EP2082279A1

EP2082279A1 - Opto-electronic display assembly

Info

Publication number: EP2082279A1
Application number: EP07858710A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Renaud Moliton
Original assignee: Essilor International Compagnie Generale dOptique SA
Current assignee: EssilorLuxottica SA
Priority date: 2006-11-23
Filing date: 2007-11-16
Publication date: 2009-07-29
Also published as: US8330672B2; US20120249408A1; FR2909189A1; FR2909189B1; WO2008062129A1; JP2010510551A

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic display assembly for transmitting light signals defining an image emitted from a miniature screen (2), or screen image, to the eye (O) of a user for visualising a virtual image (I), wherein said assembly is characterised in that it comprises an assembly for dividing a source image into N screen images (IE) and it that it comprises a so-called mosaic device (3) including an outlet window (10) and ensuring the transmission of said N screen images with a space and time offset relative to each other according to a period (t) shorter than the remanence time of the eye retina divided by N, wherein each screen image (IE) is transmitted to the eye of the user for visualising a virtual sub-image (IN), the resulting and adjacent N virtual sub-images forming said total virtual image (I), and said mosaic device (3) including a member for controlling the light polarisation (5) and a spatial reconstruction member (7) of the virtual image (I). According to the invention, the mosaic device includes an optical guide (6) of a material transparent in the visible spectrum, and said optical guide is provided between said control member (5) and said spatial reconstruction member (7).

Description

OPTO-ELECTRONIC DISPLAY ARRANGEMENT

The invention relates to an opto-electronic display arrangement mounted on a pair of spectacle-type frames.

An opto-electronic display arrangement for transmitting light signals forming an image transmitted from a miniature screen, called a screen image, to a user's eye for the vision of a user. virtual image.

Such an arrangement is described in US Pat. No. 7,068,404. This document describes a thin optical guide using a hologram and a prismatic lens for enlarging the size of a miniature screen and projecting its virtual image in front of the eye of the eye. carrier.

Another type of arrangement of the prior art is described in patent document EP 1 566 682. This document describes an even more thin beam expander optical guide than that of the previous prior art and also discloses an optical system capable of to project to infinity the image of a miniature screen.

The common point of these systems is to locate the bulk of the optical power provided to enlarge the image of the miniature screen outside the optical guide. According to these arrangements, fields of view of the order of 15 to more than 30 degrees can be achieved while maintaining low optical guide thicknesses.

However, to obtain such fields of view greater than 20 °, current arrangements include optical systems and miniature screens of relatively large volume, because the size of the miniature screen is an important dimensioning factor of the size of the associated optical systems . The necessary optomechanical assembly proves to be oversized with respect to the thickness of the optical guide which is sought to be produced in a light and fine manner, in order to be able to integrate it with an ophthalmic lens, for example. US 2001/0048554, an electronic display arrangement, for transmitting light signals forming an image transmitted from a miniature screen, called a screen image, to the eye of a user for the purpose of viewing. a virtual image. This arrangement comprises a device for controlling the miniature screen comprising a splitting arrangement of a source image into two screen images and a so-called mosaicing device comprising an output skylight and ensuring the transmission of these screen images, spatially offset from one another and temporally from each other, in a period of less than 25 ms.

Each screen image is transmitted to the wearer's eye for viewing a virtual sub-image, the two resulting and adjacent virtual sub-images forming said total virtual image.

The object of the invention is to provide an optomechanical assembly generating a virtual image in front of the eyes of the wearer and which is smaller in size, by means of a miniature screen of a relatively small size, while ensuring a field of view. extended vision greater than 20 °.

To do this, the invention proposes an electronic display arrangement, intended to transmit light signals forming an image transmitted from a miniature screen, called a screen image, to the eye of a user for the vision of a virtual image, an arrangement characterized in that it comprises a device for controlling the miniature screen comprising a division arrangement of a source image in N screen images and in that it comprises a so-called mosaicization device comprising an exit window and ensuring the transmission of these N screen images, spatially offset from one another and temporally from one another, in a period less than the retentivity time of the retina of the N-divided eye, each screen image being transmitted to the wearer's eye for viewing a virtual sub-image, the resulting and adjacent virtual N sub-images forming said total virtual image, said mosaicking device being a control element of the bias the light and a spatial reconstruction element of the virtual image, characterized in that said mosaicing device comprises an optical conduit made of transparent material in the visible range and in that said optical conduit is disposed between said control element and said spatial reconstruction element.

