Color tv film reproduction system compatible with diffraction process color projection systems

Claim 2

For use in an optical projection system for retrieving information from a record containing an imagewise signal modulating a spatial carrier, light source means for establishing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which is spatially coherent at the record at the frequency of said carrier, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis, and an effectively far-field source of light which is substantially less spatially coherent at said record at the frequency of said carrier than the light generated by said plurality of sources, comprising: means for establishing a source of high-luminous energy; condensing lens means for collecting light from said source; an array of lenses in the light bundle from said condensing lens means corresponding in number to the sum of said plurality of coherent sources and said less coherent source, said array of lenses forming an array of spaced images of said source; and mask means located in a plane in which said source images are formed, said mask having an array of apertures of restricted size coinciding with the locations of all except one of said source images to establish said plurality of sources of more spatially coherent light, said mask also having an aperture of substantially larger size at the location of the remaining source image to establish said source of less coherent light.

Claim 3

The apparatus defined by claim 1 wherein said aperture in said mask is located on axis.

Claim 4

The apparatus defined by claim 1 wherein said aperture is located on the periphery of said array of apertures.

Claim 5

For use in an optical projection system for retrieving information from a record containing an imagewise signal modulating a spatial carrier, a system comprising: record support means; light source means comprising a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which is spatially coherent at the record at the frequency of said carrier, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis, and further comprising an effectively far-field source of light which is substantially less spatially coherent at said record at the frequency of said carrier than the light generated by said plurality of sources; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a number of diffraction patterns of a record in said record support means spaced in a distribution corresponding to said predetermined distribution, said patterns representing images of said light sources; spatial filter means located in said transform space for selectively passing trough spatially separated openings therein at least a portion of diffracted orders respectively associated with each of said plurality of sources of more coherent light and at least a portion of the zeroth order energy associated with said source of less coherent light.

Claim 6

For use in an optical projection system for retrieving information from a record containing an imagewise signal modulating a spatial carrier, a system comprising: record support means; light source means comprising a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which is spatially coherent at the record at the frequency of said carrier, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis, and further comprising an effectively far-field source of light which is substantially less spatially coherent at said record at the frequency of said carrier than the light generated by said plurality of sources; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a number of diffraction patterns of a record in said record support means spaced in a distribution corresponding to said predetermined distribution, said patterns representing images of said light sources; spatial filter means located in said transform space for selectively passing trough spatially separated openings therein at least a portion of diffracted orders respectively associated with each of said plurality of sources of more coherent light and at least a portion of the zeroth order energy associated with said source of less coherent light.

Claim 7

The apparatus defined by claim 4 wherein said light source means comprises: means for establishing a source of high-luminous energy; condensing lens means for collecting light from said source; an array of lenses in the light bundle from said condensing lens means corresponding in number to the sum of said plurality of coherent sources and said less coherent source, said array of lenses forming an array of spaced images of said source; and mask means located in a plane in which said source images are formed, said mask means having an array of apertures of restricted dimension coinciding with the locations of all except one of said source images to establish said plurality of sources of more spatially coherent light, said mask also having an aperture of substantially larger dimension at the location of the remaining source image to establish said source of less coherent light.

Claim 8

For use in an optical system for retrieving information from a record containing an imagewise signal modulating a spatial carrier, the combination comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which are spatially coherent at the record at the frequency of said carrier, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a like plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, said patterns representing images of said light sources; means including lens means for forming a plural number of conjugate images of said diffraction patterns; a like plural number of spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a mutually distinct geometrically light attenuation characteristic; and lens means for retransforming the spectra transmitted by each of said spatial filter means to form discrete record images of said record having different spatial frequency content.

Claim 9

For use in an optical system for retrieving information from a record containing an imagewise signal modulating a spatial carrier, the combination comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which are spatially coherent at the record at the frequency of said carrier, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a like plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, said patterns representing images of said light sources; means including lens means for forming a plural number of conjugate images of said diffraction patterns; a like plural number of spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a mutually distinct geometrically light attenuation characteristic; and lens means for retransforming the spectra transmitted by each of said spatial filter means to form discrete record images of said record having different spatial frequency content.

