Outer Rim Archives
Archives · 2017 · 9720245

Granted patent

Content-adaptive lenticular prints

Number
9720245
Published
2017-08-01
Filed
2012-11-27
Assignee
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors
Kautz; Jan, Tompkin; James, Matusik; Wojciech, Heinzle; Simon
CPC
G02B30/27; G02B30/29
Verdict
Low Hardware
Source
Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

A lenticular print/display technique that optimizes the lenslet array to match specific light-field content for sharper perceived resolution.

Abstract

A lenticular display device that is effective in increasing both perceived angular resolution and spatial resolution. These desirable results are achieved by modifying the lenslet arrayto better match the content of a given light field. An optimization algorithm or method (which may be implemented with software run on a computing device) is provided that analyzes an input light field and computes an optimal lenslet size, shape, and arrangement of sets of lenslets across the width of the array to better (or even best) match the input lightfield given a set of output parameters. The resulting lenticular display device (or print) shows higher detail and smoother motion parallax compared with fixed-size lens arrays. The usefulness of these content-adaptive lenticular prints has been demonstrated or proven using rendered simulations, by generating 3D-printed lens arrays according to the present description, and with user studies.

Background

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEDRAWINGS(1) FIG. 1 illustrates schematic, partial end views of two conventional lenticular display devices with uniform and planar lenslets or lenticules for displaying a sampled light field;(2) FIG. 2 illustrates frames of an input scene along with a corresponding image of one line of this input showing differing angular and spatial frequencies in this input content that may be used with a lens array of a lenticular display device;(3) FIG. 3 isa functional block diagram of a system for use in designing a lenticular display that is content-adaptive;(4) FIG. 4 is an end view of a lenticular display device (lenticular print) with a planar content layer (or back plane);(5) FIG. 5 is an end view of a lenticular print with a non-planar or irregular content layer or projection surface and with a lens arrays with front edge/lens surfaces aligned or coplanar; and(6) FIG. 6 illustrates graphically a discrete light field optimization method of one embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION(7) Briefly, the present description is directed toward content-adaptive lenticular display devices (or prints) configured to better cover all or more depth ranges throughout a selectedinput scene (content or input static light field). The display devices differ from conventional lenticular devices in that the lenticules differ in size across the width of the lens array such that sets of lenticules can be provided to suit the differing content acrossa scene. Further, the lenticules ma

Claims

1. A display apparatus, comprising: a static content layer comprising a plurality of images; and a lens array overlying the content layer, wherein the lens array comprises a first set of lenses each with a first width and asecond set of lenses each with a second width differing from the first width, wherein thelenses are elongated, cylindrical lenticules and the images are elongated, interlaced images, wherein the cylindrical lenticules of the first set of lenses each have a first radius defining the first width and the cylindrical lenticules of the second set of lenses eachhave a second radius, the first radius differing from the second radius to define the first and second widths of the first and second sets of lenses, wherein the content layer comprises a first portion with a first spatial frequency and a second portion with a second spatial frequency differing from the first spatial frequency, wherein the first spatial frequency is less than the second spatial frequency, and wherein the first set of lenses are aligned with the images in the first portion and the second set of lenses are aligned withthe images of the second portion, whereby the first and second widths are defined based on spatial frequencies of the content layer. 7. A display apparatus, comprising: a content layer comprising a plurality of elongated and interlaced images; and a lens array overlying the content layer, wherein the lens array comprises a first set of lenses each with a first width and a second set of lenses each with a second width differing from the first width, wherein the lenses are electronically changeable lenses operable to concurrently provide the first and second widths, wherein the content layer comprises a first portion with afirst spatial frequency and a second portion with a second spatial frequency differing from the first spatial frequency, wherein the first spatial frequency is less than the second spatial frequency, and wherein the first set of lenses are aligned with the images in the first portion and the second set of lenses are aligned with the images of the second portion, whereby the first and second widths are defined based on spatial frequencies of the content layer. 9. A lenticular display, comprising: an image layer corresponding to an input light field with first, second, and third regions having differing optical qualities; and a lenticular sheet comprising lenticules with a first width, lenticules with a second width greater than the first width, and with lenticules with a third width greater than thesecond width, wherein the lenticules with the first width are aligned with the first region of the image layer, the lenticules with the second width are aligned with the second region of the image layer, and the lenticules with the third width are aligned with the third region of the image layer, wherein the image layer is positioned adjacent back surfaces of the lenticules in the lenticular sheet and wherein the image layer and the back surfaces are non-planar with the back surfaces of the lenticules with the first width being in a first plane, the back surfaces of the lenticules with the second width being in a second plane offset from the first plane, and the back surfaces of the lenticules with the third width being in a third plane offset from the first and second planes, wherein the first region has a lower spatial frequency than the second region and the second region has a lowerspatial frequency than the third region, and wherein the first, second, and third widths are defined based on spatial frequencies of the image layer. 11. A display apparatus, comprising: a content layer comprising a plurality of images; and a lens array overlying the content layer, wherein the lens array comprises a first set of elongated, cylindrical lenses each defined by a first radius and a second set of elongated, cylindrical lenses each defined by a second radius differing from the first radius, wherein the content layer comprises a first portion with a first spatial frequency and a second portion with a second spatial frequency differing from the first spatial frequency, and wherein the first set of lenses are aligned with the images in the first portion and the second set of lenses are aligned with the images of the second portion, whereby the first and second radii are defined based on spatial frequencies of the content layer.