EP0570179A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Optical device
Assignee: Sharp Corp
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Filing: 1993-05-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2013-05-10
Abstract
Abstract A three-dimensional display comprises a spatial light modulator (13), such as a liquid crystal display, sandwiched between first and second lenticular screens (12, 16). The pitch of the lenticules of the second screen (16) is an integral multiple of that of the first screen (12). The spatial light modulator (13) comprises a plurality of cells aligned with the lenticules of the first screen (12). A linear array of sequentially illuminated light sources (1-8) is focused by an optical system (10) into a plurality of collimated light beams with different angles of incidence on the first screen (12). For each illumination of the light sources, the spatial light modulator carries a plurality of 2D interlaced views.
Inventors
- 👤 Graham John Woodgate
- 👤 David Ezra
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 12:20
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B30/00; G02B30/20; G02B30/22; G02B30/24; G02B30/26; G02B30/27; H; H04; H04N; H04N13/00; H04N13/30; H04N13/302; H04N13/305; H04N13/31; H04N13/32; H04N13/398; H04N13/349; H04N13/363
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
110 words
An optical device characterised by comprising: a first two-dimensional array (12, 33) of lenses having a number N of groups of lenses, each of which comprises z lenses where Z is an integer greater than one, the lenses of the first array (12, 33) being disposed with a pitch p in a first dimension; and a second two-dimensional array (16, 36) of lenses facing the first array (12, 33) and having a number N of lenses disposed with a pitch P in the first dimension, where P>p and each lens of the second array (16, 36) is associated with a respective group of lenses of the first array (12, 33).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
11 words
A device as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that P=Zp.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
56 words
A device as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the lenses of the first array (12, 33) are disposed with a pitch q in a second dimension perpendicular to the first dimension, and the lenses of the second array (16, 36) are disposed with a pitch Q in the second dimension, where Q>q.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
A device as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that Q=Yq, where Y is an integer greater than one.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
50 words
A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a two dimensional spatial light modulator (13) having a plurality of light modulating cells, each of which substantially corresponds to and is substantially optically aligned with a respective one of the lenses of the first array (12).
Claim 6
Independent Claim
42 words
A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lenses of the first array (12) have a common image plane which coincides with a common object plane of the lenses of the second array (16, 36).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
A device as claimed in Claim 6, characterised in that a diffuser (14) is located at the common image and object planes of the lenses of the first and second arrays (12, 16), respectively.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
A device as claimed in Claim 6, characterised in that a field lens array is located at the common image and object planes of the lenses of the first and second arrays (12, 16), respectively.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
39 words
A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised by illumination means (1-8, 20, 21) for illuminating the first array (12) with collimated light whose angle of incidence on the first array (12) varies with time.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
60 words
A device as claimed in Claim 9 when dependent on Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the illumination means comprises at least one set of sequentially illuminatable light sources (1-8, 20, 21) arranged as a one-dimensional array in the first dimension in the focal plane of a respective collimating optical system (10, 22, 23) for the or each set.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
56 words
A device as claimed in Claim 9 when dependent on Claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the illumination means comprises at least one set of sequentially illuminatable light sources (1-8, 20, 21) arranged as a two-dimensional array in the focal plane of a respective collimating optical system (10, 22, 23) for the or each set.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
A device as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, characterised in that each light source (1-8, 20, 21) of the or each set is contiguous with the or each adjacent light source (1-8, 20, 21) of the respective set.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
100 words
A device as claimed in any one of Claims 10 to 12, when dependent on Claim 5, characterised by control means (9) for sequentially illuminating the light sources (1-8, 20, 21) of the or each set, each lens of the second array (16) being associated with M cells of the modulator (13) the control means (9) being arranged to control the supply of image data to the modulator (13) so that the modulator (13) represents M images simultaneously, with the M cells associated with each lens of the second array (16) representing elements of different ones of the M images.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
A device as claimed in Claim 13, characterised in that the control means (9) is arranged to supply fresh image data to the modulator (13) substantially synchronously with changing the illumination of the light sources (1-8, 20, 21) of the or each set.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
30 words
A device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, characterised by at least one projection means (30) for projecting Z spatially interlaced images onto the first array (33).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
45 words
A device as claimed in Claim 15, characterised in that the or each projection means (30) comprises a spatial light modulator (32), means for illuminating the spatial light modulator, and means for projecting an image of the illuminated spatial light-modulator onto the first array (33).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
38 words
A device as claimed in Claim 15 or 16, characterised in that the at least one projection means (30) comprises a plurality of projection means arranged to project onto the first array (33) at different angles of incidence.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
93 words
An optical device characterised by comprising: a first parallax screen (52) having a number N of groups of apertures, each of which comprises Z apertures where Z is an integer greater than one, the apertures of the first group being disposed with a pitch p in a first dimension; and a second parallax screen (56) having a number N of apertures disposed with a pitch P in the first dimension, where P>p and each aperture of the second screen (56) is associated with a respective group of apertures of the first screen (52).
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
87 words
An optical device characterised by comprising: a two-dimensional array (12) of lenses having a number N of groups of lenses, each of which comprises Z lenses where Z is an integer greater than one, the lenses being disposed with a pitch p in a first dimension; and a parallax screen (56) having a number N of apertures disposed with a pitch P in the first dimension, where P>p and each aperture of the screen (56) is associated with a respective group of lenses of the array (12).
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
90 words
An optical device characterised by comprising: a parallax screen (52) having a number N of groups of apertures, each of which comprises Z apertures where Z is an integer greater than one, the apertures of the first group being disposed with a pitch p in a first dimension; and a two-dimensional lens array (16) having a number N of lenses disposed with a pitch P in the first dimension, where P>p and each lens of the array (16) is associated with a respective group of apertures of the screen (52).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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