Head-mounted projection display system

[0001] This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/206,436, filed Dec. 7, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,182.

[0002] This invention relates to a head-mounted projection display system, and more particularly relates to such a display system in which the display is stereoscopic.

[0003] A variety of head-mounted displays are in use or have been proposed. Usually they involve a CRT or a spatial light modulator coupled to a source of light to create the display image. In the simplest versions, the images are viewed directly by the eye, assisted by suitable optics. See, for example, Japanese Kokai 4-34588 (A). Some versions permit the ambient environment to be viewed through the apparatus while information is added to the observer's view from the display. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,795.

[0004] In UK patent application GB 2 043 940 A, a ground-based craft-flight simulator is described, in which separate right and left light beams from a laser-scanning image generator are fed to right and left projection lenses mounted on a helmet above the eyes of a wearer-trainee, and projected onto a retro-reflective viewing screen. A diffraction grating on the front of the screen adjusts the angle of the retro-reflected image, so that the projected beams are reflected onto a plane mirror mounted on the helmet between the projection lenses and the eyes of the viewer. Motors mounted on the helment rotate the mirror, to achieve scanning of the reflected light beams onto the screen to build up the display image.

[0005] As will be appreciated, this system is complex and would be expensive to implement, limiting its applicability to specialized uses such as military or commercial pilot training.

[0006] A simple low-power, head-mounted projection display system, particularly one which provides stereoscopic viewing, would be useful in a variety of applications, notably virtual reality systems, useful, for example, in education, training, and/or entertainment.

[0007] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple, low-power, head-mounted projection display system.

[0008] It is another object of the invention to provide such a head-mounted projection display system in which stereoscopic viewing is possible.

[0009] In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a head-mounted projection display system comprising head gear including at least one low-power projector positioned such that the images from the projector are directed away from the viewer's eyes. More specifically, the projector is mounted so as to project an image in a direction along the viewer's line-of-sight. Preferably, a pair of projectors are mounted on opposite sides of the head gear, adjacent the viewer's eyes, and each projector is aimed to project an image in a direction along the viewer's line-of-sight.

[0010] The projected image is directed to a high-gain, retro-reflective viewing screen, which returns light from the low power projector(s) at sufficient brightness for the viewer to see the projected image(s). Due to the small angle of return (on the order of about 1–2 degrees), each eye sees only the image from its adjacent projector, enabling stereoscopic viewing in the event that separate images are projected by each projector, without the attenuation, temporal or optical manipulation common to known stereoscopic display systems.

[0011] The retro-reflective viewing screen is capable of having a wide viewing angle. This characteristic, together with the retro-reflectivity of the screen, permits a single viewer or multiple viewers, each with their own headgear, to see the same image or different images at large angles of view without significant degradation, making possible, for example, one or more viewers moving within the viewing space, or an audience of stationary viewers.

[0016] In FIG. 1, two low power projectors 12 and 14 are mounted on the viewer's head close to each eye. Each projector is aimed at the viewing screen 16 along the direction of the line of sight of the adjacent eye of the viewer. The projectors 12 and 14 are stabilized and referenced to the viewer's head by means of a headband 18. Possible alternative headgear include a hat or helmet.

[0017] The projectors each include a light source 20, an electro-optical light modulator 22, such as an LCD, and a projection lens 24, in the arrangement shown schematically in FIG. 2. Light may alternatively be supplied from a remote light source, eg., via optical fibers. Display information, such as video or computer generated display signals, are supplied to the modulator 22 via electrical cables, not shown.

[0018] The viewing screen 16 is retro-reflective. That is, it returns all incident light back to the source within a narrow angle (about 1–2 degrees). Consequently, regardless of changes in the angle of incidence of the projected image caused by movement of the viewer's head, the screen will return the projected image to the viewer. The viewing screen also advantageously can have a very high gain, as high as 1600, for example, enabling the viewer to see the projected image at adequate brightness, despite the low power of the projectors. This low power not only reduces the cost of the system relative to more complex high power systems, but also enables the use of battery powered operation, introducing portability and the possibility of inputting display information, such as computer generated information, by wireless link.

[0019] Depending upon the application, the screen could cover a portion of a wall or an entire wall or room. The walls of the room could be curved, eg., cylindrical or spherical. For example, FIG. 4 shows a spherical room 40 enclosing a transparent floor 42 and viewer 44. In the stereoscopic mode of the invention, such a room 40 could be used to project images 46 and 48 above and below viewer 44, for example, to train astronauts, since it would create a perception of floating in space.

[0020] In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, the screen is composed of a surface of an array of uniformly sized microspheres 30, adhered to a substrate 34 by a reflective paint 32. The microspheres can be of any size above the wavelength of the light, and can also be of varying sizes. One way of constructing a large screen surface would be to blow the microspheres onto a substrate having a previously applied tacky base, eg., wet reflective paint. As is known, one alternative to reflective microspheres is the so-called corner cube. Retro-reflective screens are also commercially available. Two examples are the 3M Special Effects Projection screens #7610 and #7615.

[0021] The invention has been described in terms of a limited number of embodiments. Other embodiments, variations of embodiments and art-recognized equivalents will become apparent to those skilled in the art, and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.