The presence of the optical guide reduces the optical path length and thus makes the system more compact.

The optical path may be disposed between said miniature screen and the first polarization controller or between the polarization control element and the spatial reconstruction element of the image.

Preferably, said optical path is disposed between said control element and said spatial reconstruction element

Preferably, said mosaicing device is disposed between said miniature screen and the eye of the wearer.

Advantageously, said spatial reconstruction element comprises at least two mirrors each offset from a different position with respect to an optical reference axis, defined as the straight line from the center of said miniature screen and perpendicular to the plane of this screen, at least one polarization splitter treatment and at least two quarter wave plates.

Said spatial reconstruction element of the image may be composed of a set of prisms and / or rhombohedrons, spherical or aspherical mirrors, each decentered from a position different from the optical reference axis, of polarization-splitting processes. , grid polarizers and quarter-wave or half-wave plates.

Advantageously, at least one of said polarization splitter treatments is a grid polarizer.

Advantageously, said spatial reconstruction element of the image comprises as many spherical or aspherical mirrors off-center as sub-images, ie N.

Advantageously, these spherical or aspheric mirrors are of the Mangin mirror type. Alternatively, a second polarization control element may be added to the mosaicking device and positioned in the path of the optical beams just after the spatial reconstruction element of the image. Preferably, a pupil extender optical guide having an entrance skylight is placed between the mosaic system and the wearer's eye.

This optical guide can be made of transparent material in the visible range. This optical guide can be included in an ophthalmic lens.

And the exit window of the mosaic system can be placed in correspondence with the entrance window of the optical guide.

The optical guide may be arranged between the spatial reconstruction element of the image and the eye of the user. According to a preferred embodiment, N is equal to two and the polarization control element alternately shapes a polarization of the light beams from the miniature screen according to a polarization vector P or polarization S, substantially according to said period. Advantageously, said optical conduit may take the form of a rhombohedron whose at least one of the faces has an optical function in the spatial reconstruction element of the image.

Preferably, said optical path carries an inclined polarization splitting treatment associated with two quarter-wave plates whose delay axis forms an angle of 45 ° with respect to the direction of the polarization vector P or S, in the plane of say quarter wave blades.

Advantageously, the separating treatment is inclined by 45 ° with respect to a reference optical axis, defined as the line coming from the center of said miniature screen and perpendicular to the plane of this screen and the two quarter-wave plates are perpendicular.

Preferably, said polarization control element comprises an electrically controlled liquid crystal cell. Said miniature screen and said polarization control element can form a single piece.

Said virtual subimages can be interlaced geometry.

In this case, preferably, said polarization control element may have interlaced electrodes.

Advantageously, the control device of the miniature screen comprises an arrangement for resetting the position of said screen images, this registration being defined by calibration on an adjustment bench.

The miniature screen may have a size of its area containing pixels that may display an image larger than the size of the screen image generated thereon.

The control device of the miniature screen may include an addressing arrangement of said screen images.

Advantageously, a device for storing the resetting coordinates has redundancies and an error correction system.

The invention is described below in more detail with the aid of figures representing only a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 illustrates the mosaic principle of the invention. Figure 2A is a top view of a display according to the invention.

Figure 2B illustrates a principle of recombination of the images, illustrated from the light rays, according to the invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show the ray patterns along two optical paths nested one inside the other of an embodiment of the mosaicking device 3, in plan view according to the invention.

FIG. 3A represents the trace in the path denoted PS, because it corresponds to a selection of the polarization P and then its transformation into polarization S to exit the mosaicking device. Figure 3B shows the path in the so-called SP path, because it corresponds to a selection of the polarization S and its transformation into polarization P to exit the mosaic device. Figure 4 is an unfolded view illustrating the decentering principle of the mirrors shown in Figures 3A and 3B.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views illustrating the defects caused by these manufacturing errors at the level of a virtual image obtained. Figures 6A and 6B show a front view of a miniature screen according to the invention.

