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Three-dimensional display method(s) and apparatus

  • US 5,812,186 A
  • Filed: 07/25/1994
  • Issued: 09/22/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/25/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for displaying three-dimensional images, said apparatus comprising:

  • at least one thin waveguide having a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel, opposed, planar faces, said faces serving to propagate radiation along the length of said waveguide;

    means for forming two-dimensional image segments over predetermined portions of a plane substantially parallel to said planar faces of said waveguide such that said image segments are coupled into said waveguide and propagate along the length of said waveguide;

    means for selectively changing the content of said two-dimensional image segments to form a composite image; and

    ,means for selectively coupling out said composite image into a predetermined solid viewing angle, said means for selectively coupling disposed proximate one end of said waveguide, said composite image consisting of a collection of image points that have been mapped from planes parallel to said waveguides to tilted planes lying substantially within said solid viewing angle, in which tilted planes the apparent relative positions of selected image points in said image segments are changed with respect to one another to create a three-dimensional visual effect in said composite image,said means for forming two-dimensional image segments and said means for selectively coupling out said composite image being physically separated to provide different optical path lengths between different portions of said two-dimensional image segments to provide said three-dimensional effects.

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