Method and apparatus for stereoscopic display using column interleaved data with digital light processing

• US 20030112507A1
• Filed: 01/14/2002
• Published: 06/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VRex, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VRex, Inc.
• Inventors: Divelbiss, Adam, Swift, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,180,554 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/464
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/008 in the form of devices for effecting sequential colour changes, e.g. colour wheels
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/23 using wavelength separation, e.g. using anaglyph techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/24 involving temporal multiplexing, e.g. using sequentially activated left and right shutters
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/25 using polarisation techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 33/08 Sequential recording or projection G03B33/02, G03B33/04, G03B33/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/16 by sequential viewing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0235 Field-sequential colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0247 Flicker reduction other than flicker reduction circuits used for single beam cathode-ray tubes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/002 to project the image of a two-dimensional display, such as an array of light emitting or modulating elements or a CRT
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/346 based on modulation of the reflection angle, e.g. micromirrors micromirrors devices per se G02B26/0833
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/10 Processing, recording or transmission of stereoscopic or multi-view image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/15 for colour aspects of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/189 Recording image signals; Reproducing recorded image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/194 Transmission of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/239 using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance H04N13/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/286 having separate monoscopic and stereoscopic modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/324 Colour aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/334 using spectral multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/337 using polarisation multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/341 : using temporal multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/359 : Switching between monoscopic and stereoscopic modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/361 : Reproducing mixed stereoscopic images; Reproducing mixed monoscopic and stereoscopic images, e.g. a stereoscopic image overlay window on a monoscopic image background
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/363 : using image projection screens volumetric display H04N13/388
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/365 : using digital micromirror devices [DMD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 : Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/597 : specially adapted for multi-view video sequence encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/7466 : Control circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7458 : the modulator being an array of deformable mirrors, e.g. digital micromirror device [DMD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3114 : by using a sequential colour filter producing one colour at a time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3188 : Scale or resolution adjustment scaling in general G06T3/40; resolution modifying circuits for displays in general G09G5/391

Abstract

The invention has two main embodiments, a first called column switching and blanking and a second embodiment called doubling. The first embodiment is a projector for displaying a stereoscopic image with projector using one or more digital micromirror devices positioned into a plurality of columns and rows. The projector itself includes a light source, an optical system, a video processing system and a data system for driving the micromirror devices. The data subsystem provides separate data to a plurality of column pairs of the micromirrors. The projector includes a stereoscopic control circuit having a first state of the control circuit for inputting a first eye view of the stereoscopic image and causing the micromirrors of a first column of each column pair to be in various on and off states during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image and for causing all of said micromirrors of a second column of each column pair to be in an off state during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image. A second state of the control circuit is used for inputting a second eye view of the stereoscopic image and causes the micromirrors of the second column of each column pair to be in various on and off states during the second eye view of the stereoscopic image and for causing all of the micromirrors of the first column of each column pair to be in an off state during the second eye view of said stereoscopic image. The second embodiment is a projector for displaying a stereoscopic image with the projector using one or more digital micromirror devices positioned into a plurality of columns and rows. The projector includes a light source, an optical system, a video processing system and a data system for driving said micromirror devices. The data subsystem provides separate data to a plurality of column pairs of the micromirrors. The projector includes a stereoscopic control circuit having a first state for inputting a first eye view of the stereoscopic image and causing each micromirror of each column pair to be in various but identical on and off states during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image. A second state of the control circuit for inputs a second eye view of the stereoscopic image and causes each micromirror of each column pair to be in various but identical on and off states during the second eye view of the stereoscopic image.

Claims

1. A 3D stereoscopic projection system that utilizes a digital micro-mirror display to optically switch between left and right eye perspective images in a flicker free fashion and for which said switching between left and right eye perspective images is independent of the rate at which image data is received by said 3D stereoscopic projection system.

2. The system of claim 1 for which the said switching between said left and said right eye perspective images may or may not be independent of any clock or index signal internal to said 3D stereoscopic projection system.

3. The system of claim 1 for which said switching between said left and said right eye perspective images is synchronized to a color wheel index signal for convenience.

4. The system of claim 1 for which a spatio-temporal stereoscopic image multiplexing method is used to decouple the said switching between left and right eye perspective images from the input image data rate.

5. The system of claim 1 for which the said spatio-temporal stereoscopic image multiplexing method consists of a means and apparatus to convert incoming stereoscopic image data formats into a column multiplexed format and which consists of a means and apparatus to optically encode a sequence of left-right images for transmission to an observer.

6. The system of claim 1 for which the said spatio-temporal stereoscopic image multiplexing method consists, in part, of a 3D Data Formatter that (a) converts stereoscopic image data encoded in one of several formats including field sequential stereoscopic format, frame sequential (“

page-flipped”

) stereoscopic format, over-under stereoscopic format, side-by-side stereoscopic format, row interleaved stereoscopic format, and column interleaved stereoscopic format into the column interleaved stereoscopic format with said column interleaved format being a spatial method for encoding a stereoscopic image into a single image data stream, (b) demultiplexes stereoscopic image data encoded in one of several formats including field sequential stereoscopic format, frame sequential (“

page-flipped”

) stereoscopic format, over-under stereoscopic format, side-by-side stereoscopic format, row interleaved stereoscopic format, and column interleaved stereoscopic format, into two separate left and right image data channels for the purpose of performing image interpolation on each left or right image data separately, and (c) converts the image data frame rate from any standard frame rate on the input, to a single pre-determined image data frame rate on the output.

