RU2260829C2 - Device for demonstration of stereoscopic images - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: demonstration of stereoscopic images.

SUBSTANCE: the device has a mesomorphic screen formed by mesomorphic cells and installed between the inner and outer units of polarizers and an analyzer. The polarizers and analyzer are made in the form of horizontally alternating bands with interorthogonal orientation of the planes of polarization. The width of the bands of the units of polarizers and analyzer is twice wider than the cell of the mesomorphic cell. The outer unit of the polarizers is provided with an image mixer installed between the outer unit and the analyzer. The image mixer is made for joining of the respective images of the l.h. and r.h. frames having an interorthogonal orientation of the planes of polarization.

EFFECT: enhanced quality of produced three-dimensional images.

4 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to a technique for displaying computer stereoscopic images and can be used to demonstrate stereo films previously converted to a computer format in control systems, in computer technology (CAD, game programs), in such fields as production, education, medicine, aviation and astronautics, as well as to create simulators as close as possible to real conditions. In physics and mathematics, this device can be used to simulate processes in real time, in chemistry - for visual modeling of complex chemical formulas, etc. In the gaming industry, on the basis of this device, it is possible to produce a new generation of game consoles, the liquid crystal (LCD) screen of which will display a three-dimensional gaming situation. It is possible to use a stereo LCD screen in individual means of mobile communication (such as cellular, paging, radiotelephones, etc.).

The prior art in this area is characterized by the following information.

From the Internet [1] it is known about the device stereoscopic images declared by Dimension Technologies - the 2015XLS stereoscopic LCD monitor, with which the developers tried to create the illusion of a three-dimensional image without using traditional individual means of observing the stereo effect. In this monitor, behind the LCD screen, there is a special backlight and optics that create alternating columns of pixels (dots), visible by the right and left eye. The optical system displays the left and right frames of a stereo pair on alternating columns of pixels on an LCD screen. The left image is displayed on odd columns, and the right image is displayed on even columns. Both pairs are shown at the same time and are separated by the channels of vision of the right and left eyes. This is achieved thanks to a special backlight located behind the LCD screen. Using light from small, strong sources, the backlight optically generates a grating of very thin, bright, evenly spaced vertical light lines. These lines are precisely located relative to the columns of pixels. Since parallax is characteristic of our binocular vision, the left eye sees these lines through the odd columns on the LCD, and the right eye through the even ones (Parallax Illumination technology).

Closest to the claimed device, which is selected as a prototype, a device for demonstrating stereoscopic images [2], in which the task of demonstrating stereoscopic images is solved by alternately and sequentially displayed on a common screen frames separated for viewing by the left and right eye of the observer using an optical system, including a uniform polarizer, a liquid crystal cell, acting as an optically active element with the function of changing the polarizing direction n and 90 degrees, and an image analyzer formed by an LCD screen without a polarizing filter, the glass substrates of which are made in the form of adjacent to each other alternating horizontal strips of polarizers with mutually orthogonal orientation of the plane of polarization.

The prototype is characterized by the following disadvantages.

1. Due to the sequential and sequential output of frames for the right and left eye, the effect of \ flicker \ displayed stereo image is observed. To reduce this effect, increased demands are placed on the computer's video system for the frequency of image regeneration, which leads to unjustified costs of computer resources.

2. To output a static computer stereoscopic image, continuous cyclic output of the first right frame and then left frame is required, which forces the computer video system to continuously process large volumes of unchanging information.

3. To view the stereo images of the observer, it is necessary to equip with special glasses, which represents a certain inconvenience for him and reduces the effect of presence in the plot being demonstrated.

The objective of the present invention is to provide the viewer with a more complete illusion of the volume of the displayed picture.

The technical result that can be obtained by using this invention is that users of personal computers, game consoles, cell phones on the LCD screen can see a three-dimensional image of the information supplied, in the scientific activity of the claimed device can recreate a real three-dimensional picture of the chemical physical and other natural phenomena.

The task is achieved in that for the demonstration of stereoscopic images on a common LCD screen installed between two blocks of polarizers, made in the form of horizontally alternating stripes with mutually orthogonal orientation of the polarization plane, elements of the right and left frames of the image are displayed simultaneously and alternating horizontally in columns for viewing by the left and right eye of the observer using a separation optical system. The optical system includes the two above-described blocks of strip-wise film polarizers and a polarization image analyzer, consisting of horizontal bands of polarizers with mutually orthogonal direction of the polarization vector with a double step relative to the pixels of the LCD screen, calculated so that the direction of the plane of polarization of the light of the right frame coincides with the direction of the plane of polarization of the sections of the analyzer responsible for the right channel of view, and accordingly the direction of the plane of polarization ation left frame beam coincides with the direction of the plane of polarization of analyzer sections, responsible for the left view channel. Also, a mixer is installed in the optical system, which is installed in front of the image analyzer, consisting, for example, of vertical optical fibers and having the ability to combine image elements of the right and left frames in each optical fiber. Possible mixer designs may be a set of pairs of cylindrical lenses with crossed optical axes, equipped with a single matte screen, or vertical parallelepipeds made of a transparent material with a high refractive index that does not change the orientation of the plane of polarization of the light passing through them, and the outer edge of the optical fibers is matted.

Figure 1 presents a diagram of the inventive device.

Figure 2 shows a diagram of the separation of stereo images in the visibility zones of the right and left eyes of the observer.

Figure 3 presents a diagram of the device of the liquid crystal cell.

Figure 4 shows the principle of constructing the left and right frames of the stereoscopic image on the LCD screen.

