better simplify the manufacturing process of the optical waveguide assembly 100 and avoid the influence of the introduction of the first support 40 on the optical conduction.

In some embodiments, when the first supporting members 40 are connected to the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11, the number of the first supporting members 40 is plural, and the plural first supporting members 40 are arrayed. It is understood that, when the number of the first supporting members 40 is plural, the plural first supporting members 40 are arranged in an array on the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11, and each of the first supporting members 40 extends from the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11 toward a direction approaching the light conductive layer 11. The first supporting members 40 arranged in an array distribute the supporting force of the first protective layer 20 more uniformly, and can better prevent the first protective layer 20 from being sunken and better prevent the generation of newton rings when the first protective layer 20 is subjected to external atmospheric pressure or external force such as wiping the optical waveguide assembly 100.

It will be appreciated that in the present embodiment, the plurality of first supporting members 40 may be periodically distributed, that is, the plurality of first supporting members 40 are periodically distributed lattice supporting structures. Optionally, the plurality of first supporting members 40 are at least arranged in an array at a position of the first protective layer 20 near the geometric center thereof; in other embodiments, the plurality of first supporting members 40 may be distributed on the surface of the entire first protective layer 20 facing the optical waveguide 10.

Alternatively, the shape of the first support 40 may be, but is not limited to, a regular shape such as hemispherical, conical, cylindrical, etc., and in other embodiments, may be an irregular shape. The first support 40 is illustrated in the drawings of the present application as being hemispherical in shape, and should not be construed as limiting the first support 40.

Referring to FIG. 7, alternatively, the height h1 of the first support 40 in the lamination direction of the optical waveguide 10 and the first protective layer 20 may be in the range of 0.01 mm.ltoreq.h1.ltoreq.0.2 mm; in other words, the height h1 of the first support 40 ranges from 10 μm.ltoreq.h1.ltoreq.200 μm; specifically, the height h1 of the first support 40 may be, but is not limited to, 10 μm, 30 μm, 50 μm, 80 μm, 100 μm, 120 μm, 140 μm, 160 μm, 180 μm, 200 μm, etc. When the height of the first supporting member 40 is too small, a sufficient supporting effect is not generated, and when the first protective layer 20 is depressed, the thickness of the air film between the first protective layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10 is small, and there is still a risk of generating newton rings to the naked eye; when the height of the first support 40 is too large, the microstructure of the first support 40 is too pronounced, visible to the naked eye, affecting the wearing visual experience. When the height of the first supporting member 40 is greater than 10 μm, the air film between the first protective layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10 is also greater than 10 μm, the phase difference of the two light beams exceeds 10 times of the wavelength, the light energy of the interference is weak, and the newton ring is hardly observed by naked eyes, so the problem of newton ring can be basically solved by adopting the scheme.

Alternatively, in the stacking direction of the optical waveguide 10 and the first protective layer 20, the height h1 of the first supporting member 40 is equal to the thickness of the first connecting member 60, so that one end of the first supporting member 40 is connected to the first protective layer 20, and the other end of the first supporting member abuts against the optical waveguide 10, thereby better preventing the first protective layer 20 from being recessed at a low temperature or under an external force to generate newton rings, and affecting the light transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100.

Alternatively, the distance d1 between the two points farthest apart on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11 of the first support member 40 ranges from 0.01 mm.ltoreq.d1.ltoreq.0.2 mm. In other words, the distance d1 between the two points farthest apart on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11 is in the range of 10 μm.ltoreq.d1.ltoreq.200μm; specifically, the distance d1 between the two points farthest apart on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the first protective layer 20 facing the surface of the first support 40 may be, but is not limited to, 10 μm, 30 μm, 50 μm, 80 μm, 100 μm, 120 μm, 140 μm, 160 μm, 180 μm, 200 μm, etc. When the size of the first supporting member 40 is too small, a sufficient supporting effect is not generated, and when the first protective layer 20 is depressed, the thickness of the air film between the first protective layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10 is small, and there is still a risk of generating newton rings visible to the naked eye; when the size of the first support 40 is too large, the microstructure of the first support 40 is too pronounced, visible to the naked eye, affecting the wearing visual experience.

In an embodiment, the first supporting element 40 is hemispherical, and the distance d1 between two points farthest from each other on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the first supporting element 40 is the diameter of the first supporting element 40, and the diameter d1 of the first supporting element 40 ranges from 0.01mm to 0.2mm.

Alternatively, the shortest distance s1 between any adjacent two first supporting pieces 40 ranges from 0.5 mm.ltoreq.s1.ltoreq.10mm. Specifically, the shortest distance s1 between any adjacent two first supports 40 may be, but is not limited to, 0.5mm, 0.8mm, 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, etc. When the shortest distance between any two adjacent first supporting members 40 is too small, the density of the first supporting members 40 is too high, the transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is too low, and the wearing visual experience is affected; when the shortest distance between any two adjacent first supporting members 40 is too large, the density of the first supporting members 40 is too small, the supporting force is insufficient, and the area between the adjacent first supporting members 40 and the first supporting members 40 still has the risk of generating newton rings.