Claim 10

A color television film reproduction system for enabling the televising of full-color displays from a record containing three superimposed color separation images each modulating an azimuthally distinct spatial carrier, said system comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means for providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which is spatially coherent at said film gate at the frequency of said carriers, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a distribution comprising a like plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, each of said diffraction patterns comprising three angularly separated Dirac delta function arrays respectively convolved with a different color separation spectra; mask means in said transform space defining openings located to pass a fundamental diffracted order associated with each of said Dirac delta function arrays at each of said plurality of diffraction patterns; means including lens means for forming a plural number of conjugate images of said Fourier transform space distribution; a like plural number of spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a geometrically different light attenuating configuration for blocking a different combination of said orders transmitted through said transform space so as to pass only information associated with only one color separation image; lens means for retransforming said conjugate images to erect respective color separation images at distinct detection planes; a cathode ray pickup tube at the location of each of said color separation images for forming electrical signals corresponding to the intensity distributions in the respective color separation images; and electronic matrixing means for combining said signals to form a composite signal.

Claim 11

A color television film reproduction system for enabling the televising of full-color displays from a record containing three superimposed color separation images each modulating an azimuthally distinct spatial carrier, said system comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means for providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which is spatially coherent at said film gate at the frequency of said carriers, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a distribution comprising a like plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, each of said diffraction patterns comprising three angularly separated Dirac delta function arrays respectively convolved with a different color separation spectra; mask means in said transform space defining openings located to pass a fundamental diffracted order associated with each of said Dirac delta function arrays at each of said plurality of diffraction patterns; means including lens means for forming a plural number of conjugate images of said Fourier transform space distribution; a like plural number of spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a geometrically different light attenuating configuration for blocking a different combination of said orders transmitted through said transform space so as to pass only information associated with only one color separation image; lens means for retransforming said conjugate images to erect respective color separation images at distinct detection planes; a cathode ray pickup tube at the location of each of said color separation images for forming electrical signals corresponding to the intensity distributions in the respective color separation images; and electronic matrixing means for combining said signals to form a composite signal.

Claim 12

A system as defined by claim 7 wherein said system is adapted for use with records on which the said spatial carriers have a relative orientation of 0*, 45*, and 90*, wherein said predetermined distribution of said sources is generally rectangular and wherein said light attenuating configuration of said spatial filter means is such that information associated with a first and second color separation information is transmitted through respective first and second spatial filter means in directional patterns orthogonally related to each other, and third color separation information is transmitted through a third spatial filter means in a directional pattern oriented at 45* relative to said orthogonally related patterns.

Claim 13

A color television film reproduction system for enabling the televising of full-color displays from a record containing three superimposed color separation imAges each modulating an azimuthally distinct spatial carrier, said system comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means for providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which is spatially coherent at said film gate at the frequency of said carriers and a larger effectively far-field source of light which is less coherent at said film gate than the light generated by said plurality of sources, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a distribution comprising a plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, said patterns representing images of said light sources, each of said diffraction patterns comprising three angularly separated Dirac delta function arrays respectively convolved with a different color separation spectra; mask means in said transform space defining color channel openings located to pass a fundamental diffracted order associated with each of said Dirac delta function arrays at each of said plurality of diffraction patterns, said mask means further defining an opening larger than said color channel openings located to pass at least a portion of the zeroth order associated with said less coherent source to establish a wideband luminance channel through the system; means including lens means for forming four conjugate images of said Fourier transform space distribution; four spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a geometrically different light attenuating configuration for blocking a different combination of said orders transmitted through said transform space, three of said spatial filter means passing only information associated with a different color separation image-the fourth passing luminance information associated with said wideband luminance channel; lens means for retransforming said conjugate images to erect three color separation images and a monochrome image at distinct detection planes; a cathode ray pickup tube at the location of each of said color separation and monochrome images for forming electrical signals corresponding to the intensity distributions in the respective color separation and monochrome images; and electronic matrixing means for combining said signals to form a composite signal.

