Backlit transparent display, transparent display system, and method

A transparent display system comprising:

• an array of light valves configured to modulate emitted light to provide a displayed image;
• and
• a transparent backlight comprising a light guide having a plurality of scattering elements and a light source coupled to an edge of the light guide, the light source being configured to provide light to be guided within the light guide as guided light and the plurality of scattering elements being configured to scatter out a portion of the guided light as the emitted light having a direction both toward the light valve array and away from the light valve array and toward a background scene,
• wherein the transparent display system is configured to provide the displayed image as superimposed on the background scene visible through the transparent display system, the emitted light directed toward the background scene serving as an illumination source of the background scene, and
• wherein the plurality of scattering elements comprises a plurality of multibeam elements, a multibeam element of the plurality of multibeam elements being configured to scatter out a portion of the guided light as a plurality of directional light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to respective different view directions of a multiview image, the backlit transparent display being a transparent multiview display and the displayed image being a multiview image.

A method of transparent display operation, the method comprising:

• guiding light along a length of a light guide as guided light;
• scattering a portion of the guided light out of the light guide as emitted light using a plurality of scattering elements;
• and
• modulating the emitted light using an array of light valves configured to modulate the emitted light as a displayed image,
• wherein a combination of the light guide, the plurality of scattering elements, and the light valve array of the transparent display enables a background scene to be visible through the transparent display, the displayed image being superimposed on the visible background scene, and
• wherein the emitted light is directed toward both of the light valve array and the background scene, the emitted light directed toward the background scene illuminating the background scene, and
• wherein the plurality of scattering elements comprises a plurality of multibeam elements, a multibeam element of the plurality of multibeam elements being configured to scatter out a portion of the guided light as a plurality of directional light beams having different principal angular directions corresponding to respective different view directions of a multiview image, the backlit transparent display being a transparent multiview display and the displayed image being a multiview image.