Electro-optical dithering system using birefringence for optical displays and method
First Claim
1. Apparatus for shifting an optical signal, comprisingdouble refraction means for refracting an optical signal based on a characteristic of such optical signal to change the direction of the optical signal,means for changing such characteristic to determine whether such direction is changed, andsaid double refraction means comprising liquid crystal material.
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Abstract
An electro-optical dithering system based on birefringence or double refraction increases the resolution of a display and includes a birefringent material, such as a calcite material, which selectively refracts or deflects light depending on an optical polarization characteristic of the light, and a switch to switch the optical polarization characteristic of the light, thereby to determine the location of output optical information. Thus, the apparatus and method of the invention can change the location of an optical signal, and the change can be used for a number of purposes, such as to improve resolution of a display, to provide an auto-stereoscopic output, to interlace optical signals, to facilitate locating and hiding of circuitry, to facilitate overlapping of tiles or pixels, etc.
118 Citations
34 Claims
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1. Apparatus for shifting an optical signal, comprising
double refraction means for refracting an optical signal based on a characteristic of such optical signal to change the direction of the optical signal, means for changing such characteristic to determine whether such direction is changed, and said double refraction means comprising liquid crystal material.
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3. Apparatus for shifting an optical signal, comprising
double refraction means for refracting an optical signal based on a characteristic of such optical signal to change the direction of the optical signal, means for changing such characteristic to determine whether such direction is changed, and said double refraction means comprising liquid crystal material, and said means for changing comprising means for changing a characteristic of the liquid crystal material relative to the optical signal incident thereon thereby effectively to change such characteristic of the optical signal relative to such double refraction means.
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5. Apparatus for shifting an optical signal, comprising
double refraction means for refracting an optical signal based on a characteristic of such optical signal to change the direction of the optical signal, means for changing such characteristic to determine whether such direction is changed, said double refraction means and changing means comprising means for selectively changing the location of an optical output signal between plural locations, said double refraction means and changing means comprising means for selectively changing the location of an optical output signal between plural locations located on plural respective axes, and said double refraction means and changing means comprising means for selectively changing the location of an optical output signal between plural locations located on plural respective non-parallel axes.
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12. Apparatus for shifting an optical signal, comprising
double refraction means for refracting an optical signal based on a characteristic of such optical signal to change the direction of the optical signal, means for changing such characteristic to determine whether such direction is changed, said double refraction means and changing means comprising means for selectively changing the location of an optical output signal between plural locations, said double refraction means and changing means comprising means for selectively changing the location of an optical output signal between plural locations located on plural respective axes, and said double refraction means and changing means comprising means for selectively changing the location of an optical output signal between plural locations located on plural respective orthogonal axes.
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13. A method of covering optical dead space in an optical display, comprising
providing a plurality of optical signals output from an optical display with optical dead space between respective optical signals, selectively refracting respective optical signals based on a characteristic of such optical signals to change the direction of the optical signal, and selectively changing such characteristic to determine whether such direction is changed thereby to determine the location of the output optical signals to cover such optical dead space.
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14. An optical display system, comprising:
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a display for displaying optical information in the form of plural spaced pixels; and means for selectively shifting light emitted from said display based on a polarization characteristic of the light, the shifted light being shifted a distance less than or equal to the space between adjacent said spaced pixels. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An optical display system, comprising:
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a light source for producing a light signal at a first location; means for alternatively shifting and not shifting the apparent source of the light signal from said first location to a second location, whereby the shifted and unshifted light signals are integrated by the eye of a viewer to form a composite image, wherein the light source produces a light signal representing a plurality of spaced pixels, and wherein said second location occupies at least a portion of the space between adjacent pixels. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An optical display system, comprising:
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a light source for producing a light signal at a first location; means for alternatively shifting and not shifting the apparent source of the light signal from said first location to a second location, whereby the shifted and unshifted light signals are integrated by the eye of a viewer to form a composite image, wherein the light source produces a light signal representing a raster line, and wherein said second location occupies at least a portion of the space between adjacent raster lines. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. An optical display system, comprising:
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a display for displaying optical information in the form of plural spaced pixels; means for selectively shifting in a first direction light emitted from said display based on a polarization characteristic of the light, the shifted light being shifted a distance less than or equal to the space between adjacent said spaced pixels; and means for selectively shifting in a second direction light emitted from said display based on a polarization characteristic of the light, the shifted light being shifted a distance less than or equal to the space between adjacent said spaced pixels.
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34. An optical display system, comprising:
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a cathode ray tube display for displaying optical information in the form of plural spaced raster lines; and means for selectively shifting light emitted from said display based on a polarization characteristic of the light, the shifted light being shifted a distance less than or equal to the space between adjacent said spaced raster lines.
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Specification