US 10,120,198 B2Granted

Directional backlight

AssigneeLeia Inc.

InventorsCharles M. Santori, David A. Fattal, Marco Fiorentino, James A. Brug, Zhen Peng

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Abstract

A directional backlight is disclosed. The directional backlight has a plurality of light sources to generate a plurality of input planar lightbeams. The plurality of input planar lightbeams illuminates a directional backplane that has a plurality of directional pixels to scatter the plurality of input planar lightbeams into a plurality of directional lightbeams. Each directional lightbeam has a direction and angular spread controlled by characteristics of a directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels. The directional backlight can be used to generate a 3D image by specifying the characteristics of the directional pixels in the directional backplane.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A method of scattering input lightbeams as directional lightbeams with a directional backlight comprising:

generating a plurality of planar lightbeams from a plurality of light sources;
inputting the plurality of planar lightbeams into a directional backplane of the directional backlight, the directional backplane having a plurality of directional pixels, each directional pixel having characteristics to control light scattering;
and
scattering the plurality of input planar lightbeams into a plurality of directional lightbeams out of the directional backplane using the plurality of directional pixels, wherein scattering the plurality of input planar lightbeams comprises controlling a direction and an angular spread of each respective directional lightbeam using the characteristics of a respective directional pixel in the plurality of directional pixels,
wherein an input planar lightbeam from a single one of the light sources is scattered into at least two different directional lightbeams of the directional lightbeam plurality, the at least two different directional lightbeams having different angular directions from one another.

2 more elements

A method of generating a three-dimensional (3D) image with a directional backlight comprising:

illuminating a directional backplane having a plurality of directional pixels arranged thereon with light from a plurality of color light sources, the light being a plurality of input planar lightbeams, the directional pixels comprising patterned gratings having substantially parallel and slanted grooves;
scattering the plurality of input planar lightbeams out of the directional backplane as a plurality of directional lightbeams using the plurality of directional pixels, each directional lightbeam having a direction and an angular spread controlled by characteristics of the patterned gratings;
and
generating the 3D image with the plurality of directional lightbeams,
wherein the directional pixels are configured to scatter light of a single color in an input planar lightbeam from a single one of the color light sources of the plurality of color light sources into at least two different directional lightbeams of the directional lightbeam plurality, the at least two different directional lightbeams having different angular directions from one another corresponding to different views of the 3D image.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/253,809Filed 31 Aug 2016 · division
Priority: 31 May 2012
Published: US 2016/0370594 A122 Dec 2016
Granted: 6 Nov 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G02B 30/33
Of the autostereoscopic type: involving directional light or back-light sources
G02B 6/003
Provided by one optical element, or plurality thereof, placed between the light guide and the light source, or around the light source: lens or…
G02B 6/005
Means for improving the coupling-out of light from the light guide: provided by one optical element, or plurality thereof, placed on the light…
G02B 6/0068
Characterised by the light source being coupled to the light guide: arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources

Family

PCT/US2012/040305Parent of this continuation · filed 31 May 2012
Application14/309,532Parent of this division · filed 19 Jun 2014
US 2016/0370594 A1Pre-grant publication · published 22 Dec 2016
US 9,459,461 B2Parent of this division
Application14/309,532Parent of this continuation
US 2014/0300960 A1Published application
US 10,120,198 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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