MULTIVIEW 3D WRIST WATCH

• US 20160132025A1
• Filed: 01/19/2016
• Published: 05/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lelis, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Leia Inc.
• Inventors: Taff, Brian, Fattal, David A., Beausoleil, Raymond G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,785,119 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/33 involving directional light or back-light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/36 using refractive optical elements, e.g. prisms, in the optical path between the images and the observer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/56 by projecting aerial or floating images
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1819 Plural gratings positioned on the same surface, e.g. array of gratings plural diffractive elements positioned sequentially along the optical path G02B27/4272
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1842 Gratings for image generation G02B5/1847 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/2294 Addressing the hologram to an active spatial light modulator
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0035 constructional
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0041 Illumination devices

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.

Claims

1. A multiview 3D wrist watch, comprising:

clock circuitry to determine a time;

a plurality of light sources to generate a plurality of input planar lightbeams;

a directional backplane having a plurality of directional pixels to scatter the plurality of input planar lightbeams into a plurality of directional lightbeams, each directional lightbeam having a direction and an angular spread controlled by characteristics of a directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels; and

a shutter layer to receive the time from the clock circuitry and to modulate the plurality of directional lightbeams to generate a 3D time view.

2. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 1, further comprising a spacer layer positioned above the directional backplane.

3. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 2, wherein the shutter layer is positioned above the spacer layer.

4. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 1, wherein the directional backplane is substantially planar.

5. The multiview 3D wrist watch 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 3D wrist watch of claim 5, wherein the characteristics of a directional pixel comprise a grating length, a grating width, a grating orientation, a grating pitch, and a grating duty cycle of the patterned grating.

7. The multiview 3D wrist watch 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 3D wrist watch 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 directional pixel.

9. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 1, wherein the shutter layer comprises a plurality of modulators.

10. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 1, wherein the directional backplane comprises a polygonal slab of transparent material.

11. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 1, wherein the directional backplane comprises a circular slab of transparent material.

12. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of directional pixels comprises a plurality of polygonal directional pixels.

13. The multiview 3D wrist watch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of directional pixels comprises a plurality of circular directional pixels.

14. A method for generating a 3D time view in a multiview 3D wrist watch, the method comprising:

determining a time to be displayed by the wrist watch;

receiving a plurality of input planar lightbeams from a plurality of light sources in the wrist watch;

controlling a shutter layer to modulate a plurality of directional lightbeams generated by a directional backplane in the wrist watch; and

generating a 3D time view from the modulated directional lightbeams.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising scattering the plurality of input planar lightbeams into the plurality of directional lightbeams generated by the directional backplane, each directional lightbeam having a direction and an angular spread controlled by characteristics of a directional pixel in a plurality of directional pixels in the directional backplane.