Computer controlled three-dimensional volumetric display

• US 6,052,100 A
• Filed: 09/10/1997
• Issued: 04/18/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEOS Technologies Incorporated (Gooch & Housego PLC), Navy Department United States of America The As Represented By The Secretary of The Navy, the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: United States of America As Represent By The Secertary of The Navy
• Inventors: Sanzone, Frank, Acantilado, Neil P., Trias, John A., Poulos, Christopher J., Belfatto, Robert V., Soltan, Parviz, Dahlke, Weldon J.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CHANH DUY
• Application Number:
  US08/926,854
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 345/84, 345/87, 345/108, 345/516, 345/6, 345/31, 345/32, 345/95, 348/740, 348/790, 348/792
• US Class Current: 345/6
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/54 the 3D volume being generated by moving a 2D surface, e.g. by vibrating or rotating the 2D surface
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/025 with scanning or deflecting the beams in two directions or dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/161 Encoding, multiplexing or demultiplexing different image signal components for multi-view video sequence encoding H04N19/597
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/167 Synchronising or controlling image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/189 Recording image signals; Reproducing recorded image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/194 Transmission of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/286 having separate monoscopic and stereoscopic modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/324 Colour aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/363 using image projection screens volumetric display H04N13/388
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/393 the volume being generated by a moving, e.g. vibrating or rotating, surface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/597 specially adapted for multi-view video sequence encoding

Abstract

A three dimensional display system comprises a display volume selectively partitioned into distinct display regions, a display surface for scattering light beams from the display volume, at least two optical scanners for modulating the light beams and for directing the light beams to the display surface within each distinct display region respectively, and a display controller. The display controller comprises a world coordinate interface for inputting world coordinates, a data processor for transforming the world coordinates into view coordinates and device coordinates, and an optical scanner controller for sensing and controlling the motion of the display surface and for outputting the device coordinates to the optical scanners to generate a three dimensional image within the display volume.

Claims

1. A three dimensional display system comprising:

a display volume selectively partitioned into distinct display regions,

a display surface coupled to said display volume for scattering light beams from within said display volume,

at least two optical scanners coupled to said display surface for modulating intensity of said light beams and for deflecting said light beams to said display surface within said distinct display regions respectively,

and a display controller comprising;

a world coordinate interface for inputting world coordinates,

a data processor coupled to said world coordinate interface for transforming said world coordinates into view coordinates and for transforming said view coordinates into device coordinates,

and an optical scanner controller coupled to said data processor for sensing and controlling motion of said display surface having a control memory for outputting beam deflector commands to said optical scanners to generate a three-dimensional image from said device coordinates;

wherein said data processor performs the steps of;

inputting world coordinates representative of an object to be displayed,

adjusting motion of said display surface within said display volume,

calculating a rotation angle of said display surface corresponding to a Y-coordinate of a voxel to be displayed;

finding a control memory location for an optical scanner

corresponding to a Y-coordinate for each of said view coordinates;

calculating device coordinates from said view coordinates;

and loading said device coordinates into said control memory location,

wherein the step of calculating device coordinates includes calculating device coordinates substantially from the following formulas;

if(q≡

0) then

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chA)*((B4.sub.-- chA-B1.sub.-- chA)/(X4.sub.-- chA-X1.sub.-- chA))+B1.sub.-- chA

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chA)*((A4.sub.-- chA-A3.sub.-- chA)/(Z4.sub.-- chA-Z3.sub.-- chA))+A3.sub.-- chA

if(q≡

1) then

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chB)*((B4.sub.-- chB-B1.sub.-- chB)/(X4.sub.-- chB-X1.sub.-- chB))+B1.sub.-- chB

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chB)*((A4.sub.-- chB-A3.sub.-- chB)/(Z4.sub.-- chB-Z3.sub.-- chB))+A3.sub.-- chB

else if(q≡

2) then

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chC)*((B4.sub.-- chC-B1.sub.-- chB)/(X4.sub.-- chC-X1.sub.-- chC))+B1.sub.-- chC

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chC)*((A4.sub.-- chC-A3.sub.-- chB)/(Z4.sub.-- chC-Z3.sub.-- chC))+A3.sub.-- chC

else

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chD)*((B4.sub.-- chB-B1.sub.-- chD)/(X4.sub.-- chD-X1.sub.-- chD))+B1.sub.-- chD

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chD)*((A4.sub.-- chB-A3.sub.-- chD)/(Z4.sub.-- chD-Z3.sub.-- chD))+A3.sub.-- chD

for a voxel P" having components x, y, and z in a quadrant q where B1, B4, A3, A4 are device coordinate limits and X1, X4, Z3 and Z4 are view coordinate limits for each of optical scanners (ch) A, B, C, and D, respectively.

