3D display devices with transient light scattering shutters
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A transient light scattering shutter comprising:
- first and second substrates;
a liquid crystalline material disposed between said first and second substrates, said material comprising a chiral liquid crystal; and
a voltage source coupled to said material and operative to provide;
a first electric field across said material to form a first transparent state, a second electric field across said material to form a second transparent state, only one of said first and second electric fields being present across said material at a given time, and a transition from one of said first and second electric fields to the other of said first and second electric fields by decreasing the voltage magnitude of one of said electric fields to zero volts and then increasing the voltage magnitude of the other of said electric fields from zero volts, said decreasing of voltage magnitude causing said material to form a transient light scattering state.
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Abstract
A transient light scattering shutter is provided that switches very quickly from an optically transparent state to a strongly light scattering state and vice versa by varying a voltage across the shutter. Multi-surface optical devices and multiplanar volumetric systems using a plurality of such transient light scattering shutters are also provided. These devices and systems generate high quality three-dimensional images that are viewable without special eyewear or headgear.
43 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A transient light scattering shutter comprising:
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first and second substrates;
a liquid crystalline material disposed between said first and second substrates, said material comprising a chiral liquid crystal; and
a voltage source coupled to said material and operative to provide;
a first electric field across said material to form a first transparent state, a second electric field across said material to form a second transparent state, only one of said first and second electric fields being present across said material at a given time, and a transition from one of said first and second electric fields to the other of said first and second electric fields by decreasing the voltage magnitude of one of said electric fields to zero volts and then increasing the voltage magnitude of the other of said electric fields from zero volts, said decreasing of voltage magnitude causing said material to form a transient light scattering state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system operative to generate three-dimensional images comprising:
a multi-surface optical device comprising;
a plurality of transient light scattering shutters arranged in an array, each said shutter comprising first and second substrates and a liquid crystalline material disposed between said first and second substrates, said liquid crystalline material comprising a chiral liquid crystal, each said shutter having a transient light scattering state and a transparent state, and a voltage source coupled to said shutters and operative to provide;
a first electric field across said material, a second electric field across said material, only one of said first and second electric fields being present across said material at a given time, and a transition from one of said first and second electric fields to the other of said first and second electric fields by decreasing the voltage magnitude of one of said electric fields to zero volts and then increasing the voltage magnitude of the other of said electric fields from zero volts; and
a first image projector operative to selectively project each image from a set of images onto a respective said shutter, said projected images together appearing as a three-dimensional image. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system operative to generate three-dimensional images comprising:
a multi-surface optical device comprising;
a plurality of transient light scattering shutters, each said shutter comprising first and second substrates and a liquid crystalline material disposed between said first and second substrates, each said shutter having a transient light scattering state and a transparent state, and a voltage source coupled to said shutters and operative to apply first and second electric fields to said material, only one of said first and second electric fields having a non-zero value being present across said material at a given time;
a heater to heat said liquid crystalline material; and
a first image projector operative to selectively project each image from a set of images onto a respective said shutter, said projected images together appearing as a three-dimensional image.
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22. A method of creating three-dimensional images using a transient light scattering shutter, said shutter comprising a liquid crystalline material, said material comprising a chiral liquid crystal, said method comprising:
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applying a first electric field to said shutter to form a first transparent state;
decreasing said first electric field to zero volts to form a transient light scattering state; and
applying a second electric field to said shutter to form a second transparent state. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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26. A method of creating three-dimensional images using a transient light scattering shutter, said method comprising:
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transforming said shutter into a first transparent state;
transforming said shutter into a transient light scattering state; and
transforming said shutter into a second transparent state.
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35. A method of creating three-dimensional images using a transient light scattering shutter, said shutter comprising a liquid crystalline material, said method comprising:
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heating said material;
transmitting greater than about 85% of incident visible spectrum light;
switching from a first transparent state to a transient light scattering state;
transmitting less than about 1% of incident visible spectrum light while in said transient light scattering state;
switching from said transient light scattering state to a second transparent state; and
transmitting greater than about 85% of incident visible spectrum light while in said second transparent state.
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40. A method of creating three-dimensional images using a transient light scattering shutter, said shutter comprising a liquid crystalline material disposed between first and second conducting layers, said material comprising a chiral liquid crystal, said method comprising:
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applying zero voltage to said first conducting layer;
applying to said second conducting layer a positive voltage operative to make said material transparent;
decreasing said positive voltage at said second conducting layer to zero volts to cause said material to form a transient light scattering state;
holding said zero volts at said second conducting layer; and
decreasing the voltage at said second conducting layer from zero volts to a negative voltage operative to make said material transparent. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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42. A method of creating three-dimensional images using a transient light scattering shutter, said shutter comprising a liquid crystalline material disposed between first and second conducting layers, said material comprising a chiral liquid crystal, said method comprising:
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applying zero voltage to said first conducting layer;
applying to said second conducting layer a positive voltage operative to make said material transparent;
increasing said zero voltage at said first conducting layer to a positive voltage substantially equal to said positive voltage at said second conducting layer to cause said material to form a transient light scattering state;
decreasing said positive voltage at said second conducting layer to zero volts; and
decreasing said positive voltage at said first conducting layer to zero volts to cause said material to form a transient light scattering state.
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43. A method of creating three-dimensional images using a transient light scattering shutter, said shutter comprising a liquid crystalline material disposed between first and second conducting layers, said material comprising a chiral liquid crystal, said method comprising:
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applying zero voltage to said first conducting layer;
applying to said second conducting layer a positive voltage operative to make said material transparent;
decreasing said positive voltage at said second conducting layer to zero volts to cause said material to form a transient light scattering state;
holding said zero volts at said second conducting layer; and
increasing the voltage at said second conducting layer from zero volts to said positive voltage.
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44. Apparatus for creating three-dimensional images using a transient light scattering shutter, said apparatus comprising:
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means for transforming said shutter into a first transparent state;
means for transforming said shutter into a transient light scattering state; and
means for transforming said shutter into a second transparent state. - View Dependent Claims (45)
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46. Apparatus for creating three-dimensional images, said apparatus comprising a liquid crystalline material, said apparatus comprising:
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means for heating said material;
means for transmitting greater than about 85% of incident visible spectrum light;
means for switching from a first transparent state to a transient light scattering state in less than about 1.56 msec;
means for transmitting less than about is 1% of incident visible spectrum light while in said transient light scattering state;
means for switching from said transient light scattering state to a second transparent state in less than about 2.73 msec; and
means for transmitting greater than about 85% of incident visible spectrum light while in said second transparent state.
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Specification