Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/04—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings formed by bundles of fibres
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J29/00—Details of cathode-ray tubes or of electron-beam tubes of the types covered by group H01J31/00
  • H01J29/86—Vessels; Containers; Vacuum locks
  • H01J29/89—Optical or photographic arrangements structurally combined or co-operating with the vessel
  • H01J29/892—Optical or photographic arrangements structurally combined or co-operating with the vessel using fibre optics
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/04—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings formed by bundles of fibres
  • G02B6/06—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings formed by bundles of fibres the relative position of the fibres being the same at both ends, e.g. for transporting images
  • G02B6/08—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings formed by bundles of fibres the relative position of the fibres being the same at both ends, e.g. for transporting images with fibre bundle in form of plate
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S385/00—Optical waveguides
  • Y10S385/901—Illuminating or display apparatus

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to fiber optics, and, more specifically, to a video display panel.
• the present invention is an improvement over U.S. Patents 5,381 ,502 and
• the waveguides are-inclined-at a small acute
• the optical panel is extremely thin in depth compared to its height and width and requires suitable projection optics to distribute the image light across the small inlet
• the waveguides are preferably ribbons extending the
• Horizontal resolution is effec t ed by horizon t al modulation of the image light across the inlet face .
• the waveguides In th i s wedge construction, the waveguides have varying length, with the
• shor t est being at the bottom of the screen and the longest being at the top of the screen.
• the individual inlets ends of the several waveguides may be disposed in a
• i nlet face requires a suitable lens system or image optics having different focal planes
• the wedge optical display may be made relatively thin, it may be made relatively large in width and height with a corresponding weight. And , the variable
• An opt i cal panel includes stacked optical waveguides having stepped inlet facets collect i vely def i ning an inlet face for receiving image light, and having beveled outlet faces collec ti vely defining a display screen for displaying the image light channeled through the waveguides by internal reflection .
• Figure I is an isometric view of a stepped optical display panel in accordance wi t h exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 2 is an elevational, sectional view through the panel illustrated in Figure
• Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational end view, partly in section, through a po ⁇ ion of the panel illustrated in Figure 2 within the dashed circle labeled 3.
• Figure 4 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the optical panel in
• Figure 5 is an enlarged elevational view through a portion of the optical panel in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 1 Illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is an optical display panel 10 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the form of a large video display.
• I he panel is mounted vertically in this exemplary embodiment and is suitably supported in a corresponding housing or cabinet 12.
• the panel includes a plurality of stacked optical waveguides 14 which receive
• i mage l i ght 16 from a suitable light projector 18, and transmit the light therethrough by total i nternal reflection for display as a video image 16a , for example
• the waveguides have stepped inlet facets 14a at respective back ends thereof
• def i ne a display screen 22 for displaying the image light channeled through the waveguides by total internal reflection
• Each waveguide 14 includes an optically transmissive core 14c laminated
• the core has a first index of refraction, and may be formed ot
• the cladding layers 14d have a second index of refraction
• the cladding may be a suitable glass
• epoxy for example - T-he cladding is preferably colored black for providing a black screen when not illuminated
• the waveguides 14 are preferably in the form of th i n r i bbons or sheets extending continuously along a width W of the optical panel and
• the display screen 22 is
• the waveguide outlet faces 14b are preferably coplanar to define a substantially flat display screen, or
• the waveguides 14 are stacked in a vertical
• the individual waveguides 14 are preferably stacked obliquely in the vertical
• the optical panel is preferably less than about 45° for minimizing the collective thickness T of the optical panel between its inlet face 20 and opposite display screen 22.
• the inlet facets 14a are
• the inlet facets are also preferably substantially normal or
• orientation of the inlet facets 14a may be varied a few degrees plus or minus while still efficiently receiving light into the individual waveguides.
• the inlet facets 14a are preferably optically polished. Optical polishing may be effected d i fferently for plastic or glass cores 14c. If desired , the inlet faces 14a may have a