2. A three dimensional display system comprising:

a display volume selectively partitioned into distinct display regions,

a display surface coupled to said display volume for scattering light beams from within said display volume,

at least two optical scanners for modulating said light beams and for directing said light beams to said display surface within said distinct display regions respectively,

and a display controller comprising;

a world coordinate interface for inputting world coordinates,

an optical scanner controller coupled to said data processor for sensing and controlling motion of said display surface and for controlling said optical scanners wherein each said optical scanner deflects said light beam to a sequence of selected locations on said display surface;

and further comprising a light beam source wherein said light beam source is an angular combiner coupled to a red, a green, and a blue laser for generating said light beams in color and a modulator coupled to each said laser for selecting said color;

wherein said display surface has a periodic motion that is one of rotation and reciprocation;

wherein said display surface has a shape that is one of a rectangle, a helix, a multiple helix, and an ellipse;

wherein said display volume comprises at least one of a gas, a liquid, and a solid material;

wherein said optical scanner controller comprises;

an address decoder for receiving address words from said data processor and for outputting read and write control commands to said control memory;

an I/O control circuit coupled to said data processor for matching data bus widths between said data processor and said optical scanner controller;

a dual port random access memory (RAM) constituting said control memory coupled to said I/O control circuit and said address decoder having two independently addressable ports;

an address counter coupled to said random access memory, said data processor, and said address decoder for selecting initial and incremental memory locations from one said port of said random access memory;

a programmable timer coupled to said address counter for providing clock pulses in response to an angle index signal from said display surface;

an output buffer register coupled to said random access memory for outputting deflection commands to said optical scanners;

a shaft counter coupled to said timer for counting rotations of said display surface to determine speed of rotation of said display surface;

a shaft register coupled to said shaft counter and to said address decoder for initializing said shaft counter;

a motor register coupled to said data processor and said address decoder for outputting motor speed data;

and a D/A converter coupled to said motor register for outputting a control voltage to a motor for causing said display surface to rotate at a selected speed;

wherein said data processor performs the steps of;

inputting world coordinates representative of an object to be displayed,

transforming said world coordinates into view coordinates,

adjusting motion of said display surface within said display volume,

and controlling said optical scanner to generate said three-dimensional image within said display volume;

wherein said data processor further performs the steps of;

finding a control memory location of a light beam deflector corresponding to a Y-coordinate for each said view coordinate;

calculating X-axis and Z-axis device coordinates from said view coordinate;

wherein the step of calculating said control memory location includes substantially the following formula;

##EQU5## where m is a control memory location, y is a Y-axis view coordinate, x is an X-axis view coordinate, z is a Z-axis view coordinate, and MAX is a total of addressable Y-axis positions;

and loading said device coordinates into said control memory location;

wherein the step of calculating device coordinates includes substantially the following formulas;

if(q≡

0) then

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chA)*((B4.sub.-- chA-B1.sub.-- chA)/(X4.sub.-- chA-X1.sub.-- chA))+B1.sub.-- chA

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chA)*((A4.sub.-- chA-A3.sub.-- chA)/(Z4.sub.-- chA-Z3.sub.-- chA))+A3.sub.-- chA

if(q≡

1) then

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chB)*((B4.sub.-- chB-B1.sub.-- chB)/(X4.sub.-- chB-X1.sub.-- chB))+B1.sub.-- chB

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chB)*((A4.sub.-- chB-A3.sub.-- chB)/(Z4.sub.-- chB-Z3.sub.-- chB))+A3.sub.-- chB

else if(q≡

2) then

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chC)*((B4.sub.-- chC-B1.sub.-- chB)/(X4.sub.-- chC-X1.sub.-- chC))+B1.sub.-- chC

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chC)*((A4.sub.-- chC-A3.sub.-- chB)/(Z4.sub.-- chC-Z3.sub.-- chC))+A3.sub.-- chC

else

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

x=(P'"'"'·

x-X1.sub.-- chD)*((B4.sub.-- chB-B1.sub.-- chD)/(X4.sub.-- chD-X1.sub.-- chD))+B1.sub.-- chD

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">P"·

z=(P'"'"'·

z-Z3.sub.-- chD)*((A4.sub.-- chB-A3.sub.-- chD)/(Z4.sub.-- chD-Z3.sub.-- chD))+A3.sub.-- chD

for a voxel P" having components x, y, and z in one of said distinct display regions q where B1, B4, A3, A4 are device coordinate limits and X1, X4, Z3 and Z4 are view coordinate limits for each of optical scanners (ch) A, B, C, and D, respectively.