Figure 7 illustrates an adjustment bench according to the invention.

FIG. 8 represents the image of a setting pattern seen by the camera of the adjustment bench according to the invention. FIGS. 9A and 9B are views of a virtual image taken by the camera of the adjustment bench, illustrating the registration processing of sub-images.

FIG. 10 illustrates the subframe registration method according to the invention. FIG. 11 represents the electronic architecture of a display arrangement according to the invention.

Figures 12 to 15 are cross-sectional views of alternative embodiments relating to the polarization control element and the display according to the invention. Figure 16 is a top view of the polarization control device, according to an improvement according to the invention.

Figure 17 is a graph illustrating the control of such an improvement.

Figure 18 illustrates two color pixel structures compatible with the invention.

The principle of mosaicing is illustrated in FIG. 1 and consists of recreating a large image from smaller elementary subimages. In order to allow the vision of a large virtual information image I, the invention proposes to display N virtual sub-images, here four adjacent sub-images h to I ₄ forming the total virtual image I.

To do this, the invention proposes a display arrangement as described in FIG. 2A. This opto-electronic display arrangement comprises an optical guide 1 for transmitting light signals forming an image transmitted from a miniature screen 2, called a screen image, from one of its ends, said input surface 1A to its other end called exit surface 1 B, to the eye O of a user for the vision of a virtual image I.

The invention applies to any opto-electronic display comprising a light beam expander arrangement of this type, whether this arrangement comprises such optical conduit or not.

A control device of the miniature screen 2 comprises a division arrangement of a source image, provided by a source such as a video player, for example, in N sub-screen images and it comprises a device called mosaic 3 ensuring the transmission of these

N screen sub-images, displaced from each other, according to a period τ less than the retentivity time of the retina of the eye divided by N, each screen image being transmitted to the eye O of the carrier for the vision of a sub-virtual image I _N , the N sub-resulting and adjacent virtual images forming the total virtual image I. This mosaicking device 3 is disposed between the miniature screen 2 and the optical conduit 1.

The optical conduit 1 is of the exit pupil expander type and comprises a skylight or entrance pupil L _E corresponding to the input surface of the conduit and constituted by the input coupling zone of the optical beams emitted by the device. mosaic and a skylight or exit pupil Ls located in front of the eye of the wearer.

This pupil expander duct can be included in a glass of glasses V.

The miniature screen 2 and the optical mosaicization device 3 are preferably contained in a casing 4 connected to the eyeglass lens, for example by a detachable detachable connection arrangement.

There is a direct relation between the number of pixels of the miniature screen 2 and that of the total virtual image I. Let NIv and NIh be the number of pixels of this image in vertical direction equal to the number of lines, and in horizontal direction equal to the number of columns, ie NDv and NDh, the number of pixels of the miniature screen in vertical direction equal to number of lines, and in horizontal direction equal to the number of columns, there exist two integers Kv and Kh such that: Nlv = Kv x NDv NIh = Kh X NDh - Kh X Kv = NT

The most mosaicized direction of the image is the one where the number of partitions will be the largest. It will be horizontal if Kh> Kv, vertical if Kv> Kh and indifferent if Kh = Kv.

In general, for the case of systems with a temporal geometry, it will be more interesting to have a direction of horizontal mosaicization. In the case of top-entry systems, it will be more interesting to have a vertical mosaic direction.

These images will be displayed sequentially in time. For example, in the case of FIG. 1, for the display of a global image I the sub-image h will first be displayed, then the sub-image b, then the subimage I3 and finally the sub-image image I ₄ ; we then go to the second global image by displaying new sub-images according to the same sequence.

N being the number of sub-images I _N composing the total image I, so that from the point of view of the user, a single image is perceived by the brain, it is necessary that the refreshment of the overall image is done at a frequency higher than the refreshing frequency of the retinal receptors F ₀ , ie 25 Hz.

However, in many applications manipulating the video signal, the refresh rate of the overall image is greater than F ₀ . The advantage of a higher frequency is to reduce the effects of flickering of the image and thus bring greater viewing comfort, tiring the eye less. In the case of our sequenced scanning in time, if we call F the frequency of the overall image, then, the refresh rate of each of the sub-images I _N will be equal to NxF.

