Panoramic, multiplane, and transparent collimated display system

Number: 11314086
Published: 2022-04-26
Filed: 2020-04-23
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: LaDuke; Thomas F., Reichow; Mark A.
CPC: G02B30/26; G03B21/62; G02B30/40; G03B37/04; G03B35/20; G02B27/0101
Verdict: Medium Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Panoramic collimated show-display optics hardware.

Abstract

A display system for creating a multiplane display. The display system includes a viewing space for viewers. The display system includes a convex screen and a mirror element spaced apart from the convex screen to provide a collimated display. The mirror element is both reflective and transmissive of light, and a fraction of light from the convex screen that strikes a front concave surface of the mirror element is reflected into the viewing space. The convex screen and the front concave surface of the mirror element are each shaped to have an optical prescription defined for a collimated display whereby light reflected into the viewing space is collimated to provide variable depth imagery. The display system includes a background space behind the mirror element, and light from the background space from projection screens and illuminated objects is transmitted through the mirror element to viewers in the viewing space.

Background

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description (1) The present description relates, in general, to display systems adapted for stereoscopic or three-dimensional (3D) image generation, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for producing 3D images or depth and space media illusions without requiring viewers to wear 3D glasses or other eyewear using a new collimated display design. These display systems may be considered multiplane or multilayer display systems providing a 3D display to viewers by displaying images that appear to be in two or more planes along the z-axis, and the display systems can be panoramic in that they can be designed to provide the 3D display “in the round” such as with 3D imagery provided at 45 to 360 degrees about a viewing space (e.g., a circular room or space where a viewer would be located when enjoying the 3D show or experience without a fixed viewing direction). 2. Relevant Background (2) There is a growing demand for displays that include 3D imagery. For example, there is a growing trend toward using 3D projection techniques in theatres and in-home entertainment systems including video games and computer-based displays. In many conventional 3D projection techniques, the right eye and the left eye images are delivered separately to display the same scene or images from separate perspectives so that a viewer sees a three-dimensional composite, e.g., certain characters or objects appear nearer than the screen and other appear farther away than the s

Claims

1. A display system for providing a multiplane display in a viewing space, comprising: a convex screen; a mirror element spaced apart from the convex screen, wherein the mirror element is reflective and transmissive of light, wherein a fraction of light from the convex screen that strikes a front concave surface of the mirror element is reflected into the viewing space, and wherein the convex screen and the front concave surface of the mirror element are each shaped to have an optical prescription defined for a collimated display whereby the fraction of light reflected into the viewing space is collimated. || 12. A display system for providing a multiplane display, comprising: a media display with a convex screen; and a mirror element with a concave front surface facing the convex screen, wherein the mirror element is reflective and transmissive of light, wherein a fraction of light from the convex screen that strikes the front concave surface of the mirror element is reflected, wherein the convex screen and the front concave surface of the mirror element have an optical prescription defined for the collimated display whereby the fraction of light reflected is collimated, and wherein the front concave surface of the mirror element is shaped to be horizontally and vertically concave to provide the optical prescription of the collimated display. || 17. A display system for providing a multiplane display in a viewing space, comprising: a mirror element with a concave front surface that is reflective and transmissive of light, wherein the concave front surface reflects collimated light during operations of the collimated display assembly into the viewing space and wherein light transmitted through the mirror element into the viewing space is viewable in the viewing space concurrently with the reflection of the collimated light by the concave front surface of the mirror element; and a media display with a convex screen providing imagery via light output onto the front concave surface of the mirror element, wherein the convex screen and the front concave surface have corresponding optical prescriptions to produce the collimated light, and wherein the mirror element is configured such that a fraction of the light output onto the front concave surface in the range of 5 to 50 percent is reflected by the front concave surface.