Autostereoscopic directional display apparatus

Claim 2

An autostereoscopic directional display apparatus comprising a plurality of displays and an optical combining system for combining outputs of the displays, wherein each of the displays comprises an autostereoscopic display device and co-operates with the optical combining system to provide a plurality of views which are visible in respective different directions.

Claim 3

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the directions in which the views are visible comprises an angular range.

Claim 4

An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the angular ranges are angularly contiguous in a lateral plane.

Claim 5

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the directions in which the views provided by each of the displays and the optical combining system are visible are different from the directions in which the views provided by the or other of the displays and the optical combining system are visible.

Claim 6

An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the directions in which the views provided by each of the displays are visible are interlaced with the directions in which the views provided by the or other of the displays are visible.

Claim 7

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the displays comprises a temporally multiplexed display.

Claim 8

An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of the displays comprises a spatial light modulator, an optical system, and a plurality of sequentially illuminatable light sources arranged to illuminate the spatial light modulator at respective different angles via the optical system.

Claim 9

An apparatus as claimed in claim 7 further comprising beam splitting means disposed between the light sources, which are common to the displays, and the spatial light modulators.

Claim 10

An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the beam splitting means comprises a beam splitter for splitting light from the light sources into a plurality of beams and a plurality of mirrors, each of which is arranged to reflect a respective beam towards a respective one of the spatial light modulators.

Claim 11

An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the beam splitter and the optical combining system are polarisation-sensitive so that substantially all of the light from the beam splitter is supplied by the optical combining system to a single observer region.

Claim 12

An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the light sources of each of the displays comprise a diffuse light source disposed behind a respective shutter.

Claim 13

An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the light paths from the shutters cross each other and intersect respective mirrors arranged to reflect light towards the respective spatial light modulators.

Claim 14

An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the shutters has an output polarisation which matches an input polarization of the respective spatial light modulator.

Claim 15

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the displays comprises a spatially multiplexed display.

Claim 16

An apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of the displays comprises a spatial light modulator, a diffuse light source for illuminating the spatial light modulator, and an array of lenses or a parallax barrier disposed between the spatial light modulator and the optical combining system.

Claim 17

An apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein each of the arrays of lenses comprises a lenticular screen.

Claim 18

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the displays comprises a temporally and spatially multiplexed display.

Claim 19

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical combining system comprises at least one beam combiner having an optically transmissive path and an optically reflective path.

Claim 20

An autostereoscopic directional display apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the beam combiner represents the last element in the optical path of the autostereoscopic directional display apparatus prior to an observer location.

Claim 21

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical combining system comprises at least one beam combiner, and the plurality of views are provided to an observer location substantially directly from the at least one beam combiner.

Claim 22

An apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein the at least one beam combiner receives the outputs of the displays substantially directly therefrom.

Claim 23

An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical combining system comprises at least one beam combiner and the at least one beam combiner receives the outputs of the displays substantially directly therefrom.

Claim 24

An autostereoscopic directional display apparatus comprising a plurality of displays and an optical combining system for combining outputs of the display, wherein each of the displays comprises a temporally and spatially multiplexed autostereoscopic display and co-operates with the optical combining system to provide a plurality of views which are visible in respective different directions, each of the autostereoscopic displays comprising a spatial light modulator, a first array of lenses or a first parallax barrier having a first pitch disposed adjacent a first side of the spatial light modulator, a second array of lenses or a second parallax barrier having a second pitch greater than the first pitch disposed adjacent a second side of the spatial light modulator between the spatial light modulator and the optical combining system, and a plurality of sequentially illuminatable light sources arranged to illuminate the first array of lenses or the first parallax barrier at respective different angles via the optical system.