This means that for each sub-image, the individual refresh rate of a sub-image must be at least greater than NxFo = Nx25Hz, and if we want a reduction in the blinking of the image, at least equal to or greater than Nx50 Hz, NxIOO Hz or Nx75 Hz, if one refers to the frequencies used in television applications of 50 or 100 Hz or computer applications of 75 Hz. In what follows, one supposes N equal to two, corresponding to a mosaicing with 2 sub-images, adjacent in the horizontal direction.

In this case, for example, if we want to create a final virtual image I of VGA quality, ie 640x480 pixels, we use a miniature screen 2 of 320x480 pixels. FIG. 2B illustrates the tracing of the light rays to form a virtual image I by juxtaposition of two virtual subimages h and ^. This figure shows the principle of the optical ray path from a mosaicing device, to ensure the juxtaposition of the sub-images next to each other. Figures 3A and 3B show an embodiment of the mosaicking device 3, to implement the above principle.

The mosaicking device 3 consists of a polarization control element 5 controlling the polarization at its output alternately according to a polarization P and a polarization S, substantially according to the period τ and advantageously associated with an optical conduit 6 for propagation of the light carrying the light beams to a spatial reconstruction device 7 which recombines in space the position of said beams corresponding to the sub-images, towards the optical conduit 1, through an exit pupil 10.

The use of an optical guide between the polarization control element 5 and the spatial reconstruction element of the images 7 is optional but advantageous: it reduces the physical length of the optical path and therefore makes the system more compact. Advantageously, it can be given a rhombohedral shape, in order to embed it in the spatial reconstruction system of the images. Thus, the optical duct 6 carries an inclined polarization splitter treatment 7A associated with two quarter-wave plates 7B and 7C whose delay axis is arranged at 45 ° of the incident P or S polarizations, as well as two Mangin 7D mirrors and 7E off-center with respect to the optical axis.

The optical axis is defined as being the axis passing through the center of the useful area for displaying the image of the miniature screen and perpendicular to it. In the case where there are folds of the optical path, by means of mirrors for example, for packaging reasons among others, it will be considered by extension as optical axis the transformation of this line by said reflections on the mirrors. According to the illustrated embodiment, the separator processing 7A which transmits the polarization P and reflects the polarization S is inclined at 45 ° with respect to the optical axis and is arranged on the inclined face of the optical duct 6 and the two quarter blades. 7B and 7C wave are perpendicular and arranged to the right of this separator treatment, one 7B at the end of this duct 6 and the other on a longitudinal side thereof. Advantageously, the mirrors 7D and 7E are Mangin mirrors, thus making it possible to produce a glued, self-supporting assembly. Moreover, since the quarter wave plates are generally plastic films, such an arrangement where the quarter wave plate is glued between two precisely surfaced optical surfaces has the advantage of guaranteeing flatness.

The miniature screen 2 can directly emit polarized light or not. In the latter case, a polarizer is added to it on its emission side.

The control element of the polarization 5 makes it possible to modify the polarization of the light coming from the miniature screen and to transform it into polarization P or S, with reference to the effect on the separation treatment 7A. The operating principle is as follows: by means of the polarization control element 5, the polarization resulting from the miniature screen 2 is alternately transformed into P or S polarization.

When the polarization P is selected, as shown in FIG. 3A, the light passes through the separator processing 7A and then impacts the quarter-wave plate 7B of the PS channel. This is arranged with its axes at 45 ° to the reference polarization direction P. The light at the output of the quarter wave plate 7B is circularly polarized. It is then reflected on the mirror 7D of the PS channel and crosses the quarter wave plate 7B of the PS channel. After this crossing, it is thus transformed into rectilinear polarization but whose direction is perpendicular to its initial direction: it is therefore in effect on the separator processing 7A in S polarization and thus reflected by the separator processing 7A to the exit pupil 10 of the mosaic optical system. This path of the optical beam will be called PS channel in what follows.

