US5035474A — Biocular holographic helmet mounted display

Claim 1

Independent Claim 271 words

Biocular display apparatus for mounting on a helmet to provide biocular images from a single object source combined with external scenes received through a helmet visor comprising: an object source device to be mounted adjacent the helmet for providing a downwardly directed display along the forward portion of the helmet; an X-cube prism for splitting incident light from the object source device into a pair of oppositely directed traverse beams, said X-cube prism having internal surfaces which are partially reflective and partially transmissive to develop the transverse beams from incident light at one external face of the prism; a substantially transparent visor for mounting on said helmet and having dual eyepieces oriented at a selected angle, said eyepieces being substantially transparent to permit the helmet wearer to view external scenes therethrough and comprising diffraction optical means for diffracting light directed thereto from the object source device to project collimated biocular images at respective exit pupils in the vicinity of the helmet wearer's eyes; means between the object source device and the X-cube prism for directing light from the object source to the X-cube prism; and fold means adjacent the X-cube prism for directing the two light beams from the X-cube prism toward the respective eyepieces, and wherein said object source device, said X-cube prism, said light directing means and said fold means are arranged above the helmet wearer's eyes and generally in the region of the wearer's forehead such that each light ray incident on an eyepiece from the object source device and the corresponding light ray diffracted from the eyepiece toward the corresponding exit pupil define a generally vertical plane.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 271 words

Biocular display apparatus for mounting on a helmet to provide biocular images from a single object source combined with external scenes received through a helmet visor comprising: an object source device to be mounted adjacent the helmet for providing a downwardly directed display along the forward portion of the helmet; an X-cube prism for splitting incident light from the object source device into a pair of oppositely directed traverse beams, said X-cube prism having internal surfaces which are partially reflective and partially transmissive to develop the transverse beams from incident light at one external face of the prism; a substantially transparent visor for mounting on said helmet and having dual eyepieces oriented at a selected angle, said eyepieces being substantially transparent to permit the helmet wearer to view external scenes therethrough and comprising diffraction optical means for diffracting light directed thereto from the object source device to project collimated biocular images at respective exit pupils in the vicinity of the helmet wearer's eyes; means between the object source device and the X-cube prism for directing light from the object source to the X-cube prism; and fold means adjacent the X-cube prism for directing the two light beams from the X-cube prism toward the respective eyepieces, and wherein said object source device, said X-cube prism, said light directing means and said fold means are arranged above the helmet wearer's eyes and generally in the region of the wearer's forehead such that each light ray incident on an eyepiece from the object source device and the corresponding light ray diffracted from the eyepiece toward the corresponding exit pupil define a generally vertical plane.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 41 words

Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means between the object source device and the X-cube prism comprise an image folding element and a relay lens mounted in succession along the light path between the object source device and the X-cube prism.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 31 words

Apparatus of claim 2 wherein the image folding means comprise a prism having an exit face oriented at a preselected wedge angle selected to provide aberration correction of the light beam.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 19 words

Apparatus of claim 2 wherein the relay lens comprises a triplet of individual lenses separately spaced from each other.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 25 words

Apparatus of claim 4 wherein the triplet of lenses comprises first and third lenses having aspheric surfaces and an intermediate meniscus lens having spherical surfaces.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 22 words

Apparatus of claim 5 wherein the relay lens further includes a filter for eliminating unwanted colors from the object source device display.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 25 words

Apparatus of claim 2 wherein the X-cube prism is substantially centrally oriented relative to the axial ray of incident light projected from the relay lens.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 38 words

Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fold means comprise a pair of wing mirrors mounted transversely on opposite sides of the X-cube prism and angled to reflect the transverse beams respectively in the direction of the visor eyepieces.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 48 words

Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the visor is mounted at a selected angle relative to the axial ray of the light beams incident thereon to develop a fold angle for said light beams suitable for projecting the light beams toward the eyes of a wearer of the helmet.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 28 words

Apparatus of claim 9 wherein the visor eyepieces comprise thin surface elements laminated respectively to the right and left portions of the visor and having holograms embedded therein.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 256 words

A biocular holographic display device for mounting on a helmet to provide a transparent image display through which an external scene may be viewed, comprising: a cathode ray tube having a face plate; a combiner in the form of a helmet visor bearing a pair of substantially clear holographic elements through which the user may view an external scene, said holographic elements constituting eyepieces which are displaced by a preselected distance on opposite sides of the midpoint of the visor; and means comprising a plurality of optical elements positioned between the cathode ray tube face plate and the visor for bending a beam of light rays from the cathode ray tube face plate, splitting said beam into a pair of like beams, and directing said pair of beams to respective eyepieces on said visor for biocular image viewing by a user, said optical elements comprising a folding prism, a relay lens, an X-cube prism for splitting the beam from the cathode ray tube into a pair of laterally transmitted beams, and a pair of wing mirrors mounted on opposite sides of the X-cube prism for reflecting the split beams toward the combiner; and wherein said cathode ray tube, said folding prism, said relay lens, said X-cube prism and said wing mirrors are arranged above the user's eyes and generally in the region of the user's forehead such that each light ray incident on a holographic element from the cathode ray tube and the corresponding light ray diffracted from the holographic element define a generally vertical plane.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 256 words

A biocular holographic display device for mounting on a helmet to provide a transparent image display through which an external scene may be viewed, comprising: a cathode ray tube having a face plate; a combiner in the form of a helmet visor bearing a pair of substantially clear holographic elements through which the user may view an external scene, said holographic elements constituting eyepieces which are displaced by a preselected distance on opposite sides of the midpoint of the visor; and means comprising a plurality of optical elements positioned between the cathode ray tube face plate and the visor for bending a beam of light rays from the cathode ray tube face plate, splitting said beam into a pair of like beams, and directing said pair of beams to respective eyepieces on said visor for biocular image viewing by a user, said optical elements comprising a folding prism, a relay lens, an X-cube prism for splitting the beam from the cathode ray tube into a pair of laterally transmitted beams, and a pair of wing mirrors mounted on opposite sides of the X-cube prism for reflecting the split beams toward the combiner; and wherein said cathode ray tube, said folding prism, said relay lens, said X-cube prism and said wing mirrors are arranged above the user's eyes and generally in the region of the user's forehead such that each light ray incident on a holographic element from the cathode ray tube and the corresponding light ray diffracted from the holographic element define a generally vertical plane.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 36 words

The device of claim 11 wherein the visor is mounted at an angle with the vertical plane such that a reflection angle in excess of 50° is developed in the axial ray of the projected image.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 48 words

The device of claim 11 wherein the optical elements are oriented such that the relay lens and the folding prism are displaced in a vertical plane from a reference line which is parallel to the axial rays of the split beams as they are projected on the combiner.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 33 words

The device of claim 13 wherein the relay lens comprises a triplet of lens elements including a pair of aspheric lenses arrayed on opposite sides of, and spatially separated from, a meniscus lens.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 17 words

The device of claim 14 wherein the relay lens further includes a spectral filter following said triplet.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 23 words

The device of claim 14 wherein the axis of the relay lens is angularly displaced from the reference line by a predetermined angle.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 24 words

Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said object source device, said X-cube prism, and said light directing means are substantially arranged in a vertical plane.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 26 words

Apparatus of claim 11 wherein said cathode ray tube, said folding prism, said relay lens and said X-cube prism are substantially arranged in a vertical plane.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1994-07-29	1995-01-28	1995-07-30	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1998-07-29	1999-01-28	1999-07-30	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2002-07-29	2003-01-28	2003-07-30	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Biocular holographic helmet mounted display

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