THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE DISPLAYING SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional image
displaying system, and more particularly, to such a system which displays a
real image having a three-dimensional effect of an object and allows
application software in connection with the object to be executed when a
user touches the image.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, three-dimensional displaying apparatuses have been
developed, in which a real image of an object is formed so that a user may
view the image with a three-dimensional effect as if it were a real object.
However, the conventional three-dimensional displaying apparatuses merely
display images, and they cannot provide information in connection with the
object displayed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional
displaying system which not only displays a three-dimensional image of an
object using a concave spherical mirror, but also allows application software
in connection with the object to be executed in response to an infrared-
detecting unit when a user touches the three-dimensional image.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a three-
dimensional displaying system having various displaying effects, by rotating
or moving an object with or without auxiliary illumination.
To achieve these objects, as embodied and broadly described herein,
a three-dimensional image displaying system according to the invention
comprises:
an image display unit including a concave spherical mirror for
forming a three-dimensional image of an object, and an infrared-detecting
unit placed around the image for sensing a touch of the image when a user
touches the image; and
a computer unit, connected to the infrared-detecting unit of the
image display unit, for executing predetermined application software when
the user touches the image.
The image display unit has a partition for hiding the object to prevent
it from being viewed so that only the image of the object is seen. The image
display unit may also have a beamsplitter to adjust the position of the object.
The infrared-detecting unit of the image display unit has an infrared-
emitting device for emitting infrared rays, and a detecting device for receiving
infrared rays from the infrared-emitting device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings provide a further understanding of the
invention, and together with the Detailed Description, explain the principles
of the invention. In the drawings:
Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional image displaying system according
to the present invention;
Fig. 2 shows an image display unit of the present invention;
Fig. 3 shows an infrared-detecting unit in the image display unit of
Fig. 2;
Figs. 4a and 4b illustrate a reflection-detecting mode and a
transmission-detecting mode of the infrared-detecting unit, respectively;
Fig. 5 illustrates optical principles of the image display unit;
Fig. 6 shows an embodiment of an image display unit which has
auxiliary illumination;
Fig. 7 shows another embodiment of the image display unit
according to the present invention; and
Fig. 8 shows another embodiment of the image display unit which
has various color effects.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals indicate the same
elements herein.
Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional image displaying system according
to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1 , the three-dimensional image
displaying system includes an image display unit 10, and a computer unit 20
connected to the image display unit 10.
The image display unit 10 has a concave spherical mirror for forming
a real image of an object, and a partition for hiding the object to keep it from
direct view so that only the image of the object is seen. The partition may be
implemented in various forms, as shown in Fig. 2 and Figs. 6-8.
Referring to Fig. 2, a first embodiment of the image display unit 10
will be explained. The image display unit 10 has a concave spherical mirror
120 for forming a real image 150 of an object 110, and a partition 130 for
hiding the object to keep it from direct view. A case 140 is formed to fix both
the spherical mirror 120 and the partition 130. The object 110 may be
mounted on either the partition 130 or the case 140.
The partition 130 can be formed in various shapes. The partition
130 preferably has a front wall 131 which blocks a part of the spherical mirror
120, and horizontal wall 132 which is parallel to an optical axis of the
spherical mirror 120. A transparent window 190 is preferably placed behind
the position of the image 150 between the case 140 and the horizontal wall
132 of the partition 130 in order to prevent contaminants such as dust from
getting into the image display unit 10.
When the object 1 10 cannot emit light itself, a light-emitting device
such as a light bulb or a light emitting diode is mounted under the object 1 10
on the partition 130 or the case 140, and then fits into the object 1 10.
Separate auxiliary lamps can also be made available, as shown in Fig. 6.
One or more lamps 160 may be placed around or behind the object 1 10, with
a translucent shading sheet 180 to prevent an image of the lamps 160 from
forming .
A support 300 for supporting the image display unit 10 has a hinge
member 310 to adjust the tilt of the image display unit to the eye of the user.
