Novel viewing screen

• US 4,309,074 A
• Filed: 08/22/1979
• Issued: 01/05/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Michael S. Granieri Jr
• Original Assignee: Michael S. Granieri Jr
• Inventors: Granieri, Michael S. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Corbin, John K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sugarman, Scott J.
• Application Number:
  US06/068,663
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 358/89, 353/10, 350/144, 350/180, 350/295, 350/452, 313/474
• US Class Current: 359/478
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/08 with discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lens diffractive Fresnel lenses G02B5/1876
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2229/8901 Fixing of optical components to the vessel
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2229/8926 Active components, e.g. LCD's, indicators, illuminators and moving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2229/893 using lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 29/89 Optical or photographic arrangements structurally combined or co-operating with the vessel H01J29/866 and H01J29/868 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/395 with depth sampling, i.e. the volume being constructed from a stack or sequence of 2D image planes

Abstract

A thin rectangular hollow-boxed viewing screen containing a thin, flexible, soft, convex Fresnel lens; is placed and aligned in front of a T.V. set. Audio sound waves are used to continuously vary the radius of curvature, the focal position, the angle of incidence, effective thickness and shape of the lens medium. All of these changes are made in a continuous and rapid manner that produces pseudo three-dimensional images from a two-dimensional source. The rectangular box-like viewing screen is simple in design and construction; economical to manufacture, easy to install and use, all with no changes or modifications to the television set required.

Claims

1. A novel viewing screen comprised of:

a boxed-rectangular hollow transparent housing having six enclosed sides with the front and back sides having the same cross sectional area as a two-dimensional image source to be viewed and easily aligned and adaptable to said image source;

a thin, flat, soft, flexible convex Fresnel type lens structure mounted and positioned adjacent and parallel between the front and back sides of the housing and dividing the housing into two chambers;

means for supplying audio energy to set chambers to vibrate Fresnel lens structure at a frequency above the flicker frequency of the human eye to thereby give said two-dimensional image source the appearance of three-dimensions.

2. The novel viewing screen of claim 1 adapted to the face of a T.V. receiver and further comprised of:

a curved housing contoured to the shape of the face of the T.V. receiver and attached to said T.V. receiver;

said Fresnel lens structure mounted and positioned adjacent and parallel between said front side and said back side of said housing, dividing said housing into two equal chambers, with each chamber having an entrance hole that allows audio sound waves to be fed to or piped to said chambers.

3. The novel viewing screen of claim 2 wherein said Fresnel lens structure is comprised of two almost flat, thin, and flexible convex lens;

forming a true double convex lens with an enclosed inner chamber; and

wherein the double convex lens is placed and mounted adjacent and parallel between said front side and said back side of said housing, dividing the housing into said two equal chambers, each having an entrance hole that allows audio sound waves to be fed to said two equal chambers.

4. A viewing screen for producing a pseudo three-dimensional image to a viewer when viewing a two-dimensional image source through said screen, comprising:

a transparent Fresnel type lens structure substantially coextensive in area with said two-dimensional image source;

means for mounting said lens in close proximity to said two-dimensional image source between said two-dimensional image source and a viewer; and

means for vibrating said lens in a direction substantially along its optical axis at a frequency above the flicker perception frequency of the human eye to thereby produce a pseudo three-dimensional image of said two-dimensional image source.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said lens structure comprises two Fresnel type lenses positioned back-to-back.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said vibrating means comprises means to displace said back-to-back lenses with respect to one another.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said vibrating means operates to continuously change the effective thickness of said lens structure.

8. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said vibrating means operates to change the effective radius of curvature of said lens structure.

9. The method of producing a pseudo three-dimensional image when viewing a two-dimensional image source comprising the steps of:

placing a flexible Fresnel type lens structure adjacent to said two-dimensional image source between said two-dimensional image source and the viewer and vibrating said lens structure at a frequency above the flicker perception frequency of the human eye to thereby produce said pseudo three-dimensional image.