Surround-vision display system

• US 7,123,211 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2003
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Nowatzyk, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shapiro, Leonid
• Application Number:
  US10/633,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20050024320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,174 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345 31- 32, 345/46, 345/76, 359464-468
• US Class Current: 345/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 25/02 with interposed lenticular or line screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/005 forming an image using a quickly moving array of imaging elements, causing the human eye to perceive an image which has a larger resolution than the array, e.g. an image on a cylinder formed by a rotating line of LEDs parallel to the axis of rotation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2014 by modulation of the duration of a single pulse during which the logic level remains constant
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/32 semiconductive, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

A surround-vision display system with a very high visual dynamic range is made possible by distributing a limited number of LED'"'"'s on the inside of a drum and then spinning that drum around a user. The pixel information for each horizontal position in space is sent to each corresponding LED it visits that position. The LED'"'"'s are arranged in a grid on a panel tile, and the panel tile is tilted slightly, e.g., at 1.1-degrees. The result is each panel tile presents a continuous vertical stripe in the picture frame as all its LED'"'"'s are swept by in the drum motion. Several panel tiles stacked vertically inside the drum all contribute to the whole height of the picture frame, e.g., several feet. The entire inside circumference of the drum is populated with the LED panel tiles to keep frame refresh rates up to avoid flicker while keeping drum rotation speeds down to reasonable levels. Thus even though the LED'"'"'s and drum are moving, the image projected appears to be relatively stationary.

Claims

1. A surround-vision display system comprising:

a carrier structure having an internal circumferential surface;

a motor unit for effecting continuous movement of the internal surface of the carrier structure with respect to an observer located at least partly within a volume defined by the internal surface of the carrier structure;

a plurality of light emitting sources disposed as a two-dimensional array on the internal surface of the carrier structure wherein the two-dimensional array of light emitting sources comprises a plurality of panel tiles, each panel tile mounted on a portion of the internal surface and having a two-dimensional sub-array of light emitting light sources mounted on its surface facing away from the internal surface of the carrier structure; and

a driver unit for the plurality of light emitting sources for driving each light emitting source depending on its vertical location and its temporary horizontal location.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein all tiles have an identical two-dimensional sub-array of light emitting sources.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each panel tile comprises a plurality of driver elements mounted thereon, with one driver element for each of the light emitting sources of the two-dimensional sub-array.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the driver elements are mounted on the surface of the panel tile facing the internal surface of the carrier structure.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein, the driver elements comprise pulse-width modulator structures for driving the light emitting sources.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each panel tile further comprises an I/O unit, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a memory unit for storing frame buffer data.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the tiles are arranged in one or more daisy chains, with each tile in one daisy chain being arranged as a repeater.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the surround-vision system further comprises a control unit for supplying control data to the I/O units of the tiles.

9. A surround-vision display system, comprising:

a rotatable drum with an inside surface viewable by a user;

a plurality of LED'"'"'s arranged on said inside surface that together rotate in a vertical stack of horizontal circular orbits around said user wherein the plurality of LED'"'"'s are arranged on said panel tiles in a grid set with its rows on an angle with respect to said horizontal circular orbits such that each LED orbits in uniformly spaced parallel circular orbits;

a picture-frame pixel distributor connected to supply pixel information to a corresponding one of the plurality of LED'"'"'s according to its position in said vertical stack and its instantaneous position in its flight in its horizontal circular orbit around said user; and

a pulse-width modulator connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of LED'"'"'s and proving for modulated light intensity levels and minimal color shifts otherwise dependent on LED current levels;

wherein, when the LED'"'"'s and drum are moving, the image projected nevertheless appear to be stationary and a higher apparent resolution results from a limited number of LED'"'"'s involved.

10. A method of surround-vision display with a very high visual dynamic range, comprising:

distributing a limited number of LED'"'"'s on the inside of a drum and then spinning that drum around a user wherein the step of distributing is such that several panel tiles are stacked vertically inside the drum to all contribute to a whole height of a picture frame;

wherein, pixel information for each horizontal position in space is sent to each corresponding LED that visits that position; and

wherein, even though the LED'"'"'s and drum are moving, a projected image appears to be relatively stationary.