• su i table anti-reflective coating to increase light coupling efficiency.
• Illustrated schematically in Figure 3 is a preferred method of making the optical panel wherein the individual waveguides are formed of thin sheets of glass having a
• cores are preferably laser cut to size, and have corresponding edges which effect
• the so cut glass sheets may then be laminated together using a suitable adhesive
• optically polished inlet edge In the view of the stepped inlet face 20, optical
• polishing thereof is not practical, if possible, with the polishing of the individual
• the optically polished inlet facets 14a for thin glass cores may be obtained from Er i e Sc i entific Corp. , of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for example, using their laser cutting services.
• the inlet facets 14a are offset from each other along the waveguides 14 to def i ne the staggered or stepped inlet face 20 which extends generally parallel to t he display screen 22 on the opposite side of the panel.
• the i ndividual waveguides 14 may be identical to each other and have a
• the individual waveguides may be made as short as practical for
• the stepped-inlet optical panel illustrated in Figure 3 may
• the waveguides preferably overlaps vertically along the span or height of the panel
• the panel may thusly be substantially reduced compared to the wedge optical panel .
• the projector 18 is suitably mounted in the cabinet 12 and is optically aligned with the inlet face 20 for projecting the image light 16
• the projector 18 is illustrated schematically in Figure 2 and includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a suitable light source 18a for producing the image light 16
• the l i ght source may be a light bulb, slide pro j ector , video pro j ector, or laser, for example
• the projector also includes a suitable light modulator 18b for modulating the i mage l i ght to form the desired light image
• the modulator may be a conventional
• L i qu i d Crystal Display having a matrix of elements which selectively block or reflect , or transmit light for producing a video image.
• the projector also includes a suitable lens system or image optics 18c for
• m i rrors 24 may be used inside the cabinet 12 as illustrated in Figure 2 for redirecting
• a part i cular advantage of the stepped optical panel illustrated in Figure 2 is-a
• the image light may be
• the wedge panel requires two different focal planes for horizontal and vertical focus i ng , w i th attendant complexity of image optics.
• the image optics 18c may also have a
• the waveguide cores 14c may thusly be formed of less expensive optical
• the display screen 22 preferably also
• i n cludes suitable means adjoining the outlet faces 14b for redirecting image light from
• the waveguides substantially perpendicularly to the beveled outlet faces 14b.
• the turning means may be in the form of a Transmissive Right Angle Film (TRAF) turning film 26 commercially available from the 3M Company of St. Paul,
• TEZ Transmissive Right Angle Film
• Such a film includes fresnel prismatic
• grooves 26a as shown in Figure 3 which turn the image light emitted from the waveguides for emission from the outlet faces 14b substantially perpendicularly there t o for direct reception by an observer facing the display screen 22.
• the turn i ng f i lm 26 is relatively thin and may be adhesively bonded to the outle t
• the waveguides 14, the turning film 26 , and its adhesive have the same refractive index. In this way, the image light is
• F i gure 4 i llustrates an alternate embodiment of the optical panel wherein the i nlet facet 14a of the each of the waveguides terminates at the outlet face 14b of the
• the waveguides 14 are thusly triangular in
• the individual waveguides may be suitably
• wavegu i des 14 are arranged in plural or multiple groups having coplanar inlet facets
• waveguides 14 have varying length so that their respective inlet facets 14a are coplanar
• the i mage optics may be substantially simplified for further reducing weight and cost
• stepped inlet facets 14a may be directed downwardly or vertically , or

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Devices For Indicating Variable Information By Combining Individual Elements (AREA)
• Light Guides In General And Applications Therefor (AREA)
• Overhead Projectors And Projection Screens (AREA)
• Projection Apparatus (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=23532623

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (16)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 1999
  • 1999-09-01 US US09/388,087 patent/US6317545B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2000
  • 2000-08-30 KR KR1020027002697A patent/KR20020042819A/ko not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-08-30 CA CA002383702A patent/CA2383702A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-08-30 EP EP00961410A patent/EP1218779A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-08-30 AU AU73365/00A patent/AU7336500A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-08-30 MX MXPA02002221A patent/MXPA02002221A/es unknown
  • 2000-08-30 JP JP2001520131A patent/JP2003508800A/ja not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-08-30 WO PCT/US2000/023712 patent/WO2001016629A1/en not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (4)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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