Patents by Inventor Nicholas Daniel Trail

Nicholas Daniel Trail 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: 11195291
    Abstract: A depth camera assembly (DCA) optimizes illumination and image capture of a local area to generate depth information of the local area. The DCA determines depth information for a first portion of the local area viewable at a first pose. The DCA is moved from the first pose to a second pose, where a second portion of the local area is viewable and overlaps with the first portion. The overlapping region is not illuminated by the DCA. A non-overlapping portion of the second portion is illuminated, captured, and depth information determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Fengqiang Li, Zihe Gao, Michael Hall, Zhaoming Zhu, Shuochen Su, Huixuan Tang, Xinqiao Liu, Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 11175457
    Abstract: The disclosed system may include (1) a light projector with multiple pixels, (2) a waveguide optically coupled to the light projector, where the waveguide is configured to in-couple light from the light projector and out-couple the in-coupled light toward an eyebox of the system, (3) a light detector that is configured to receive light from the light projector, and (4) a controller that (a) causes the light projector to project light from at least one of the multiple pixels, (b) receives information from the light detector based on light received from the at least one of the multiple pixels, and (c) causes an alteration in an alignment of the light from the light projector relative to the optical waveguide based on the information. Various other systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 11163165
    Abstract: A head-mounted display (HMD) includes an electronic display element, a microlens array, and an optics block. The electronic display element outputs image light via sub-pixels having different colors, the sub-pixels separated from each other by a dark space region. The sub-pixels have associated emission distributions that describe ranges of angles of light emitted from the plurality of sub-pixels. The microlens array includes microlenses that are each coupled to at least one corresponding sub-pixel, of the sub-pixels, where the microlenses concentrate the emission distributions and direct the emission distributions toward a target region. The optics block, which is located in the target region optically corrects the image light and directs the optically corrected image light from the microlens array to an exit pupil of the HMD corresponding to a location of an eye of a user of the HMD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 11112608
    Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include (1) a plurality of monochromatic emitter arrays, where each of the plurality of monochromatic emitter arrays has a plurality of emitters disposed in a two-dimensional configuration and emits a monochromatic image of a corresponding color, (2) a waveguide configuration that includes (a) a top surface, (b) a bottom surface disposed opposite the top surface, (c) a coupling area that receives the monochromatic images, and (d) a decoupling area that projects a plurality of instances of a polychromatic image including a combination of the monochromatic images toward an eyebox through the bottom surface, and (3) an actuator system that produces lateral shifting of the plurality of instances of the polychromatic image between at least two positions relative to the waveguide configuration. Various other methods and systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, James Ronald Bonar, Gareth Valentine
  • Patent number: 11112607
    Abstract: The disclosed apparatus may include a waveguide configuration that may include (1) a coupling area having at least one coupling element configured to receive a plurality of monochromatic images, where each of the monochromatic images is of a predetermined wavelength of light, (2) a propagation area in which light, received via the at least one coupling element, moves within a length of the waveguide configuration, and (3) a decoupling area that extends along the propagation area and includes decoupling elements that project a polychromatic image toward an eyebox, where the polychromatic image includes the monochromatic images of the predetermined wavelengths of light. Associated systems and devices are also provided herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, Pasi Saarikko
  • Patent number: 11106276
    Abstract: A virtual reality (VR) headset adjusts the phase of light of a virtual scene received from a display element using a spatial light modulator (SLM) to accommodate changes in vergence for a user viewing objects in the virtual scene. The VR headset receives virtual scene data that includes depth information for components of the virtual scene and the SLM adjusts a wavefront of the light of the virtual scene by generating a phase function that adjusts the light of the virtual scene with phase delays based the depth values. Individual phase delays shift components of the virtual scene based on the depth values to a target focal plane to accommodate a user at a vergence depth for a frame of the virtual scene. Further, the SLM can provide optical defocus by shifting components of the virtual scene with the phase delays for depth of field blur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Douglas Robert Lanman, Alexander Jobe Fix, Nathan Seigo Matsuda, Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 11102467
