Methods and apparatus for light field projection

摘要

In exemplary implementations of this invention, light from a light field projector is transmitted through an angle-expanding screen to create a glasses-free, 3D display. The display can be horizontal-only parallax or full parallax. In the former case, a vertical diffuser may positioned in the optical stack. The angle-expanding screen may comprise two planar arrays of optical elements (e.g., lenslets or lenticules) separated from each other by the sum of their focal distances. Alternatively, a light field projector may project light rays through a focusing lens onto a diffuse, transmissive screen. In this alternative approach, the light field projector may comprise two spatial light modulators (SLMs). A focused image of the first SLM, and a slightly blurred image of the second SLM, are optically combined on the diffuser, creating a combined image that has a higher spatial resolution and a higher dynamic range than either of two SLMs.

主权项

1. A method that comprises using a light field projector to project a set of light rays onto a screen, wherein:
(a) each respective light ray, out of the set of light rays, enters a first side of the screen at an entrance angle and exits a second, different side of the screen at an exit angle; and (b) over an interval of the entrance angles, which interval does not include the angle zero, the magnitude of the exit angle of each respective light ray is greater than the magnitude of the entrance angle of the respective light ray; angles in each case being defined relative to a direction that is perpendicular to the screen.