2D/3D projector with rotating translucent cylinder for alternating light polarisation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9360609-B2
Application number	US-44800209-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2006
Priority date	Dec 18, 2006
Publication date	Jun 7, 2016
Grant date	Jun 7, 2016

Abstract

A 3D image projector having a translucent rotatable hollow cylinder, the hollow cylinder having differently polarized sections, and the projector being capable of passing a light beam generally orthogonally through a wall of the hollow cylinder is disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A 3D projector comprising:
a rotatable hollow cylinder having more than one differently polarizing sections;
three digital micromirror devices; and
a prism configured to split a light beam into three primary color components and to direct each of the primary color components separately to the three digital micromirror devices;
wherein a light beam is capable of being passed generally orthogonally through a wall of the hollow cylinder and wherein the 3D projector projects images that are perceived as 3D images; and
wherein the 3D projector has two modes, a 2D mode and a 3D mode, and the projector presents twice the number of frames per second in the 3D mode compared to the 2D mode.

2. The 3D projector according to claim 1 , wherein the light beam is passed through the wall of the hollow cylinder as the hollow cylinder is rotated about a central axis of the hollow cylinder.

3. The 3D projector according to claim 1 , wherein the differently polarizing sections are polarized as either P-polarizing or S-polarizing.

4. The 3D projector according to claim 3 , wherein each P-polarized section is generally circumferentially bounded by S-polarizing sections and each S-polarizing section is generally circumferentially bounded by P-polarizing sections.

5. The 3D projector according to claim 1 , wherein the differently polarizing sections are polarized as either clockwise circular polarizing or counter-clockwise circular polarizing.

6. The 3D projector according to claim 5 , wherein each clockwise circular polarizing section is generally circumferentially bounded by counter-clockwise circular polarizing sections and each counter-clockwise circular polarizing section is generally circumferentially bounded by clockwise circular polarizing sections.

7. The 3D projector according to claim 1 , wherein the polarizing sections are translucent and not color filters.

Assignees

• Yoon Youngshik
• Hunt Charles Bryan
• Schultz Mark Alan
• Thomson Licensing

Inventors

• Yoon Youngshik
• Hunt Charles Bryan
• Schultz Mark Alan

Classifications

• G02B30/25

  using polarisation techniques · CPC title

• G03B35/26

  using polarised or coloured light separating different viewpoint images · CPC title

• G03B21/14

  Details · CPC title

• H04N13/337

  using polarisation multiplexing · CPC title

• H04N9/3105

  for displaying all colours simultaneously, e.g. by using two or more electronic spatial light modulators (simultaneous projection in colour photography G03B33/10; beam splitting or combining systems per se G02B27/10) · CPC title