Time-sliced multiplexed image display

• US 8,305,488 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2006
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation), General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Trowbridge, Scott R., Blum, Steven C., Schwartz, Justin Michael, McQuillian, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): PHILIPPE, GIMS S
• Application Number:
  US11/565,185
• Publication Number:
  US 20070266412A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,168 Days
• Field of Search: 725/131, 725/90, 348/56, 348/483, 348/387.1, 345/764, 345/629
• US Class Current: 348/387.1
• 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 13/337 using polarisation multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/341 using temporal multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/354 for displaying sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41415 involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4318 by altering the content in the rendering process, e.g. blanking, blurring or masking an image region image enhancement or restoration in general G06T5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip

Abstract

A device for displaying multiple image streams each comprising multiple image frames that entertains multiple viewers includes at least three image generators for generating at least three separate image streams that each include multiple image frames. At least one of the image generators is configured for at least one viewer input. An image multiplexer is provided for interleaving image frames of each image stream to produce an interleaved image stream and a display is provided for showing the interleaved image stream. A method of displaying multiple image streams is also presented.

Claims

1. A method of displaying multiple image streams for entertaining multiple viewers, comprising:

generating an interleaved image stream from a plurality of image sources, wherein the interleaved image stream comprises a plurality of cycles that each comprise a plurality of image frames;

generating a common image frame corresponding to each of the plurality of cycles of the interleaved images stream, wherein each common image frame is generated by combining the plurality of image frames of the corresponding cycle and then subtracting portions that are not common to the plurality of image frames of the particular cycle to produce one or more blank spaces;

projecting each corresponding common image frame onto a display using a first projector while projecting, into the one or more blank spaces of each projected common image, the corresponding cycle of the interleaved image stream using a second projector.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each cycle of the interleaved image steam comprises one image frame from each of the plurality of image sources.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising filtering portions of each cycle of the projected interleaved image stream so that one or more of the plurality of images of each cycle are not viewed by at least one of the multiple viewers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein filtering the displayed interleaved image stream comprises using one or more polarized lenses to filter the projected interleaved image stream.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein filtering comprises using a plurality of shutters configured to open and close for a predetermined period of time, wherein the period of time is synchronized with a frame rate of the interleaved image stream.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of shutters is open for approximately 1/180 second and the frame rate is approximately thirty frames per second.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the interleaved image stream comprises an interleaved image stream configured for displaying two-dimensional images.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the interleaved image stream comprises an interleaved image stream configured for displaying three-dimensional images.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of image sources are configured to receive input from at least one of the multiple viewers.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein one or more of the plurality of image sources are configured to change a story line of the interleaved image stream based on the input received from at least one of the multiple viewers.

11. A system for displaying multiple image streams that entertains multiple viewers, comprising:

an image multiplexer configured to interleave at least three image streams to produce an interleaved image stream comprising a plurality of cycles, wherein each cycle of the interleaved image stream comprises a plurality of image frames;

an image source configured to generate a background image frame corresponding to each of the plurality of cycles of the interleaved image stream, wherein each background image frame includes common portions of the plurality of image frames of the corresponding cycle and includes blank spaces for dissimilar portions of the plurality of image frames of the corresponding cycle;

a first projector configured to project each background image frame on a display; and

a second projector configured to project each corresponding cycle of the interleaved image stream into the blank spaces of each projected background image frame on the display.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein each cycle of the interleaved image steam comprises one image frame from each of the at least three image streams.

13. The system of claim 12, comprising multiple filtering mechanisms respectively utilized by the multiple viewers, wherein each filtering mechanism is configured to allow each of the multiple viewers to view only a portion of each cycle of the interleaved image stream.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the filtering mechanism comprises polarized lenses and a plurality of shutters that open and close for a different predetermined period of time that is synchronized with a frame rate of the interleaved image stream.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of shutters of each of the multiple filtering mechanisms is open for approximately 1/180 second.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the frame rate of the interleaved image stream is approximately thirty frames per second.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the interleaved image stream comprises an interleaved image stream configured for displaying three-dimensional images.

18. The system of claim 11, comprising at least three image sources configured to generate the at least three image streams, wherein each of the at least three image sources is configured to receive input from at least one of the multiple viewers.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least three image sources are configured to varying a story line of each image stream based on input received from at least one of the multiple viewers.

20. The system of claim 18, comprising multiple user input devices respectively associated with the multiple viewers, wherein each of the multiple user input devices is configured to provide the input from at least one of the multiple users to one or more of the at least three image sources.