In a specific embodiment, the shapes of the plurality of first supporting members 40 are the same, the height, the lateral dimension (such as width, length, diameter, etc.) of each first supporting member 40 are equal, and the interval between any two adjacent first supporting members 40 is equal (i.e. the distances between two adjacent first supporting members 40 are equal), in other words, the shapes of the plurality of first supporting members 40 are the same and h1, d1, s1 are all equal. This can make the supporting force of the first supporting member 40 on the first protective layer 20 more uniform, and can better prevent the first protective layer 20 from sagging.

Referring to fig. 8, the optical waveguide assembly 100 of the present embodiment further includes a second protection layer 70, a second supporting member 80, and a second connecting member 90. The second protective layer 70 is disposed at a side of the light conducting layer 11 away from the grating layer 13 at intervals; the second supporting member 80 is disposed between the light conducting layer 11 and the second protective layer 70, and the second supporting member 80 is connected to a surface of the second protective layer 70 facing the light conducting layer 11; and a second connection member 90 disposed between the optical waveguide 10 and the second protection layer 70, the second connection member 90 being disposed around the outer periphery of the second support member 80, the second connection member 90 being connected to the second protection layer 70 and the optical waveguide 10, respectively. When the second supporting member 80 is disposed between the second protective layer 70 and the optical waveguide 10, the second protective layer 70 can be prevented from being recessed under the action of low temperature or external force, so that the generation of newton rings can be better prevented, and the optical waveguide assembly 100 has better display effect.

It should be noted that the second supporting member 80 is connected to the surface of the second protection layer 70 facing the light conductive layer 11, and it is understood that the second supporting member 80 is disposed on the side of the second protection layer 70 facing the light conductive portion and is carried by the second protection layer 70. When the second support 80 is connected to the surface of the second protective layer 70 facing the light conductive layer 11, the second support 80 extends from the surface of the second protective layer 70 facing the light conductive layer 11 toward a direction approaching the light conductive layer 11.

Optionally, the second connecting member 90 is a rubber frame, i.e. a hollow annular adhesive layer. It can be appreciated that the second connector 90, the second protective layer 70 and the optical waveguide 10 enclose an enclosed space (not shown), and the second support 80 is accommodated in the enclosed space. The second connection member 90 is configured to attach the second protection layer 70 to the optical waveguide 10, and keep a certain gap between the second protection layer 70 and the optical waveguide 10, so as to avoid the second protection layer 70 attaching to the optical waveguide 10 and affecting the transmission of optical signals in the optical waveguide 10. Alternatively, the material of the second protective layer 70 may be, but is not limited to, polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate, etc.

Alternatively, the number of the second supporting members 80 is plural, and the plural second supporting members 80 are arranged in an array. It is understood that, when the number of the second supporting members 80 is plural, the plural second supporting members 80 are arranged in an array on the surface of the second protection layer 70 facing the light conductive layer 11, and each second supporting member 80 extends from the surface of the second protection layer 70 facing the light conductive layer 11 toward a direction approaching the light conductive layer 11. The second supporting members 80 arranged in an array distribute the supporting force of the second protective layer 70 more uniformly, so that the second protective layer 70 can be better prevented from being recessed and the generation of newton rings can be better prevented when the second protective layer 70 is subjected to external atmospheric pressure or external force such as wiping the optical waveguide assembly 100.

It will be appreciated that in the present embodiment, the plurality of second supporting members 80 may be periodically distributed, that is, the plurality of second supporting members 80 are periodically distributed lattice supporting structures. Optionally, a plurality of second supporting members 80 are arranged at least in an array manner at a position of the second protective layer 70 near the geometric center of the second protective layer 70; in other embodiments, the plurality of second supporting members 80 may be distributed on the surface of the entire second protection layer 70 facing the optical waveguide 10. Alternatively, the shape of the second support 80 may be, but is not limited to, a regular shape such as hemispherical, conical, cylindrical, etc., and may be irregular in other embodiments. The second support 80 is illustrated in the drawings of the present application as being hemispherical in shape, and should not be construed as limiting the second support 80.