Claim 25

An autostereoscopic directional display apparatus comprising a plurality of displays and an optical combining system for combining outputs of the display, wherein each of the displays comprises a temporally and spatially multiplexed autostereoscopic display and co-operates with the optical combining system to provide a plurality of views which are visible in respective different directions, each of the autostereoscopic displays comprising a spatial light modulator, a first array of lenses or a first parallax barrier having a first pitch disposed adjacent a first side of the spatial light modulator, a second array of lenses or a second parallax barrier having a second pitch greater than the first pitch disposed adjacent a second side of the spatial light modulator between the spatial light modulator and the optical combining system, and a plurality of sequentially illuminatable light sources arranged to illuminate the first array of lenses or the first parallax barrier at respective different angles via the optical system.

Claim 26

An apparatus as claimed in claim 23 further comprising beam splitting means disposed between the light sources, which are common to the displays, and the spatial light modulators.

Claim 27

An apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein the beam splitting means comprises a beam splitter for splitting light from the light sources into a plurality of beams and a plurality of mirrors, each of which is arranged to reflect a respective beam towards a respective one of the spatial light modulators.

Claim 28

An apparatus as claimed in claim 25, wherein the beam splitter and the optical combining system are polarisation-sensitive so that substantially all of the light from the beam splitter is supplied by the optical combining system to a single observer region.

Claim 29

An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the light sources of each of the displays comprise a diffuse light source disposed behind a respective shutter.

Claim 30

An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, wherein the light paths from the shutters cross each other and intersect respective mirrors arranged to reflect light towards the respective spatial light modulators.

Claim 31

An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, wherein each of the shutters has an output polarisation which matches an input polarization of the respective spatial light modulator.

Claim 32

An autostereoscopic display apparatus comprising a plurality of two-dimensional displays and an optical combining system for combining the outputs of the displays, wherein each of the displays comprises a light source, a light-transmissive spatial light modulator arranged to modulate light from the light source in accordance with an image to be viewed, and a lens arrangement disposed adjacent the spatial light modulator and arranged to image the light source at a viewing window at an observer location via the optical combining system.

Claim 33

An autostereoscopic display apparatus comprising a plurality of two-dimensional displays and an optical combining system for combining the outputs of the displays, wherein each of the displays comprises a light source, a light-transmissive spatial light modulator arranged to modulate light from the light source in accordance with an image to be viewed, and a lens arrangement disposed adjacent the spatial light modulator and arranged to image the light source at a viewing window at an observer location via the optical combining system.

Claim 34

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the light sources of the displays comprise a common light source, a beam splitter for dividing light from the common light source into a plurality of beams, and at least one reflector for reflecting a respective one of the beams towards the spatial light modulator of a respective one of the displays.

Claim 35

An apparatus as claimed in claim 31, wherein each of the displays has an optical axis and each of the lens arrangements has an optical axis which is laterally displaced from the optical axis of the respective display.

Claim 36

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein, for each of the displays, the light source comprises a diffuse light source, the lens arrangement comprises an array of lenses, and a parallax barrier is disposed between the light source and the array of lenses in an object plane of the array of lenses.

Claim 37

An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the array of lenses and the parallax barrier for each of the displays are interposed between the diffuse light source and the spatial light modulator.

Claim 38

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein each of the lens arrangements comprises an autocollimating screen.

Claim 39

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein each of the lens arrangement comprises an angular amplifying screen.

Claim 40

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein, for each of the displays, the light source comprises a single light source and the spatial light modulator is arranged to modulate light with an image representing a view from a single predetermined direction.

Claim 41

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the optical combining system comprises at least one beam combiner, and the respective light sources are imaged at the viewing window substantially directly from the at least one beam combiner.

Claim 42

An apparatus as claimed in claim 38, wherein the at least one beam combiner receives the outputs of the displays substantially directly therefrom.

Claim 43

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the optical combining system comprises at least one beam combiner and the at least one beam combiner receives the outputs of the displays substantially directly therefrom.

Claim 44

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the lens arrangement for each of the displays is interposed between the light source and the spatial light modulator.

Claim 45

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the lens arrangement for each of the displays comprises a Fresnel lens.

Claim 46

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the light source for each of the displays is separate from the spatial light modulator.

Claim 47

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the light source of each display is imaged at the viewing window which is a finite distance from the display.

Claim 48

An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein the combined outputs of the displays are spatially multiplexed.