A support capable of adjusting height may also be employed, although it is
not shown in the drawings.
An infrared-detecting unit 400 is placed on the horizontal wall 132 of
the partition 130 around the position of the image 150. As shown in Fig. 3,
the infrared-detecting unit 400 has an infrared-emitting device 410 for
emitting infrared rays, a detecting device 420 for receiving infrared rays from
the infrared-emitting device, and a microprocessor (not shown), so that the
infrared-detecting unit 400 may detect a touch of a user when the user
touches the image 150 with the hand or any appropriate tool such as a pen.
When a user touches the image 150 with the hand or tool during infrared ray
emission from the infrared-emitting device 410, the hand or tool reflects the
infrared rays to the detecting device 420 (a reflection-detecting mode), or the
hand or tool blocks the infrared rays (a transmission-detecting mode).
Accordingly, the microprocessor determines the touch of the user.
In the reflection-detecting mode as shown in Fig. 4a, the infrared-
emitting device 410 emits infrared rays according to driving signals from a
microprocessor (not shown), and the detecting device 420 is positioned to
receive the infrared rays from the infrared-emitting device 410. (See Fig. 4a
(a).) When a user touches the image 150 with the hand or tool 30, the
infrared rays reflect from the hand or tool 30 to the detecting device 420.
(See Fig. 4a (b).) The microprocessor detects the change of rays which is
detected by the detecting device 420, and then generates predetermined
data codes to the computer unit 20 through a connecting cable 500, as
shown in Fig. 1.
Next, referring to Fig. 4b, the transmission-detecting mode will be
described. The infrared-emitting device 410 emits infrared rays according to
driving signals from a microprocessor (not shown), and the detecting device
420 is positioned to receive the infrared rays from the infrared-emitting
device 410. (See Fig. 4a (a).) When a user touches the image 150 with the
hand or tool 30, the infrared rays are blocked by the hand or tool 30, and
thereby they do not arrive at the detecting device 420. (See Fig. 4a (b).) The
microprocessor detects the change, and then generates predetermined data
codes to the computer unit 20 through a connection cable 500.
The computer unit 20 may be a general desktop computer or a
notebook computer. The computer unit 20 has predetermined application
software therein, which is executed in response to the data codes from the
infrared-detecting unit 400. The application software may be an Internet
browser which connects to a specific Internet site. When the object 110 is a
specific article, the application software may also include introductory or
exemplary software relating to the article.
The operation of the present invention is as follows.
Referring to Fig. 5, the image formation of a spherical mirror will be
described. When the center of curvature is C, the mirror formula is defined
as follows:
[Formula 1]
1 1 _ 1 n i J
where So is a distance between a vertex of the spherical mirror and the
object;
Si is a distance between the vertex and the real image 150;
f is a focal length of the spherical mirror; and
R (R = 2f) is a radius of curvature of the spherical mirror.
Table 1 shows the relation between the object and image.
Therefore, when the distance between the object 1 10 and the
spherical mirror 120 is larger than the focal length f of the spherical mirror
120, an inverted real image is formed.
Now referring back to Fig. 2, when the object 110 is either a light-
emitting article or an article fixed on a light-emitting device, the light from the
object 1 10 functions as a light source without any auxiliary illumination.
Otherwise, the lamp 160 is used to provide illumination to the object 1 10 as
shown in Fig. 6 when the object 1 10 itself cannot emit light. The light emitted
or reflected from the object 110 reflects from the spherical mirror 120 to form
the real image 150 of the object 1 10 in a certain place. The distance
between the object 1 10 and the spherical mirror 120 may be adjusted in
order to obtain a desirable size of the image, but it must always be larger
than the focal length of the spherical mirror 120 to form a real image.