7. The system of claim 1 for which the said spatio-temporal stereoscopic image multiplexing method consists, in part, of a 3D Display formatter that converts spatially multiplexed stereoscopic image data in the column-alternate format into a time-sequential format for transmission to an observer by the DMD Display.

8. The system of claim 1 for which a column blanking method and apparatus is used to convert said spatially multiplexed stereoscopic image data in the column-alternate format into the said time-sequential format for transmission to an observer by the DMD Display.

9. The system of claim 1 for which a column doubling method and apparatus is used to convert said spatially multiplexed stereoscopic image data in the column-alternate format into the said time-sequential format for transmission to an observer by the DMD Display.

10. The system of claim 1 for which the 3D stereoscopic projection system is constructed using a single DMD chip and three-color color-wheel.

11. The system of claim 1 for which the 3D stereoscopic projection system is constructed using a single DMD chip and a four-color color-wheel.

12. The system of claim 1 for which the 3D stereoscopic projection system is constructed using a two DMD chip display and a two-color color-wheel.

13. The system of claim 1 for which the 3D stereoscopic projection system is constructed using a two DMD chip display and a three-color color-wheel.

14. The system of claim 1 for which the 3D stereoscopic projection system is constructed using a three DMD chip display and no color-wheel.

15. The system of claim 1 for which a pair of active shutter glasses are used to decode left and right image pairs that are optically encoded in a time-sequential fashion.

16. The system of claim 1 for which an internal optical filter A reflects left handed circularly polarized light in the infrared range and which transmits left and right handed circularly polarized in the visible region and right handed circularly polarized light in the infrared region and for which an internal optical filter B reflects right handed circularly polarized light in the both the visible and infrared ranges and transmits left handed circularly polarized light in the both the visible and infrared ranges resulting in a combination filter that transmits only left handed circularly polarized light in the visible range.

17. The system of claim 1 for which in internal ¼

-wave retardation plate is used to convert left handed circularly polarized light in the visible region to linearly polarized light in the visible region, and for which an internal switchable liquid crystal rotator is used to switch the output polarization state of the projector from a linearly polarized state P1, to an orthogonal linearly polarization state P2 and for which an internal 3d image index signal is used to switch between said polarization states with said 3D image index being independent of the DMD display frame rate and independent of the input image data frame rate, and for which passive linearly polarized glasses are used to decode the optically encoded left-right image sequence.

18. The system of claim 1 for which a switchable ½

-wave retardation plate is used to switch the output polarization state of the projector from left handed circularly polarized light to right handed circularly polarized light and for which an internal D image index signal is used to switch between the to circular polarization states with said 3D image index being independent of the DMD display frame rate and independent of the input image data frame rate, and for which passive circularly polarized glasses are used to decode the optically encoded left-right image sequence.

19. The system of claim 1 for which an external linear polarizing plate is used to polarize the projector output to a P1 state and for which a switchable liquid crystal rotator is used to switch the projector output polarization state between the said P1 state and an orthogonal linearly polarized state P2, and for which an internal 3d image index signal is used to switch between said polarization states with said 3D image index being independent of the DMD display frame rate and independent of the input image data frame rate, and for which passive linearly polarized glasses are used to decode the optically encoded left-right image sequence.

20. The system of claim 1 for which an external passive ¼

-wave plate is used to convert linearly polarized light output from the projector system to circularly polarized light and for which passive circularly polarized glasses are used to decode the optically encoded left-right image sequence.

21. A projector for displaying a stereoscopic image, said projector using one or more digital micromirror devices positioned into a plurality of columns and rows, said projector including a light source, an optical system, a video processing system and a data system for driving said micromirror devices, said data subsystem providing separate data to a plurality of column pairs of said micromirrors wherein said projector includes a stereoscopic control circuit comprising:

a first state of said control circuit for inputting a first eye view of said stereoscopic image and causing said micromirrors of a first column of each column pair to be in various on and off states during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image and for causing all of said micromirrors of a second column of each column pair to be in an off state during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image; and

a second state of said control circuit for inputting a second eye view of said stereoscopic image and causing said micromirrors of said second column of each column pair to be in various on and off states during said second eye view of said stereoscopic image and for causing all of said micromirrors of said first column of each column pair to be in an off state during said second eye view of said stereoscopic image.

22. A projector for displaying an image, said projector using one or more digital micromirror devices positioned into a plurality of columns and rows, said projector including a light source, an optical system, a video processing system and a data system for driving said micromirror devices, said data subsystem providing separate data to a plurality of column pairs of said micromirrors wherein said projector includes a stereoscopic control circuit comprising:

a first state of a control circuit for inputting a first eye view of said stereoscopic image and causing each micromirror of each column pair to be in various but identical on and off states during said first eye view of said stereoscopic image; and

a second state of said control circuit for inputting a second eye view of said stereoscopic image and causing each micromirror of each column pair to be in various but identical on and off states during said second field of said stereoscopic image.