US3698787A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hologram synthesis using a displaceable reference point source
Assignee: Bendix Corp
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Filing: 1971-02-19
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Granted: 1972-10-17
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Expires: 1991-02-19
Abstract
Abstract A photographic record of a hologram that will produce a threedimensional image when illuminated with a beam of coherent laser radiation is produced synthetically by directing coherent laser light from two point sources to interfere proximate a recording film. The interference pattern produced depends on the relative positions of the two point sources. Both sources are moved according to a predetermined program to a number of different positions, with one source constrained to move in a single plane and the other along a line normal to this plane. The various interference patterns are superimposed on the recording film to form a complex hologram. The method and apparatus of this invention can be used to create images of real as well as fanciful scenes.
Inventors
- 👤 Rolf K Mueller
- 👤 Emanuel Marom
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 07:58
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03H; G03H1/00; G03H1/26; G03H1/28; G03H1/30; G03H1/04; G03H1/0476; G03H2001/0482; G03H1/0493; G03H2001/0497; G03H1/2645; G03H2001/2655; G03H2210/00; G03H2210/40; G03H2210/46; G03H2223/00; G03H2223/16; G03H2260/00; G03H2260/30; G03H2260/35; G03H2260/36; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S359/00; Y10S359/90
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
206 words
A method of synthetically producing a hologram representing a three-dimensional scene comprising the steps of: producing two sources of mutually coherent wave energy directed to intersect and interfere with each other on a recording medium disposed at a fixed location; moving one of said sources to different positions on a fixedly disposed surface so as to synthesize a particular first cross section of the scene to be represented, the other point source being disposed at one fixed position during synthesis of each portion of said first cross section so as to provide a reference beam; repeating said step of moving said one point source on said fixedly disposed surface so as to synthesize different particular cross sections of said scene, the reference point source being moved along a line transverse to said surface to a different position for each particular cross section, said different positions being dependant upon the difference in location of said different particular cross sections in said scene from said first particular cross section so as to account for the different locations of said particular cross sections in said scene; whereby a hologram is formed which when illuminated with light from a single fixed source will produce a three-dimensional image of said scene.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
206 words
A method of synthetically producing a hologram representing a three-dimensional scene comprising the steps of: producing two sources of mutually coherent wave energy directed to intersect and interfere with each other on a recording medium disposed at a fixed location; moving one of said sources to different positions on a fixedly disposed surface so as to synthesize a particular first cross section of the scene to be represented, the other point source being disposed at one fixed position during synthesis of each portion of said first cross section so as to provide a reference beam; repeating said step of moving said one point source on said fixedly disposed surface so as to synthesize different particular cross sections of said scene, the reference point source being moved along a line transverse to said surface to a different position for each particular cross section, said different positions being dependant upon the difference in location of said different particular cross sections in said scene from said first particular cross section so as to account for the different locations of said particular cross sections in said scene; whereby a hologram is formed which when illuminated with light from a single fixed source will produce a three-dimensional image of said scene.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method set forth in claim 1 in which: said surface comprises a plane; and said line is substantially normal to said plane.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
86 words
The method set forth in claim 2 in which: said one point source is moved from position to position substantially on the projection of the scene onto said plane; and said other point source is displaced in one direction from said one fixed position to synthesize a cross section displaced in an opposite direction from said first cross section, the displacement of said other source from said one fixed position being proportional to the displacement of the cross section being synthesized from said first cross section.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
84 words
The method set forth in claim 1 further including the step of calculating by machine the different positions of said sources using equations that relate the general mathematic expression for the interference pattern produced by wave energy from any one point in the scene interfering with wave energy from a fixed reference position and the general mathematic expression for the interference pattern produced by wave energy from any one point on said surface interfering with wave energy from any one point on said line.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
92 words
The method set forth in claim 4 in which: said mathematic expressions for said interference patterns comprise functions of the positions from which wave energy may propagate to form said interference patterns; and said equations are obtained by comparing said mathematic expressions and thereby comprise general representations of a position on said surface and a position on said line from which propagating wave energy provides an interference pattern identical to the interference pattern provided by wave energy from a point in said scene interfering with wave energy from said fixed reference position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
144 words