Conversely, when the polarization S is selected by the polarization control element, as shown in FIG. 3B, the light is reflected on the separation processing 7A and then impacts the quarter-wave plate 7C of the SP channel. This is arranged with its axes at 45 ° to the reference polarization direction S. The light output of the quarter wave plate 7C is circularly polarized. It is then reflected on the mirror 7E of the SP channel and crosses the quarter-wave plate 7C of the SP channel. After this crossing, it is therefore transformed into rectilinear polarization but whose direction is perpendicular to its initial direction: it is therefore in effect on the separating processing 7A in polarization P and thus transmitted through the separation treatment 7A to the exit pupil 10 of the mosaic optical system. This path of the optical beam will be called the SP path in what follows.

In order to create two images offset from each other, the centers of rotation of the Mangin mirrors of the PS 7D channel and the SP 7E channel are shifted with respect to the optical axis by a value equal to half of the size of the usable area ZU of the image of the thumbnail screen 2, each in a different direction. These mirrors are shown in Figure 4 unfolded.

In this way, each channel generates a sub-image shifted by exactly half the size of the useful area. Advantageously, the exit pupil 10 of the system corresponds to the input skylight or the entrance pupil L _E of the optical guide 1.

In practice, since it is impossible to manufacture a perfect system, the decentering of the two mirrors is not strictly equal in absolute value, nor exactly equal to a fixed value known in advance equal to half the size of the mirror. miniature screen 2.

This is due to manufacturing errors of the components. Nevertheless, these errors can be controlled within a tolerancing range for each individual part and considered globally at the system level.

The defects caused by these manufacturing errors are: the creation of a disjunction between the two sub-images, in the center of the mosaic image, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, the creation of a differentiated individual rotation of each sub-image; -image, as shown in Figure 5B.

To enable the correction of these defects, a miniature screen 2 is used, the size of the area containing pixels capable of displaying an image is greater than the size of the screen image I _E that is actually generated, such as illustrated in Figure 6A.

The additional pixels are used to move the area of the image on the active surface, as illustrated in FIG. 6B: thus, the screen image I _E generated by the miniature screen 2 is translated and / or rotated without moving. physically this screen itself.

The shift and display rotation of the screen image are controlled via the control electronics of the miniature screen 2. They are calculated so as to compensate for the effect of disjunction and rotation induced by the defects of the screen. manufacturing. A simple adjustment procedure on a bench makes it possible to determine these parameters, as illustrated in FIG. 7. By observing with a camera C the image given at the output of the element optical spatial reconstruction of the images 7, a capture of the two sub-images resulting. On each sub-image, a resetting pattern M is shown as shown in FIG. 8. This pattern M comprises, for example, three crosses, a cross on the left edge, a cross on the right edge and a central cross.

The pattern M displayed centrally on the active area is then exposed on the same camera image, first imaged by the PS Vi channel of the spatial reconstruction element of the images 7, then by the SP V2 channel of the image. image spatial reconstruction element 7. The characteristics of the camera C must be known, and particularly its transverse magnification in the conjugation used. This magnification value can be determined simply by those skilled in the art. One can possibly consider a vertical transverse magnification and a horizontal transverse magnification different. However, in practice, when the camera is of good quality, they are very close and we can consider that they are equal. We note GyCAM this magnification. It expresses the ratio between the size of the image of a pixel of the miniature screen 2 in the detector plane of the camera C and its real size. If we call pitch_μd the real size of a pixel of the thumbnail screen 2 and pitch_cam, the real size of a pixel of the camera C, we can define a "pixel magnification" between the screen image displayed on the screen. miniature screen and its image detected by the camera as follows: G_pixel = pitch_μd. GyCAM / pitch_cam This value represents the size of the image of a pixel of the thumbnail screen expressed in "pixels" of the camera.

It must be calibrated by methods known to those skilled in the art. An image is then obtained on the camera as shown in FIG. 9A. One method for resetting images may be the following.

From the images of the SP and PS channels, the point Psp is defined as being the image on the camera of the cross closest to the PS image. and vice versa for the point P _PS . To recalibrate the two images, it suffices to put the points P _SP and P _PS in coincidence and to make the vectors V _S p and Vp _S collinear.

Via a manual capture or by automatic detection of the centers of the three crosses (cross of the left edge, cross of the right edge and central cross), we define the horizontal vector for the image PS and SP respectively, in the pixel coordinates coordinate of the image of the acquisition camera C.

