Apparatus and method for pixelated occlusion

Abstract

An apparatus and method for providing pixelated occlusion is disclosed. The apparatus includes a display, a unitary and transmissive optical component, and a contact lens. The display provides a display image. The unitary reflective and transmissive optical component receives the display image and forms a reflected display image having a first polarization and receives a scene image and forms a transmitted scene image. The contact lens forms a combined image including the reflected display image and the transmitted scene image. The pixelated display includes one or more occluding pixels having a second polarization with the first polarization substantially orthogonal to the second polarization. The pixelated display is included anterior to the unitary and reflective optical component.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a display to provide a display image;   a unitary reflective and transmissive optical component to receive the display image and to form a reflected display image having a first polarization, the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component to receive a scene image and form a transmitted scene image having a second polarization, the first polarization substantially orthogonal to the second polarization; and   a contact lens to form a combined image including the reflected display image and the transmitted scene image.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component includes a wire grid polarizer. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component includes a multi-layer interference stack reflective polarizer. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component includes a holographic reflective polarizer. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component includes a liquid crystal display joined to the wire grid polarizer. 
     
     
         6 . An apparatus comprising:
 a substrate having a first substrate surface and a second substrate surface;   a plurality of substantially parallel conductive and reflective lines formed on the first substrate surface; and   a pixelated display substrate including a pixelated display, the pixelated display including a plurality of pixels having a transparent state and an occluded state, each of the plurality of pixels in the transparent state to transmit substantially all received light in a first polarization direction substantially orthogonal to the plurality of substantially parallel conductive and reflective lines, each of the plurality of pixels in the occluded state to transmit light having a second polarization substantially parallel to the plurality of substantially parallel conductive and reflective lines, the pixelated display substrate having a pixelated display surface joined to the second substrate surface.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the substrate includes a spectral filter. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of substantially parallel conductive and reflective lines has a width of about 75 nanometers, a spacing of about 75 nanometers, and a height of about 150 nanometers. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of substantially parallel conductive and reflective lines includes aluminum. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the pixelated display includes a plurality of display pixels, each of the plurality of display pixels having a display pixel diameter, and each of the one or more occluded pixels having an occluded pixel diameter greater or substantially equal to the display pixel diameter. 
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 forming a display image;   processing the display image to form a reflected display image having a first polarization;   processing a scene image to form a transmitted and occluded scene image having a second polarization substantially orthogonal to the first polarization; and   processing the reflected display image and the transmitted and occluded scene image to form a combined image including the reflected display image and the transmitted and occluded scene image.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein processing the scene image to form the transmitted and occluded scene image including the second polarization substantially orthogonal to the first polarization includes activating one or more pixels in a pixelated display. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein processing the reflected display image and the transmitted and occluded scene image to form the combined image including the reflected display image and the transmitted and occluded scene image includes optically processing the reflected display image and the transmitted and occluded scene image with a contact lens including a first filter to pass the first polarization and a second filter to pass the second polarization. 
     
     
         14 . An apparatus comprising:
 an eyewear frame, a spectacle lens in the eyewear frame, the spectacle lens having a scene image optical axis when worn by a user that is aligned with a user’s visual optical axis, a scene image to be received substantially along the scene image optical axis;   an emissive display coupled to the eyewear frame, the emissive display having a display optical axis to intersect the user’s visual optical axis, the emissive display to form an emissive display image; and   a unitary reflective and transmissive optical component coupled to the eyewear frame, the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component having a complementary transmitted optical axis and a complementary reflected optical axis, the complementary transmitted optical axis substantially aligned with the user’s visual optical axis and the complementary reflected optical axis substantially aligned with the display optical axis, the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component to reflect and polarize the emissive display image along the user’s visual optical axis, and the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component to transmit and polarize the scene image along the visual optical axis.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the emissive display is located between about five millimeters and about twenty millimeters from the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the emissive display is coupled to the eyewear frame by fitting into a cavity of a structure coupled to the eyewear frame. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the display optical axis is tilted away from a user’s eye to form an angle of between about seventy-five and about eighty-five degrees with respect to the visual optical axis. 
     
     
         18 . An apparatus comprising:
 a display to provide a display image;   a unitary reflective and transmissive optical component to receive the display image and to form a reflected display image having a first polarization, the unitary reflective and transmissive optical component to receive a scene image and form a transmitted scene image;   a contact lens to form a combined image including the reflected display image and the transmitted scene image; and   a pixelated display including one or more occluding pixels having a second polarization, the first polarization substantially orthogonal to the second polarization, the pixelated display included anterior to the unitary and reflective optical component.