Figure 5 presents the lens circuit of the mixer.

The device (Fig. 1) consists of a luminescent screen 1, polarizers combined in two blocks 2 and 3, made in the form of alternating horizontal stripes with mutually orthogonal orientation of the plane of polarization, a liquid crystal screen 4, with the possibility of simultaneous horizontal and horizontal pixel output of the right and left frames the image installed between the blocks of polarizers 2 and 3, the image analyzer 5 formed by adjacent to each other and alternating horizontally stripes of polarizers with inter oortogonalnoy orientation of the polarization plane of the mixer 6, consisting of vertical fibers. The observer's point of view is located behind the image analyzer (7 - the right eye, 8 - the left eye). 1 also shows odd 9 and even 10 columns of the image analyzer.

Consider the operation of the device (Figure 1). The light from the luminescent screen 1 passes through two blocks of polarizers 2 and 3, made in the form of horizontally alternating strips with mutually orthogonal orientation of the plane of polarization, between which there is a liquid crystal screen 4. In the prototype, liquid crystal cells were introduced to separate stereo images through the viewing channels of the observer 7 and 8, and in the inventive device, they form an LCD screen 4, displaying the right and left frames of the stereo pair. The width of the stripes of blocks 2 and 3 is twice as large as the cell width of the LCD screen 4. As a result, the images of the right and left frames are horizontally alternating stripes with mutually orthogonal orientation of the polarization vector (Figure 2), and each image element is any (right and the left) frame differs from the neighboring one by the orthogonal direction of the polarization vector. To increase the degree of coherence of the stereoscopic image being demonstrated, a mixer 6 is installed in front of the analyzer 5 in the inventive device 5, consisting of a packet of optical fibers covering the external block of polarizers 3. Also, the mixer 6 can be a set of pairs of cylindrical lenses (Figure 5) with crossed optical axes equipped with a single matte screen. The pairs of lenses are mounted in such a way that they reproduce a mixed image on a single matte screen (Figure 5). Also, the mixer 6 can be made in the form of vertical parallelepipeds made of a transparent material with a high refractive index with frosted outer faces. The light passing through such fibers and reflected from the boundaries of the parallelepipeds falls on the matted face, without changing the direction of the plane of polarization, thereby mixing the image. The width of each section is equal to the width of the strip of the output polarizer 3. The set of mixer sections 6 (FIG. 2) is set with a half-step offset compared to the output polarizer 3, as a result of which each section of the mixer 6 simultaneously contains elements of the right and left frames differing in the mutually orthogonal direction of the vectors polarization. For the separation (separate viewing) of stereoscopic images and their separation according to the viewing zones of the right 7 and left 8 eyes of the observer at a certain distance from the mixer 6, an analyzer 5 is located, consisting of horizontally alternating strips of polarizers 9 and 10 with orthogonal orientation of the plane of polarization. As a result, the image of the left frame viewed through the analyzer 5 can only be seen from certain areas of the visual space in which the boundaries of the polarization bands of the image of the left frame coincide with the boundaries of the same bands of the analyzer 5 (Figure 2). These zones (zones of the left eye vision channel) are in a plane that intersects the entire visual space. Since the right eye of observer 7 does not fall into any of these zones, he does not see the elements of the left frame, and vice versa, a polarized image of the right frame can be seen only from certain areas of visual space in which the boundaries of the polarization bands of the image of the right frame coincide with the boundaries the bands of the same name of the polarizer 5, and the left eye of the observer 8 does not fall into any of these zones, and he does not see the elements of the right frame. As a result, through the pixel output of the image elements of the right and left frames (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4), their mutually orthogonal structure, as well as the ability of the inventive device to divide by the visibility zones of the corresponding eye of the observer, the viewer creates an illusion of the volume of the displayed picture.

Thus, the present invention allows to create a computer stereoscopic LCD display or stereo television, aimed at a mass audience, eliminated from such disadvantages as the \ flicker \ displayed stereo object, the need for constant updating of the supplied information and not requiring a special control circuit.

Sources of information

1. Materials of the Internet 3D Like Style web site, http://ixbt.stack.net/~3dstyle.

2. Yamazaki; Shunpei (Tokyo, JP); Hirakata; Yoshiharu (Kanagawa, JP); Teramoto; Satoshi (Kanagawa, JP); Koyama; Jun (Kanagawa, JP), Patent "Display unit", US 6348957 A, 02.19.2002.

Claims (4)

1. A device for demonstrating stereoscopic images, including an LCD screen formed by liquid crystal cells and installed between the internal and external blocks of polarizers, and an analyzer, and the polarizers and analyzer are made in the form of alternating horizontal strips with mutually orthogonal orientation of the polarization planes, characterized in that the width of the strips of the blocks of polarizers and the analyzer is two times wider than the cell of the LCD screen, and the external block of polarizers is equipped with an image mixer installed m I am waiting for an external unit and the analyzer, wherein the image mixer configured to combine the respective images of the left and right frames having mutually orthogonal polarization planes of orientation. 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the image mixer is made up of a package of optical fibers covering the entire external block of polarizers, each of the optical fibers having a width of a polarizing strip and installed with a horizontal offset of half its width. 3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the image mixer is made in the form of a set of pairs of cylindrical lenses with crossed optical axes, equipped with a single matte screen installed so that the combined image of the right and left frames is reproduced on it. 4. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the optical fibers are made in the form of vertical parallelepipeds from a transparent material with a high refractive index that does not change the orientation of the plane of polarization of the light passing through them, and the outer edge of the optical fibers is made of matte.

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