Display and image capture apparatus which enables eye contact

• US 5,317,405 A
• Filed: 02/25/1992
• Issued: 05/31/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Inventors: Nakamura, Masato, Arai, Hitoshi, Suyama, Shirou, Nakajima, Hideki, Hagiwara, Noboru, Uehira, Kazutake, Sakai, Shigenobu, Kuriki, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancuso, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): GARBER, WENDY RAE
• Application Number:
  US07/840,559
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 358/209, 358/85, 358/234, 358/237, 358/225, 379/53, 359/601, 359/602, 359/603, 359/609, 359/614, 359/850, 359/851, 359/741, 359/842, 359/619, 359/627, 359/628, 359/638, 359/618, 359/625, 359/629
• US Class Current: 348/14.16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/144 camera and display on the same optical axis, e.g. optically multiplexing the camera and display for eye to eye contact

Abstract

In a display and image capture apparatus for a videophone or video teleconferencing system a half-transparent mirror array is disposed adjacent the display surface of a display and an image reflected by the half-transparent mirror array is captured by a video camera. The half-transparent mirror array is formed by a plurality of micro HMs arranged in the same plane at a predetermined inclination angle and reflects incident light from a subject toward the video camera.

Claims

1. A display and image capture apparatus comprising:

display means provided with a display surface for displaying an image;

half-transparent mirror means disposed in front of said display surface substantially in parallel thereto, for reflecting a portion of light from a subject standing in front of said display surface and for transmitting therethrough a portion of light from said image on said display surface, said half-transparent mirror means including a plurality of micro half-transparent mirrors (micro HMs) having substantially identical shapes and arranged on a common plane, said micro HMs having reflecting faces at predetermined inclination angles θ

relative to said common plane, respectively, for reflecting at least a portion of light from said subject; and

image capturing means disposed near said display means, for receiving light reflected from said half-transparent mirror means and for capturing the image of said subject.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said inclination angles θ

of said micro HMs are selected in the range of between 13 and 45 degrees.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said reflecting faces of said micro HMs are extended, in parallel to one another, along said common plane, each reflecting face having a width W in a direction perpendicular to a direction of extension of said micro HM, said micro HMs being spaced at least Wsinθ

·

tan2θ

from one another.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said half-transparent mirror means has an antireflection layer formed on a side thereof opposing said display surface.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said half-transparent mirror means has a light dispersing layer formed on a side thereof opposing said display surface.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said half-transparent mirror means includes a transparent substrate, a plurality of projections formed integrally with said transparent substrate on one side thereof and each having a plurality of slopes, and said micro HMs each being formed on at least one of said slopes of said projection.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein gaps between said projections formed on said transparent substrate are filled with transparent resin so that the surface of said half-transparent mirror means is substantially flat.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said half-transparent mirror means has a laminated structure formed by laminating transparent layers and half-transparent layers alternately with each other and having, as the front and back of said half-transparent mirror means, two parallel faces cut at said inclination angles to said transparent and half-transparent layers.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said half-transparent layers are metal layers.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said half-transparent layers are dielectric layers having a refractive index different from that of said transparent layers.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said half-transparent layers are each formed by a plurality of laminated dielectric layers of different refractive indexes.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transparency of each of said micro HMs is 50% or less.

13. A display and image capture apparatus comprising:

display means provided with a display surface for displaying an image;

half-transparent mirror means disposed in front of said display surface substantially in parallel thereto, for reflecting a portion of light from a subject standing in front of said display surface and for transmitting therethrough a portion of light from said image on said display surface, said half-transparent mirror means including a plurality of micro half-transparent mirrors (micro HMs) having substantially identical shapes and arranged in a common plane, said micro HMs having reflecting faces at predetermined inclination angles θ

relative to said common plane, respectively, for reflecting light from said subject while passing therebetween light from said image on said display surface; and

image capturing means disposed near said display means, for receiving light reflected from said half-transparent mirror means and for capturing the image of said subject.