×

Eye contact apparatus for video conferencing

  • US 5,117,285 A
  • Filed: 01/15/1991
  • Issued: 05/26/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/15/1991
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. An apparatus for establishing eye contact between a local party viewing a terminal screen and the image of a distant party on the terminal screen, said apparatus comprising the elements of:

  • a first polarizer located in front of the terminal screen which passes a polarization of the image of the distant party radiated from the terminal screen,a first mirror, which is partially silvered, and which reflects the image of the local party and transmits the image of the distant party radiated from the terminal screen and passed by said first polarizer, said first mirror being angled substantially less than 45 degrees to the terminal screen, anda camera module located below said first mirror and positioned in front of and horizontally aligned with the terminal screen to capture the image of the local party reflected from said first mirror and to minimize extraneous light radiated from ambient sources and from the terminal screen for optimal contrast, said camera module comprisingcapturing and encoding means which captures the image of the local party reflected from said first mirror and encodes the image of the local party for transmission to another terminal viewed by the distant party, anda second polarizer which is cross-polarized with said first polarizer and located in front of said capturing and encoding means,wherein said elements of said apparatus are positioned and angled with respect to each other such that said apparatus is compact, the protrusion of said apparatus from the terminal screen is minimized, and intimate communication between the distant party and the local party is achieved.

View all claims
  • 3 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×