Claim 14

A color television film reproduction system for enabling the televising of full-color displays from a record containing three superimposed color separation imAges each modulating an azimuthally distinct spatial carrier, said system comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means for providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which is spatially coherent at said film gate at the frequency of said carriers and a larger effectively far-field source of light which is less coherent at said film gate than the light generated by said plurality of sources, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a distribution comprising a plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, said patterns representing images of said light sources, each of said diffraction patterns comprising three angularly separated Dirac delta function arrays respectively convolved with a different color separation spectra; mask means in said transform space defining color channel openings located to pass a fundamental diffracted order associated with each of said Dirac delta function arrays at each of said plurality of diffraction patterns, said mask means further defining an opening larger than said color channel openings located to pass at least a portion of the zeroth order associated with said less coherent source to establish a wideband luminance channel through the system; means including lens means for forming four conjugate images of said Fourier transform space distribution; four spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a geometrically different light attenuating configuration for blocking a different combination of said orders transmitted through said transform space, three of said spatial filter means passing only information associated with a different color separation image-the fourth passing luminance information associated with said wideband luminance channel; lens means for retransforming said conjugate images to erect three color separation images and a monochrome image at distinct detection planes; a cathode ray pickup tube at the location of each of said color separation and monochrome images for forming electrical signals corresponding to the intensity distributions in the respective color separation and monochrome images; and electronic matrixing means for combining said signals to form a composite signal.

Claim 15

A compatible color television film reproduction system for enabling the televising of full-color displays from either a conventional color transparency record or a record containing three superimposed color separation images each modulating an azimuthally distinct spatial carrier, said system comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means for providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which are spatially coherent at the record at the frequency of said carrier, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a distribution comprising a like plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, said patterns representing images of said light sources, each of said diffraction patterns comprising three angularly separated Dirac delta function arrays respectively convolved with a different color separation spectra; mask means for insertion in said transform space defining openings located to pass a fundamental diffracted order associated with each of said Dirac delta function arrays at each of said plurality of diffraction patterns; means including lens means for forming a plural number of conjugate images of said Fourier transform space distribution; a like plural number of spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a geometrically different light attenuating configuration for blocking a diffeRent combination of said orders transmitted through said transform space so as to pass only information associated with one color separation; lens means for retransforming said conjugate images for erecting respective color separation images at distinct detection planes; a cathode ray pickup tube at each of said color separation images for forming electrical signals corresponding to the intensity distributions in the respective color separation images; electronic matrixing means for combining said signals to form a composite signal; diffuser means for insertion in said system between said light source means and said film gate; means for supporting said diffuser means and said mask means such that each is capable of being positioned in said system to the exclusion of the other, whereby said diffuser means may be inserted in said system and said mask means may be inserted in said system and said mask means removed therefrom when it is desired to project a conventional color transparency, and whereby said mask means may be inserted in said system and said diffuser means removed therefrom when it is desired to project a record on which color information modulates a spatial carrier.

Claim 16

A compatible color television film reproduction system for enabling the televising of full-color displays from either a conventional color transparency record or a record containing three superimposed color separation images each modulating an azimuthally distinct spatial carrier, said system comprising: a film gate for holding a record; light source means for providing a plurality of effectively far-field sources of light which are spatially coherent at the record at the frequency of said carrier, said sources being separated in a predetermined distribution with respect to a system optical axis; lens means for forming in a Fourier transform space a distribution comprising a like plurality of diffraction patterns of a record in said film gate, said patterns representing images of said light sources, each of said diffraction patterns comprising three angularly separated Dirac delta function arrays respectively convolved with a different color separation spectra; mask means for insertion in said transform space defining openings located to pass a fundamental diffracted order associated with each of said Dirac delta function arrays at each of said plurality of diffraction patterns; means including lens means for forming a plural number of conjugate images of said Fourier transform space distribution; a like plural number of spatial filter means, one at the location of each of said conjugate images, said spatial filter means each having a geometrically different light attenuating configuration for blocking a diffeRent combination of said orders transmitted through said transform space so as to pass only information associated with one color separation; lens means for retransforming said conjugate images for erecting respective color separation images at distinct detection planes; a cathode ray pickup tube at each of said color separation images for forming electrical signals corresponding to the intensity distributions in the respective color separation images; electronic matrixing means for combining said signals to form a composite signal; diffuser means for insertion in said system between said light source means and said film gate; means for supporting said diffuser means and said mask means such that each is capable of being positioned in said system to the exclusion of the other, whereby said diffuser means may be inserted in said system and said mask means may be inserted in said system and said mask means removed therefrom when it is desired to project a conventional color transparency, and whereby said mask means may be inserted in said system and said diffuser means removed therefrom when it is desired to project a record on which color information modulates a spatial carrier.