Multiple view display

• US 8,149,272 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2005
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Evans, Allan, Mather, Jonathan, Jones, Graham
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Quang N.
• Application Number:
  US11/575,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20080043092A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,387 Days
• Field of Search: 348/44, 348/51, 348/58, 348/59, 348/276
• US Class Current: 348/51
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/31 involving active parallax barriers involving directional light or back-light sources G02B30/33
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/12 using special optical effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/14 displaying different signs depending upon the view-point of the observer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/315 the parallax barriers being time-variant
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/317 using slanted parallax optics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/324 Colour aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/351 for displaying simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/356 having separate monoscopic and stereoscopic modes

Abstract

A multiple view display comprises a parallax optic such as a parallax barrier (25) and a spatial light modulator (20) having a plurality of pixels arranged as rows and columns. The parallax optic (25) cooperates with the pixel structure to create a plurality of primary viewpoint-corrected viewing windows. The rows are arranged as groups and the parallax elements are arranged as rows. Each parallax element is aligned with a respective group of rows of the pixels. The pixels comprise sets of pixels of different colors arranged so that the sequence of visible colors viewable in each viewing window through each parallax element of each row of parallax elements is different from the sequence of pixel colors visible through the or each nearest parallax element in the or each adjacent row of parallax elements.

Claims

1. A multiple view display comprising:

a parallax optic comprising a plurality of parallax elements spaced apart at a single first pitch; and

a spatial light modulator comprising a plurality of columns of pixels arranged with a second pitch providing viewpoint correction for creating n primary viewing windows for viewing n views, where n is an integer greater than one,

wherein w columns of pixels are viewable through each parallax element in each viewing window, where w is an integer greater than one, the pixels of each column being of a same colour, and

wherein the columns are x different colours, where x is an integer greater than two and arranged as a sequence of colours comprising repeating groups of a same sub-sequence, and each repeating group comprises y subgroups of z columns, where y is an integer greater than one and z is an integer greater than or equal to x, and each subgroup containing columns of all x colours, and

wherein the smallest repetition pitch of the sub-sequence is equal to y times z columns.

2. A display as claimed claim 1, wherein the modulator includes a striped colour filter arrangement whose stripes are aligned with the columns.

3. A display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number x of colours is equal to three.

4. A display as claimed in claim 3, wherein the three colours are primary colours.

5. A display as claimed in claim 4, wherein the primary colours are red, green and blue.

6. A display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number z of columns of each subgroup is equal to x.

7. A display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number w of columns viewable in each window is equal to two.

8. A display as claimed in claim 7, wherein the number y of subgroups in each group is equal to three.

9. A display as claimed in claim 8, wherein each sub-sequence is red, green, blue, green, blue, red, blue, red, green.

10. A display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number w of columns viewable in each window is equal to three.

11. A display as claimed in claim 10, wherein the number y of subgroups in each group is equal to six.

12. A display as claimed in claim 11, wherein the primary colours are red, green and blue, the number z of columns of each subgroup is equal to x, and each sub-sequence is red, green, blue, red, green, blue, green, blue, red, green, blue, red, blue, red, green, blue, red, green.

13. A multiple view display comprising:

a parallax optic comprising a plurality of parallax elements; and

a spatial light modulator comprising a plurality of pixels arranged as rows and columns cooperating with the parallax optic to create n primary viewpoint-corrected viewing windows for viewing n views, where n is an integer greater than one,

wherein a respective single column of pixels is viewable through each parallax element in each viewing window, the pixels being arranged as composite colour groups for displaying respective colour image elements,

wherein each colour group comprises z pixels of x different colours disposed adjacent each other in the same column, where x is an integer greater than two and z is an integer greater than or equal to x, the pixels of each colour for each view being disposed so as to be substantially evenly spaced horizontally and substantially evenly spaced vertically, and

wherein the order in the column direction of the colours of the pixels of each colour group is different from the order in the column direction of the colours of the pixels of each adjacent colour group in the same rows.

