SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PRODUCING NARROWBAND IMAGES

• US 20150138053A1
• Filed: 11/18/2013
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Aiden, Erez Lieberman, Eckhoff, Philip A., Gates, William, Hagelstein, Peter L., Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Langer, Robert, Leuthardt, Eric C., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Schnall-Levin, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 10,163,403 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/88
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1323 Arrangements for providing a switchable viewing angle
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2358/00 Arrangements for display data security
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3216 using a passive matrix
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3413 Details of control of colour illumination sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/36 using liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/334 using spectral multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/40 Privacy aspects, i.e. devices showing different images to different viewers, the images not being viewpoints of the same scene

Abstract

A system may produce images including narrow-bandwidth colors. One or more sets of the narrow-bandwidth colors may be selected to be interpreted as substantially a same color by a user. The system may include a light source configured to produce the narrow-bandwidth colors, and/or narrow-passband filters may create narrow-bandwidth colors from light emitted by broad-spectrum light sources or color sources. Spatial and/or time multiplexing may be used to create separate narrow-bandwidth colors interpreted as substantially a same color by the user. For example, the light source and/or the narrow-passband filter elements may be adjustable and may alternate between emission of two or more narrow-bandwidth colors. A viewing device may include filters allowing the user to selectively filter the narrow-bandwidth colors. The user may filter the narrow-bandwidth colors to separate a stereoscopic image pair, to view a user-specific image, to view desired content obfuscated by an obfuscating image, and/or the like.

Claims

1. A direct-view display system for producing images comprising narrow bandwidth colors, the system comprising:

a plurality of narrow-band light sources including a first light source configured to selectively emit light in a first narrow band and a second narrow band;

a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising a first liquid crystal element configured to selectively control transmission intensity of light received from the first light source;

a control mechanism configured to display an image by;

instructing the first light source to sequentially emit light in the first narrow band and the second narrow band, and

selectively instructing the first liquid crystal element to pass a first intensity of light from the first light source,

wherein the first and second narrow bands are selected to be interpreted as substantially a same color by a user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control mechanism is configured to cause the plurality of pixels to display a first image using light in the first narrow band and to display a second image using light in the second narrow band.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first and second images form a stereoscopic pair when viewed by the user through filters including a first lens configured to block at least the first narrow band and a second lens configured to block at least the second narrow band.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the first image comprises a desired image and the second image comprises an obfuscating image.

16. The system of claim 2, wherein the first image comprises an image specific to a first user and the second image comprises an image specific to a second user.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the first light source comprises a broad-spectrum light source and a first narrow-passband filter.

26. The system of claim 23, further comprising a mechanical interchange mechanism configured to replace the first narrow-passband filter with another narrow-passband filter selected from a set of narrow-passband filters.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the mechanical interchange mechanism comprises a color wheel.

4-8. -8. (canceled)

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17-22. -22. (canceled)

24-25. -25. (canceled)

28-69. -69. (canceled)

70. A direct-view display system for producing images comprising narrow bandwidth colors, the system comprising:

a plurality of narrow-band light sources including a first light source configured to emit light in a first narrow band and a second light source configured to emit light in a second narrow band;

a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising at least one liquid crystal element configured to selectively control transmission intensity of light received from the first and second light sources;

a control mechanism configured to display an image by;

instructing the first light source and the second light source to emit light, and

selectively instructing the at least one liquid crystal element to pass a first intensity of light from the first light source and a second intensity of light from the second light source,

wherein the first and second narrow bands are selected to be interpreted as substantially a same color by a user.

86. The system of claim 70, wherein the plurality of narrow-band light sources further include a third light source configured to emit light in a third narrow band, and wherein the third narrow band is selected to be interpreted as substantially the same color as the first and second narrow bands by the user.

90. The system of claim 86, wherein the control mechanism is configured to cause the plurality of pixels to display a first stereoscopic image pair using light in the first and second narrow bands and a second stereoscopic image pair using light in the third narrow band and a fourth narrow band.

104. The system of claim 70, wherein the first light source comprises a narrow-spectrum light source.

105. The system of claim 104, wherein the narrow-spectrum light source comprises one selected from the group consisting of a laser, a phosphor, and a light-emitting diode (“

LED”

).

106. The system of claim 104, wherein the narrow-spectrum light source comprises an organic light-emitting diode (“

OLED”

).

122. The system of claim 70, wherein the control mechanism is configured to adjust a first intensity of light in the first narrow band to produce a first color perceived by the user to match a second color produced using light in the second narrow band.

123. The system of claim 122, wherein the control mechanism is configured to compute a gamma correction to determine the adjustment for the intensity of light in the first narrow band.

134. The system of claim 70, wherein each pixel comprises a mosaic of multilayer filters, and wherein the mosaic of multilayer filters comprises a plurality of color filter elements.

135. The system of claim 134, wherein each pixel comprises a plurality of liquid crystal elements corresponding to the plurality of color filter elements.

136. The system of claim 134, wherein the plurality of color filter elements includes a plurality of narrow-passband filter elements.

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107-121. -121. (canceled)

124-133. -133. (canceled)

137. (canceled)

138. A method for producing direct-view images comprising narrow bandwidth colors, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of narrow-band light sources including providing a first light source configured to selectively emit light in a first narrow band and a second narrow band;

providing a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising a first liquid crystal element configured to selectively control transmission intensity of light received from the first light source;

providing a control mechanism configured to display an image by;

instructing the first light source to sequentially emit light in the first narrow band and the second narrow band, and

selectively instructing the first liquid crystal element to pass a first intensity of light from the first light source,

wherein the first and second narrow bands are selected to be interpreted as substantially a same color by a user.

181. The method of claim 138, wherein providing a control mechanism comprises providing a control mechanism configured to change an emission spectrum of the first light source from the first narrow band to the second narrow band.

182. The method of claim 181, wherein providing a control mechanism comprises providing a control mechanism configured to change the emission spectrum by adjusting a control voltage to the first light source.

183. The method of claim 181, wherein providing a control mechanism comprises providing a control mechanism configured to change the emission spectrum by adjusting a modulation frequency to the first light source.

184. The method of claim 181, wherein providing a control mechanism comprises providing a control mechanism configured to change the emission spectrum by adjusting a drive current to the first light source.

185. The method of claim 181, wherein providing a control mechanism comprises providing a control mechanism configured to change the emission spectrum by adjusting a temperature of the first light source.

139-180. -180. (canceled)

186-206. -206. (canceled)

207. A method for producing direct-view images comprising narrow bandwidth colors, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of narrow-band light sources including;

providing a first light source configured to emit light in a first narrow band, and

providing a second light source configured to emit light in a second narrow band;

providing a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising at least one liquid crystal element configured to selectively control transmission intensity of light received from the first and second light sources;

providing a control mechanism configured to display an image by;

instructing the first light source and the second light source to emit light, and

selectively instructing the at least one liquid crystal element to pass a first intensity of light from the first light source and a second intensity of light from the second light source,

wherein the first and second narrow bands are selected to be interpreted as substantially a same color by a user.

264. The method of claim 207, wherein providing a first light source comprises providing a first light source configured to emit light with a first bandwidth between approximately one nanometer and 50 nanometers.

265. The method of claim 264, wherein the first bandwidth is selected from the group consisting of one nanometer, three nanometers, and 10 nanometers.

266. The method of claim 207, wherein the first and second narrow bands are near an anticipated peak sensitivity of photoreceptor cones of a human eye.

267. The method of claim 207, wherein the first and second narrow bands are selected to avoid a steep slope section of an anticipated photoreceptor cone sensitivity curve for a human eye.

268. The method of claim 207, wherein the first and second narrow bands are selected to produce a desired color gamut for a human eye.

269. The method of claim 207, wherein the first and second narrow bands are selected to minimize detectability of color differences between the first and second narrow bands by a human eye.

274. The method of claim 207, wherein the same color is selected from the group consisting of red, yellow, green, and blue.

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