KR20180088341A - Reflecting lens module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a reflecting lens module capable of providing an image with a deep depth of field to a user. The reflecting lens module according to the present invention provides the image to the user by reflecting the image outputted from a display unit. The reflecting lens module includes at least one reflecting unit which reflects the image outputted from the display unit and has a size of 4 mm or less.

Description

REFLECTING LENS MODULE

The present invention relates to a reflective lens module, and more particularly, to a reflective lens module capable of providing a deep image to a user.

Augmented Reality (Augmented Reality) is a technology that superimposes a virtual screen (virtual world) in the real world that the user sees. It shows a single image by combining the virtual world with additional information in real time in the real world. It was also called reality.

This augmented reality has begun to be studied starting with the development of see-through HMD (Head Mounted Display), which has a different meaning from Virtual Reality. Since the virtual reality allows the user to immerse in the virtual environment, the user can not see the real environment, whereas the augmented reality is the user can see the real environment, and the real environment and the virtual object are mixed. In other words, the virtual reality replaces the real world and shows to the user, but the augmented reality differs from the reality in that the virtual reality is superimposed on the real world to show it to the user by supplementing the real world.

In order to realize such augmented reality, HMD is mainly used. Since most of the lens module (optical module) of the HMD has a complicated structure, there is a problem that it is very difficult to manufacture. Due to the complicated structure, the size of the lens module is large and the weight is heavy There is a problem that can not be solved. This makes it very inconvenient for the user to wear the HMD.

Although the conventional lens module for realizing the augmented reality has a complicated structure, it has a problem in that it can not provide a user with a certain clear virtual screen at all.

As described above, augmented reality is a technology that allows a user to recognize and simultaneously recognize a virtual screen when the user perceives the real world. When a user looks at a real time clock - when looking at it - If you focus on what you want - if you change the focal length - the virtual screen can look blurry or look sharp. In other words, since the focus of the lens module that provides (reflects) the virtual screen is fixed, the user can change the focal distance, and the user can see a clear virtual screen only when the focus is in focus. - You will see a virtual screen.

As an example of a conventional technique for solving such a problem, an optical system module for an HMD capable of adjusting a focus in Patent Document 1 is disclosed. Specifically, an optical system module for an HMD capable of adjusting the focus of Patent Document 1 includes a screen transfer lens for receiving a virtual screen from a display panel and totally internalizing the virtual screen, and then sending a virtual screen to a next optical system; A control prism that adjusts an angle by receiving a virtual screen sent from a screen transmission lens and reflects the virtual screen to adjust the focus and send the virtual screen to the next optical system; And a combiner that reflects the virtual screen sent from the control prism and combines the real screen from the outside and sends it to the eyes of the wearer.

The focus adjustment of the optical module for HMD capable of adjusting the focus of the 'Patent Document 1' is such that the focus is adjusted by a user to focus on one's field of view, And fixing the focus. This means that the user pointed out above does not solve the problem of acquiring an unclear virtual screen when changing the focal distance while gazing at the real world.

Also, as an example of a conventional technique for solving the above problems, an augmented reality system and an improved focus providing method are disclosed in Patent Document 2. Specifically, an augmented reality system and an improved focus providing method of Patent Document 2 include a processor for determining a current user focus area under the control of software; And a focus area adjusting unit for focusing the variable focus lens in the current user focus area under the control of the processor. In the 'Patent Document 2', the augmented reality system and the improved focus providing method have not solved the above problems at all by a physical method, and a separate processor is required to determine the focus area of the current user. There is a problem that the software and the processor may be malfunctioned and the error may occur because the separate software is required for the control, and the manufacturing cost is expensive because a separate processor and software are installed.

KR 10-2015-0116142 A (Oct. 15, 2015) KR 10-2013-0126623 A (Nov. 20, 2013)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a reflective lens module capable of providing a user with an image-image or an image with a deep depth of field .

As described above, the augmented reality has its technical characteristics-a technical feature for allowing the user to recognize the real world by superimposing the virtual screen. Therefore, in order to allow the user to always recognize a clear image, There is a need to change the focal distance of the image.

These focal length problems can be solved by providing deep images. Depth refers to the extent to which an image - the image the user acquires visually - is perceived as being in focus. Therefore, when the depth is low, the range in which the focus is recognized as narrow is narrow, and when the depth is deep, the range in which the focus is recognized as wide is wide.

