Patents by Inventor Adam C. Urness

Adam C. Urness has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12228734
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display with an optical combiner. The combiner may include a waveguide and a cross coupler on the waveguide. The combiner may redirect light from a display module to an eye box while passing world light to the eye box within a field of view. The cross coupler may include surface relief gratings or other broadband gratings. The combiner may include an angular filter that at least partially overlaps the cross coupler. The cross coupler may include surface relief grating structures or other broadband gratings. The angular filter may include angled absorbers or diffractive gratings. The angular filter may prevent world light that would otherwise produce distracting flares at the eye box (e.g., world light incident on the waveguide outside the field of view such as high-incident angle light from an overhead light source) from passing to the cross coupler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2025
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Adam C. Urness
  • Patent number: 12158581
    Abstract: An electronic device may provide images to an eye box. The device may include first and second sets of holograms that sequentially diffract light along an optical path. Each hologram in the first set may have a respective grating vector oriented along a common axis. Each of the grating vectors may have a respective magnitude. The magnitudes may be non-uniformly spaced across the first set of volume holograms. Similarly, each hologram in the second set may have a respective additional grating vector oriented along an additional common axis. Each of the additional grating vectors may have a respective additional magnitude. The additional magnitudes may be non-uniformly spaced across the second set of holograms. This may serve to produce diffracted light within filaments of k-space that mitigate angular harmonic sight lines in angle space, thereby preventing formation of non-uniformities in the images at the eye box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mark R. Ayres, Adam C. Urness, Jaebum Chung
  • Publication number: 20240264434
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display that generates light for an optical system that redirects the light towards an eye box. The optical system may include a waveguide, a non-diffractive input coupler, a cross coupler, and an output coupler. The cross coupler may expand the light in a first direction. The cross coupler may perform an even number of diffractions on the light and may couple the light back into the waveguide at an angle suitable for total internal reflection. The output coupler may expand the light in a second direction while coupling the light out of the waveguide. The cross coupler may include surface relief gratings or holographic gratings embedded within the waveguide or formed in a separate substrate. The optical system may direct the light towards the eye box without chromatic dispersion and while supporting an expanded field of view and optical bandwidth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2024
    Publication date: August 8, 2024
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Francesco Aieta, Se Baek Oh, Friso Schlottau, Adam C. Urness
  • Patent number: 11994672
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display that generates light for an optical system that redirects the light towards an eye box. The optical system may include a waveguide, a non-diffractive input coupler, a cross coupler, and an output coupler. The cross coupler may expand the light in a first direction. The cross coupler may perform an even number of diffractions on the light and may couple the light back into the waveguide at an angle suitable for total internal reflection. The output coupler may expand the light in a second direction while coupling the light out of the waveguide. The cross coupler may include surface relief gratings or holographic gratings embedded within the waveguide or formed in a separate substrate. The optical system may direct the light towards the eye box without chromatic dispersion and while supporting an expanded field of view and optical bandwidth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Francesco Aieta, Se Baek Oh, Friso Schlottau, Adam C. Urness
  • Patent number: 11966053
    Abstract: Systems and methods of dispersion compensation in an optical device are disclosed. A holographic optical element may include a set of different holograms in a grating medium. Each hologram in the set may have a corresponding grating vector with a grating frequency and direction. The directions of the grating vectors may vary as a function of the grating frequency. Different holograms in the set may diffract light in a particular direction so that the light emerges from a boundary of the grating medium in a single given direction regardless of wavelength. A prism may be used to couple light into the grating medium. The prism may be formed using materials having dispersion properties that are similar to the dispersion properties of the grating material. The prism may have an input face that receives perpendicular input light. The prism may include multiple portions having different refractive indices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Adam C. Urness, Friso Schlottau, Mark R. Ayres, Vikrant Bhakta
  • Publication number: 20220066204