Referring to FIG. 9, alternatively, the height h2 of the second support 80 in the lamination direction of the optical waveguide 10 and the second protective layer 70 may be in the range of 0.01 mm.ltoreq.h2.ltoreq.0.2 mm; in other words, the height h2 of the second support 80 ranges from 10 μm.ltoreq.h2.ltoreq.200 μm; specifically, the height h2 of the second support 80 may be, but is not limited to, 10 μm, 30 μm, 50 μm, 80 μm, 100 μm, 120 μm, 140 μm, 160 μm, 180 μm, 200 μm, etc. When the height of the second supporting member 80 is too small, a sufficient supporting effect is not generated, and when the second protective layer 70 is depressed, the thickness of the air film between the second protective layer 70 and the optical waveguide 10 is small, and there is still a risk of generating newton rings visible to the naked eye; when the height of the second support 80 is too large, the microstructure of the second support 80 is too pronounced, visible to the naked eye, affecting the wearing visual experience. When the height of the second support 80 is greater than 10 μm, the air film between the second protective layer 70 and the optical waveguide 10 is also greater than 10 μm, the phase difference of the two light beams exceeds 10 times of the wavelength, the light energy of the interference is weak, and the newton ring is difficult to be observed by naked eyes, so the problem of the newton ring can be basically solved by adopting the scheme.

Alternatively, the height h2 of the second support member 80 is equal to the thickness of the first connection member 60 along the stacking direction of the optical waveguide 10 and the second protection layer 70, so that one end of the second support member 80 is connected to the second protection layer 70, and the other end abuts against the optical waveguide 10, thereby better preventing the second protection layer 70 from being recessed under low temperature or external force, thereby generating newton rings and affecting the light transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100.

Optionally, the distance d2 between two points farthest from each other on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the second protective layer 70 facing the surface of the second support 80 ranges from 0.01mm to 0.2mm. In other words, the distance d2 between the two points farthest apart on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the second protective layer 70 facing the surface of the second support 80 ranges from 10 μm to d2 to 200 μm; specifically, the distance d2 between the two points farthest apart on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the second protective layer 70 facing the surface of the second support 80 may be, but is not limited to, 10 μm, 30 μm, 50 μm, 80 μm, 100 μm, 120 μm, 140 μm, 160 μm, 180 μm, 200 μm, etc. When the size of the second supporting member 80 is too small, a sufficient supporting effect is not generated, and when the second protective layer 70 is depressed, the thickness of the air film between the second protective layer 70 and the optical waveguide 10 is small, and there is still a risk of generating newton rings visible to the naked eye; when the size of the second support 80 is too large, the microstructure of the second support 80 is too pronounced, visible to the naked eye, affecting the wearing visual experience.

In a specific embodiment, the second support 80 is hemispherical, and the distance d2 between two points farthest from each other on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the second protective layer 70 facing the surface of the second support 80 is the diameter of the second support 80, where the diameter d2 of the second support 80 ranges from 0.01mm to 0.2mm.

Alternatively, the shortest distance s2 between any adjacent two of the second supports 80 ranges from 0.5 mm.ltoreq.s2.ltoreq.10mm. Specifically, the shortest distance s2 between any adjacent two second supports 80 may be, but is not limited to, 0.5mm, 0.8mm, 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, etc. When the shortest distance between any two adjacent second supporting members 80 is too small, the density of the second supporting members 80 is too high, the transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is too low, and the wearing visual experience is affected; when the shortest distance between any two adjacent second supporting members 80 is too large, the density of the second supporting members 80 is too small, the supporting force is insufficient, and the area between the adjacent second supporting members 80 and the second supporting members 80 still has the risk of generating newton rings.

In one embodiment, the plurality of second supporting members 80 are identical in shape, and each second supporting member 80 is identical in height, lateral dimension (e.g., width, length, diameter, etc.), and the spacing between any two adjacent second supporting members 80 is identical (i.e., the distances between two adjacent second supporting members 80 are identical in lateral and longitudinal directions), in other words, the plurality of second supporting members 80 are identical in shape and all of h2, d2, s2 are identical. This can make the supporting force of the second supporting member 80 on the second protective layer 70 more uniform, and can better prevent the second protective layer 70 from sagging.

Alternatively, the shape, height, lateral dimension, etc. of the first support 40 and the second support 80 may be the same or different, and the present application is not particularly limited.

Referring to fig. 10, in some embodiments, the first protective layer 20 and the second protective layer 70 each include a protective substrate layer 21 and a color-changing layer 23, and the color-changing layer 23 is disposed on the surface of the protective substrate layer 21 and is used for changing the color of the protective substrate layer 21 so as to improve the color effect of the first protective layer 20. Alternatively, the color-changing layer 23 may be provided on one surface (as shown in fig. 10) or on opposite surfaces (not shown) of the protective substrate layer 21.

Referring to fig. 11 to 13, in other embodiments, each of the first protective layer 20 and the second protective layer 70 further includes an anti-reflection film 25 (AR coating), wherein the anti-reflection film 25 is disposed on the surface of the protective substrate layer 21 or the surface of the color-changing layer 23 facing away from the protective substrate layer 21.

