Stereoscopic display

• US 6,710,920 B1
• Filed: 03/24/1999
• Issued: 03/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hamagishi, Goro, Inoue, Masutaka, Kanayama, Hideyuki, Mashitani, Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): CHANG, AUDREY Y
• Application Number:
  US09/275,434
• Time in Patent Office: 1,826 Days
• Field of Search: 359/463, 359/462, 359/464, 359/466, 359/456, 359/458, 348/51, 348/52, 348/56, 348/59, 353/7
• US Class Current: 359/463
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/24 involving temporal multiplexing, e.g. using sequentially activated left and right shutters
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/305 using lenticular lenses, e.g. arrangements of cylindrical lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/32 using arrays of controllable light sources; using moving apertures or moving light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/368 for two or more viewers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/376 for tracking left-right translational head movements, i.e. lateral movements

Abstract

This invention provides a stereoscopic display without using eyeglasses which does not require a means to switch images for left and right eyes and by which each viewer can observe a stereoscopic image even when many persons observe an image. The display includes a projector for a left eye 1L, a projector for a right eye 1R, and lenticular lens on a light incident side 2a which forms images for left and right eyes projected from each projector on a diffusing plate 2b alternately. A shutter means 4L, 4R include a plurality of shutter regions which can switch between light transmission and light shading and are placed laterally, and form a narrow-width image light reaching region, of which width is less than that of the shutter region, in each image forming region on the diffusing plate. Lenticular lens on a light incident side 2c guides an image in a narrow-width image light reaching region in an image forming region for a left eye to a viewer'"'"'s left eye and an image in a narrow-width image light reaching region in an image forming region for a right eye to a viewer'"'"'s right eye. A shutter control means 5 controls light transmission and light shading of said shutter region on the basis of output results from a sensor which detects a viewer'"'"'s position.

Claims

1. A stereoscopic display without using eye-glasses comprising,

a first projector, which projects an image for a left eye,

a second projector, which projects an image for a right eye,

a first lenticular lens forms images for left and right eyes on a diffusing plate by overlapping an image forming region for the left eye projected by said first projector and an image forming region for the right eye projected by said second projector,

a first shutter means which includes a plurality of shutter regions disposed laterally which switch between light transmission and light shading, and forms a narrow-width image light reaching region, of which width is less than that of the image forming region, in each image forming region for the left eye on said diffusing plate,

a second shutter means which includes a plurality of shutter regions disposed laterally which switch between light transmissions and light shading, and forms a narrow-width image light reaching region, of which width is less than that of the image forming region, in each image forming region for the right eye on said diffusing plate,

a second lenticular lens collects images from narrow-width image light reaching regions in the image forming regions for left and right eyes to a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance from said diffusing plate, and a width between the images is equal to or shorter than the distance between a pupil of the right eye and a pupil of the left eye of a viewer, and

a shutter control means which controls light transmission and light shading of said shutter regions of said first and second shutter means on the basis of output results from a sensor which detects the viewer'"'"'s position, wherein

said shutter control means controls said first and second shutter means so as that the narrow-width image light reaching region in the image forming region for the left eye and the narrow-width image light reaching region in the image forming region for the right eye do not share a same region on the diffusing plate.

2. The stereoscopic display without using eye-glasses according to claim 1, wherein

said first and second shutter means are arranged in front of projection lenses of said projectors and includes two or more than two shutter regions, which can switch between light transmission and light shading and are placed laterally in width less than that of said projection lens.

3. The stereoscopic display without using eye-glasses according to claim 1, wherein

each shutter region of each shutter means has the same size, and the shutter means are laterally spaced apart from each other by a distance equal to a length integer multiplied by a length of the shutter region.

4. The stereoscopic display without using eye-glasses according to claim 1, wherein

said first and second shutter means are arranged at a stop of projection lenses of said projectors and includes two or more than two shutter regions, which switch light transmission and light shading and are placed laterally in width less than the diameter of the stop.