14. A display as claimed in claim 13, wherein the pixels of each colour are disposed so as to be substantially evenly spaced horizontally and substantially evenly spaced vertically on the modulator.

15. A display as claimed in claim 13, wherein the pixels are arranged in the row direction as repeating sets of z pixels of the x different colours with each row being offset in the row direction relative to each adjacent row by a number of pixels greater than zero and less than z.

16. A display as claimed in claim 15, wherein the offsets between adjacent rows have the same magnitudes.

17. A display as claimed in claim 15, wherein the offsets between adjacent rows have the same directions.

18. A display as claimed in claim 13, wherein the number x of different colours is three.

19. A display as claimed in claim 18, wherein the three colours are primary colours.

20. A display as claimed in claim 19, wherein the primary colours are red, green and blue.

21. A display as claimed in claim 13, wherein the number z of pixels in each group is equal to x.

22. A multiple view display comprising:

a parallax optic-comprising a plurality of parallax elements; and

a spatial light modulator comprising a plurality of pixels arranged as rows and columns cooperating with the parallax optic to create n primary viewpoint-corrected viewing windows for viewing n views, where n is an integer greater than one,

wherein w pixels in each row are viewable through each parallax element in each viewing window, where w is an integer greater than one,

wherein the rows are arranged as groups and the parallax elements are arranged as rows, each of which is aligned with a respective group of rows of pixels, and

the pixels comprise sets of pixels of different colours arranged such that the sequence of pixel colours viewable in each viewing window through each parallax element of each row of parallax elements is different from the sequence of pixel colours viewable through the or each nearest parallax element in the or each adjacent row of parallax elements.

23. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the parallax elements are aligned in the row direction.

24. A display as claimed in claim 23, wherein the parallax elements are continuous in the column direction.

25. A display as claimed in claim 23, wherein the pixels are arranged as repeating colour sequences in the row direction and the rows of pixels of each adjacent pair of groups are offset with respect to each other in the row direction by at least one pixel pitch and by less than the smallest repetition pitch of the repeating colour sequence.

26. A display as claimed in claim 25, wherein the offsets are of the same magnitude.

27. A display as claimed in claim 25, wherein the offsets are in the same direction.

28. A display as claimed in claim 25, wherein the groups of rows of pixels or the rows of parallax elements are arranged as sets with offsets of the sets being in the same direction and with the offsets of adjacent pairs of sets being in opposite directions.

29. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the pixels of each colour are arranged as columns.

30. A display as claimed in claim 29, wherein the parallax elements of each adjacent pair of rows are offset with respect to each other in the row direction.

31. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein each group of rows comprises a single row.

32. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein each group of rows comprises a plurality of rows.

33. A display as claimed in claim 32, wherein each group of rows comprises n rows, the display is rotatable between a portrait orientation and a landscape orientation, and the parallax elements are arranged to provide two dimensional parallax.

34. A display as claimed in claim 33, wherein the parallax elements of each adjacent pair of rows are offset with respect to each other in the row direction, and the offset differs from twice the pitch of the columns to provide viewpoint correction.

35. A display as claimed in claim 33, wherein the pixels of each row are arranged as groups of n.w pixels separated from each other by the pitch of the columns.

36. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the number w is equal to two and the different sequences of pixel colours comprise different combinations.

37. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the number w is equal to three and the different sequences of pixel colours comprise different permutations.

38. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the parallax optic is a parallax barrier.

39. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the spatial light modulator is a light-attenuating modulator.

40. A display as claimed in claim 39, wherein the modulator is transmissive.

41. A display as claimed in claim 39, wherein the modulator is a liquid crystal device.

42. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the number n of windows is equal to two.

43. A display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the sets of pixels are of three colours.

44. A display as claimed in claim 43, wherein the three colours are primary colours.

45. A display as claimed in claim 44, wherein the primary colours are red, green and blue.