Autostereoscopic imaging apparatus and method using a parallax scanning lens aperture

Autostereoscopic imaging apparatus comprising, in combination:

• a lens having an optical axis;
• an optical element defining a lens aperture, said optical element located adjacent said lens, such that an object image is created by light passing through the lens and lens aperture;
• an operator coupled to move said optical element, such as to produce a scanning motion of the lens aperture relative to the optical axis of said lens to permit a succession of recordings of the object image to be taken which, when successively displayed produce an autostereoscopic image of said object on a conventional, two-dimensional display;
• an imaging plane on which the light of the object image is focused;
• and
• a housing removably positioned between the lens and the imaging plane and incorporating the optical element and the operator.

Autostereoscopic imaging apparatus, comprising, in combination:

• a lens having an optical axis;
• an optical element located adjacent said lens;
• and
• an operator coupled to activate said optical element such as to define the lens aperture located, time displaced, in at least two disparity positions offset from the optical axis of the lens to permit a succession of recordings of a scene to be taken having different parallax views of the scene which, when successively displayed, produce an autostereoscopic image of the scene on a conventional, two-dimensional display;
• wherein said optical element comprises a planar array of cells, and said operator electrically activates said optical element to selectively switch said cells between transparent and opaque states, said cells in the transparent state defining the lens aperture.

Autostereoscopic imaging apparatus comprising:

• a lens having an optical axis;
• an optical element including a plurality of opaque leaf elements arranged in interleaved relation to collectively define a lens aperture, said optical element located adjacent said lens such that an image is created by light passing through the lens and lens aperture;
• and
• an operator coupled to move the leaf elements, such as to locate the lens aperture, time displaced, in at least two disparity positions offset from the optical axis of the lens to permit a succession of recordings of said image to be taken having different parallax views which, when successively displayed, produce an autostereoscopic image on a conventional, two-dimensional display.

A method of autostereoscopic imaging, comprising the steps of:

• providing a lens having an optical axis directed toward a scene to be imaged;
• positioning an optical element adjacent the lens, the optical element including a plurality of leaf elements arranged in interleaved relation;
• activating the optical element to individually position the leaf elements to collectively define a lens aperture located, time displaced, in at least two disparity positions offset from the optical axis of the lens;
• and
• recording images taken with said lens aperture in the at least two disparity positions, which, when displayed in succession on a conventional two-dimensional display, produce an autostereoscopic image of the scene.

Autostereoscopic imaging apparatus comprising, in combination:

• a lens having an optical axis;
• an optical element defining a lens aperture, said optical element located adjacent said lens, such that an object image is created by light passing through the lens and lens aperture;
• and
• an operator coupled to move said optical element, such as to produce a scanning pattern of the lens aperture relative to the optical axis of said lens, the scanning pattern defined by the head of a rotating vector whose tail is fixed on said optical axis, such as to permit a succession of recordings of the object image to be taken at lens aperture positions along said pattern separated by less than a 90.degree. rotation of said vector, which recordings, when successively displayed, produce an autostereoscopic image of said object on a conventional, two-dimensional display.

A method of autostereoscopic imaging, comprising the steps of:

• directing the optical axis of an imaging lens toward a scene to be imaged;
• moving a lens aperture relative to the lens optical axis in a parallax scanning pattern defined by the head of a rotating vector whose tail is fixed on said optical axis;
• and
• generating a succession of time-spaced images of the scene as viewed through the lens aperture at successive positions along said pattern separated by less than a 90.degree. rotation of said vector;
• the rate of motion of said lens aperture being such as to result in said images, when successively displayed, producing autostereoscopic images of the scene on a conventional, two-dimensional display.