The horizontal vector of a sub-image is defined as the vector connecting the cross of the left edge to the cross of the right edge. The angle of each of these vectors is then simply calculated with respect to the horizontal axis of the pixel mark of the camera. We note them α_SP and α_PS.

The position of the points P _SP and P _PS is then calculated for each subimage _SP and _PS , which will be noted (x_SP, y_SP) and (x_PS, y_PS) in the space of the coordinates of the image.

One proposed method is to readjust the point P _PS on the point P _S p, and to modify the horizontal vector Vps to make it collinear with the horizontal vector Vsp.

This is done by performing an angle rotation (α_SP-α_PS) around the point Pps, followed by a vector translation (x_SP-x_PX, y_SP- y_PS), which will be calculated in fine in the space of miniature screen 2. According to the sign of the magnifications of the optical system formed by the miniature screen 2 and the spatial reconstruction element of the images 7 and the camera C, the mathematical expression can take several forms but always returns to the composition a rotation around either the cross of the left edge or the cross right edge and angle,

+/- (α_SP-α_PS) with a vector translation

V = + / - (x_SP-x_PX, y_SP-y_PS) / G_pixel. An image provided by the camera superimposing the two sub-images from the rectified SP and PS channels, as shown in FIG. 9B, is then obtained.

The precise tolerancing of the optical system allows the fit on the miniature screen of the width of the active area relative to the size of the desired image, in order to allow in any case this registration of the image SP by compared to the PS image.

Other types of registration may be used, such as making the new common axis represented by the horizontal vector Vps and the horizontal vector V _S p parallel to the horizontal pixel axis of the camera C or an external reference horizontal axis linked to the mount and identified by any method, or a horizontal axis in a position of wear of informative glass and identified by any method.

This involves a calibration of the camera so that this axis is representative at the level of the final system.

This step of resetting images of the SP and PS channels is done during a calibration step using an appropriate optical and electronic bench as shown in FIG.

The electronic control device DC of the miniature screen receives in its display control device DCA an image of a source. This image is split into two sub-images that are also addressed.

A compensation circuit CC receives meanwhile the data of registration calculated by computer thanks to the bench of registration and being able to be reset to an electronic way.

The compensation circuit CC corrects the sub-image data transmitted to it by the display control device DCA and these recalibrated sub-images are emitted by the miniature screen 2.

FIG. 11 represents the general electronic architecture and the operating principle of the sub-picture display on the miniature screen. A source image is transmitted to the display control device DCA of the control device DC of the miniature screen. This source image is decoded, divided into two sub-frames that are also pre-addressed via a clock. A compensation circuit CC of this control device has previously stored the registration data via the registration bench B and transmits them to the mosaic circuits which receive the sub images of the display control device DCA and finalize their addressing via the clock. Advantageously, the memories storing the recalibration coordinates of the sub-images are redundant and have error correction systems, in order to improve the robustness of the assembly.

A synchronization of the clock is performed with the control of the polarization control device 5, so that the alternation of polarizations P and S is synchronous with the display time of each sub-picture.

This DC control device thus ensures the registration of each sub-screen image whose display period is less than the retinal retention time of the retina of the eye divided by two, the display period of the two sub-images of screen is less than 1/50 th of a second.

As has been seen, the mosaic optical device 3 comprises a polarization control element 5 arranged vis-à-vis the miniature screen 2 and alternately transmitting a polarization P and a polarization S, substantially according to the period τ. Several embodiments of this device are shown in Figures 12 to 14.

The bias control element 5 preferably comprises an electrically controlled liquid crystal cell.

The miniature screen 2 may be of the type producing unpolarized light or of type producing polarized light. In Figure 12 is shown a miniature screen 2 with unpolarized light. The polarization control element 5 then comprises a superposition of a polarizer 5A, a first support glass plate 5B, a first tin-indium oxide plate 5C, a liquid crystal layer 5D supported by spacers formed 5E glass beads, a second 5F tin-indium oxide plate, a second 5G support glass plate and optionally a 5H protective coating.

The liquid crystal cell is calculated so as to produce a phase shift of 0 or ττ / 2 as a function of the electrical control applied across the tin-indium oxide plates. At the output of the polarization control element 5, polarized light is obtained in two perpendicular directions according to the applied control voltage V.

Typically today, the state of the art in the field of liquid crystals makes it possible to drive the cell with digital domain voltages (0-5V). We can therefore consider that V _0n = OV and V _O ff = 5V are realistic.

For example, when Vo _{n is} applied through the bias commander, the incident polarization is rotated through 90 ° and when V _O ff is applied, it remains unchanged.

The distance between the miniature screen 2 and the polarization controller 5 is as small as possible.

It is also possible to bring these two elements into contact as illustrated in FIG.

The two elements are here in contact with each other and the size of the active zone of the polarization control device 5 is then equal to that of the active zone of the thumbnail screen 2 generating the sub-images, at a distance of safety margin of tolerance close.

The advantage of putting the two elements in contact is to improve the compactness of the system.

The polarizer 5A shown in FIG. 12 and 13 may be originally on the miniature screen 2, instead of being on the bias control element 5, without impairing the operation of the assembly. In Figure 14 is shown a miniature screen 2 with polarized light.

In fact, it is in this case an LCD screen whose various architectures are well known to those skilled in the art. The polarizer 2A is therefore useless on the polarization commander since it already exists on the screen.

The most delicate step being the alignment of this polarizer 2A with the axis of the liquid crystal of the cell of the polarization device 5, it is advisable to manufacture a single set of the LCD screen 2 and the control device polarization 5, this production can be done on the same production line after one another, using the same technologies.

Such an embodiment variant with a miniature screen 2 with blue, B, red and green color filters V is shown in FIG. 15. In front of a transmitter E is placed the assembly consisting of a miniature screen 2 and a polarization device 5.

The screen 2 comprises a polarizer 2B, a glass slab 2C, a 2D data line, an alignment layer 2E, a 2F liquid crystal layer supported by spacers formed of 2G glass beads, an alignment layer 2H, a tin-indium oxide plate 21, the set of color filters B, R, V, a glass slab 2J and a polarizer 2A.

The polarization device 5 is constituted as before, without polarizer.

An improvement can be made consisting of making an interlaced geometry on the polarization control device. This improvement is illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17.

The full surface geometry that has been described above has the advantage of being simple to produce and therefore inexpensive.

Nevertheless, it can be particularly sensitive to the blinking of the image obtained. Interlaced geometry is a little more complex to achieve but has a reduced sensitivity to blinking. The principle of the electrode geometry interlaced on the polarization control device 5 consists in simultaneously displaying every other line or column on the channel SP Vi and the other series of lines or columns on the channel PS V ₂ . There are thus two electrodes E ₁ , E ₂ arranged in the form of two interlaced combs, as illustrated in FIG. 16. The branches of one and the same electrode comb are interconnected by a common control which activates them simultaneously.

The electrodes are precisely aligned with the pixels of the miniature screen 2 transmitting the sub-images. The signals V1 and V2 are periodic slots of frequency equal to the refresh rate chosen for the image. They oscillate between V _0n and V _O ff with equal duration on each of these two voltages. V1 and V2 are in phase opposition.

It should be noted that the interlay increases the clock frequency twice.

The control of the voltages V ₁ , V ₂ applied across the tin-indium oxide plates is shown in FIG. 17, where the direction of the output polarizer 2A of the miniature screen 2 generator of the sub-screen images is arranged parallel to the incidence S of the cube comprising the separation process 7A of the spatial image reconstruction device. The liquid crystal of the polarization controller 5 is a normally white TN crystal. So Vo _n = 0 Volt.

It is important to note that in the case of an interlaced scanning polarization controller, aligning the row or column electrodes E ₁ , E ₂ with the color pixels is extremely important. In the case of an LCD screen with colored filters, it may be advantageous to use suitable subpixel structures, as shown in FIG.

On the left of this figure is shown a first structure with red pixels P _R , green Pv and blue P _B , arranged in alignment with the interlaced electrodes. To the right of FIG. 18 is shown a second pixel structure including a white pixel P _BL in each sequence of pixels arranged in squares aligned with the interlaced electrodes.

The invention applies equally to monocular displays and binocular displays.