Alternatively, when one surface of the protective substrate layer 21 is provided with the color-changing layer 23, the antireflection film 25 may be provided on at least one of the surface of the color-changing layer 23 facing away from the protective substrate layer 21 and the surface of the protective substrate layer 21 facing away from the color-changing layer 23. When the two opposite surfaces of the first protective layer 20 are provided with the color-changing layers 23, the surfaces of the two color-changing layers 23 facing away from the protective substrate layer 21 are provided with the antireflection film 25. Alternatively, the first support 40 and the second support 80 may be disposed on a surface of the protective substrate layer 21, or a surface of the color-changing layer 23 facing away from the protective substrate layer 21, or a surface of the antireflection film 25 facing away from the protective substrate layer 21.

Referring to fig. 14, optionally, the surfaces of the first support member 40 and the second support member 80 facing away from the first protection layer 20 may further be provided with an antireflection film 25 and an anti-fingerprint film 27 (AF coating) in order. When the first support 40 is disposed on the surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conductive layer 11, the first support 40 may be prepared by the following method. The following description and illustration will be given by taking the example that the first supporting members 40 are hemispherical, and the plurality of first supporting members 40 are equally spaced in an array, which should not be construed as limiting the first supporting members 40 of the present application.

Referring to fig. 15 and 16, the first protective layer 20 with the first supporting member 40 of the present application can be prepared by the following steps:

S1, providing a first protective layer 20 and a silk printing plate 100a; as shown in fig. 15, the silk screen plate 100a has a plurality of through holes 101a arranged in an array; attaching or overlapping the first protective layer 20 with the silk screen plate 100a;

Alternatively, the silk screen 100a may be, but is not limited to, a nickel plate. Alternatively, the diameter d of the through hole 101a satisfies 1.1 d.ltoreq.d1.ltoreq.1.8 d with the diameter d1 of the first support 40. Specifically, d1 may be, but is not limited to, 1.1d, 1.2d, 1.3d, 1.4d, 1.5d, 1.6d, 1.7d, 1.8d, etc. d1 and d are related to the viscosity of the glue solution (i.e., glue) used to form the first support member 40, and may be specifically designed according to actual needs, and the present application is not particularly limited.

Alternatively, the thickness h of the silk screen plate 100a (i.e., the depth of the through hole 101 a) and the height h1 of the first support 40 satisfy 1.1h1.ltoreq.h.ltoreq.1.8h1; specifically, h may be, but is not limited to, 1.1h1, 1.2h1, 1.3h1, 1.4h1, 1.5h1, 1.6h1, 1.7h1, 1.8h1, etc. Alternatively, d=h.

S2, glue solution is dripped on the surface of the silk printing plate 100a, which is away from the first protective layer 20;

Optionally, the glue solution may be a UV glue, for example, a glue solution of an acrylic system (such as polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA), and the polymethyl methacrylate has a higher hardness and a higher supporting ability, and is not easy to deform.

S3, completely filling the plurality of through holes 101a on the silk screen plate 100a with the glue solution by using a scraping plate;

S4, separating the silk printing plate 100a from the first protective layer 20 so as to form a plurality of glue droplets arranged in an array on the first protective layer 20; and

S5, performing thermal curing or photo curing, such as UV photo curing, to form the glue droplets into the first support 40.

Alternatively, the UV light curing may be performed by using a light source such as a mercury lamp or an LED lamp that emits ultraviolet light.

Alternatively, a large piece of the first protective layer 20 with the first supporting member 40 may be manufactured by silk-screening, and then cut into the shape and size required for the optical waveguide assembly 100, thereby reducing the risk of alignment accuracy.

The process of preparing the second supporting member 80 on the second protective layer 70 is the same as the process of preparing the first supporting member 40 on the first protective layer 20, and will not be described herein.

Referring to fig. 17 and 18, when the first supporting member 40 is connected to the surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11, the number of the first supporting members 40 is plural, and the coupling-out gratings 133 include a plurality of coupling-out sub-gratings 1331 disposed at intervals on the surface of the light conducting layer 11 facing the first protective layer 20; each first support member 40 is disposed on a surface of the coupling-out sub-grating 1331 facing away from the light conducting layer 11, and a portion of the coupling-out sub-grating 1331 is connected to one or more first support members 40. It will be appreciated that the first support 40 is provided at a portion of the surface of the outcoupling sub-grating 1331 facing away from the light conducting layer 11. By disposing the first supporting member 40 on the surface of the partial coupling-out sub-grating 1331 facing away from the light conducting layer 11, the first protection layer 20 and the light waveguide 10 can be prevented from being completely attached to each other when the first protection layer 20 is recessed by an external force, thereby generating a newton ring phenomenon. "plurality" means greater than or equal to two.

