Video-based immersive theater
First Claim
1. An image projection system comprising:
- a screen having a curved image-receiving surface, wherein the curved surface defines a radial center for the screen, and wherein the center of the screen is separated from the curved surface by a defined radius;
a projector for relaying ultra-wide field-of-view images onto the screen;
wherein the projector is positioned at a projection point which is approximately one screen diameter from the image-receiving surface of the screen, and wherein said one screen diameter substantially corresponds to twice the defined radius; and
a fisheye lens coupled with the projector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Ultra-wide field-of-view images are projected onto a spherical or near-spherical screen that wraps around viewers to provide a visually immersive effect. Images are acquired using a novel lens system in conjunction with standard high-resolution video or film cameras. Acquired images are then relayed onto a curved screen using a correspondingly configured, projection lens system coupled with a standard high-resolution video or film projector. A unique screen design complements the image format to provide a complete end-to-end imaging and projection system. The resulting system allows the images to be projected onto a spherical or curved screen, using a single projector and a “fisheye” or “omni” projection format, from a projection point which is approximately one radii behind the radial center of the spherical or near-spherical screen, providing a total projection distance of one screen diameter from the screen surface.
94 Citations
91 Claims
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1. An image projection system comprising:
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a screen having a curved image-receiving surface, wherein the curved surface defines a radial center for the screen, and wherein the center of the screen is separated from the curved surface by a defined radius;
a projector for relaying ultra-wide field-of-view images onto the screen;
wherein the projector is positioned at a projection point which is approximately one screen diameter from the image-receiving surface of the screen, and wherein said one screen diameter substantially corresponds to twice the defined radius; and
a fisheye lens coupled with the projector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for projecting a series of images onto a screen having a curved image-receiving surface, wherein the curved surface defines a radial center for the screen, wherein the center of the screen is separated from the curved surface by a defined radius, and wherein the method comprises the steps of:
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positioning a projector for relaying ultra-wide field-of-view images onto the screen at a projection point which is approximately one screen diameter from the image-receiving surface of the screen, wherein said one screen diameter substantially corresponds to twice the defined radius; and
projecting the series of images onto the screen using the projector and through a fisheye lens coupled with the projector, from the projection point which is approximately one screen diameter from the image-receiving surface of the screen. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A method for establishing a screen geometry having screen edges lying on planes approximating edges of an image projected onto a curved screen, comprising the steps of:
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defining three points along the curved screen that lie on a first image edge;
deriving a circle on the curved screen that passes through the three defined points, to establish a first one of the planes intersecting the curved screen; and
repeating the defining step and the deriving step for additional image edges, to establish additional planes intersecting the curved screen. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A screen geometry having screen edges lying on planes approximating edges of an image projected onto a curved screen, wherein the planes approximating the edges of the image are established by a method comprising the steps of:
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defining three points along the curved screen that lie on a first image edge;
deriving a circle on the curved screen that passes through the three defined points, to establish a first one of the planes intersecting the curved screen; and
repeating the defining step and the deriving step for additional image edges, to establish additional planes intersecting the curved screen. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A lens system for use with an image projection system including a screen having a curved image-receiving surface defining a radial center for the screen, wherein the center of the screen is separated from the curved surface by a defined radius, and a projector for relaying ultra-wide field-of-view images onto the screen, wherein the lens system comprises:
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a projection image relay lens element having a 1;
1 magnification, coupled with a downstream fisheye projection lens element;
wherein the lens system is coupled with the projector so the projector is positioned at a projection point which is approximately one screen diameter from the image-receiving surface of the screen, and wherein said one screen diameter substantially corresponds to twice the defined radius. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91)
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Specification