The object 110 or the auxiliary lamp 160, if any, may be adjusted to
be brighter or darker so that the image 150 is also brighter or darker,
resulting in obtaining various displaying effects. Further, sound facilities (not
shown) may be used with the image display unit. For example, suitable
sound effects from the sound facilities may be used in accordance with
variations of the brightness of the image, resulting in maximizing the
displaying effects.
The user may enjoy a three-dimensional image 150 which is
displayed in the image display unit 10, with various displaying effects, and
they may further touch the image 150 with the hand or any tool. Directions
such as "Please touch the article when you want to know detailed
information of the article" may be attached to the image display unit 10.
When the user touches the image 150 of the object, the infrared-
detecting unit 400 detects the touch of the user by reflection- or
transmission- detection, and generates corresponding data codes to the
computer unit 20. The data codes are received by the computer unit 20
through the connecting cable 500, and the predetermined application
software programs are then executed by the data codes in the computer unit
20. The predetermined application software may be introductory or
exemplary software relating to the article or a manufacturer of the article, and
it may also be an Internet browser which is connected to a specific site. The
application software program may be executed at a predetermined time
interval after the touch of the user, and then end, if necessary.
Now referring to Fig. 7, the second preferred embodiment of the
image display unit 10 will be described. The image display unit as shown in
Fig. 7 is similar to that shown in Fig.2, but it is different in that it has a
beamsplitter 200 so that the position of the object 1 10 may be changed.
The beamsplitter 200 of the image display unit 10 according to the
second preferred embodiment transmits a part of the light from the object
1 10 and reflects the remainder. The image display unit 10 further has a
concave spherical mirror 120 for forming a real image 150 from the light
reflected from the beamsplitter 200, and a partition 130 for hiding the object
to prevent it from being viewed. A case 140 is formed to fix both the
spherical mirror 120 and the partition 130. The object 1 10 may be mounted
on either the partition 130 or the case 140.
Similar to the image display unit of Fig. 2, when the object 1 10
cannot emit light itself, a light emitting device such as light bulb or a light
emitting diode is mounted under the object 1 10 on the partition 130 or the
case 140 and then fits into the object 1 10. Separate auxiliary lamps also
may be made available.
An infrared-detecting unit 400 is placed on the horizontal wall 132 of
the partition 130 around the position of the image 150, and is used in either a
reflection-detecting mode or a transmission-detecting mode, similar to that of
Fig. 2 or Fig. 3.
When the beamsplitter 200 is used in the image display unit of Fig. 7,
it is possible to lay the object flat. Therefore, the image display unit of Fig. 7
is especially useful when it is not possible to hang the object upside down.
Additionally, the image display unit as shown in Fig. 2 or 7 may have
openings on the front wall to provide various displaying effects. At least one
opening 133 is formed on the front wall 131 of the partition 130. Further, a
translucent sheet 134 is attached over each opening 133. Therefore, when
either the object is a light-emitting article or separate light-emitting devices
such as LEDs or lamps 160 are used, some of the light from the object or the
light-emitting devices are transmitted through the translucent sheet 134 to
enhance the displaying effects. The translucent sheet 134 may have various
colors to provide users with various color effects when lighting up.
It is possible to rotate or move the object when it is connected to
driving motors (not shown) mounted on the partition or case. When the
object rotates or moves, the real image of the object accordingly rotates or
moves. Therefore, a user can see the moving or rotating images and enjoy
the various three-dimensional effects. Further, sound facilities may be used
to produce sound effects, thereby maximizing the displaying effects.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications
and variations can be made to the system of the present invention without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present invention
covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come
within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABLITY
A three-dimensional display system according to the present
invention displays a real image that causes the illusion that a real object
exists in space, by using a spherical mirror. When the user touches the real
image, application software programs are executed. If the application
software is an Internet browser, a user who is not familiar with the Internet or
computers may easily connect to the Internet.
The image display unit according to the present invention has
various three-dimensional effects including moving or rotating effects of the
images, lighting effects, and sound effects. A direct touch of the image
drives the application software to provide the user with feelings of cyber
space.