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display that generates light for an optical system that redirects the light towards an eye box. The optical system may include a waveguide, a non-diffractive input coupler, a cross coupler, and an output coupler. The cross coupler may expand the light in a first direction. The cross coupler may perform an even number of diffractions on the light and may couple the light back into the waveguide at an angle suitable for total internal reflection. The output coupler may expand the light in a second direction while coupling the light out of the waveguide. The cross coupler may include surface relief gratings or holographic gratings embedded within the waveguide or formed in a separate substrate. The optical system may direct the light towards the eye box without chromatic dispersion and while supporting an expanded field of view and optical bandwidth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Francesco Aieta, Se Baek Oh, Friso Schlottau, Adam C. Urness
  • Publication number: 20220004006
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display with an optical combiner. The combiner may include a waveguide and a cross coupler on the waveguide. The combiner may redirect light from a display module to an eye box while passing world light to the eye box within a field of view. The cross coupler may include surface relief gratings or other broadband gratings. The combiner may include an angular filter that at least partially overlaps the cross coupler. The cross coupler may include surface relief grating structures or other broadband gratings. The angular filter may include angled absorbers or diffractive gratings. The angular filter may prevent world light that would otherwise produce distracting flares at the eye box (e.g., world light incident on the waveguide outside the field of view such as high-incident angle light from an overhead light source) from passing to the cross coupler.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2021
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Adam C. Urness
  • Publication number: 20210405380
    Abstract: An electronic device may include an optical system that redirects light from a display module towards an eye box along an optical path. The optical path may include a holographic coupler and a resolution-enhancing holographic element. The holographic element may include a first set of holograms and the coupler may include a second set of holograms. The first set of holograms may be characterized by a first set of selectivity curves having first primary lobes. The second set of holograms may be characterized by a second set of selectivity curves having second primary lobes that overlap the first primary lobes. This may configure the holographic element to narrow the second selectivity curves by diffracting some of the light out of the optical path, thereby optimizing the resolution of images in the light provided to the eye box.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2021
    Publication date: December 30, 2021
    Inventors: Adam C. Urness, Byron R. Cocilovo, Jonathan B. Pfeiffer
  • Publication number: 20200192101
    Abstract: A device including a waveguide having a first waveguide surface and a second waveguide surface parallel to the first waveguide surface is disclosed. The device may include a first volume holographic light coupling element disposed between the first waveguide surface and the second waveguide surface. The first volume holographic light coupling element may be structured to reflect at least a portion of incident light as reflected light. Incident light for which the first volume holographic light coupling element is structured to reflect may have a first angle of incidence within a total internal reflection (TIR) range with respect a first axis corresponding to a surface normal of the waveguide. Incident light for which the first volume holographic light coupling element is structured to reflect may have a second angle of incidence with respect to a second axis different from the first axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Mark R. Ayres, Kenneth E. Anderson, Adam C. Urness, Friso Schlottau, Byron R. Cocilovo, Francesco Aieta
  • Publication number: 20200117003
    Abstract: Systems and methods of dispersion compensation in an optical device are disclosed. A holographic optical element may include a set of different holograms in a grating medium. Each hologram in the set may have a corresponding grating vector with a grating frequency and direction. The directions of the grating vectors may vary as a function of the grating frequency. Different holograms in the set may diffract light in a particular direction so that the light emerges from a boundary of the grating medium in a single given direction regardless of wavelength. A prism may be used to couple light into the grating medium. The prism may be formed using materials having dispersion properties that are similar to the dispersion properties of the grating material. The prism may have an input face that receives perpendicular input light. The prism may include multiple portions having different refractive indices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Inventors: Jonathan B. Pfeiffer, Adam C. Urness, Friso Schlottau, Mark R. Ayres, Vikrant Bhakta
  • Publication number: 20190278224
    Abstract: A system and method making one or more holographic optical elements is disclosed. The method may include at least partially submerging a recording medium in an index matching fluid residing in a fluid reservoir. A first surface of the fluid reservoir may include a surface of a first optical coupling element. The method may include positioning the recording medium with respect to the surface of the first optical coupling element. The method may also include applying a first recording beam through the first optical coupling element, the index matching fluid, and a first portion of the recording medium to form a hologram in the first portion of the recording medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Publication date: September 12, 2019
    Inventors: Friso Schlottau, Adam C. Urness, Kenneth E. Anderson, Mark R. Ayres