Multiview display screen and multiview mobile device using same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9785119-B2
Application number	US-201615001092-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 19, 2016
Priority date	Jan 31, 2013
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

A multiview 3D wrist watch includes clock circuitry to determine a time, and a plurality of light sources to generate a plurality of input planar lightbeams. A directional backplane having a plurality of directional pixels scatters the plurality of input planar lightbeams into a plurality of directional lightbeams. Each directional lightbeam has a direction and an angular spread controlled by characteristics of a directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels. A shutter layer receives the time from the clock circuitry and modulates the plurality of directional lightbeams to generate a 3D time view.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A multiview display screen, comprising:
a plurality of light sources to generate a plurality of input planar lightbeams;
a directional backplane configured to guide the plurality of input planar lightbeams, the directional backplane having a plurality of directional pixels configured to scatter a fraction of the guided input planar lightbeams out of a surface of the directional backplane into a plurality of directional lightbeams corresponding to directions of different views of a three-dimensional (3D) image, each directional lightbeam having a direction and angular spread controlled by characteristics of a directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels; and
a shutter layer configured to modulate the plurality of directional lightbeams to generate the 3D image.

2. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , further comprising a spacer layer positioned above the directional backplane.

3. The multiview display screen of claim 2 , wherein the shutter layer is positioned above the spacer layer.

4. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , wherein the directional backplane comprises a slab of transparent material that is substantially planar, the plurality of input planar lightbeams being configured to propagate within a plane of the substantially planar transparent material slab.

5. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , wherein each directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels comprises a patterned grating with a plurality of substantially parallel grooves.

6. The multiview display screen of claim 5 , wherein the characteristics of a directional pixel comprise one or more of a grating length, a grating width, a grating orientation, a grating pitch, and a grating duty cycle of the patterned grating.

7. The multiview display screen of claim 6 , wherein the grating pitch and the grating orientation of the patterned grating control the direction of a directional lightbeam scattered by the directional pixel.

8. The multiview display screen of claim 6 , wherein the grating length and the grating width of the patterned grating control the angular spread of a directional lightbeam scattered by a by the directional pixel.

9. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , wherein the shutter layer comprises a plurality of modulators.

10. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , wherein the directional backplane comprises a slab of transparent material having a polygonal shape.

11. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , wherein the directional backplane comprises a slab of transparent material having a circular shape.

12. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of directional pixels comprises a plurality of polygonal directional pixels.

13. The multiview display screen of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of directional pixels comprises a plurality of circular directional pixels.

14. A multiview 3D wrist watch comprising the multiview display screen of claim 1 , the multiview 3D wrist watch further comprising clock circuitry to determine a time, wherein the shutter layer is further configured to receive the time from the clock circuitry and to modulate the plurality of directional lightbeams according to the received time, the 3D image comprising a 3D time view.

15. A method of generating a 3D view in a multiview display screen, the method comprising:
guiding a plurality of input planar lightbeams from a plurality of light sources within a directional backplane comprising a slab of transparent material;
generating a plurality of directional lightbeams by scattering a fraction of the guided input planar lightbeams out of the transparent material slab using a plurality of directional pixels of the directional backplane, a directional pixel of the directional pixel plurality comprising a patterned grating to produce directional lightbeams of the plurality of the directional lightbeams having a predetermined angle and angular spread corresponding to different predetermined views of a 3D image; and
modulating the plurality of directional lightbeams using a shutter layer to generate the 3D image.

16. A multiview mobile device comprising:
a plurality of light sources to generate input planar lightbeams;
a directional backplane comprising a slab of transparent material configured to guide the input planar lightbeams;
a plurality of directional pixels in the directional backplane configured to scatter a fraction of the input planar lightbeams into a plurality of directional lightbeams, each directional lightbeam having a direction and an angular spread controlled by a characteristic of a directional pixel of the directional pixel plurality; and
a shutter layer configured to modulate the plurality of directional lightbeams to provide three-dimensional (3D) views of a 3D image,
wherein each of the directional pixels comprises a patterned grating, different ones of the modulated directional lightbeams having controlled directions and angular spreads to provide different predetermined views of the 3D views.

17. The multiview mobile device of claim 16 , wherein the patterned grating comprises a plurality of substantially parallel grooves.

18. The multiview mobile device of claim 16 , wherein the characteristic of a directional pixel comprises one or more of a grating length, a grating width, a grating orientation, a grating pitch, and a grating duty cycle.

19. The multiview mobile device of claim 16 , wherein the characteristic comprises a grating pitch and a grating direction, and wherein the grating pitch and the grating direction are configured to control the direction of a directional light beam.

Assignees

• Leia Inc

Inventors

• Taff Brian
• Fattal David A
• Beausoleil Raymond G

Classifications

• G02B5/1842

  Gratings for image generation (G02B5/1847 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G04G9/0041 Primary

  Illumination devices · CPC title

• G04G9/0035

  constructional · CPC title

• G02B30/56

  by projecting aerial or floating images · CPC title

• G02B5/1819

  Plural gratings positioned on the same surface, e.g. array of gratings (plural diffractive elements positioned sequentially along the optical path G02B27/4272) · CPC title