Therefore, by providing a deep image to the user, a clear image can be obtained within a range in which the focal point of the provided image is perceived as correct even if the user changes the focal distance while gazing at the real world. In other words, as the depth of field is considered to be in focus, it is recognized that the focus is correct even if the focal distance is changed within the above range. do.

At this time, if the depth is infinitely deep, the range recognized as being in focus is close to infinity, so that even if the user freely adjusts the focal distance, a clear virtual screen can be obtained at any time.

The characteristic configuration of the present invention for realizing the above-mentioned object of the present invention and realizing the characteristic effect of the present invention described below is as follows.

The reflective lens module according to the present invention reflects an image output from a display unit and provides the reflected image to a user. The reflective lens module may include at least one reflector that reflects an image output from the display unit and has a size of 4 mm or less have.

And a frame part for fixing the at least one reflection part.

And a transparent lens portion through which visible light is transmitted, wherein the at least one reflection portion may be provided outside or inside the transparent lens portion.

Also, the at least one reflection part may be installed in the interior of the transparent lens part.

The at least one reflective portion may also be formed of a metal.

Also, the at least one reflection part may be formed of an optical element.

In addition, the at least one reflecting portion may be formed in an edge-free form.

The at least one reflecting portion may be circular or elliptical.

Also, the surface of the at least one reflecting portion may be formed as a curved surface.

The reflective lens module according to the present invention can provide an image with a deep depth to the user by the above-described structure. Therefore, even if the focal distance is adjusted when the user views the real world, the user can always obtain a clear image regardless of the focal distance.

Further, the overall structure of the reflective lens module according to the present invention is greatly simplified by the above-described structure. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is reduced, the lens module is easily applied to the HMD and glasses, and the weight is reduced and the volume is reduced.

Further, according to the reflection lens module of the present invention, the user can obtain a clear image regardless of his or her visual acuity.

1 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a reflection lens module according to the present invention;
2 is a view for explaining the principle of viewing a clear image when viewing an image through a pinhole lens;
3 is a view for explaining a pinhole effect of the reflective lens module according to the present invention;
FIGS. 4 to 6 are views comparing images obtained using the reflective lens module according to the present invention and images obtained using the conventional reflective lens module

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain features, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in connection with one embodiment. It should also be understood that the position or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which the claims are entitled, if properly explained. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several views.

Terms including ordinals, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited to these terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

The terms used in the present invention, on the other hand, are used only to illustrate specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is also to be understood that the terms "comprises" or "having ", and the like in the specification are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, But do not preclude the presence or addition of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art and are to be interpreted as ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present invention Should not.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a reflection lens module according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the reflective lens module according to the present invention includes a reflective portion 100 having a size of 4 mm or less and reflects an image output from the display portion 50, and may include a transparent lens portion 200, And a frame unit (not shown). FIG. 1 illustrates the position of the display unit 50 and the size of the reflection unit 100, which are somewhat different from the actual position and size, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention. For example, the display unit 50 may be located on the side surface of the reflection unit 100, and the size of the reflection unit 100 is very small when the reflection unit 100 is visually recognized because the size of the reflection unit 100 is 4 mm or less. However, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the size of the reflector 100 is only slightly exaggerated.

The display unit 50 is a component for outputting an image and is not directly included in the components of the present invention. However, the display unit 50 may include a frame unit (not shown) As shown in FIG. At this time, the image includes all the visual elements output by the display unit 50 and includes both images and images. For example, when the display unit 50 outputs a predetermined moving image, the image can be a moving image, and when the display unit 50 outputs an image, the image can be an image. When the lens module according to the present invention is applied to an augmented reality, the image reflected by the display unit 50 may become a virtual screen.

The reflection unit 100 reflects the image output from the display unit 50, and it is preferable that the reflected image is configured to reach the user's eyes. Also, the size of the reflective portion 100 is preferably 4 mm or less. The size of the reflector 100 is smaller than the size of the human pupil. It is known that the size of the human pupil is generally 2 to 6 mm. Since the size of the pupil of a person may be different, it is preferable that the average is 4 mm or less.

