Spinning fan mirror beam combiner for a borderless self-contained pepper's ghost

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9348147-B2
Application number	US-201414190955-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 26, 2014
Priority date	Feb 26, 2014
Publication date	May 24, 2016
Grant date	May 24, 2016

Abstract

A 3D display apparatus for providing a Pepper's Ghost effect. The apparatus includes a background set spaced apart from a viewing space such that a viewer in the viewing space has a line of sight to the background set. The apparatus also includes a mirrored surfaces fan, which includes a motor, a hub rotatable by the motor, and a plurality of fan blades attached in a spaced apart manner to the hub to rotate with the hub. In some cases, each of the fan blades has a reflective region on a side facing away from the background set. The apparatus also includes a display device with a screen displaying an image of an object. The screen is positioned at an offset angle in the range of 40 to 60 degrees from a rotation plane for the sides of the fan blades. Often, the display device includes a 3D autostereoscopic device.

First claim

I claim:

1. A virtual object display assembly for use with a background set, comprising:
a mirrors imaging assembly operable to intermittently and repeatedly present first a reflective region and second a transparent region, whereby the background set is viewable through the transparent region and is blocked from view by reflective region; and
a display device directing light associated with an object toward the reflective region, whereby the light associated with the object is intermittently reflected into a viewing space,
wherein the mirrors imaging assembly comprises a mirrored surfaces fan with a motor and a hub rotated by the motor about a rotation axis and wherein the mirrored surfaces fan further comprises a number of spaced apart fan blades each having a body with a side facing toward the viewing space and containing a reflective surface.

2. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the fan blade bodies is triangular shaped with a first end attached to the hub and a second wider end spaced apart from the hub.

3. The display assembly of claim 2 , wherein the second wider end is arcuate.

4. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mirrored surfaces fan has a duty cycle of blade area to transparent area in the range of 30 to 70 percent.

5. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least a subset of the fan blades each includes a diffuse surface along with the reflective surface on the side of the body facing toward the viewing space.

6. The display assembly of claim 5 , further comprising a projector projecting light onto the diffuse surfaces of the fan blades when rotated by the motor about the rotation axis, whereby a two dimensional image is viewable in a plane through which the fan blades rotate.

7. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the fan blades each comprises a curved blade body whereby rotation of the fan blades by the motor creates an intermittent spherical mirror or an intermittent parabolic mirror.

8. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the fan blades each comprises a blade body formed of flexible reflective or semi-transparent material whereby rotation of the fan blades by the motor causes the flexible blade bodies to extend outward via centripetal acceleration to form an intermittent mirror.

9. The display assembly of claim 1 , wherein the display device comprises a 2D or 3D display device with a screen operable to be illuminated to provide the light associated with the object.

10. The display assembly of claim 9 , wherein the screen of the display device and the side of the fan blade body defines an offset angle in the range of 40 to 50 degrees.

11. A 3D display apparatus, comprising:
a background set spaced apart from a viewing space, wherein a viewer in the viewing space has a line of sight to the background set;
a mirrored surfaces fan comprising a motor, a hub rotatable by the motor, and a plurality of fan blades attached in a spaced apart manner to the hub to rotate with the hub, wherein each of the fan blades has a reflective region on a side facing away from the background set; and
a display device with a screen displaying an image of an object, wherein the screen is positioned at an offset angle in the range of 40 to 60 degrees from a rotation plane for the sides of the fan blades.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the display device comprises a 3D autostereoscopic device.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the mirrored surfaces fan has a blade to space duty cycle of greater than about 40 percent.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a projector projecting light onto the side of the fan blades, whereby a 2D image is dispersed toward the viewing space.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein a diffuse region is provided adjacent the reflective region on one or more of the fan blades to provide an intermittent projection screen for the projector.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the motor rotates at a rate to provide a reflective region between the display device screen and the background set at least 15 times per second.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the fan blades each comprises a curved blade body whereby rotation of the fan blades by the motor creates an intermittent spherical mirror or an intermittent parabolic mirror.

18. The display assembly of claim 11 , wherein the fan blades each comprises a blade body formed of flexible reflective or semi-transparent material whereby rotation of the fan blades by the motor causes the flexible blade bodies to extend outward via centripetal acceleration to form an intermittent mirror.

19. The display assembly of claim 18 , wherein a speed of the rotation of the fan blades is selected to be within a predefined range to control a curvature of the formed, intermittent mirror, whereby the speed of the rotation defines a focal length and a position of displayed real or virtual images.

20. A virtual object display method, comprising:
illuminating a 3D object or operating a display device to provide an image of the 3D object on a display screen;
intermittently passing one or more reflective surfaces at an offset angle in the range of 40 to 60 degrees past the illuminated 3D object or the display screen with the image of the 3D object; and
projecting a 2D image onto the reflective surfaces when the reflective surfaces pass the display screen or illuminated 3D object, whereby light is dispersed by particles on the reflective surfaces.

21. A virtual object display method, comprising:
illuminating a 3D object or operating a display device to provide an image of the 3D object on a display screen;
intermittently passing one or more reflective surfaces at an offset angle in the range of 40 to 60 degrees past the illuminated 3D object or the display screen with the image of the 3D object;
intermittently passing one or more diffuse surfaces past the illuminated 3D object or the display screen; and
concurrently projecting a 2D image onto the diffuse surface when the diffuse surfaces are proximate to the illuminated 3D object or the display screen.

22. A virtual object display method, comprising:
illuminating a 3D object or operating a display device to provide an image of the 3D object on a display screen; and
intermittently passing one or more reflective surfaces at an offset angle in the range of 40 to 60 degrees past the illuminated 3D object or the display screen with the image of the 3D object,
wherein the intermittently passing is performed with a spinning mirrors fan including fan blades with a side covered at least partially with a reflective material.

23. A virtual object display assembly for use with a background set, comprising:
a mirrors imaging assembly operable to intermittently and repeatedly present first a reflective region and second a transparent region, whereby the background set is viewable through the transparent region and is blocked from view by reflective region; and
a display device directing light associated with an object toward the reflective region, whereby the light associated with the object is intermittently reflected into a viewing space,
wherein the display device comprises a 2D or 3D display device with a screen operable to be illuminated to provide the light associated with the object.

24. The display assembly of claim 23 , wherein the mirrors imaging assembly comprises a mirrored surfaces fan with a motor and a hub rotated by the motor about a rotation axis and whe

Assignees

• Disney Entpr Inc

Inventors

• Smithwick Quinn Y

Classifications

• G02B30/54

  the three-dimensional [3D] volume being generated by moving a two-dimensional [2D] surface, e.g. by vibrating or rotating the 2D surface · CPC title

• G03B21/562

  Screens moving during projection (G03B21/58 - G03B21/62 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02B27/2292 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G02B27/2285

  Physics · mapped topic

• G02B27/225

  Physics · mapped topic