Optionally, the plurality of first supports 40 are randomly distributed. In other words, the plurality of first supports 40 are randomly distributed. When the plurality of first supporting members 40 are arranged periodically, an additional period is introduced to the coupling grating 133, and the light beam generates an additional diffraction order, so as to generate ghost images, so that the generation of ghost images can be avoided when the first supporting members 40 are distributed randomly, and the optical waveguide 10 has a better display effect.

In some embodiments, when the out-coupling grating 133 is a two-dimensional grating (i.e., a grating of a lattice), the plurality of out-coupling sub-gratings 1331 are arranged in an array, a portion of the plurality of out-coupling sub-gratings 1331 extends toward a direction approaching the first protection layer 20, and a portion of the out-coupling sub-gratings 1331 extends toward a direction approaching the first protection layer 20 forms the first support member 40. It can be appreciated that a portion of the height of the coupling-out sub-grating 1331 is made high, and the portion of the coupling-out sub-grating 1331 that is higher than the coupling-out sub-grating 1331 serves as the first supporting member 40 for supporting the first protective layer 20 when the first protective layer 20 is depressed by an external force, so as to prevent the first protective layer 20 from adhering to the optical waveguide 10 and generating newton rings. The height of the partially coupled sub-grating 1331 is made high as the first supporting member 40, so that the first supporting member 40 can be prepared in the process of preparing the coupled grating 133 (i.e. the first supporting member 40 and the coupled grating 133 are prepared in the same process), and the preparation process of the first supporting member 40 is not required to be additionally increased, so that the preparation process of the optical waveguide 10 is simplified.

In the present embodiment, when the coupling-out grating 133 is a two-dimensional grating, the length of the first supporting member 40 is the same as the length of the coupling-out sub-grating 1331; the width of the first support 40 is the same as the width of the out-coupling sub-grating 1331. Optionally, for a two-dimensional grating, the length of the out-coupling sub-grating 1331 ranges from 50nm to 200nm, and the width of the out-coupling sub-grating 1331 ranges from 50nm to 200nm.

Referring to fig. 19 and 20, in other embodiments, when the coupling-out grating 133 is a one-dimensional grating (e.g. a straight-tooth grating), a portion of the coupling-out sub-gratings 1331 extends toward a direction approaching the first protection layer 20, and the extending portion forms the first supporting member 40. In other words, the part of the coupling-out sub-grating 1331 protrudes toward the direction approaching the first protection layer 20 (i.e. the protruding portion forms a protruding column), and the protruding portion serves as the first supporting member 40 for supporting the first protection layer 20 when the first protection layer 20 is recessed by an external force, so as to prevent the first protection layer 20 from adhering to the optical waveguide 10 and generating newton rings. In this way, the first supporting member 40 can be manufactured in the process of manufacturing the coupling-out grating 133 (i.e., the first supporting member 40 and the coupling-out grating 133 are manufactured in the same process), without adding additional manufacturing steps of the first supporting member 40, and the manufacturing process of the optical waveguide 10 is simplified.

Optionally, when the out-coupling grating 133 is a one-dimensional grating, the length of the out-coupling sub-grating 1331 ranges from 5mm to 20mm, the width of the out-coupling sub-grating 1331 ranges from 100nm to 1000nm, and the period of the grating ranges from 390nm to 780nm.

Alternatively, when the first support 40 is connected to the surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light-conducting layer, the height h1 'of the first support 40 is in the range of 10 μm.ltoreq.h1'. Ltoreq.50 μm in the lamination direction of the light waveguide 10 and the first protective layer 20. Specifically, the height h1' of the first support 40 in the lamination direction of the optical waveguide 10 and the first protective layer 20 may be, but is not limited to, 10 μm, 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm, 30 μm, 35 μm, 40 μm, 45 μm, 50 μm, etc. When the height of the first supporting member 40 (i.e., the protruding pillars) is greater than 10 μm, the air film between the first protective layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10 is also greater than 10 μm, the visible wavelength is 380nm to 750nm, the phase difference of the two light beams exceeds 10 times the visible wavelength, the light energy of the interference is weak, and it is difficult for the naked eye to observe newton's rings. When the height of the first supporting member 40 is too small, the probability of generating newton rings increases, and when the height of the first supporting member 40 is too high, the thickness of the optical waveguide assembly 100 increases, which is disadvantageous for the ultra-thin optical waveguide assembly 100.

Optionally, the optical waveguide assembly 100 has a geometric center (not shown) and a support distribution area 101, the support distribution area 101 is disposed near the geometric center, the plurality of first support members 40 are randomly distributed in a range covered by the support distribution area 101, and an equivalent circle radius of the support distribution area 101 ranges from 0.25cm to 2cm. In particular, the equivalent circular radius of the support distribution area 101 may be, but is not limited to, 0.25m, 0.5cm, 0.75m, 1cm, 1.25m, 1.5cm, 1.75m, 2cm, etc. If the number of the supporting and distributing areas 101 is too small and the number of the first supporting members 40 is too small, the supporting of the first protecting layer 20 by the first supporting members 40 may not be enough, and the first protecting layer 20 may be recessed under the condition of low temperature or external force, so that newton rings may be generated, the supporting and distributing areas 101 are too large, increasing the weight of the optical waveguide assembly 100 and possibly exceeding the size range of the optical waveguide assembly 100. Therefore, when the equivalent radius of the support distribution area 101 is in the range of 0.25cm to 2cm, the first support member 40 can have a better supporting effect on the first protective layer 20. "equivalent circle radius" refers to the radius of a circle having a geometric figure equal to its area.

