ELECTRONIC IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD OF ELECTRONICALLY RENDERING A WAVEFRONT

• US 20100073376A1
• Filed: 11/16/2007
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Schmale, Peter Christiaan
• Application Number:
  US12/444,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20100073376A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/440
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0112 comprising device for genereting colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0134 of stereoscopic type
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0174 holographic
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/22 of the stereoscopic type
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0408 Total internal reflection [TIR] holograms, e.g. edge lit or substrate mode holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/08 Synthesising holograms, i.e. holograms synthesized from objects or objects from hologramsusing electric digital computers G06F; G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/2249 Holobject properties
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/2294 Addressing the hologram to an active spatial light modulator
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2223 Particular relationship between light source, hologram and observer
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2231 Reflection reconstruction
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2242 Multiple viewing windows
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2271 RGB holobject
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/2297 using frame sequential, e.g. for reducing speckle noise
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/262 not in optical contact G03H1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2210/30 3D object
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2222/18 RGB trichrome light
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2222/34 Multiple light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2225/52 Reflective modulator
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2225/60 : Multiple SLMs
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2227/02 : Handheld portable device, e.g. holographic camera, mobile holographic display
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2270/55 : being an optical element, e.g. spectacles

Abstract

An electronic wavefront device (10) comprises a controller (32) configured to provide a wavefront rendering signal and at least one wavefront rendering device (12, 14) coupled to said controller. The at least one wavefront rendering device is configured to produce a holographic wavefront on a respective plane of the at least one wavefront rendering device in response to the wavefront rendering signal. The holographic wavefront on the respective plane is configured to reproduce an incoming wavefront that would otherwise be incident on the respective plane if an object or scene being reproduced from the incoming wavefront were actually in front of the at least one wavefront rendering element.

Claims

1. An electronic wavefront device comprising:

a controller configured to provide a wavefront rendering signal; and

at least one wavefront rendering device coupled to said controller and configured to produce a holographic wavefront on a respective plane of the at least one wavefront rendering device in response to the wavefront rendering signal, wherein the holographic wavefront on the respective plane is configured to reproduce an incoming wavefront that would otherwise be incident on the respective plane if an object or scene being reproduced from the incoming wavefront were actually in front of the at least one wavefront rendering element.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the holographic wavefront comprises an image that corresponds to a virtual image of the object or scene, that if the object or scene existed, would appear as if at a given distance in front of the wavefront plane of the respective wavefront rendering device, further in response to being viewed at a second distance, from an opposite side of the wavefront plane of the respective wavefront rendering device.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the at least one wavefront rendering device comprises two wavefront rendering elements, the wavefront device further comprising:

a frame, wherein the two wavefront rendering elements are coupled to the frame in a manner adapted to position the wavefront plane of each of the two wavefront rendering elements at the second distance in front of an observer'"'"'s eyes.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the frame comprises one selected from the group consisting of a hand-held non-wearable frame, a wearable frame, an eyeglass frame, and a helmet.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a wearable eyeglass frame, wherein the at least one wavefront rendering device comprises two wavefront rendering elements coupled to the eyeglass frame and adapted to be positioned in front of a wearer'"'"'s eyes.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the holographic wavefront further comprises a light regulating pattern and corresponding wavefront configured to also shade light incident upon a first side of the at least one wavefront rendering device, from the first side to an opposite side of the at least one wavefront rendering device.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the holographic wavefront comprises a pattern.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the pattern comprises one selected from the group consisting of a static adjustable holographic pattern, a dynamically computed hologram, information content of a computer screen, and a display of a 3D picture or a 3D video.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wavefront rendering device is further configured to simulate an ophthalmic lens element.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wavefront rendering device comprises two wavefront rendering elements, the device further comprising:

an eyeglass frame, wherein the two wavefront rendering elements are embodied within the eyeglass frame.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein each wavefront rendering device includes a transparent element portion and a hologram generating portion.

12. The device of claim 11, further wherein the transparent portion comprises holographic glass.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the hologram generating portion comprises red, green, and blue lasers configured to project laser beams into the transparent element portion.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the hologram generating portion further comprises an LCD portion.

15. The device of claim 14, further wherein the LCD portion includes a reflective LCD portion.

16. The device of claim 14, further wherein the LCD portion includes a transmissive LCD portion.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one wavefront rendering device comprises a first wavefront rendering element and a second wavefront rendering element, wherein the first wavefront rendering element is responsive to first control signals for rendering a first wavefront, and wherein the second wavefront rendering element is responsive to second control signals for rendering a second wavefront.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the first and second wavefronts correspond to optical shading wavefronts.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the first wavefront corresponds to a first ophthalmic prescription and the second wavefront corresponds to a second ophthalmic prescription.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the first and second ophthalmic prescriptions comprise ophthalmic prescriptions for a pair of eyeglasses.

21. An electronic wavefront device comprising:

a controller configured to provide a wavefront rendering signal;

two wavefront rendering elements coupled to said controller and configured to produce a holographic wavefront on a respective plane of the wavefront rendering elements in response to the wavefront rendering signal, wherein the holographic wavefront on the respective plane is configured to reproduce an incoming wavefront that would otherwise be incident on the respective plane if an object or scene being reproduced from the incoming wavefront were actually in front of the respective wavefront rendering element, wherein the holographic wavefront further comprises an image that corresponds to a virtual image of the object or scene, that if the object or scene existed, would appear as if at a given distance in front of the wavefront plane of the respective wavefront rendering element, further in response to being viewed at a second distance, from an opposite side of the wavefront plane of the respective wavefront rendering element; and

a frame, wherein the two wavefront rendering elements are coupled to the frame in a manner adapted to position the wavefront plane of each of the two wavefront rendering elements at the second distance in front of an observer'"'"'s eyes.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein each wavefront rendering element includes a transparent element portion and a hologram generating portion, further wherein the transparent portion comprises holographic glass and wherein the hologram generating portion comprises red, green, and blue lasers configured to project laser beams into the transparent element portion.

23. A method of electronically rendering a wavefront comprising:

configuring a controller to provide a wavefront rendering signal; and

configuring at least one wavefront rendering device to produce a wavefront on a respective plane of the at least one wavefront rendering device in response to the wavefront rendering signal, wherein the wavefront on the respective plane reproduces an incoming wavefront that would otherwise be incident on the respective plane if an object or scene being reproduced from the incoming wavefront were actually in front of the at least one wavefront rendering element.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein configuring the at least one wavefront rendering device to produce a wavefront comprises producing an image that corresponds to a virtual image of the object or scene, that if the object or scene existed, would appear as if at a given distance in front of the wavefront plane of the respective wavefront rendering device, further in response to being viewed at a second distance, from an opposite side of the wavefront plane of the respective wavefront rendering device.

25. The method of claim 24, further wherein configuring the at least one wavefront rendering device comprises configuring two wavefront rendering elements, the method further comprising:

coupling the two wavefront rendering elements to a frame in a manner adapted to position the wavefront plane of each of the two wavefront rendering elements at the second distance in front of an observer'"'"'s eyes in response to the frame being worn by the observer.