Although the embodiment relates to an electronic display arrangement, the thumb screen control device includes a splitting arrangement of a source image into two screen images and the mosaic device for transmitting these images. two screen images, spatially offset from one another and temporally from one another, according to a period less than the retinal time of the retina of the eye divided by two, each image of screen being transmitted to the eye of the wearer for the vision of a sub-virtual image, the two virtual sub-images resulting and adjacent forming said total virtual image, the invention also relates to such an arrangement with N sub-images.

In this case, the spatial reconstruction element comprises at least N mirrors decentered each by a different distance with respect to a reference optical axis, defined as the line coming from the center of said miniature screen and perpendicular to the plane of this screen, N polarization splitter and N wave splitter.

Said spatial reconstruction element of the image may be composed of a set of prisms and / or rhombohedrons, spherical or aspherical mirrors each offset by a different distance from the optical reference axis, polarization separator treatments and quarter-wave or half-wave plates.

Advantageously, these spherical or aspheric mirrors are of the Mangin mirror type.

Alternatively, a second polarization control element can be added to the mosaic device and positioned on the path of the optical beams just after the spatial reconstruction element of the image.

Claims

An electronic display arrangement for transmitting light signals forming an image transmitted from a miniature screen (2), said screen image, to the eye (O) of a user for viewing. a virtual image (I), an arrangement characterized in that it comprises a device for controlling the miniature screen comprising a division arrangement of a source image in N screen images (I _E ) and in that it comprises a so-called mosaicing device (3) comprising an output skylight (10) and ensuring the transmission of these N screen images, spatially offset from one another and temporally from each other, according to a period (τ) less than the retentivity time of the retina of the eye divided by N, each screen image (I _E ) being transmitted to the eye of the wearer for the vision of a virtual sub-image (I _N ), the N virtual sub-images resulting and adjacent forming said total virtual image (I), said mosaic device ge (3) consisting of a light polarization control element (5) and a spatial reconstruction element (7) of the virtual image (I), characterized in that said mosaicking device comprises an optical conduit (6) of transparent material in the visible range and in that said optical conduit is disposed between said control element (5) and said spatial reconstruction element.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that said mosaicking device (3) is disposed between said miniature screen (2) and the wearer's eye (O).

3. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said spatial reconstruction element comprises at least two mirrors each off-center of a different position with respect to a reference optical axis, defined as the straight line from the center of said miniature screen and perpendicular to the plane of this screen, at least a polarization splitting process and at least two quarter wave plates.

4. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that at least one of said polarization splitting processes is a grid polarizer.

5. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that a pupil extender optical guide (1) having an entrance window is placed between the mosaic system and the eye of the wearer.

6. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said optical guide (1) is included in an ophthalmic lens (V).

7. Arrangement according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the output skylight (10) of the mosaic system is placed in correspondence with the entrance window of the optical guide (1).

8. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that N is equal to two and in that said polarization control element (5) alternately shapes a polarization of the light beams from the miniature screen according to a polarization vector P or polarization S, substantially according to said period

(τ) - 9. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said optical duct (6) carries an inclined polarization splitter treatment (7A) associated with two quarter-wave plates (7B, 7C) whose axis of delay forms an angle of 45 ° with respect to the direction of the polarization vector P or S, in the plane of said quarter-wave plates.

10. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the separator processing (7A) is inclined by 45 ° with respect to an optical reference axis, defined as the straight line from the center of said miniature screen and perpendicular to the plane of this screen and the two quarter wave plates (7C, 7D) are perpendicular.

Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said polarization control element (5) comprises an electrically controlled liquid crystal cell.

12. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said miniature screen (2) and said polarization control element (5) forms a single piece.

13. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sub-virtual images I _N are interlaced geometry.

14. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said polarization control element (5) has interlaced electrodes (Ei, E ₂ ).

15. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device of the miniature screen comprises an arrangement for resetting the position of said screen images, this registration being defined by calibration on a bench adjustment (B).

16. Arrangement according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said miniature screen (2) has a size of its area containing pixels likely to display an image larger than the size of the screen image (I _E ) which is generated there.

17. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device of the miniature screen comprises an addressing arrangement of said screen images.

18. Arrangement according to one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that a device for storing the registration coordinates has redundancies and an error correction system.