In one embodiment, the support distribution area 101 takes the geometric center as a central axis, that is, the center of the support distribution area 101 coincides with the geometric center, and the plurality of first support members 40 are randomly distributed around the geometric center. The first protective layer 20 is supported by the smallest supporting force near the geometric center and is most prone to sinking, so that the plurality of first supporting members 40 are randomly distributed near the geometric center, and the first supporting members 40 can have better supporting effect on the first protective layer 20.

Optionally, the average distribution density of the first support 40 ranges from 10 per mm ² to 100 per mm ². Specifically, the average distribution density of the first support 40 may be, but is not limited to, 10/mm ², 20/mm ², 30/mm ², 40/mm ², 50/mm ², 60/mm ², 70/mm ², 80/mm ², 90/mm ², 100/mm ², and the like. The average distribution density of the first supporting members 40 is too small, so that the first supporting members 40 cannot perform a sufficient supporting function, when the first protective layer 20 is subjected to an external force, the first protective layer 20 is possibly attached to the optical waveguide 10, the risk of generating newton rings is increased, the average distribution density of the first supporting members 40 is too large, and the transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is too low, so that the wearing visual experience is affected.

Optionally, in the present embodiment, the spacing between any two adjacent first supports 40 is more than 10 times, for example, between 10 and 1000 times, the period of the coupling-out grating 133; specifically, it may be, but is not limited to, 10 times, 20 times, 50 times, 100 times, etc. Thus, the introduction of a new period can be avoided as much as possible, and the generation of ghost images is prevented.

Referring again to fig. 6, the second aspect of the present application further provides an optical waveguide assembly 100, which includes an optical waveguide 10, a first protective layer 20, a first supporting member 40 and a first connecting member 60; the optical waveguide 10 comprises a light conducting layer 11 and a grating layer 13, wherein the light conducting layer 11 is used for transmitting an optical signal entering the light conducting layer 11; the grating layer 13 is arranged on the surface of the light conducting layer 11; the first protection layer 20 is arranged at intervals on one side of the grating layer 13 away from the light conducting layer 11; the first supporting member 40 is disposed between the optical waveguide 10 and the first protective layer 20, and the first supporting member 40 is connected to a surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11 or to a surface of the first protective layer 20 facing the light conducting layer 11; the first connection member 60 is disposed between the optical waveguide 10 and the first protection layer 20, the first connection member 60 is disposed around the outer periphery of the first support member 40 and around the outer periphery of the grating layer 13, and the first connection member 60 is connected to the first protection layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10, respectively.

For a detailed description of the optical waveguide 10, the first protective layer 20, the first supporting member 40 and the first connecting member 60, please refer to the corresponding parts of the first embodiment, and the detailed description is omitted herein.

The optical waveguide assembly 100 according to the second aspect of the embodiment of the present application includes a first support member 40, where the first support member 40 is disposed between the optical waveguide 10 and the first protection layer 20, and the first support member 40 is connected to a surface of the grating layer 13 facing away from the light conducting layer 11 or to a surface of the first protection layer 20 facing the light conducting layer 11; when the optical waveguide assembly 100 is in a low temperature environment, the air pressure in the enclosed space enclosed by the first connecting piece 60, the first protective layer 20 and the optical waveguide 10 is reduced, under the action of the external air pressure, when the air pressure or the force for wiping the optical waveguide assembly 100 to the first protective layer 20 towards the optical waveguide 10 is generated, the first protective layer 20 cannot be attached to the optical waveguide 10 or even is not recessed due to the supporting effect of the first supporting piece 40, so that newton rings or adhesion phenomenon cannot be generated, the light transmittance of the optical waveguide assembly 100 is prevented from being influenced under the condition of low temperature or external force, and the display effect of the optical waveguide assembly 100 cannot be influenced due to the introduction of the first supporting piece 40.

Referring to fig. 21 and 22, an embodiment of the third aspect of the present application further provides an augmented reality device 500, which includes: a projection light engine 510 and an optical waveguide assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application. The projection optical machine 510 is used for projecting an optical signal, and the optical signal comprises image information; the optical waveguide assembly 100 is disposed on an exit surface of the projection optical engine 510 for transmitting an optical signal.

