Near-eye light-field display system

Abstract

A near-eye light field display for use with a head mounted display unit with enhanced resolution and color depth. A display for each eye is connected to one or more actuators to scan each display, increasing the resolution of each display by a factor proportional to the number of scan points utilized. In this way, the resolution of near-eye light field displays is enhanced without increasing the size of the displays.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A head mounted display, comprising:
 an array of lenses comprising a plurality of light field lenses;   an array of displays comprising a plurality of display components, each display component comprising a light source disposed on a circuit board, at least one display component including a light source disposed on an actuator;   an exterior housing supporting the array of lenses, the exterior housing connected to an outside edge of the array of lenses;   an interior housing supporting the array of light source displays, the array of light source arrays disposed on a top surface of the interior housing;   wherein the array of lenses is disposed at a fixed distance from the array of displays, and each light field lens of the plurality of light field lenses is parallel to at least one display component of the array of displays; and   wherein an actuator control component is communicatively coupled to the array of displays and a processor unit, and configured to move the at least one light source disposed on the actuator in accordance with a scan pattern.   
     
     
         2 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , wherein the processor unit is configured to synchronize the illumination of a plurality of pixels of the light source with the scan pattern. 
     
     
         3 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , wherein the light source comprises a OLED. 
     
     
         4 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , wherein the light source comprises one of: an LED; an LCD; a plasma display. 
     
     
         5 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , wherein the scan pattern comprises a raster scan pattern configured to scan the one or more actuators in plane. 
     
     
         6 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , wherein the scan pattern results in a Lissajous curve. 
     
     
         7 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more cameras housed in the exterior housing, each camera having a field of view encompassing a portion of a view of a user, and wherein the processor is further configured to compute a light field representation. 
     
     
         8 . The head mounted display of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more cameras comprise one or more light field cameras. 
     
     
         9 . The head mounted display of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more cameras comprises a motorized focus. 
     
     
         10 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , each display component comprising one or more focus sensors disposed on a surface of the display component between a plurality of pixels of the light source on the surface of the display component. 
     
     
         11 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , wherein the scan pattern comprises a depth scan pattern configured to scan the at least one actuator in the Z-axis. 
     
     
         12 . The head mounted display of  claim 1 , wherein an opaque mask is disposed at a transition point between each light field lens of the array of lenses, wherein the transition point comprises a point where an edge of a first light field lens meets an edge of a second light field lens. 
     
     
         13 . A head mounted display, comprising:
 a light field lens;   aa display component comprising a light source disposed on an actuator;   an exterior housing supporting the light field lens;   an interior housing supporting the display component disposed on a top surface of the interior housing;   wherein the light field lens is disposed opposite the display component, and parallel to the display component;   a vertical motion actuator disposed between the interior housing and the exterior housing such that, when activated, the interior housing moves in a vertical direction relative to the exterior housing to increase or decrease the distance between the light field lens and the display component; and   wherein an actuator control component is communicatively coupled to the display component and a processor unit, and configured to move the light source dispose on the actuator laterally and the vertical motion actuator vertically in accordance with a scan pattern.   
     
     
         14 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , wherein the processor unit is configured to synchronize the illumination of a plurality of pixels of the light source with the scan pattern. 
     
     
         15 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , wherein the light source comprises an OLED. 
     
     
         16 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , wherein the light source comprises one of: an LED; an LCD; a plasma display. 
     
     
         17 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , wherein the scan pattern comprises a raster scan pattern configured to scan the one or more actuators in-plane. 
     
     
         18 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , wherein the scan pattern results in a Lissajous curve. 
     
     
         19 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more cameras housed in the exterior housing, each camera having a field of view encompassing a portion of a view of a user, and wherein the processor is further configured to compute a light field representation. 
     
     
         20 . The head mounted display of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more cameras comprise one or more light field cameras. 
     
     
         21 . The head mounted display of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more cameras comprises a motorized focus. 
     
     
         22 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , the display component comprising one or more focus sensors disposed on a surface of the display component between a plurality of pixels of the light source on the surface of the display component. 
     
     
         23 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , wherein the scan pattern comprises a depth scan pattern configured to scan the vertical motion actuator in the Z-axis. 
     
     
         24 . The head mounted display of  claim 13 , further comprising an array of lenses comprising a plurality of light field lenses, an array of displays comprising a plurality of display components, at least one display component including a light source disposed on an actuator. 
     
     
         25 . The head mounted display of  claim 24 , wherein an opaque mask is disposed at a transition point between each light field lens of the array of lenses, wherein the transition point comprises a point where an edge of a first light field lens meets an edge of a second light field lens.