    Abstract: A depth camera assembly (DCA) captures data describing depth information in a local area. The DCA includes an array detector, a controller, and an illumination source. The array detector includes a detector that is overlaid with a lens array. The detector includes a plurality of pixels, the plurality of pixels are divided into a plurality of different pixel groups. The lens array includes a plurality of lens stacks and each lens stack overlays a different pixel group. The array detector captures one or more composite images of the local area illuminated with the light from the illumination source. The controller determines depth information for objects in the local area using the one or more composite images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, Renzo De Nardi, Richard Andrew Newcombe
  • Patent number: 11061234
    Abstract: A depth camera assembly for depth sensing of a local area includes an illumination source, an imaging device, and a controller. The illumination source illuminates a local area with light emitted in accordance with emission instructions generated by the controller. The illumination source includes an array of optical sources and an optical assembly. Operation of each optical source in the array is controllable based in part on the emission instructions. The optical assembly is configured to project the light into the local area. The imaging device captures one or more images of at least a portion of the light reflected from one or more objects in the local area. The controller determines depth information for the one or more objects based in part on the captured one or more images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Zhaoming Zhu, Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 11055056
    Abstract: The disclosed system may include (1) a wearable display device including (a) a display subsystem that presents an image, and (b) a first wireless interface that receives image data, where the display subsystem bases the image on the image data, and (2) a processing device that is physically separate from the display device and includes (a) a display data processing subsystem that generates the image data, (b) a second wireless interface that transmits the image data directly to the first wireless interface, and (3) a position detection subsystem including a sensor that captures depth data in a local environment of the display device, where the position detection subsystem determines a location or an orientation of a portion of a user within the local environment, and the display data processing subsystem generates the image data based on the location or orientation. Various other systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 11042039
    Abstract: A head-mounted-display includes an electronic display emitting image light and a varifocal block receiving the image light and outputting the image light in at least one of the focal planes of the varifocal block. The varifocal block includes a back optical element, a front optical element, and an actuator assembly coupled to the back and front optical element. The front optical element is positioned closer to an exit pupil than the back optical element, and separated from the back optical element by an adjustable distance, the magnitude of which determines in which of the focal planes the image light is presented. The actuator assembly simultaneously adjusts positions of the back optical element and the front optical element to vary the adjustable distance between the back optical element and the front optical element in accordance with an estimated vergence depth of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 11016301
    Abstract: An auto-focus head-mounted display (HMD) dynamically generates aberration-adjusted images based on measured accommodation of user's eye(s). An aberration-adjusted image is an image distorted to correct aberrations that would otherwise occur at a retina of the user due to image light passing through optics of the HMD. The aberration-adjusted image corrects the aberrations of the HMD and “accounts” for the aberrations of the eye so that the resulting retinal image is free of optical aberrations due to the HMD but preserves correct eye optical aberrations that are correlated with a current accommodative state of the eye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: William Aaron Nicholls, Marina Zannoli, Douglas Robert Lanman, Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 10955659
    Abstract: A light assembly can have an array of light sources forming rows and columns, where the array comprises a plurality of chips, and each chip comprises a subarray of light sources forming the rows and columns. A boundary between chips in the array can be configured to extend diagonally across rows and columns of the array such that, for each column across which the boundary extends, the first row of the plurality rows may not have a light source disposed in the respective column, but a second row of the plurality of rows has a light source disposed in the respective column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Vincent Brennan, James Small, William Anthony Wall, Stephen Warren Gorton, Wanli Chi, Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 10942355
    Abstract: The disclosed projector device may include (1) a first monochromatic emitter array having a plurality of emitters of a first color disposed in a two-dimensional configuration and (2) a second monochromatic emitter array having a plurality of emitters of a second color disposed in a two-dimensional configuration. The first and second monochromatic emitter arrays may be configured to emit images of the first and second colors into a waveguide configuration, and the first color may be different than the second color. Associated display systems and methods are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, James Ronald Bonar, Gareth Valentine
  • Patent number: 10935797
    Abstract: A head-mounted display (HMD) includes a multifocal block having one or more possible focal distances and includes a multifocal structure. The multifocal structure has a first focal distance and a second focal distance of the one or more possible focal distances. The multifocal structure includes one or more optical components positioned in series such that light from an electronic display is received and passes through each of the one or more optical components at least once before being output from the multifocal structure. The one or more optical components includes a switchable half waveplate (SHWP). The SHWP has a first state that causes the multifocal structure to output image light at the first focal distance, and a second state that causes the multifocal structure to output the image light at the first focal distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Yusufu Njoni Bamaxam Sulai, Nicholas Daniel Trail, Wai Sze Tiffany Lam
  • Patent number: 10928635
    Abstract: A headset includes a display assembly. The display assembly has a primary portion and a peripheral portion. The primary portion of the display assembly is configured to emit a first portion of image light, and has a first field of view (FOV). The peripheral portion of the display assembly is configured to emit a second portion of the image light over a second FOV, and the peripheral portion is canted relative to the primary portion. The emitted first portion of image light and the emitted second portion of image light create a composite FOV from the perspective of an eyebox, and a seam between the first FOV and the second FOV is located in a peripheral region of the composite FOV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, Andrew John Ouderkirk, Pasi Saarikko, Sharvil Shailesh Talati, Hee Yoon Lee, Behnam Bastani
  • Patent number: 10914956
    Abstract: A headset includes a first waveguide display and a second waveguide display. The first waveguide display is configured to emit a first portion of image light, the first waveguide display having a first field of view (FOV). The second display assembly is configured to emit a second portion of the image light, and the second display assembly has a second FOV. The first waveguide display and the second display assembly are tiled such that the emitted first portion of image light and the emitted second portion of image light create a tiled FOV from a perspective of an eyebox. And a seam between the first FOV and the second FOV is located in a peripheral region of the tiled FOV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, Andrew John Ouderkirk, Pasi Saarikko, Sharvil Shailesh Talati, Hee Yoon Lee, Behnam Bastani, Hagar Edelstain
  • Patent number: 10908428
    Abstract: The disclosed system may include (1) a processing device that generates image data, (2) a wearable display device including (a) a display subsystem that presents an image based on the image data to a user wearing the wearable display device and (b) a battery to supply power to the wearable display device, where the wearable display device receives the image data from the processing device over a data connection, and the wearable display device is physically separate from the processing device, and (3) a display storage case for the wearable display device, where the storage case charges the battery of the wearable display device while the wearable display device resides in the storage case, and the processing device wirelessly charges the battery of the wearable display device while the wearable display device resides atop the processing device external to the storage case. Various other methods and systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 10895746
    Abstract: A near-eye display (NED) includes a source assembly, a waveguide outside a field-of-view of a user, and a main optic within the field-of-view. The waveguide expands light emitted from the source assembly in at least one dimension and out-couple the expanded light. The main optic is partially transparent and is positioned such that the user of the NED looks through the main optic to view a local area surrounding the NED. The main optic receives light from the local area, combines the received light with the expanded light to generate combined light, and directs the combined light to the user's eye-box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail
  • Patent number: 10893260
    Abstract: An augmented reality (AR) headset includes a depth camera assembly that combines stereo imaging with structured light (SL) to generate depth information for an area of interest. The depth camera assembly includes at least two image capture devices and a SL illuminator and determines an imaging mode based on a signal to noise ratio or spatial variance of images captured by one or more of the cameras. Different imaging modes correspond to different operation of one or more image capture devices and the SL illuminator. The depth camera assembly includes different ranges of signal to noise ratios that each correspond to an imaging mode, and the depth camera assembly configures the image capture devices and the SL illuminator based on an imaging mode associated with a range of signal to noise ratios including the signal to noise ratio of a captured image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, Alexander Jobe Fix
  • Patent number: 10877274
    Abstract: A composite optical element includes a first optical component and a second optical component. The first optical component includes a first front surface, a first back surface, and a first junction surface. The second optical component that includes an end surface, a second front surface, a second back surface, and a second junction surface. The first front surface and the second front surface together form a first surface of the composite optical element, and the first back surface and the second back surface together form a second surface of the composite optical element. The second junction surface is coupled to the first junction surface to form a beam splitter that transmits light in a first band and reflects light in a second band toward the end surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Nicholas Daniel Trail