Methods and apparatus for displaying images

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10742964-B2
Application number	US-201815861670-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 4, 2018
Priority date	Apr 4, 2017
Publication date	Aug 11, 2020
Grant date	Aug 11, 2020

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for using a display in a manner which results in a user perceiving a higher resolution than would be perceived if a user viewed the display from a head on position are described. In some embodiments one or more displays are mounted at an angle, e.g., sometimes in range a range from an angle above 0 degrees to 45 relative to a user's face and thus eyes. The user sees more pixels, e.g., dots corresponding to light emitting elements, per square inch of eye area than the user would see if the user were viewing the display head on due to the angle at which the display or displays are mounted. The methods and display mounting arrangement are well suited for use in head mounted displays, e.g., Virtual Reality (VR) displays for stereoscopic viewing (e.g., 3D) and/or non-stereoscopic viewing of displayed images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of processing and displaying images on one or more displays, the method comprising:
receiving a left eye image;
receiving a right eye image;
transforming the left eye image as a function of a left eye image display area arranged to face a user and at an angle relative to a user's left eye to generate a transformed left eye image, said transforming the left eye image including scaling the left eye image by a first amount in a horizontal direction and a second amount in a vertical direction to thereby distort the left eye image, said first and second amounts being different and being a function of the left eye image display area;
transforming the right eye image as a function of a right eye image display area arranged facing the user and at an angle relative to the user's right eye to generate a transformed right eye image, said transforming the right eye image including scaling the right eye image by a third amount in a horizontal direction and a fourth amount in a vertical direction to thereby distort the right eye image, said third and fourth amounts being different and being a function of a right eye image display area; and
displaying the transformed left eye image on the left eye image display area and displaying the transformed right eye image on the right eye image display area.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said angle is greater than 0 and less than 45 degrees.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said scaling of the left eye image alters the aspect ratio of the left eye image as a function of the angle at which the display is mounted, said angle being a non 90 degree angle.

4. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the left eye image display area is inclined vertically;
wherein said received left eye image has a first aspect ratio; and
wherein said scaling the left eye image includes scaling the left eye image to fully occupy the left eye image display area which is positioned at an angle relative to the user's left eye, said scaling altering the aspect ratio of the left eye image.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein scaling the left eye image is by an amount in the vertical direction which is a function of the length of the display as it extends vertically along said angle relative to the user's left eye, said angle being an angle which is a non 90 degree angle.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the left eye image display area is angled horizontally relative to the user's left eye; and
wherein scaling the left eye image is by an amount in the horizontal direction which is a function of the length of the display as it extends horizontally along said angle relative to the user's left eye, said angle being an angle which is a non 90 degree angle.

7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
identifying a first object that is present in both the left eye image and right eye image; and
wherein transforming the left eye image further includes modifying a location of at least the first object in the left eye image; and
wherein transforming the right eye image further includes modifying a location of the first object in the right eye image.

8. The method of claim 7 ,
wherein modifying the position of the first object in the left eye image includes changing the location of the first object in said left eye image to increase an amount of difference between the location of the first object in the left eye image and the location of the first object in the right eye image or decrease the amount of difference between the location of the first object in the left eye image and the location of the first object in the right eye image; and
wherein modifying the position of the first object in the right eye image includes changing the location of the first object in said right eye image to increase an amount of difference between the location of the first object in the left eye image and the location of the first object in the right eye image or decrease the amount of difference between the location of the first object in the left eye image and the location of the first object in the right eye image.

9. The method of claim 8 ,
wherein modifying the position of the first object in the left eye image includes changing the location of the first object in the left image to increase the amount of difference between the location of the first object in the left eye image and the location of the first object in the right eye image based on the distance from the user's left eye at which the first object will be displayed on the display; and
wherein modifying the position of the first object in the right eye image includes changing the location of the first object in the right image to increase the amount of the difference based on the distance from the user's right eye at which the first object will be displayed on the display.

10. The method of claim 8 ,
wherein modifying the position of the first object in the left eye image includes changing the location of the first object in the left image to decrease the amount of difference between the location of the first object in the left eye image and the location of the first object in the right eye image based on the distance from the user's left eye at which the first object will be displayed on the display; and
wherein modifying the position of the first object in the right eye image includes changing the location of the first object in the right image to decrease the difference based on the distance from the user's right eye at which the first object will be displayed on the display.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein transforming the left eye image as a function of a left eye image display area arranged to face the user distorts the left eye image so that when viewed by the user on the left eye image display area the user views the displayed distorted left eye image from a position where the visible portion of the displayed distorted left eye image has an aspect ratio which is the same as an aspect ratio of said received left eye image.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein transforming the right eye image as a function of a left eye image display area arranged to face a user distorts the right eye image so that when viewed by the user on the right eye image display area the user views the displayed distorted image from a position where the visible portion of the displayed image has an aspect ratio which is the same as an aspect ratio of said received right eye image.

Assignees

• Nextvr Inc

Inventors

• Cole David
• Moss Alan Mckay

Classifications

• H04N13/344 Primary

  with head-mounted left-right displays · CPC title

• G02B2027/0134

  of stereoscopic type · CPC title

• G02B27/0172

  characterised by optical features · CPC title

• G06F3/011

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• G06F1/163

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title