The method set forth in claim 5 in which said surface is a plane, said line is normal to said plane, said sources are point sources, and said equations for calculating the coordinates (ls'', ms'', Ro) of said one source and the coordinates (lo, mo, ro) of said other source are: ls'' (Rols + lo (Rs - Ro))/Rs ms'' (Roms + mo (Rs - Ro))/Rs rs (Ro Rs)/(RoRs + ro (Rs - Ro)) ro where: the coordinate system is orthogonal to said plane and said perpendicular line, Ro a fixed constant defining the position of said plane in the coordinate system lo and mo fixed constants defining the position of said line in the coordinate system (ls,ms,ns) the coordinates of a point s in the scene to be represented Rs ns ro a fixed constant defining a predetermined reference position on said normal line.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
88 words
The method set forth in claim 6 further including the step of providing both of said point sources with an intensity Is'' defined by the equation: Is'' Is . (rsRo/roRs)1/2 where: Is the intensity that the point sources would have to produce a pattern that corresponds in intensity to the intensity of the point s in the scene when one point source is disposed in a fixed reference and the other is disposed at the point s in the scene, and all other symbols are as previously defined.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method set forth in claim 1 further including the step of blocking the propagation of wave energy from said point sources during movement of said point sources from one fixed position to another to thereby prevent smearing of the hologram.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method set forth in claim 1 in which: said coherent wave energy of said two sources is outside the range of visible laser light; said hologram is recorded on a photochromic surface responsive to said coherent wave energy; and said photochromic surface is illuminated with visible laser light to form said three-dimensional image of said scene at substantially the same time as the formation of said hologram.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
232 words
A system for utilizing two beams of unmodulated coherent wave energy to synthetically produce a hologram representing a three-dimensional scene comprising: a fixedly disposed diffusive surface for receiving one of the beams and causing the coherent wave energy of said one beam to propagate in a first diverging wave energy distribution; means for receiving the other of said beams and causing the coherent wave energy of said other beam to propagate in a second diverging wave energy distribution directed to intersect and interfere with said first diverging distribution; means for moving the apex of said first diverging distribution on said surface and for moving the apex of said second diverging distribution along a line transverse to at least a portion of said surface to produce different interference patterns representing different points in the scene, the position of the point in the scene represented by interfering wave energy being moved along a particular cross section of the scene by movement of the apex of said first distribution on said surface, and being moved to different scene cross sections by movement of the apex of said second distribution along said line; and a fixedly disposed recording means for receiving and forming a record of the superimposition of said different interference patterns to thereby form a hologram that will produce a three-dimensional image of said scene when illuminated with light from a single fixed source.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
232 words
A system for utilizing two beams of unmodulated coherent wave energy to synthetically produce a hologram representing a three-dimensional scene comprising: a fixedly disposed diffusive surface for receiving one of the beams and causing the coherent wave energy of said one beam to propagate in a first diverging wave energy distribution; means for receiving the other of said beams and causing the coherent wave energy of said other beam to propagate in a second diverging wave energy distribution directed to intersect and interfere with said first diverging distribution; means for moving the apex of said first diverging distribution on said surface and for moving the apex of said second diverging distribution along a line transverse to at least a portion of said surface to produce different interference patterns representing different points in the scene, the position of the point in the scene represented by interfering wave energy being moved along a particular cross section of the scene by movement of the apex of said first distribution on said surface, and being moved to different scene cross sections by movement of the apex of said second distribution along said line; and a fixedly disposed recording means for receiving and forming a record of the superimposition of said different interference patterns to thereby form a hologram that will produce a three-dimensional image of said scene when illuminated with light from a single fixed source.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
156 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 in which: said diffusive surface defInes a plane; said recording means comprises a planar recording surface substantially parallel to said diffusive surface; and said line is substantially perpendicular to said plane; and said moving means include: means for moving the apex of said first diverging distribution substantially on the projection of the scene onto said diffusive surface; and means for moving the apex of said second diverging distribution a distance along said perpendicular line substantially equal to any displacement parallel to said perpendicular line of a second position in the scene from a first position in the scene; and in a direction opposite to any displacement of said second position from said first position parallel to said perpendicular line when the apex of said first diverging distribution is moved substantially from the projection of said first position onto said plane to the projection of said second position onto said plane.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
92 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 in which said moving means includes an electronic control for controlling the movement of said apexes adapted to calculate the positions of the apexes using equations relating the general mathematic expression for the interference pattern produced by the wave energy from any fixed reference point interfering with wave energy from any point in the scene to the general mathematic expression for the interference pattern produced by wave energy propagating from any point on said surface interfering with wave energy propagating from any point on said line.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
168 words