In addition, since the size of the reflection portion 100 is 2 mm or less, the size of the reflection portion 100 can be reduced to 2 mm or less, As shown in FIG.

Also, it is preferable that the reflectance of the reflector 100 is 100%. For this purpose, the reflector 100 may be formed of a metal. For example, the reflective portion 100 may be formed of aluminum (Al) or silver (Ag), and various kinds of metals, alloys, or synthetic resins may be used.

In addition, the reflection unit 100 may be formed of optical elements of various materials. For example, the reflection unit 100 may be formed of a holographic optical element so that the diffraction grating can be reflected . At this time, the image obtained by the user has a holographic form. In addition, other kinds of elements other than the holographic optical element may be used and configured to be capable of diffraction grating reflection.

Since the size of the virtual screen reflected by the reflection unit 100 is smaller than the size of the pupil, images can be accurately formed on the retina irrespective of the shape and thickness of the lens. Therefore, the user can always obtain a virtual screen reflected on the virtual screen-reflector 100 regardless of his or her visual acuity.

In another aspect of the reflective portion 100 having such features, the reflective portion 100 according to the present invention may act as a pinhole effect element. 2 is a view for explaining the principle of viewing a clear image when viewing an image through a pinhole lens.

FIG. 2 (a) shows the reason why a near-sighted person looks blurred when viewing an object with the naked eye. In the case of nearsightedness, since the lens is thick and the focus is formed in front of the retina, the image of the object spreads without being formed at one point of the retina So the object looks blurred. Referring to Fig. 2 (a), light (A) originating from an object is spread in the retina as A1, A2, and A3.

FIG. 2 (b) shows the reason why a near-vision person wears a pinhole lens to make the object look sharper. Since light originating from the object passes through the pinhole and is confined to a relatively narrow area of the retina, The object looks clearer than ever. Referring to FIG. 2 (b), light (A) originating from an object is relatively narrowly formed (A ') in the retina. Considering only such a phenomenon, the conventional problem can be solved by allowing the virtual screen outputted from the display unit 50 to pass through the pinhole so as to reach the eye, but other problems occur in the case of the pinhole. Another problem here is diffraction, which diffuses light through the pinhole, which limits the ability to produce a clear image. The degree of sharpness of the image due to the pinhole effect increases as the pinhole becomes smaller. However, since the diffracting becomes smaller as the pinhole becomes smaller, the use of the pinhole is limited.

In the present invention, the use of the reflector 100 having a size smaller than the size of 4 mm or less makes it possible to restrict the width of the light such as a pinhole and prevent the occurrence of the diffraction phenomenon. 3 is a view for explaining that a virtual screen image is formed on a retina through a lens module for implementing a virtual reality according to the present invention. 3, light A originating from an object in the real world is formed as A 'on the retina, light B emitted from the display unit 50 is reflected on the reflection unit 100, and B' As shown in Fig. In the case of FIG. 3, since A 'and B' are formed at one point on the retina, the images of the real world and virtual images are clearly seen without focusing on the eyes.

At this time, the position of the image formed on the retina may be changed as the user adjusts the focal distance. This is because the thickness of the lens changes as the user adjusts the focal length. However, since the light B emitted from the display unit 50 is constantly B 'formed by the user even if the thickness of the lens is changed by adjusting the focal distance, the user can always obtain a clear virtual image.

The size of the reflector 100 according to the present invention is less than 4 mm, so that the user can always obtain a clear virtual screen. This means that the depth of the virtual screen provided to the user is very deep.

FIGS. 4 to 6 are views comparing images obtained using the reflective lens module according to the present invention and images obtained using the conventional reflective lens module. 4 to 6 are images obtained by using the reflection lens module according to the present invention, and the right image is obtained by using the conventional reflection lens module. In the boxes in Figs. 4 to 6, virtual screens output from the display unit 50 are displayed.

FIG. 4 shows a case where the focus is far away, FIG. 5 shows a case where the focus is located in the middle, and FIG. 6 shows a case where the focus is close to the focus. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, it can be seen that as the focus is shifted farther, middle, or closer to both the left and right sides, the image of the real world becomes clearer only in the portion where the focus coincides with the blurring portion in the portion where the focus does not coincide .

