DISPLAY SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING WIDE-ANGLE, RETROREFLECTIVE REAL IMAGES

Number: 20260287803
Published: 2026-09-24
Filed: 2026-05-21
Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
Inventors: Smithwick; Quinn Y., Smoot; Lanny S., Ilardi; Michael
CPC: G02B5/12; G02B5/10; G02B30/54
Verdict: High Hardware
First reported: 2026-W39 (2026-09-25)
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

A ring of beamsplitter/retroreflector stations that projects a real, glasses-free 3D image floating in space that a whole crowd can walk around and view from any angle — a scalable Pepper's-ghost-style theme-park effect.

Abstract

A wide-angle, retroreflective real image display system that produces real images that can be viewed and interacted with by a group of people who can move about a space to view the real image. In one embodiment, the display system includes a plurality of display stations, each including a light source, beamsplitter, and retroreflector. The display stations are rotated relative to adjacent display stations so that light reflected off the retroreflectors at least partially overlaps in a viewing space to form the real image. In other embodiments, the display system includes a retroreflector, beamsplitter, light source, and a first and second reflector. At least a portion of the light from the light source is reflected by the first reflector and transmitted through the beamsplitter, retroreflected off the retroreflector and reflected off the beamsplitter to the second reflector and directed to the viewing space to form the real image.

Background

FIELD

The present description relates, in general, to techniques and systems for generating unique displays with floating imagery, and, more particularly, to a real image display system (and associated methods) configured for generating real images with wide viewing angles using retroreflective material. BACKGROUND

There are many applications and environments where it is desirable to produce images or imagery that appear to float in space. For example, it is useful to entertain people visiting a theme park, a theater, a shopping space, and so on with unique and surprising displays, and these may involve providing images that are, or appear to be, floating in space as is the case with holograms. Further, there is a strong demand for such floating images to be viewable without requiring the viewer to wear special eyewear such as virtual reality (VR) headgear or three dimensional (3D) glasses.

Retroreflective real images appear as floating images in space. Retroreflective real images are desirable in many settings because they are accessible in that they appear “free standing” such that the viewer may try to touch the floating image. This visual effect is unlike the imagery achieved with systems built upon the Pepper's Ghost illusion. In these systems, the reflected virtual image is necessarily behind a pane of glass or other beamsplitter. In contrast, retroreflective real images can be thought of as a simple way of creating “holograms” or 3D beam effects wi

Claims

1. A display system comprising: a plurality of display stations positioned and configured such that, in operation, the plurality of display stations generate a real image in a viewing space, each display station of the plurality of display stations comprising: a light source comprising at least one of a display or an illuminated object, the light source configured to emit light; a beamsplitter; and a retroreflector, wherein the beamsplitter is rotated about a first axis at an offset angle relative to the retroreflector, wherein, for each display station, at least a portion of the light emitted from the light source is: directed to reflect off the beamsplitter to the retroreflector, retroflected by the retroreflector toward the beamsplitter, and transmitted through the beamsplitter into the viewing space as retroflected light from that display station, wherein the plurality of display stations are rotated relative to each other such that the retroreflected light from each display station at least partially overlaps in the viewing space to form the real image. || 11. A display system comprising: a retroreflector; a beamsplitter oriented at an offset angle with respect to the retroreflector; a first reflector; a second reflector; and a light source configured to provide light, wherein the light source comprises at least one of a display or an illuminated object, wherein the light from the light source is reflected by the first reflector toward the beamsplitter, wherein at least a first portion of the light is transmitted through the beamsplitter and directed onto the retroreflector, wherein the retroreflector retroreflects the first portion of the light back toward beamsplitter, wherein at least a second portion of the retroreflected light is reflected by the beamsplitter toward the second reflector, and wherein the second reflector reflects the second portion of the retroreflected light into a viewing space to form a real image.