Optionally, the projection light engine 510 includes a display 511 and a lens 513. The display 511 is configured to emit light signals, the lens 513 is disposed on a display surface side of the display 511 and is configured to modulate the light signals, so that light rays (light signals) with different angles of view emitted from the same pixel point on the display 511 are emitted in a parallel light form after being modulated by the lens 513, so that image information in the light signals is at an infinite position, and can be observed by naked eyes. The optical waveguide assembly 100 is disposed on a side of the lens 513 away from the display 511, and is used for transmitting the optical signal modulated by the lens 513.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the grating layer 13 of the optical waveguide 10 is disposed away from the projection light engine 510. In another embodiment, the grating layer 13 of the optical waveguide 10 is disposed facing the projection light engine 510.

Alternatively, the display 511 may be a micro-display. The display 511 includes a light Emitting unit that may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a Micro light Emitting Diode (Micro LED) chip, a Micro organic light Emitting Diode (Micro Organic Light-Emitting Diode) chip, or a Micro liquid crystal display (Micro LCD) CRYSTAL DISPLAY. At the same operating power, micro-OLEDs typically have a brightness less than 5000nits, lcds typically have a brightness less than 15000nits, and Micro-LEDs may have a brightness as high as 2000000nits, much higher than the former two. Therefore, when the display 511 is a Micro LED display, the output image thereof has higher brightness compared to the Micro OLED display and the Micro LCD display. The Micro LED display is a self-luminous light source having better contrast and smaller display delay when applied to the augmented reality device 500, compared to the Micro LCD display.

In some embodiments, the area on the display surface capable of emitting light signals becomes an effective light emitting area, and the diagonal size of the effective light emitting area of the display 511 ranges from 0.11inch to 0.15inch, and the aspect ratio of the effective light emitting area is 4:3. In other embodiments, the effective light emitting area diagonal size of the display 511 ranges from 0.17inch to 0.21inch with an effective light emitting area aspect ratio of 16:9.

Alternatively, the color of the light emitted from the display 511 may be, but is not limited to, at least one of red light, green light, blue light, and the like. In one embodiment, the display 511 is a green light emitting Micro LED, and in other embodiments, may be other single color Micro LEDs or multiple color Micro LEDs. In some embodiments, the optical waveguide assembly 100 may also pupil the image information in the optical signal emitted from the lens 513 in one or two dimensions to increase the range of the orbit, so as to adapt to more people.

In some embodiments, the augmented reality device 500 of the present application further comprises a carrier 550, the carrier 550 for carrying the optical waveguide assembly 100. Alternatively, the carrier 550 may be, but is not limited to, a frame for augmented reality glasses, a helmet body for an augmented reality helmet, a mask body for an augmented reality mask, and the like. Alternatively, the optical waveguide assembly 100 may be provided on the carrier 550 by an adhesive or a fastening portion or the like.

The augmented reality device 500 of the present application may be, but is not limited to, a near-eye display device such as augmented reality glasses (AR glasses), an augmented reality helmet, an augmented reality mask, or the like. It should be understood that the augmented reality device 500 in this embodiment is only one form of the augmented reality device 500 to which the optical waveguide assembly 100 is applied, and should not be construed as limiting the augmented reality device 500 provided by the present application.

In some embodiments, when the augmented reality device 500 is augmented reality glasses, the augmented reality device 500 of an embodiment of the present application further comprises a wear 530. The wearing piece 530 is rotatably connected with the bearing piece 550, and the wearing piece 530 is used for clamping a wearer (such as a human head, or a head prosthesis, etc.).

Optionally, the wearing piece 530 includes a first wearing sub-piece 531 and a second wearing sub-piece 533, wherein the first wearing sub-piece 531 is rotatably connected to one end of the carrier 550, and the second wearing sub-piece 533 is rotatably connected to the other end of the carrier 550 away from the first wearing sub-piece 531. The first wearing sub-piece 531 cooperates with the second wearing sub-piece 533 for clamping the augmented reality device 500 to the wearer. Optionally, the first wearing sub-component 531 and the second wearing sub-component 533 are further used for setting a projection optical machine. Alternatively, both the first wearing sub-piece 531 and the second wearing sub-piece 533 may be, but are not limited to, temples of the augmented reality device 500 (AR glasses).

Referring to fig. 23, the augmented reality device 500 according to an embodiment of the present application further includes a processor 540 and a memory 560. The processor 540 is electrically connected to the display 511 for controlling the display 511 to emit an optical signal having image information, etc. The memory 560 is electrically connected to the processor 540, and is used for storing program codes required for the processor 540 to operate, program codes required for controlling the display 511, image information emitted from the display 511, and the like.

Optionally, processor 540 includes one or more general-purpose processors, wherein a general-purpose processor may be any type of device capable of processing electronic instructions, including a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), microprocessor, microcontroller, main processor, controller, ASIC, and the like. Processor 540 is configured to execute various types of digitally stored instructions, such as software or firmware programs stored in memory 560, that enable the computing device to provide a wide variety of services.

Optionally, the Memory 560 may include Volatile Memory (RAM), such as random access Memory (Random Access Memory); the Memory 560 may also include a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM), such as Read-Only Memory (ROM), flash Memory (FM), hard disk (HARD DISK DRIVE, HDD), or Solid state disk (Solid-state disk-STATE DRIVE, SSD). Memory 560 may also include a combination of the above types of memory.

Reference in the specification to "an embodiment," "implementation" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Those of skill in the art will explicitly and implicitly appreciate that the described embodiments of the application may be combined with other embodiments. Furthermore, it should be understood that the features, structures or characteristics described in the embodiments of the present application may be combined arbitrarily without any conflict with each other, to form yet another embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.

Finally, it should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are merely for illustrating the technical solution of the present application and not for limiting the same, and although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications and equivalents may be made to the technical solution of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present application.

Claims

1. An optical waveguide assembly, comprising:

2. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 1, wherein the first support connects a surface of the grating layer facing away from the light conducting layer or connects a surface of the first protective layer facing the light conducting layer.

3. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

The second protection layers are arranged at one side of the light conducting layer, which is away from the grating layer, at intervals;

The second supporting piece is arranged between the light conducting layer and the second protective layer and is connected with the surface of the second protective layer facing the light conducting layer; and

The second connecting piece is arranged between the optical waveguide and the second protective layer and is respectively connected with the second protective layer and the optical waveguide, and the second connecting piece is arranged around the periphery of the second supporting piece.

4. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 3, wherein the first support is connected to a surface of the first protective layer facing the light conducting layer, the number of first supports being a plurality, the plurality of first supports being arranged in an array; the number of the second supporting pieces is multiple, and the second supporting pieces are arranged in an array mode.

5. The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 4, wherein a height h1 of the first support member in a lamination direction of the optical waveguide and the first protective layer is in a range of 0.01 mm.ltoreq.h1.ltoreq.0.2 mm; the height h2 of the second supporting piece is in the range of 0.01 mm-0.2 mm.

6. The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 4, wherein a distance d1 between two points farthest from each other on an area surrounded by a front projection of the first protective layer facing the light conductive layer of the first support member is in a range of 0.01 mm.ltoreq.d1.ltoreq.0.2 mm; the distance d2 between the two points farthest from each other on the area surrounded by the orthographic projection of the second protective layer facing the light conducting layer is in the range of 0.01 mm-d 2-0.2 mm.

7. The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 4, wherein a shortest distance s1 between any adjacent two of the first supports ranges from 0.5mm to 10mm; the shortest distance s2 between any two adjacent second supporting pieces is in the range of 0.5 mm-10 mm and s2 is smaller than or equal to 10mm.

8. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the number of first supports is a plurality, the grating layer comprising an out-coupling grating comprising a plurality of out-coupling sub-gratings arranged at intervals; the first support members are connected with the surface of the coupling-out sub-grating, which faces away from the light conducting layer, and part of the coupling-out sub-grating is connected with one or more first support members.

9. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 8 wherein a plurality of said first supports are randomly distributed and each of said first supports is attached to a surface of one of said outcoupling sub-gratings facing away from said light conducting layer.

10. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 8, wherein the out-coupling grating is a two-dimensional grating, the plurality of out-coupling sub-gratings are arranged in an array, a portion of the plurality of out-coupling sub-gratings extends toward a direction proximate the first protective layer, and a portion of the out-coupling sub-gratings extending toward the direction proximate the first protective layer forms the first support.

11. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 8, wherein the out-coupling grating is a one-dimensional grating, portions of the plurality of out-coupling sub-gratings extending in a direction toward the first protective layer, the extending portions forming the first support.

12. The optical waveguide assembly according to claim 8, wherein a height h1 'of the first support member in a lamination direction of the optical waveguide and the first protective layer is in a range of 10 μm.ltoreq.h1'. Ltoreq.50μm.

13. The optical waveguide assembly of claim 8, wherein the optical waveguide assembly has a geometric center and a support distribution region, the support distribution region being disposed proximate the geometric center, the plurality of first supports being randomly distributed within the support distribution region, the support distribution region having an equivalent circular radius in the range of 0.25cm to 2cm; the first support has an average distribution density of 10 per mm ² to 100 per mm ².

14. The optical waveguide assembly of any one of claims 1,2, 4-7, 9-13, wherein the light conducting layer is a thermoplastic resin comprising polycarbonate or a thermosetting resin comprising polyurethane; the light conducting layer is prepared through injection molding or casting molding process, and the grating layer is prepared through nano-imprinting process.

15. An augmented reality device, comprising:

The optical waveguide assembly of any of claims 1-14 for transmitting the optical signal.