US5771121A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter monitor
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1995-09-08
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Granted: 1998-06-23
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Expires: 2015-09-08
Abstract
Abstract Stereoscopic perspectives changing with the position of the observer's eyes create a natural depth-impression. An electronically controlled adaptive monitor is disclosed that imitates this feature without any additional devices such as glasses, so that items in front and behind the screen appear in a three-dimensional manner. Alternatively, the monitor can also be used as a high-resolution two-dimensional screen. This combined performance feature is achieved at a reasonable price by mounting a grid-shield with vertical cylinder lenses in front of the monitor. At the focal point of the cylinder lenses is an electronically controlled shadow-line grid-LCD, allowing the alternating passage of right and left pictures sequentially at 100 or 120 Hz. Depending on the position of the observer, the location of the shadow-lines is changed adaptively, while the respective right- and left-eye perspectives of the 3D-picture can be calculated in real-time simultaneously. A sensor system at the rim of the screen detects the exact head- and eye-position of the observer.
Inventors
- 👤 Siegbert Hentschke
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 03:46
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B30/00; G02B30/20; G02B30/26; G02B30/27; G02B27/00; G02B27/0093; H; H04; H04N; H04N13/00; H04N13/30; H04N13/302; H04N13/305; H04N13/31; H04N13/356; H04N13/359; H04N13/366; H04N13/373; H04N13/398
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
68 words
An observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor, comprising: a monitor having a screen for displaying a picture; a cylinder-lens grid-shield having a plurality of cylinder lenses which are disposed at a predetermined pitch-distance; and a shadow-line grid-LCD positioned between the cylinder-lens grid-shield and the screen, the shadow-line grid-LCD being electronically controlled to have transparent and non-transparent stripes which alternate time-sequentially in synchronism with the picture about every 8 to 10 milliseconds.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
68 words
An observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor, comprising: a monitor having a screen for displaying a picture; a cylinder-lens grid-shield having a plurality of cylinder lenses which are disposed at a predetermined pitch-distance; and a shadow-line grid-LCD positioned between the cylinder-lens grid-shield and the screen, the shadow-line grid-LCD being electronically controlled to have transparent and non-transparent stripes which alternate time-sequentially in synchronism with the picture about every 8 to 10 milliseconds.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
80 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the shutter-monitor is operable in both of a stereoscopic mode and a high-resolution non-stereoscopic mode, wherein the shadow-line grid-LCD is controlled in the stereoscopic mode so that the non-transparent stripes are approximately half as wide as the pitch-distance of the cylinder lenses, and wherein the shadow-line grid-LCD is controlled in the high-resolution non-stereoscopic mode so that the non-transparent stripes are approximately as wide as the pitch distance of the cylinder lenses.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
75 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder lenses have respective focal points that lie along a focal line, wherein the shadow-line grid-LCD is disposed approximately at the focal line, and wherein the distance between the cylinder lenses and the focal line is approximately half of the pitch-distance of the cylinder lenses multiplied by the ratio of an observer's distance from the observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor to the distance between the observer's eyes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 3, wherein the pitch-distance of the cylinder lenses is about 0.5 mm.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 3, wherein the distance between the cylinder lenses and the focal line is based on an observer distance of about 2 meters and an eye-separation distance of about 7.5 cm.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
64 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the stripes of the shadow-line grid-LCD have separate portions which can be switched on and off independently, wherein the shadow-line grid-LCD is controlled to selectively switch groups of adjacent portions on and off simultaneously, and wherein the portions have a width that does not exceed about a quarter of the pitch-distance of the cylinder lenses.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 6, wherein the width of the portions is about an eighth of the pitch-distance of the cylinder lenses.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 6, wherein the width of the portions is less than about an eighth of the pitch-distance of the cylinder lenses.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
64 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, further comprising means for calculating and processing in real-time perspectives of a 3D picture to be presented, according to the horizontal- and distance-position of an observer in front of the observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor, so that objects represented in the 3D picture do not change their virtual local position in the room, even if the observer moves.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 9, wherein the perspectives are calculated and processed by the means for calculating and processing according to the vertical position of the observer in front of the observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
133 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder lenses have respective focal points that lie along a focal line, wherein the shadow-line grid-LCD is mechanically movable between a position approximately at the focal line and a position adjacent the cylinder-lens grid-shield, wherein the cylinder lenses have a cylinder lens width, wherein cylinder lenses of the cylinder-lens grid-shield form a sequence in which there are even-numbered cylinder lenses and odd-numbered cylinder lenses, wherein the monitor is interlaced and has an interlace duration that is selected to be one of 10 ms and 8.33 ms, and wherein, in a high resolution mode, stripes having the cylinder lens width are switched on and off behind each second one of the cylinder lenses during the interlace duration, alternatingly for even-numbered and odd-numbered cylinder lenses.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
94 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 11, wherein the screen of the monitor provides a plurality of pixels, wherein the cylinder lenses extend vertically, and wherein a horizontal saw-tooth grid is superimposed on the cylinder-lens grid-shield, the saw-tooth grid having inclined faces which alternate between ascending and falling from cylinder lens to cylinder lens, and having a pitch-distance which is approximately the same as the pitch distance of the cylinder lenses so that the pixels appear to be shifted in a vertical sense by half a line from cylinder lens to cylinder lens.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
34 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder lenses have respective focal points that lie along a focal line, and wherein the shadow-line grid-LCD is disposed approximately at the focal line.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
56 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the shadow-line grid-LCD is controlled so that the transparent and non-transparent stripes alternate in a manner that permits one of an observer's left- and right eyes and then the other of the observer's left and right eyes, in an alternating sequence, to look through to the screen.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
15 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the monitor comprises a picture tube.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the monitor comprises a display panel.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
15 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the monitor comprises a projection device.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor according to claim 1, wherein the pitch-distance of the cylinder lenses is about 0.5 mm.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
115 words
An observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor, comprising: a monitor having a screen for displaying a picture; a cylinder-lens grid-shield having a plurality of cylinder lenses which are disposed at a predetermined pitch-distance and which have respective focal points that lie along a focal line; and a shadow-line grid-LCD positioned between the cylinder-lens grid-shield and the screen at approximately the focal line of the cylinder lenses, the shadow-line grid-LCD being electronically controlled to have transparent and non-transparent stripes which rapidly alternate time-sequentially in synchronism with the picture so that one of an observer's left and right eyes but not the other of the observer's left and right eyes can look through to the screen at a given time.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
115 words
An observer-adaptive autostereoscopic shutter-monitor, comprising: a monitor having a screen for displaying a picture; a cylinder-lens grid-shield having a plurality of cylinder lenses which are disposed at a predetermined pitch-distance and which have respective focal points that lie along a focal line; and a shadow-line grid-LCD positioned between the cylinder-lens grid-shield and the screen at approximately the focal line of the cylinder lenses, the shadow-line grid-LCD being electronically controlled to have transparent and non-transparent stripes which rapidly alternate time-sequentially in synchronism with the picture so that one of an observer's left and right eyes but not the other of the observer's left and right eyes can look through to the screen at a given time.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-06-22 | 2001-12-22 | 2002-06-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-06-22 | 2005-12-22 | 2006-06-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-06-22 | 2009-12-22 | 2010-06-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |