Diffractive color and texture effects for the graphic arts

• US 4,717,221 A
• Filed: 01/17/1986
• Issued: 01/05/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stephen P. Mcgrew
• Original Assignee: Stephen P. Mcgrew
• Inventors: McGrew, Stephen P.
• Primary Examiner(s): ARNOLD, BRUCE
• Application Number:
  US06/820,195
• Time in Patent Office: 718 Days
• Field of Search: 350/3.6-3.86
• US Class Current: 359/15
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1842 Gratings for image generation G02B5/1847 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0011 for security or authentication holograms on information-bearing cards B42D25/328; testing papers with holograms G07D7/0032
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 359/90 Methods
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/916 Fraud or tamper detecting

Abstract

A method of producing color and texture effects on a surface (210,400) without the use of pigments or actual texturing. Diffraction patterns, generated by interference between two light beams (220,230), are recorded in a suitable high-resolution photographic material (210,400) and are used instead of paints or inks to provide desired color and texture effects in the various regions (440,530) of an artistic or decorative composition. The resulting composition (210,400) may contain spectrally pure or mixed colors and a wide range of static or dynamic textural illusions visible under a variety of lighting conditions.

Claims

1. A method of making a diffractive pattern for use in graphical compositions incorporating the diffractive effects of color and texture, comprising:

generating a temporally coherent and spatially incoherent light field randomly spatially incoherent in one direction;

interfering said light field with a reference beam temporally coherent thereto having a predetermined angular relationship to said light field; and

recording the interference pattern resulting from the interference between said light field and said reference beam on a photosensitive medium to form a diffractive pattern which will widely diffuse light in said one direction while spectrally dispersing light in a direction perpendicular thereto.

2. A method of making graphical compositions incorporating diffractive patterns having apparent motion resulting from change in the angle of viewing said composition, said composition comprising:

generating an optical interference pattern by interfering a temporally coherent reference light beam of predetermined structure with a temporally coherent and spatially incoherent object light field restricted to a predetermined angular distribution substantially equivalent to passing said light field through at least one aperture whose cross-section in one direction is substantially less than the full width of said light field; and

recording said interference pattern on predetermined regions of said recording surface while preventing the recording of said interference on other regions of said recording surface.

3. A physical representation of a diffractive pattern generated by the interference of a reference beam and an object beam that is randomly diffuse in one direction and relatively non-diffuse in a direction perpendicular to said one direction, said diffractive pattern thereby serving to diverge white light in said one direction and serving to redirect and spectrally disperse polychromatic light along said perpendicular direction.

4. A physical representation of a diffractive pattern generated by the interference of a reference beam and an object beam that is randomly diffuse in one direction and relatively nondiffuse in a direction perpendicular to said one direction, said object beam being blocked by a mask in selected locations, said diffractive pattern thereby serving to diverge white light in said one direction and serving to redirect and spectrally disperse polychromatic light along said perpendicular direction.

5. A physical representation of a diffractive graphical composition made by recording a plurality of diffractive patterns in selected regions of a surface, said diffractive patterns corresponding to interference patterns formed by the optical interference of mutually coherent reference and object beams, said object beams being randomly diffuse in one direction and relatively nondiffuse in a direction perpendicular to said one direction, and said object beams further being blocked in selected locations by at least one mask.

6. A physical representation of a diffractive graphical composition made by recording a plurality of diffractive patterns in selected regions of a surface, said diffractive patterns corresponding to interference patterns formed by the optical interference of mutually coherent object and reference beams, at least one of said object beams being randomly diffuse in one direction and relatively nondiffuse in a direction perpendicular to said one direction, and at least one other of said object beams corresponding to a three-dimensional image of a solid, textured surface.