A glasses-free 3D display for large audiences using a backlight assembly with infrared receivers to track and deliver separate left/right-eye images to many viewers at once.
A three dimensional (3D) displayapparatus for without 3D glasses. The display apparatus includes a display element operated to display left and right eye images. A back light assembly back lights the display element and includes light bars with a row of infrared (IR) light receivers that are each paired to a white light emitting diode (LED). Viewers in seats in tiered rows such that theirheads are in known viewing locations. Left and right side illuminators illuminate the left and right sides of the faces of the viewers with IR light. The IR light is synchronized with display of the left and right eye images. IR reflected from viewers' faces pass through the display element and is focused onto IR light receivers, which causes LEDs to emit light onto the display element and provide left or right eye images to the viewers at theirleft or right eyes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS(1) FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic and/or functional block diagram of a 3D display system that is particularly useful in providing an audience of viewers a 3D viewing experience without requiring special headgear such as 3D glasses and while allowing the viewers to sit (or be positioned) at numerous viewing positioned (e.g., in any seat in any ofa number of tiered rows as is common in a theater or in a vehicle of an amusement park);(2) FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of one exemplary implementation of a 3D display system that may be used to provide the components and/or functionality of the system of FIG. 1;(3) FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of a 3D display system similar to that of FIG. 2 with modifications to show use of multiple, tiered rows of light bars (row of IR detector and white LEDpairs) to serve stereo images to a viewing space associated with a seat (or other viewer positioning device) in one of multiple, tiered rows of such individual seats (or viewer positioning devices);(4) FIG. 4 illustrates the 3D display system of FIG. 3 operating to provide a left eye image to a viewer in back or third row of the viewing space;(5) FIG. 5 illustrates the 3D display system of FIGS. 3 and 4 operating to concurrently provide left eyeimages to each viewer in the three rows of the viewing space (e.g., in individual seats of tiered rows of a theater or ride vehicle);(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an exemplary light bar that may be used in a 3D d
1. A display apparatus, comprising: a display element; a display controller first displaying a left eye image and second displaying a right eye image on the display element; in a viewing space adjacent a display surface of the display element, an illuminator assembly operable to provide infrared (IR) light in the viewing space; and a back light assembly generating visible light to back light the display element only in response to reflection of portions of the IR light from one or more viewers positioned at viewing locations in the viewing space, wherein the display element is transparent tothe reflected portions of the IR light, whereby the reflected portions of the IR light passes through the display element prior to the reflected portions striking the back light assembly to trigger the generating of the visible light to back light the display element, wherein the back light assembly includes a light bar comprising a row of IR receivers detecting the reflected portions of the IR light and a row of visible light sources each independently operating only when a paired one of the IR receivers detects the reflected portions of the IR light to provide the visible light to back light the display element, and wherein the IR receivers detect the reflected portions of the IR light concurrently with the operating of the row of visible light sources to back light the display element.
15. A visual display, comprising: a light modulator including a front side and a back side for receiving back light; a plurality of pairs of light emitters and IR receivers, wherein the IR receivers receive IR light emitted from the back side of the light modulator and, in response, the light emitters emit the back light onto the back side of the light modulator; a Fresnel lens positioned between the back side of the light modulator and the pairs of the light emitters and the IR receivers, wherein the Fresnel lens defines a light path for the IR light and for the back light through the light modulator to a viewer positioned at a viewing location a distance from the front side of the light modulator; an illumination source directing IR light onto the viewer proximate first to a left eye of the viewer and second to a right eye of the viewer, whereby portions of the IR light from the illumination source reflects off of the viewer toward the front side of the light modulator for transmission through the light modulator to the Fresnel lens for directing onto the defined light path for the IR light; and a control mechanism coupled to each of the pairs of the light emitters and the IR receivers, wherein the control mechanism operates to determine when one of the IR receivers is receiving the IR light from the back side of the light modulator and, in response, to trigger a paired one of the light emitters to produce the back light.
18. A method for providing a 3D experience without 3D glasses, comprising: illuminating left sides of a plurality of viewer faces with IR light; detecting the IR light reflected from the left sides of the viewer faces; concurrently with and only during the detecting of the IR light reflected from the left sides of the viewer faces, emitting visible light through a liquid crystal (LC) display operating to display a left eye image; illuminating right sides of the viewer faces with IR light; detecting the IR light reflected from the rightsides of the viewer faces; and concurrently with and only during the detecting of the IR light reflected from the right sides of the viewer faces, emitting visible light through the LC display operating to display a right eye image.