Cloaking devices with tilt correction and vehicles comprising the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11370358-B2
Application number	US-201815959789-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 23, 2018
Priority date	Apr 23, 2018
Publication date	Jun 28, 2022
Grant date	Jun 28, 2022

Abstract

A cloaking device comprises an object-side, an image-side, a cloaked region between the object-side and the image-side. An object-side optical component and an object-side tilt correction (TC) component are positioned on the object-side, and an image-side optical component and an image-side TC component are positioned on the image-side. The cloaking device is tilted relative to an object positioned on the object-side such that light from the object is incident on the cloaking device at an acute angle. The object-side TC component redirects light from the object incident on the cloaking device such that the light propagates through the cloaking device generally normal to the object-side and image-side optical components. The image-side TC component redirects light propagating through the cloaking device back to normal to the object to form an image of the object on the image-side of the cloaking device which, if not for the TC components, would be distorted.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cloaking device comprising:
an object-side, an image-side, a cloaked region (CR) between the object-side and the image-side, a zero-tilt axis and a tilt axis, wherein the zero-tilt axis extends generally parallel to an object positioned on the object-side and the tilt axis extends at an acute angle relative to the zero-tilt axis; and
an object-side optical component positioned on the object-side and an image-side optical component positioned on the image-side, wherein an outward facing surface of the object-side optical component and an outward facing surface of the image-side optical component extend generally parallel to the tilt axis such that the object-side optical component and the image-side optical component are oriented relative to the zero-tilt axis at the acute angle;
an object-side tilt correction (TC) component positioned on the object-side and an image-side TC component positioned on the image-side;
wherein:
light from the object on the object-side of the cloaking device propagating generally normal to the zero-tilt axis and incident on the object-side TC component is redirected generally normal to the tilt axis by the object-side TC component;
light redirected by the object-side TC component propagates through the object-side optical component and the image-side optical component generally normal to the tilt axis; and
light propagating through the image-side optical component generally normal to the tilt axis is redirected generally normal to the zero-tilt axis by the image-side TC component to form an image of the object on the image-side of the cloaking device,

wherein:
the object-side TC component is positioned between the object and the CR;
the object-side optical component is positioned between the CR and the object-side TC component;
the image-side TC component is positioned between the image and the CR; and
the image-side optical component is positioned between the CR and the image-side TC component,

wherein the object-side TC component and the image-side TC component each comprise an outward facing planar surface and at least one Fresnel prism comprising an outward facing first surface, a second surface, and an inward facing hypotenuse surface extending between the first surface and the second surface.

2. The cloaking device of claim 1 , wherein the object-side TC component is positioned outwardly from the object-side optical component and the image-side TC component is positioned outwardly from the image-side optical component.

3. The cloaking device of claim 1 , wherein light propagates through the cloaking device via an optical path of: object—object-side TC component—object-side optical component—image-side optical component—image-side TC component—image.

4. The cloaking device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one Fresnel prism of the object-side TC component refracts light from the object incident on the object-side TC component generally normal to the tilt axis.

5. The cloaking device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one Fresnel prism of the image-side TC component refracts light propagating through the image-side optical component generally normal to the zero-tilt axis.

6. The cloaking device of claim 1 , wherein the zero-tilt axis is a vertical axis.

7. The cloaking device of claim 1 , wherein light propagates through the cloaking device via an optical path of: object—outward facing first surface of object-side TC component—inward facing hypotenuse surface of object-side TC component—object-side optical component—image-side optical component—inward facing hypotenuse surface of image-side TC component—outward facing first surface of image-side TC component—image.

8. The cloaking device of claim 1 , wherein the object-side optical component and the image-side optical component comprise at least one of a pair of prisms, a pair of planar mirrors, a pair of curved mirrors, a pair of half-mirrors, a pair of converging lenses and a pair of color filters.

9. A cloaking device assembly comprising:
an object-side, an image-side, a cloaked region (CR) between the object-side and the image-side, and a cloaked article positioned within the cloaked region;
a zero-tilt axis and a tilt axis, wherein the zero-tilt axis extends generally parallel to an object positioned on the object-side and the tilt axis extends at an acute angle relative to the zero-tilt axis;
an object-side optical component and an object-side tilt correction (TC) component positioned on the object-side of the cloaked region and oriented relative to the zero-tilt axis at the acute angle; and
an image-side optical component and an image-side TC component positioned on the image-side of the cloaked region and oriented relative to the zero-tilt axis at the acute angle;
wherein:
light from the object on the object-side of the cloaking device propagating generally normal to the zero-tilt axis and incident on the object-side TC component is redirected generally normal to the tilt axis by the object-side TC component;
light redirected by the object-side TC component propagates through the object-side optical component and the image-side optical component generally normal to the tilt axis; and
light propagating through the image-side optical component generally normal to the tilt axis is redirected generally normal to the zero-tilt axis by the image-side TC component to form an image of the object on the image-side of the cloaking device assembly,

wherein:
the object-side TC component is positioned between the object and the CR;
the object-side optical component is positioned between the CR and the object-side TC component;
the image-side TC component is positioned between the image and the CR; and
the image-side optical component is positioned between the CR and the image-side TC component,

wherein the object-side TC component and the image-side TC component each comprise an outward facing planar surface and at least one Fresnel prism comprising an outward facing first surface, a second surface, and an inward facing hypotenuse surface extending between the first surface and the second surface.

10. The cloaking device assembly of claim 9 , wherein the object-side TC component is positioned outwardly from the object-side optical component and the image-side TC component is positioned outwardly from the image-side optical component.

11. The cloaking device assembly of claim 9 , wherein:
the at least one Fresnel prism of the object-side TC component refracts light from the object incident on the object-side TC component generally normal to the tilt axis such that light propagates through the object-side optical component and the image-side optical component generally normal to the tilt axis; and
the at least one Fresnel prism of the image-side TC component refracts light propagating through the image-side optical component generally normal to the zero-tilt axis.

12. The cloaking device assembly of claim 9 , wherein the zero-tilt axis is a vertical axis.

13. The cloaking device assembly of claim 9 , wherein light propagates through the cloaking device assembly via an optical path of: object—outward facing first surface of object-side TC component—inward facing hypotenuse surface of object-side TC component—object-side optical component—image-side optical component—inward facing hypotenuse surface of image-side TC component—outward facing first surface of image-side TC component—image.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Lee Kyu-Tae
• Wu Songtao
• Banerjee Debasish

Classifications

• G02B17/008 Primary

  Systems specially adapted to form image relays or chained systems · CPC title

• G02B5/045

  Prism arrays · CPC title

• G02B5/04

  Prisms · CPC title

• G02B3/08

  with discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lens {(diffractive Fresnel lenses G02B5/1876)} · CPC title

• G02B27/126

  The splitting element being a prism or prismatic array, including systems based on total internal reflection · CPC title