At this time, it can be confirmed that the virtual screen in the square of the image obtained by using the right conventional reflection lens module becomes clear only when the focal point is far away, and the virtual screen in the square fades gradually as the focal point moves closer. On the other hand, among the images obtained by using the reflective lens module according to the present invention on the left, the virtual screen in the square box can be confirmed to be clear even if it is located far, medium, or near.

As described above, the reflective lens module according to the present invention can provide a deep virtual screen to the user, so that the user can always obtain a clear virtual screen regardless of the focal distance even if the focal distance is adjusted when the user views the real world have.

Although the above-described result can be obtained when the size of the reflection part 100 according to the present invention is 2 mm or less, the size of the reflection part 100 is preferably 50 to 700 μm in order to be more effective.

Also, it is preferable that the reflection part 100 is formed in a circular shape. In addition to the complete circle, the reflection part 100 may be formed in an elliptical shape if necessary. As described above, the reflective portion 100 is preferably circular or elliptical, and the shape of the reflective portion 100 may be modified as needed. For example, a cylindrical shape may have an elliptical shape when cut with an oblique line, and may have an elliptical shape that does not completely coincide with a mathematically defined ellipse.

That is, the reflection unit 100 of the present invention may have various shapes as long as it does not have an edge. Any shape that achieves the objective of preventing the diffraction phenomenon while achieving the pinhole effect Do. For example, if there is no edge, the elliptical shape can prevent the diffraction phenomenon while achieving the pinhole effect.

Further, the surface of the reflective portion 100 may be formed as a curved surface, and the curved surface may have a concave shape, and may have a convex curved surface if necessary.

The reflective lens module according to the present invention may include at least one reflector 100 having the above-described characteristics. That is, the reflector 100 may be composed of one and two or more as necessary. In the case where the reflector 100 is composed of two or more pieces, each of the reflectors 100 reflects each image (the display portion 50 may be composed of two or more pieces) from the display portion 50 Thereby allowing the user to acquire various images. In addition, the plurality of reflectors 100 may be configured as a cluster, and the plurality of such crowns may be formed as necessary.

The reflection unit 100 may be installed inside or outside the transparent lens unit 200. For example, when the reflection unit 100 is embedded in the transparent lens unit 200 as shown in FIG. 1, The reflective portion 100 may be attached to the front surface or the rear surface of the transparent lens portion 200. [

The transparent lens unit 200 is a component that can transmit visible light, and the user can view the real world through the transparent lens unit 200. [ Therefore, it is preferable that the transmittance of the visible light ray is 100% so that the user can see the real world well. However, the transmittance of the visible light ray is selected according to the state of the user's eyes (eyeball) can do.

The transparent lens unit 200 may be configured to transmit visible light while shielding ultraviolet light when ultraviolet (UV) blocking is required, or may be used when a user's eyes are bad and the eyesight correction is required .

The transparent lens unit 200 may be formed using glass, and may be formed of various types of plastic in addition to glass.

Also, the reflective lens module according to the present invention may be configured such that the reflective portion 100 is laminated on a base portion (not shown) formed of a hard material.

The base portion may be a material having a certain degree of hardness in order to laminate the reflective portion 100. Although glass is a typical example, various kinds of synthetic resins other than glass can be used. Aluminum (Al) or silver (Ag) having excellent reflectance may be used for reflecting the virtual screen outputted from the display unit 50. In addition, various kinds of metals, alloys, synthetic resins, etc. may be used It is possible. Also, the reflective portion 100 may have a curved surface if necessary.

Further, the reflective lens module according to the present invention may further include a frame portion (not shown), which is a component for fixing at least one reflective portion, wherein the frame portion is directly connected to the reflective portion 100, The transparent lens unit 200 may be fixed to the frame unit when the frame unit 100 further includes the transparent lens unit 200 and the reflective unit 100 may be provided on the transparent lens unit 200 The frame portion may indirectly fix the reflection portion 100. [

At this time, the frame part may be a user-worn type of glasses or various types of head mount devices, and may have various other forms.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, I will say.

50: display part 100:
200: transparent lens part

Claims (1)

A reflective lens module for reflecting an image output from a display unit and providing the reflected image to a user,
And at least one reflector for reflecting an image output from the display unit and having a size of 4 mm or less.

Images