Light field projectors and methods for redistributing light dynamically to achieve a light field
AssigneeMTT Innovation Incorporated
InventorsGerwin DAMBERG, Anders BALLESTAD
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Undesirably high energy-consumption in illuminating devices can be caused at least in part by wasted (attenuated) light. Optically efficient illumination systems that may be used to project light, including images, use light redirection. Phase modulating devices may be applied to create desired light fields. Some embodiments provide dual or multiple modulation display or projection systems in which some or all of the modulators not only attenuate amplitude, but also amplify amplitude, or change the phase, frequency and polarization of the light provided by the light source.
Claims20
A method for displaying images specified by image data, the image data specifying luminance that varies from place to place on the images such that the images have darker areas and lighter areas, the method comprising:
- illuminating a phase modulator with incident light and allowing the incident light to interact with the phase modulator to yield a desired light field, and
- projecting the desired light field onto an image plane to yield a depiction of the images,
- wherein the interaction with the phase modulator includes controlling the phase modulator to provide a combined freeform lens comprising a first phase pattern computed from the image data and a second phase pattern superimposed with the first phase pattern, wherein the second phase pattern corresponds to a path length varying pattern representing a lens that focuses the incident light at the image plane, wherein the interaction of the light with the phase modulator causes redirection of light that would otherwise illuminate darker areas of the images to lighter areas of the images, and
- the projecting the desired light field includes relaying the incident light on the image plane via physical optics to a refining module that minimizes visual artifacts and provides a refined output of a light field from the phase modulator.
A display apparatus for displaying images specified by image data, the image data specifying luminance that varies from place to place on the images such that the images have darker areas and lighter areas, the display apparatus comprising:
- a phase modulator, and
- a light source arranged to illuminate the phase modulator with incident light,
- wherein a control circuit is connected to control the phase modulator to provide a combined freeform lens comprising a first phase pattern computed from the image data and a second phase pattern superimposed with the first phase pattern, wherein the second phase pattern corresponds to a path length varying pattern that focuses the incident light at an image plane, and
- wherein physical optics are arranged to relay a light field comprising light that has interacted with the phase modulator to a refining module,
- wherein the physical optics are configured to focus the light onto or adjacent to the refinement module,
- wherein the refining module is configured to refine the incident light by minimizing visual artifacts and provide a refined output of a light field from the phase modulator, and
- wherein the phase modulator is controlled by the control circuit to cause redirection of light that would otherwise illuminate darker areas of the images to lighter areas of the images.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.