The synthesizing system of claim 12 in which: said surface defines a plane; said line is perpendicular to said plane; and said electronic control provides said interference patterns representing different points in said scene by calculating the coordinate position (ls'', ms'', Ro) of the apex of said first diverging distribution and the coordinate position (lo, mo, ro) of the apex of said second diverging distribution for each represented point in the scene using the three equations: ls'' (Rols + lo (Rs - Ro))/Rs ms'' (Roms + mo (Rs - Ro))/Rs rs (RoRs)/(RoRs + ro (Rs - Ro)) ro where: the coordinate system is orthogonal to said plane and said perpendicular line, Ro a fixed constant defining the position of said plane in the coordinate system lo and mo fixed constants defining the position of said line in the coordinate system (ls,ms,ns) the coordinates of a point s in the scene to be represented Rs ns ro a fixed constant defining a predetermined reference position on said perpendicular line.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
42 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 further including means for controlling the intensity of said two diverging distributions of wave energy to cause each of said interference patterns to correspond in intensity to the intensity of the represented point in the scene.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
84 words
The synthesizing system of claim 14 wherein said intensity controlling means is responsive to said programmed electronic control and provides both of said wave energy distributions with an intensity ls'' for each of the different positions of the apexes of said distributions defined by the equation: ls'' ls . (rsRo/roRs)1/2 where: ls the intensity that said two distributions would possess to produce a pattern that corresponds in intensity to the intensity of the point s scene; and all other symbols are as previously defined.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
42 words
The synthesizing of claim 14 in which said intensity controlling means is constructed to block the propagation of coherent wave energy to said recording means during movement of said apexes in order to prevent the inclusion of unwanted signals in said hologram.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
22 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 further including means for mixing coherent wave energy with said hologram to form a three-dimensional image.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
80 words
The synthesizing device set forth in claim 17 in which: said beams of coherent wave energy having a frequency outside the range of visible laser light; said recording means comprises a photochromic material sensitive to said coherent wave energy; and said mixing means comprises means for illuminating said photochromic material with visible laser light as said interference patterns are superimposed on said photochromic material to form said three-dimensional image at substantially the same time as the formation of said hologram.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
59 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 in which: said beams of coherent wave energy comprise beams of laser light; said diffusive surface is at least partially transparent to laser light; and said moving means include means for generating an acoustic wave to rapidly deflect said one beam and vary the position at which said one beam strikes said surface.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
68 words
The synthesizing system of claim 17 in which: said means for generating an acoustic wave to deflect said one beam also shifts the frequency of said one beam; and the system further includes compensating means for shifting the frequency of at least one beam by an amount equal to the frequency shift provided by said deflecting means to maintain mutual coherence between said two interfering wave energy distributions.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
50 words
The synthesizing system of claim 20 in which said compensating means comprises first polarizing means for polarizing wave energy of one beam in a predetermined direction, and second polarizing means for varying the direction of polarization of one beam at a frequency equal to the frequency of said acoustic wave.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
99 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 in which: said means for receiving said other beam comprise means for focusing said other beam to a point and causing coherent wave energy from said other beam to propagate from said point in said second diverging distribution; and said means for moving the apex of said second diverging distribution along a line comprise piezoelectric housing means for said focusing means, means for maintaining a potential gradient across said housing means, and means for varying said potential gradient to cause said housing means to expand and contract and thereby move said focusing means.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
134 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 in which: said line along which the apex of said second distribution is moved comprises a first line; said means for receiving said other beam comprise a plurality of transmitting elements, with the output end of each transmitting element disposed at a different position along said first line and the input end of each transmitting element disposed at a different position along a second line forming transverse to said first line; and said means for moving the apex of said second diverging distribution along said first line comprises means for deflecting said second beam along said second line, said transmitting elements receiving said deflected beam and translating a beam deflection along said second line to a displacement of the apex of said second distribution along said first line.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The synthesizing system of claim 23 in which said beams of coherent wave energy comprise beams of laser light and said transmitting elements comprise fiberoptic transmitting elements.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
92 words
The synthesizing system of claim 10 in which: said means for receiving said other beam comprise means having a surface that reflects and diffuses said wave energy and causes wave energy striking a point on said surface to propagate from said surface in said second diverging distribution, said surface being disposed along said line; and said means for moving the apex of said second diverging distribution along said line comprise means for deflecting said other beam to move the point at which said other beam strikes said reflective surface along said line.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-17 | 1976-04-17 | 1976-10-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-17 | 1980-04-17 | 1980-10-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-17 | 1984-04-17 | 1984-10-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |