Tiled, flat-panel display having invisible seams
First Claim
1. A tiled, substantially flat, panel display composed of a plurality of joined, smaller tiles, having the characteristic of visually imperceptible seams between tiles disposed in an interior portion thereof, such that said panel display can be viewed as though it were a single, monolithic display, comprising:
- a) means defining an image source plane having spaced-apart, pixel-active areas, with each of said pixel-active areas being disposed along said image source plane at a given pitch distance;
b) a plurality of adjacently disposed tiles, each having a predetermined thickness, disposed in a plane adjacent said image source plane;
c) means defining seams disposed between adjacent tiles;
d) masking means in conjunction with light collimating means, said masking means being proximate said seams for blocking direct and selectively scattered light from said seams towards a viewer of said display, thereby rendering said seams substantially visually imperceptible to said viewer, notwithstanding any angle at which said display is viewed thereby; and
e) means defining a viewing plane adjacent said masking means for transmitting light from said image source plane to said viewer, with substantially no light from said seams.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention features a tiled, substantially flat, panel display having the characteristic of visually imperceptible seams between the tiles for the intended viewing conditions, which include the perception thresholds of the human eye, the view distance, the display brightness and the level of the ambient light. The panel consists of an image source plane having spaced-apart pixels containing light-transmitting elements comprising single or multiple lightvalves. These lightvalves transmit monochromatic light, or primary color light spectra, for example, red, green and blue, in gray-scale and color displays, respectively. Each of the pixels is located along the image source plane at a uniform pitch greater than approximately 0.2 mm. Many adjacently-situated tiles are located in a plane in proximity to the image source plane. Secondary light rays can be controlled via light shields, aperture plates, masks and optical elements. The view angles of the tiled display may be further enhanced by using dispersive, optical elements such as microlens arrays. If desired, the brightness of the tiled display can be enhanced by increasing the backlight intensity or the collection of light by using optical, focusing elements such as microlens arrays.
-
Citations
50 Claims
-
1. A tiled, substantially flat, panel display composed of a plurality of joined, smaller tiles, having the characteristic of visually imperceptible seams between tiles disposed in an interior portion thereof, such that said panel display can be viewed as though it were a single, monolithic display, comprising:
-
a) means defining an image source plane having spaced-apart, pixel-active areas, with each of said pixel-active areas being disposed along said image source plane at a given pitch distance; b) a plurality of adjacently disposed tiles, each having a predetermined thickness, disposed in a plane adjacent said image source plane; c) means defining seams disposed between adjacent tiles; d) masking means in conjunction with light collimating means, said masking means being proximate said seams for blocking direct and selectively scattered light from said seams towards a viewer of said display, thereby rendering said seams substantially visually imperceptible to said viewer, notwithstanding any angle at which said display is viewed thereby; and e) means defining a viewing plane adjacent said masking means for transmitting light from said image source plane to said viewer, with substantially no light from said seams. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. A tiled, substantially flat, panel display composed of a plurality of joined, smaller tiles, having the characteristic of a visually imperceptible seam, such that said panel display can be viewed as though it were a single, monolithic display, comprising:
-
a) means defining an image source plane having spaced-apart, pixel-active areas; b) a plurality of tiles disposed in a plane adjacent said image source plane; c) means defining a seam disposed between adjacently disposed tiles; d) masking means in conjunction with light collimating means, said masking means being disposed proximate said seam for blocking direct and selectively scattered light directed from said seam towards a viewer of said display, thereby making said seam substantially visually imperceptible to said viewer, notwithstanding any angle at which said display is viewed thereby; and e) means defining a viewing plane comprising a light-transmitting layer disposed adjacent said masking means. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. A tiled, substantially, flat panel composed of a plurality of joined, smaller tiles, display having the characteristic of visually imperceptible seams between tiles disposed in an interior portion thereof, such that said panel display can be viewed as though it were a single, monolithic display, comprising:
-
a) means defining an image source plane having spaced-apart, pixel-active areas, with each of said pixel-active areas being disposed along said image source plane at a given pitch distance; b) a plurality of adjacently disposed tiles, each having a predetermined thickness, disposed in a plane adjacent said image source plane; c) means defining seams disposed between adjacent tiles; d) a compound disposed in said seams, having optical properties that are substantially similar to the optical properties of said tiles, whereby light passing through said seams is substantially less refracted and/or scattered than in the absence of said compound; and e) means defining a viewing plane for transmitting light from said image source plane to said viewer, with substantially no light from said seams. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
-
Specification